Google would be the title sponsor for the 2024 FIDE World Championship Match between GMs Ding Liren and Gukesh Dommaraju. Described as a “landmark collaboration,” the information was introduced right this moment by the Worldwide Chess Federation (FIDE) and the Singapore Chess Federation (SCF).
It’s the first time {that a} world chess championship is linked to a serious expertise firm because the Intel-sponsored 1995 PCA match between GMs Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand, and the primary time for FIDE to be strongly linked to at least one after having been criticized for many years about its failure to usher in company sponsorship from absolute prime manufacturers.
The introduced sponsorship could be an indication of the instances. The recognition of chess because of the 1972 match between GMs Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky was by no means matched till not too long ago, when the pandemic, the Netflix hit The Queen’s Gambit, the Carlsen-Niemann scandal, and the streamers revolution introduced the sport to new heights.
Signing up with Google, one of many world’s most beneficial manufacturers as a part of dad or mum firm Alphabet Inc., is a serious achievement for FIDE and the Singapore organizers and a doubtlessly groundbreaking improvement for chess on the whole.
Google partnering with FIDE for the championship is sensible as its reference to chess is not new. It was Google DeepMind that was behind the revolutionary program AlphaZero, which closely outperformed Stockfish again in 2017 and influenced the model of play of prime gamers on the time. Afterward, DeepMind continued to make use of the insights gained from creating AlphaZero to maneuver towards fields exterior the chess world.
Google Chief Advertising Officer for Asia Pacific Simon Kahn stated that his firm is “excited to sponsor this historic occasion” as he pointed towards the lengthy historical past between Synthetic Intelligence (AI) and chess, which works again to the instances of Claude Shannon, Alan Turing, and even Charles Babbage.
“Chess represents a profound intersection of human ingenuity and technological potential, and has at all times been a proving floor for AI innovation,” Kahn stated. “Actually, a few of our earliest AI breakthroughs got here from mastering chess as a proof-of-concept. By Search, YouTube, and AI, we at the moment are delighted to reinforce the championship expertise for chess followers globally, celebrating the fantastic thing about this recreation that continues to encourage and problem us.”
Chess represents a profound intersection of human ingenuity and technological potential, and has at all times been a proving floor for AI innovation.
–Simon Kahn, Google Chief Advertising Officer for Asia Pacific
“FIDE is thrilled to associate with Google,” stated Emil Sutovsky, the federation’s CEO. “It’s a milestone for our sport. This collaboration brings a brand new dimension to the competitors, mixing the custom of chess with the innovation of AI. The partnership is about to raise the visibility of the World Chess Championship, taking the printed of the occasion to the following stage and attracting new audiences globally.”
Immediately’s announcement was collectively completed by FIDE and the Singapore Chess Federation. Kevin Goh, CEO of SCF and primary organizer of the match, stated: “It’s the first time a worldwide expertise chief has sponsored an important chess occasion. (…) Chess is all about problem-solving, and we’re glad that Google’s particular concentrate on deep studying resonates properly with the sport.”
It was Goh who made the preliminary connections with Google’s Asia Pacific division. When Singapore introduced its bid to host the championship in early June of this 12 months, the talks had already began. FIDE accepted the bid a month later, after the Singapore authorities had offered monetary ensures.
“This was completed with the understanding that there was a whole lot of potential because of the attainable cooperation with Google and different partnerships,” defined Sutovsky to Chess.com. “Ultimately, we signed with Google in early September.”
In keeping with Sutovsky, FIDE has been working with Google for 2 months now and can proceed to take action till the primary transfer is made on November 25 and past. Because the title sponsor, Google is not only offering an unspecified monetary injection—the second largest after that from the Singapore authorities, famous Sutovsky—however a whole lot of immaterial assist as properly to reinforce the visibility of the competition (assisted by e.g. Google Search and different algorithms) in addition to direct affect on the official broadcast.
“The printed will likely be partly interactive, with informational Gemini complied bits of data applied within the protection: concerning the recreation, what is going on, the opening, the gamers, their historical past, the historical past of the world championship, alongside extra participating methods to see the video games,” defined Sutovsky.
As well as, the championship would be the primary theme on Google’s Artwork And Tradition web page all through November and December for additional promotion. And, other than on-line actions, there will likely be issues organized on-site as properly equivalent to a Google fanzone, AI-powered actions and chess and AI panels with main individuals of Google and others as a part of the broader program of the occasion.
“This manner, Google each helps and advantages as presenting sponsor,” Sutovsky famous. Requested a few attainable continuation of the cooperation past the title match, he remained cautious: “I might not exclude that if we begin with a bang on this match, it might broaden and will proceed, however I might not assure or promise. It is too early for that.”
The “FIDE World Chess Championship Introduced By Google” will happen at Resorts World Sentosa from November 25 to December 13, 2024. It’s a 14-game match with a classical time management and a $2,500,000 prize fund. The primary participant to succeed in 7.5 factors turns into the world champion.
