Doha, November 20 (QNA) - The International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced today the official participation of Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships, which will be hosted by Qatar University at the Sports and Events Complex from Dec. 25 to 31.

In a statement issued today, FIDE said that World Champion Magnus Carlsen had joined more than 360 players confirmed for the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships, organized by FIDE in Doha.

The statement added that Carlsen confirmed his participation in the upcoming Doha edition after taking part in the previous edition in New York, where he won the gold medal in the World Blitz Championship.

FIDE noted that the Open Blitz Championship will feature 233 players, while the Rapid Championship includes 230 players.

Several prominent elite players have also confirmed their participation, including India’s Gukesh Dommaraju, the World Rapid Champion; Ian Nepomniachtchi, the 2024 World Blitz Champion; Fabiano Caruana; Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri; Wesley So; Levon Aronian; Vincent Keymer; Arjun Erigaisi; Nodirbek Abdusattorov; Praggnanandhaa R.; Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus; Ediiz Gurel; in addition to Russia’s Alexander Grischuk and Ukraine’s Vasyl Ivanchuk, who won the World Rapid Championship in Doha in 2016.

In the women’s section, China’s reigning World Champion Ju Wenjun officially announced her participation. The tournament will feature 130 female players, including top-ranked players such as Zhu Jiner, Lei Tingjie, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Humpy Koneru. Anna Muzychuk, winner of both the Rapid and Blitz World Championships in Doha in 2016, will also participate alongside her sister Maria.

Russian FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich expressed great satisfaction with the level of participation in the Doha edition of the Rapid and Blitz World Championships, saying that the World Rapid and Blitz Championships are among the most exciting and widely watched chess events of the year. He expressed gratitude to the local organizing committee for its dedicated efforts in making this edition a remarkable event.

The FIDE President noted that the competition would be extremely strong and would represent a true festival of chess. He stated that FIDE had once again succeeded in bringing together the world’s best players and that he looked forward to the championship with great anticipation.

President of the Qatar Chess Federation Mohammed Al Mudahka affirmed that the participation of World Champion Magnus Carlsen is extremely positive and will bring major benefits to the championship that begins at the end of December.

In a statement to the Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Mudahka explained that the Qatar Chess Federation played a major role in convincing Carlsen to participate, especially after the incidents surrounding last year’s World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York, which led to Carlsen’s withdrawal from the Rapid event.

He added that Doha is now the only city to host the World Rapid and Blitz Championships twice, the first time in 2016, an achievement that represents a milestone in the history of chess and sports in Qatar. He noted that Doha is returning to host the championship after nine years, reaffirming Qatar’s growing status in the world of chess.

Doha last hosted the championship in 2016, when Ukrainian Vasyl Ivanchuk won the Rapid title and Russia’s Sergey Karjakin won the Blitz title.

The prize fund for the upcoming championship exceeds one million euros, distributed between the open and women’s competitions. (QNA)