Hans Niemann agrees to face Vidit Gujrathi in $50K “Super GM” stadium chess match
Instagram/viditchess/hans_niemannControversial chess prodigy Hans Niemann has announced a $50K match against fellow grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi inside of a stadium in Dallas.
The $50,000 match is being organized by the Universal Chess Tour, a group that looks to push the popular board game as a spectator sport. The organization is founded by NFL pro Amari Cooper, FIDE master Sharvesh Deviprasath and tournament director Cole Blakeman.
“Chess is changing” Niemann proclaimed on X as he announced a special match against Gujrathi.
In a high-production trailer package, Niemann and Gujrathi revealed that they had agreed to face off in a first-of-its-kind chess battle inside the Nytex Sports Center in Dallas, Texas.
Insane $50K one-on-one chess match announced
The “Super GM” bout between Niemann and Gujrathi will take place on June 22 and will also include a celebrity chess tournament featuring sports athletes such as Sebastian Sigel, Micah Parsons and Kyler Murray.
Gujrathi seemed very eager about the upcoming battle and voiced his anticipation on X, confirming he would be taking part.
“A Chess match in an open stadium? Yes, it’s happening!” he exclaimed.
The announcement also caught the attention of another controversial chess figure, Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik who said he should have been invited.
“Ah, if people from the organization had a clue how to make business, they would invite me instead,” he remarked.
Universal Chess seemed interested in the possibility of him competing and urged him to get in touch. “We can probably make that happen!” the org replied.
It will be interesting to see how this event proceeds with spectators in the stands. In the past, we have seen chess boxing battles fill arenas, so we’ll have to see how this goes without any fisticuffs to spice things up.
