30.8.2022 11:00:14 CEST | Play Magnus AS | Non-regulatory press releases

(Oslo, 30 August 2022) - Play Magnus Group’s ground-breaking Challengers Chess Tour will return next month with a line-up of the world’s top juniors mentored by legend of the game Judit Polgar.

The Tour, which helped launch the career of Indian superstar Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and was shortlisted for a prestigious ESG Award for promoting gender equality, will start its first two-day event on September 3.

Sixteen of the world’s top Under 12, 14 and 16 age group players have been invited to take part in the first leg alongside Under 18 and 20 stars such as Raunak Sadhwani, Jonas Buhl Bjerre and Leon Mendonca.

The Julius Baer Challenge (September 3 to 4) will be followed by the Magnus Academy Challenge (October 8 to 9) before the overall winner is crowned at the Challengers Final Four on October 29 and 30.

Each tournament will carry a prize pot of $10,000.

In December the overall 2022 Tour Champion will go on to face 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa, the 2021 Tour Champion, in a finale to the season worth a further $10,000 in prize money. That match, named the Julius Baer Challenger Championship, will be held on site in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Julius Baer supported last year’s Challengers Chess Tour, a unique gender-balanced chess event designed to promote new talent. Julius Baer is also a title partner for this year’s Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, which features the world’s best players.

Marco Parroni, Head Global Sponsoring & Partnership Julius Baer: "We are thrilled to support the Challengers Chess Tour for the second time and to help give young chess stars a springboard to stardom. Not only is the tour a great platform for the brightest talents from around the world, but we also consider its work to promote gender equality as particularly important."

Pragg won the 2021 Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour and earned qualification for the senior Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, where he hit the headlines immediately in January with a memorable win over World Champion Magnus Carlsen. 

The series is part of a conscious effort by Play Magnus Group and the Swiss private bank Julius Baer to develop young talent, advance gender equality in the sport and find the next big stars in the game.

Polgar, the strongest female player in history, will return to the commentary box to give expert insights on their players.

Every move of the 2022 tour will be streamed live and for free on chess24.com/tour and on chess24’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

 

About Julius Baer

Julius Baer is the leading Swiss wealth management group and a premium brand in this global sector, with a focus on servicing and advising sophisticated private clients. In all we do, we are inspired by our purpose: creating value beyond wealth. At the end of June 2022, assets under management amounted to CHF 428 billion. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd., the renowned Swiss private bank with origins dating back to 1890, is the principal operating company of Julius Baer Group Ltd., whose shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: BAER) and are included in the Swiss Leader Index (SLI), comprising the 30 largest and most liquid Swiss stocks.

Julius Baer is present in over 25 countries and around 60 locations. Headquartered in Zurich, we have offices in key locations including Bangkok, Dubai, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Monaco, Mumbai, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Tel Aviv and Tokyo. Our client-centric approach, our objective advice based on the Julius Baer open product platform, our solid financial base and our entrepreneurial management culture make us the international reference in wealth management.

For more information visit our website at www.juliusbaer.com

 

About the Challengers Chess Tour

The Challengers Chess Tour is the leading gender-balanced online chess tour for junior players worldwide determining the world's next rising chess talent over a full competitive season of online chess. The 2022 season begins with tournaments in September and October culminating in a Final on Oct 29 and Oct 30,  where the winner of the 2022 Challengers Chess Tour will be decided and qualify to face 2021 Tour Winner Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in a Championship Battle in Tel Aviv on December 11-13 2022. The best young chess talents are competing in rapid chess with all games taking place online on www.chess24.com with players competing for a total prize pool of USD 40,000. For more information visit https://challengerschesstour.com.

 

About Play Magnus Group 

Play Magnus Group is a global leader in the chess industry focused on providing premier digital experiences for millions of chess players and students. The company offers elearning and entertainment services via its market leading brands: chess24, Chessable, iChess, New In Chess, Everyman Chess, Silver Knights, CoChess, Aimchess, the Play Magnus App Suite, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The Group's mission is to grow chess to make the world a smarter place by encouraging more people to play, watch, study, and earn a living from chess.


Play Magnus Group is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo under the ticker PMG and OTCQX® Best Market under the ticker PMGMF. For more information visit pmg.me.

Disclosure regulation

This release is an announcement issued pursuant to legal information obligations and is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Article 17 no. 1 and section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act, and was submitted for publication by Arkus Fredriksson, Chief Strategy Officer of Play Magnus Group.

Contacts

  • Investor Relations, ir@playmagnus.com

Attachments

  • Download announcement as PDF.pdf

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