Opera Euro Rapid kicks off on Saturday

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen takes on US Champion Wesley So when the Opera Euro Rapid kicks off at 17:00 CET on Saturday. The 3rd event on the $1.5 million Meltwater Champions Chess Tour features 16 players, who will be reduced to just 8 after a cut-throat 3-day preliminary stage. Tour leader Teimour Radjabov will be joined by the likes of Hikaru Nakamura, Ding Liren and Daniil Dubov, with Tata Steel Masters runner-up Anish Giri already eyeing a Valentine’s Day date with Magnus.

The event begins less than a week after the end of the Tata Steel Chess Masters, so for some of the players it’s a chance for redemption!

World Champion Magnus Carlsen called his Wijk aan Zee performance “shameful”, while Candidates Tournament leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave dropped 10 places on the world rankings from 5th to 15th after a disastrous event. Polish no. 1 Jan-Krzysztof Duda failed to win a game, while a great event for Dutch no. 1 Anish Giri ended bitterly in a playoff loss to another Dutch star. Still – a new week, a new goal!

See also:

• Champions Chess Tour homepage
• Live games from the Opera Euro Rapid Prelims
• Magnus Carlsen tops 16-player Opera Euro Rapid line-up