Fide recently announced that Singapore will be hosting the World Chess Championship match between Ding Liren and D Gukesh later this year. Both Indian cities, Delhi and Chennai, had also submitted bids for the match, with Delhi proposed by the All India Chess Federation and Chennai by the Tamil Nadu government. Despite this, Fide selected Singapore as the neutral venue bid.
Fide President Arkady Dvorkovich expressed delight that Singapore will host the match, highlighting the city as a global tourist and business hub as well as a thriving chess center with great talent and ambitions. The match is scheduled to take place between November 20 and December 15, 2024, featuring a prize fund of $2.5 million.
Chennai and Delhi have previously hosted world championship matches, with Chennai hosting in 2013 and the Olympiad in 2022, while Delhi hosted the first half of the World Championship in 2000. India has not had a world champion since Viswanathan Anand’s victories, and there is anticipation that Gukesh, at 18 years old, may break Garry Kasparov’s record to become the youngest-ever world champion. Gukesh made history by winning the Candidates Tournament in Toronto in April and qualifying as the youngest challenger to the world title at just 17 years old.