Nordic Internet Club Cup Takes Off Today

The Nordic Internet Club Cup, an online competition for Nordic chess clubs organized by the Icelandic Chess Federation, starts today on Chess.com. Russian talent GM Andrey Esipenko and Africa's number-one GM Bassem Amin are among the top players.

Although online play is not exactly the same, chess players are definitely lucky to have it as an alternative to over-the-board events these days. The Nordic Internet Club Cup is one of the great examples of alternative competitions that are being organized online with the coronavirus crisis forcing people to stay home. 

No fewer than 67 club teams from Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have signed up for the tournament. That's a total of 610 players, including 27 grandmasters.

"The success of the tournament came as a surprise," said Icelandic Chess Federation President Gunnar Bjornsson. "We did not expect so many clubs. To see over 600 players, 27 grandmasters and 135 title holders in total is far above our expectations! This says that there are opportunities to continue with good events on the internet. For sure we will think about continuing this event and even start a new one!"

A team can consist of 6-12 players from different countries. However, in every round at least 50 percent of the players on a team need to be from the Nordic countries. B teams are also allowed, but every player can play on just one team.

The schedule is seven double rounds with a time control of 10 minutes and a three-second increment. Participation is free, and prizes include trophies and medals.

To give you an idea of who will be playing, below are the top six teams. The ratings used are the April FIDE rapid ratings.

The schedule is as follows:

• Round 1   Thursday, April 9 at 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 2   Friday, April 10 at 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 3   Friday, April 10 at 16:00 CEST (10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 4   Saturday, April 11 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 5   Saturday, April 11 at 16:00 CEST (10:00 a.m. Eastern, 7:00 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 6   Sunday, April 12 at 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)
• Round 7   Monday, April 13 at 13:00 CEST (7 a.m. Eastern, 4 a.m. Pacific)

The games can be followed in Live Chess, and the results will be reported in Chess-Results.

For more upcoming events on Chess.com, such as the Man vs. Machine match Smerdon vs. Komodo or the Team India COVID-19 simul, see our events calendar.