Following an intense day of matches between top companies from around the world, four teams have qualified for the finals. On Monday, June 17, they will compete in the final matches for the title of the Smartest Company on the planet
Fifth Women’s World Champion, legendary Nona Gaprindashvili made the first ceremonial move on the second day of the competition in the match between BlackRock and Google.
The teams of ChessMood and UBS Group AG (from Group A) and Chessify and SIG and (from Group B) successfully navigated five turbulent rounds on day two to reach the finals.
The squad of Goldman Sachs, which traditionally performs well in the New York corporate league, struggled despite playing on home turf and ultimately failed to qualify for the finals. This fate was shared by the New York-Kazakh team of Freedom Holding, Kazakhstan’s Tengizchevroil, and China’s Nanjing Spark Chess Technology Co., Ltd.
In Pool A, UBS Group AG reached the finals after securing a crucial victory in the final round against Deutsche Bank. UBS took second place, while the first spot in the group went to ChessMood. Unfortunately, this meant that the teams of LLC “LC “GRECO,” Deutsche Bank, and Google were eliminated.
Despite eight teams going home, the atmosphere at the event remained friendly and relaxed throughout. After the rounds ended, players and guests were invited to a cocktail event where they could mingle, discuss games and chess, and network professionally. In the evening, the teams and organizing officials got together for a dinner at a restaurant just next to the New York Stock Exchange – bringing the chess atmosphere to the heart of Wall Street.
“This was a great event for us. Despite not qualifying for the finals, we really enjoyed this tournament. At BlackRock, we have 400 registered chess players in the company, and we are sure there are many more. This event will help boost our profile and the profile of chess in the company, and we hope there will be more opportunities like this one,” said Alex Krol from the BlackRock team.
Similar sentiments were echoed by other teams participating in the tournament.
The final day of the World Corporate Chess Championship will feature a double-round-robin in the semifinals, from which two teams will qualify for the finals to determine who will carry the title of the Smartest Company on the planet.
The rounds start at 2 PM. However, there will be a special announcement by FIDE and Freedom Holding at 1 PM at the playing venue, and players, guests, and the general public are invited to attend.
About the World Corporate Chess Championship:
The 12 finalists competing in New York are:
- Goldman Sachs (USA)
- BlackRock (USA)
- Nanjing Spark Chess Technology Co., Ltd. (China)
- ChessMood Inc. (USA)
- LLC “LC” “GRECO” (Ukraine)
- UBS Group AG (Switzerland)
- Chessify (USA)
- Freedom Holding Corp. (Kazakhstan)
- Google (USA)
- Tengizchevroil (Kazakhstan)
- Deutsche Bank (USA)
- SIG (USA)
The finals are the culmination of two online qualifying stages with entrants from around the world. The competition features group stage matches and intense playoff rounds, culminating in the crowning of the World Corporate Chess Champion. Teams are split into two groups, each with four knockout qualifiers and two wild-card teams. The competition unfolds in two stages: a 10-round group stage over June 15 and 16, followed by the semi-finals and finals on June 17.
The games will be broadcast live on Lichess.
Event Details:
Written by Milan Dinic
Photos: Rafał Oleksiewicz