Windows on the World

The Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) announced the Online Nations Cup, a six-team tournament to be held online via the chess.com web site from May 5–10, 2020. The participating teams are (in alphaberical order): China, Europe, India, Russia, United States, plus a team representing the “Rest of the World”. At least two former World Chess Champions are due to show up: 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kimovich Kasparov will captain Europe, while 15th World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand will play first board for India. A remarkable $180,000 prize fund and the rapid time control of 25 minutes each per game plus 10 seconds per move might, or might not, be enough to enchant the audience. A most notable feature of the “Six Nations” may rather be the gender quota imposed by regulation, which requires each team to field at least one female player.