'Once in a lifetime experience': World Chess Championship in Singapore thrills local, foreign fans

SINGAPORE: It is a battle watched by a ballroom of hundreds, streamed to an audience of millions, and fought by two men representing two nations of billions.

One is a young star, an 18-year-old who has shot to prominence. The other is a familiar face about a decade his senior.

In a room measuring 10m by 7m by 2.7m, the champion takes on the challenger.

Over the next few hours on Tuesday (Nov 26), the contest unfolds. They cross their arms, furrow their brows and shift in their seats. 

The crowd ebbs and flows but two men pay little heed. “Silence please” urge the placards held by volunteers, not that noise would have much effect anyway. 

Separated from the crowd by one-way mirror, the duo are oblivious to anything but the pieces in front of them.

Welcome to the World Chess Championship.

Taking place between Nov 20 and Dec 15 at Equarius Hotel in Resorts World Sentosa, the tournament is being held in Singapore for the first time.

It pits the world champion, China’s 31-year-old grandmaster Ding Liren, against India's 18-year-old grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju.

The FIDE World Championship match is held every two years. It features the defending world champion and a challenger, chosen through a qualification process culminating in the Candidates Tournament, which includes eight of the world's top players.

Ding and Gukesh, the youngest challenger in championship history, will vie for the crown over a best-of-14 format. 

The pair have met three times, with Ding beating his Indian opponent twice and drawing once. And it was the Chinese player who took the first game on Monday.

It is a contest that has attracted fans from all over the world.

Mr Mohit Bhagwati and his family had planned their holiday around the tournament. But after failing to