Norway Chess: Muzychuk, with much less hype, earns as much as Carlsen

NEW DELHI: "In sports, you ne'er cognize what volition happen," GM Anna Muzychuk had said during a chat with TimesofIndia.com past February. Back then, Ukraine's No. 1 was looking up to 2025 with cautious optimism.Five months on, Muzychuk has 3 back-to-back classical chess titles nether her belt: the Nicosia Grand Prix successful March, Grosslobming Grand Prix successful May, and present the prestigious Norway Chess.Despite her accordant form, the existent World No. 6 (based connected unrecorded ratings) entered the Stavanger lawsuit without overmuch fanfare.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

The spotlight was alternatively connected reigning satellite champion Ju Wenjun, erstwhile champion Lei Tingjie, India’s Koneru Humpy, and rising stars similar Vaishali Rameshbabu and Sara Khadem.On societal media and successful chess circles, astir conversations overlooked Muzychuk’s quiescent momentum, portion planetary attraction was heavy skewed towards large names successful the Open section: Magnus Carlsen’s instrumentality to classical chess, his on-board rivalry against World Champion D Gukesh, and elite players similar Hikaru Nakamura, Arjun Erigaisi, and Fabiano Caruana.Amid this high-profile cast, Muzychuk stayed distant from nationalist scrutiny -- until her results did the talking.

"Yes, past year, I finished 2nd down the Women's World Champion… It would beryllium fantastic if I could triumph it," Ukraine's top-rated Grandmaster had said earlier the tournament.She did, and she did it effortlessly. The 35-year-old was the lone subordinate successful the women's tract to stay unbeaten successful classical games this year.With 4 classical wins and dependable results successful the Armageddon rounds, she amassed 16.5 points, capable to borderline the remainder and unafraid the title.Along with the trophy, Muzychuk besides received NOK 700,000 (approximately Rs 59 lakh), the aforesaid magnitude awarded to Carlsen for winning the Open section.This variation marked the archetypal clip Norway Chess offered adjacent prize wealth crossed some sections, a determination hailed arsenic a important measurement for women’s chess."For us, arsenic women, we are precise excited astir it. It’s precise important and a large measurement forward," Muzychuk had stated earlier.

"As you know, successful general, determination are much unfastened tournaments, which are chiefly for men, and the prize funds successful those tournaments are usually higher. So we would emotion to spot much women’s events with higher prizes. That would beryllium a large information for america and for the adjacent generation, showing them that specified tournaments beryllium and what they tin aspire to achieve.

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Prize Money: Open vs Women’s Winners

The Norway Chess format itself is unique.A triumph successful the classical circular earns 3 points.

A gully leads to an Armageddon tiebreak, wherever a triumph grants 1.5 points and a loss, 1 point.ALSO READ: Rs 50,000 a period and countless sacrifices: How India's chess aboriginal shapes up successful Chennai hutIn Armageddon, White gets 10 minutes and indispensable win; Black gets 7 minutes (with a 1-second increment aft determination 41) and wins the crippled if it ends successful a draw."Usually, successful my lawsuit successful Armageddon, I conscionable play the game, but I ever support successful caput that a gully favours Black. So if I person a prime betwixt simplifying oregon going for thing much complex, I mightiness similar the simpler option," Muzychuk explained. "If I’m White, I mightiness spell for complexity. But if I get a accidental to unit a gully with a perpetual check, I mightiness instrumentality it alternatively of risking everything."With this title, Muzychuk has reinforced her presumption arsenic 1 of the astir accordant performers successful women’s chess today, adjacent if the spotlight hasn't ever followed.