World Chess Cup in Troms, Norway

The FIDE World Chess Cup will be held from 10th August to 3rd September in Troms, Norway. The event is an integral part of the World Championship Cycle 2012-2014. The winner and the runner up of the World ChessCup 2013 will qualify to the Candidates Final Tournament and the winner of the Candidates will challenge the reigning World Champion to a match for the crown. The tournament will have 128 participants, including the semi-finalists from the World Cup 2011, Women's World Champion, World Junior U-20 Champions 2011 & 2012, top qualifiers from Continental Championships and nominated players. Top seeded are Levon Aronian from Armenia and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik from Russia who defeated Garry Kasparov in a match in 2000. The tournament format will be elimination knockout (cup system) over seven rounds. Troms is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is the largest city in Northern Norway, and the fourth largest city north of the Arctic Circle. Founded in Paris on 20 July 1924, the World Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs, known as FIDE from its French acronym) is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. FIDE was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as an International Sports Federation in 1999.