World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway is headlining a star cast of chess grandmasters competing at the second edition of the Katara International Open Championship being organized by the Qatar Chess Federation (QCF) in cooperation with the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) from June 20 to 23.

Carlsen, who is also the World Rapid Chess Champion and World Blitz Chess Champion, will be seeking to defend the title he won against American Daniel Naroditsky at the first edition of the "Bullet Chess" online tournament held last August.

En route his victory last year, Carlsen beat Rasmus Svane, Rauf Mamedov, then Bullet Legend Andrew "Penguin" Tang (where he lost the first three games, two to dropped pieces due to pre-moves in the opening). He subsequently asserted himself and then defeated Naroditsky in the final.

The tournament is open to all national federations globally, and it will be staged according to the remote play system via the website (lichess.org). It will involve the "Bullet" system with only one minute for each competitor. Points are calculated in a classic way so that the winner gets the point, while the tie receives a half- point and the loser gets nothing.

Over 5,000 players are expected to compete at the tournament which has a total of $13,000 cash prize at stake with the champion earning $4,000 while the runner-up gets $2,500. 

According to the organizers, two independent qualifying sessions will be held on June 20, each lasting 90 minutes, with the best seven players from each session qualifying for the final session. Qatar is given two automatic qualifying slots as organizers.

The 30-year-old Carlsen, FIDE rating 2847, has been given a wildcard entrant straight to the final round where he will be in action against the finalists.

Speaking about the tournament, Director-General of the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara), Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, said, "The tournament confirms Katara's keenness as a cultural institution to support sports activities and local and international championships, which reflects our country's interest in sports of all kinds."

Al-Sulaiti added that he is confident that the championship will emerge at the highest international level, befitting its great successes in the past editions.

For his part, the President of the Qatar Chess Federation Mohammed Al-Mudhahki, stressed that the Katara International Championship is of great importance to all participants, pointing out that the second edition of the tournament emphasizes great cooperation between the Federation and the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara). He praised Katara's efforts and sponsorship of the Federation's activities and competitions it organizes.

"The Federation is looking forward to this type of partnership with national institutions to contribute to disseminating the culture of chess in Qatar. The next stage will witness more continuous cooperation with Katara Cultural Village, especially since the idea of the last tournament left positive impressions on the family of the International Federation," Mudhahki said.

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