The highly awaited FIDE World Chess Championship clash between D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren will be held in Singapore from November 20 to December 14 with the winner walking away with the World Champion title as well as mouth-watering prize money. (Preview | Streaming | More Sports News)
The majority of the chess world is rooting for the 18-year-old in-form Indian, who already displays the poise of a champion. What remains to be seen is how he handles the pressure of the big occasion during the fortnight-long showpiece.
Liren had won a match of fluctuating fortunes against Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in 2023 to be crowned the world champion but since then, the Chinese has suffered from mental health issues and competed very less compared to Gukesh in the last one year.
How much prize money is on offer for the World Chess Championship? Here's all you need to know -
The total prize money on offer for the Gukesh vs Liren match is around $2.5 million (approx. INR 20.8 crore). The Prize money will be distributed as follows:
Each player will received around $200,000 (INR 1.67 crore) for every game they win. The pending amount will be spilt equally amongst the players. If the winner is decided via a tie-break, then the prize money will be divided as follows -
The winner receives $1,300,000 (INR 10.83 crore), and the runner-up receives $1,200,000 (INR 10 crore). This distribution will also apply if the final score ends up with 7½–6½ (13 decisive games) or 8–6 (14 decisive games).
Speaking of Gukesh, the India became the youngest-ever player in history to qualify for the World Chess Championship match when he won the Candidates tournament earlier this year.
As for Liren, he was the current World Champion holder after defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the World Chess Championship match last year.
The Chinese is also the only reigning world champion who has fallen out of the top 10 in the last few decades. Gukesh is yet to win a Classical game against him while Liren has had two victories besides a lone draw against the Indian in their three one-to-one contests.
