chess24.comwas anInternet chess serverin English and ten other languages, established in 2014[1]by German grandmasterJan Gustafssonand Enrique Guzman.[2][3]Chess24 also provided live coverage of major international chess tournaments, and hosted their own online tournaments, including theMagnus Carlsen Invitational.
 | |
Type of site | Internet chess server |
|---|---|
| Available in | |
| Dissolved | January 31, 2024 |
| Owner |
|
| URL | chess24 |
| Registration | Yes |
| Launched | 2014 |
| Current status | Defunct |
In March 2019, chess24 merged with Magnus Carlsen's companyPlay Magnus ASin a transaction that made the former chess24 owners the largest shareholders in Play Magnus.[3][4]In 2022, Play Magnus was purchased byChess.com,which made Chess.com the owner of chess24.
In December 2023, the chess24 team announced that they will be closing their site and apps by the end of January 2024.[5] The website officially closed down on January 31, 2024, and its address began redirecting to the Chess.com news page.
Features
editA 2020 review byIMLuis Torres put chess24 as one of the three most popular internet chess servers, alongsideChess.comandLichess.Similarly to other chess servers, Chess24 offered the ability to play online against other users or bots, enter online tournaments hosted on the site and view your own statistics. Torres ranked Chess.com the best overall, but Chess24 as the best for improving one's game.[6]
There was also an option of paying for premium membership on Chess24.[7]Going premium allowed deeperStockfishanalysis and also participation in events such as Banter Blitz, which allowed Premium members to play with collaborators of Chess24. Reviews tended to favour rivalsChess.comandLichessin terms of the playing experience, while suggesting that Chess24 had richer educational video content, and probably a better interface for tournament monitoring.[8][6]
Tournaments
editChess24 provided live coverage of major international tournaments on the website and also on YouTube with commentary by players such asYasser Seirawan,Peter Leko,andTania Sachdev.[9][10]They also hosted and sponsored their own events, especially after their acquisition byPlay Magnus AS.From September 2019 to April 2020, Chess24 held the first international Banter Blitz Cup, an onlineBlitz Chesstournament featuring players such asMagnus Carlsen,Gata Kamsky,Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa,Parham Maghsoodloo,David Antón GuijarroandLeinier Domínguezwith a $50,000 prize pool for players and $5,000 for streamers.[11]It was won byAlireza Firouzjain the final againstMagnus Carlsen.[12][13]
From April to May 2020, with face-to-face tournament play impossible because of Covid-19 travel bans and lockdowns, Chess24 held theMagnus Carlsen Invitational,an online Rapid Chess tournament which was won by Magnus Carlsen. This was expanded to form a conceptual tour including the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge, and culminating in a Grand Final, featuring Magnus Carlsen andHikaru Nakamura.[14][15]The2021 editionwas hosted in March 2021, also online, and saw the favourite Magnus Carlsen being knocked out in the semifinal byIan Nepomniachtchi,who eventually lost in the final toDutchGrandmaster and World Championship CandidateAnish Giri.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Happy Birthday to chess24".chess24.com.Retrieved20 March2015.
- ^"About us".chess24.com.Retrieved13 February2020.
- ^abBjerknes, Christian (2019-03-25)."Sjakkekspert inntar Magnus Carlsens spillselskap".Dn.no(in Norwegian).Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-17.Retrieved2019-12-20.
- ^McGourty, Colin (2019-03-15)."chess24 and Play Magnus join forces".chess24.com.Retrieved13 February2020.
- ^"Chess24 to close on January 31".new.chess24.com.Retrieved21 December2023.
- ^abTorres, Luis (June 14, 2020)."Chess.com vs Chess24 vs Lichess: The Ultimate Review".Chesscience.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-01-12.RetrievedAugust 17,2020.
- ^"chess24 your playground".Retrieved21 August2023.
- ^"lichess vs chess24 vs chess.com – Which is the Best Chess Website?".iChess.June 22, 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-02-04.RetrievedAugust 17,2020.
- ^"Carlsen vs. Ding Liren | Nakamura vs. Dubov | MCCT Semi-finals | Day 1".YouTube.August 9, 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-09-11.RetrievedAugust 17,2020.
- ^"Live chess tournament broadcasts".chess24.com.Retrieved21 August2023.
- ^Martínez, David (2019-09-25)."Banter Blitz Cup Schedule".chess24.com.Retrieved13 February2020.
- ^Colin, McGourty (2020-04-16)."Firouzja beats Carlsen to win the Banter Blitz Cup".chess24.com.Retrieved18 April2020.
- ^Barden, Leonard (April 9, 2020)."Chess: Magnus Carlsen prepares for meeting with prodigy Alireza Firouzja".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-04-09.RetrievedAugust 17,2020.
- ^chess24 staff (May 14, 2020)."The $1M Magnus Carlsen Tour: A New Era for Chess".chess24.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-05-23.RetrievedAugust 17,2020.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^Barden, Leonard (May 15, 2020)."Chess: Magnus Carlsen announces $1m online series as viewer numbers surge".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-05-15.RetrievedAugust 17,2020.