Blitz chess will be part of the inaugural Olympic Esports Series 2023, which kicks off soon, and Chess.com will host its qualifying event.
Chess-com, the world’s largest online chess platform, has been selected by FIDE, itself recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the governing body of the game, to manage the preliminary tournament of the Olympic Esports Series 2023, for which a huge mass of participants is expected: you are all invited to take part!
Attention all Esports players! ????
The #OlympicEsportsSeries 2023 is here and we want YOU to join the fun. Find out everything you need to know about this competition! #OlympicEsports pic.twitter.com/LBCCIVoDBd
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) March 1, 2023
TRANSLATION: Attention, all esports players!
The Olympic Esports Series is here and we want YOU to join in the fun. Find out everything there is to know about this competition! — The Olympic Games
The qualifiers are divided into three phases: starting with a 3+2 blitz tournament on Chess.com on April 1, open to all non-titled players. The winners will then proceed to the Trials phase, in which the titled players will also enter the game.
The top 16 finishers from that stage will then move on to the Preliminaries event, scheduled for May 1-5. Eight of those players will be eliminated, while the remaining eight will advance to a live tournament, the first of its kind, to be held during Olympic Esports Week in Singapore from June 22-25.
Chess.com CEO Erik Allebest said: “As the premier chess platform, we are thrilled to host these online qualifiers. We believe chess belongs on the biggest stage and we are proud that it is recognized as an esport alongside so many other great disciplines.”
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich commented: “After nearly a year of behind-the-scenes work, we are very excited to see this event taking place. We believe the Olympic Esports Series marks the beginning of a new phase of cooperation between FIDE and the International Olympic Committee since our institution was recognized as an international sports federation by the IOC in 1999.”
“I would like to underline the perfect alignment between the values of FIDE and the strategic action plan of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5. This project, as well as those that we will follow in the future, will bring huge potential benefits to players and national federations.”
The Olympic Esports Series is a global competition of virtual and simulated sports, created by the IOC in collaboration with International Federations and game manufacturers.
For the first time, chess will appear alongside archery, dance, baseball, taekwondo, cycling, racing, sailing and tennis. They will be the highlight of Olympic Esports Week, a four-day festival to be held at the Suntec Center in Singapore designed to showcase the best in virtual sports.
The Olympic Esports Series will culminate in live Finals, with players qualifying for the first time at the 2023 Olympic Esports Finals, where they will compete in front of fans for the prestigious title of first-ever Olympic Esports Series winner.
All Finals will be broadcast globally across the Olympics social channels and on Olympics.com. The Olympic Esports Series builds on the success of its 2021 precursor event: two years ago, more than 250,000 players from more than 100 countries participated.
FIDE was recognized by the IOC as an International Sports Federation in 1999; it is now one of the largest international federations, gathering 199 countries as affiliate members.
Chess.com is the largest chess platform in the world. It has more than 120 million registered users and hosts more than 12 million chess games a day.
