The 2019 Chess World Cup and You

The 2019 Chess World Cup is a knockout competition which runs from the 9th September – 4th of October, and features 128 of the top chess players from all around the world.

To make this even more exciting for you and to support the Galway Chess Club, we want to encourage you to back a small selection of players in the hopes of winning some money.

Below is a ranked table of all 128 participants, each of whom can have at most one backer. For a fiver, you can choose three of these players to back (one from 1-40, one from 41-80, and one from 81-128.) If one of your backed players wins the tournament, you will win five times their ranking number (plus your original fiver); e.g. if you have backed Ding Liren and he wins, you get €10 back, if you have backed Wesley So and he wins, you get €25, and if you have backed Shaun Press and he wins, you get €645.

To enter, email us at galwaychess[at]gmail[dot]com, with your name (or nom-de-plume to display, in case you wish to keep your investment a secret for spousal/Revenue purposes), three selected players (one each from within ranges 1-40, 41-80, 81-128), and a promise to hand over a fiver to us at the next available opportunity. Given that there’ll be a max of one backer per player (in the interests of avoiding bankruptcy), we’ll operate on a first-come-first-served basis, and we’ll deal with any complications if and when they arrive. Any surplus will go towards the club’s rent for next year.

If all three of your choices make it through the first round, you may pick a free extra fourth player from any of the remaining unselected players.
If you enter after the first round has started, but before the start of the second, entry is €10 for three candidates, and you can’t select a fourth player.