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Pro-Celebrity Challenge at LCC 2013, live

5th London Chess ClassicToday is a special day at London Chess Classic, with an exciting mix of events. Early in the morning Pro-Am Cup and Pro-Business Cup started (scroll down for information and stay tuned for updates on the results) where in both amateurs and businessmen players played team chess with professionals.

The Pro-Celebrity Challenge is an unique event that starts at 14:00 local time (15:00 CET) and you can follow live on Chessdom. It will see stars of TV, music and sport team up with the grandmasters and face off against another pro-celebrity team.

Games will be played with 10 minutes and 10 seconds on the clock and broadcast live. Lawrence Trent and Malcolm Pein will officiate. Each winning team receive £5000 for their favourite charity.

Confirmed celebrity line-up

Edgar Davids Alex Zane Shingai Shoniwa

Edgar Davids: Dutch footballing legend whose club career took him to Ajax, Juventus and Spurs, and included 74 international caps for Holland. His dreadlocked hair and protective goggles made Davids one of the most recognisable players of his generation.

Alex Zane: Alex is an English television personality and DJ best known for presenting Rube Tube on Channel 4. Alex was a guest at the 2010 London Chess Classic.

Shingai Shoniwa: Singer and bassist for the Noisettes, an English indie rock band from London who are best known for the single “Don’t Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go)”.

Live games with triple engine analysis here

Alex Zane has opted to give charity for Community Links
Shingai Shoniwa has asked for her prize to go to the Philippines appeal
Edgar Davids has his own foundation @Fountain

1st Pro-Am Cup

Four amateur players have bid to play with a chess legend in a rapid format game at the London Chess Classic on Tuesday 10 December. The winning bidders have been paired with top flight GM and will face another PRO-AM team across the board. The 1st London Chess Classic PRO-AM takes place at 10.30 in the auditorium at Olympia.

All proceeds go to support the charity Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC).

The players get to discuss tactics with the GM before hand but once underway there is no conferring. The GM and amateur make alternate moves. The games will broadcast live on the web and to the theatre audience so no pressure then !

The time limit will be 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move

The pairings are:

Vladimir Kramnik Pro – Am Ravi Mansharamani

Judit Polgar Pro – Am Robert Mitchell

Luke McShane Pro – Am TBA

Nigel Short Pro – Am Rajko Vujatovic

 

 

Nigel Short Judit Polgar Vladimir Kramnik Luke McShane

 

Pro-Business Cup

UK charity Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) has this year launched a new micro-tournament as part of its flagship event, the London Chess Classic, which sees the world’s leading chess players descend on London’s Olympia Exhibition Centre in December for a week of top class matches.

 

This year’s event, the fifth annual edition of the prestigious Classic, will challenge top business minds to face off against the best chess players in the world in the Pro-Business-Chess-Cup.

 

The tournament will give business leaders the chance to team up with one of the world’s top chess Grandmasters and take on other Pro-Business pairings. Pro players include the UK’s youngest ever Grandmaster and current British Chess Champion David Howell; twice British Champion and speed chess specialist, Matthew Sadler; the youngest ever Italian or American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruano; and, British Grandmaster and Commonwealth Champion, Gawain Jones.