Niemann and Liang set for 12-game classical match at Blitz Society in Paris

Charity pledge adds stakes to all-American encounter

A head-to-head match between US grandmasters Hans Niemann and Awonder Liang is set to take place in Paris from 10 to 15 April, offering a demanding classical contest at a time when much of the chess world’s attention is focused on the Candidates Tournaments in Cyprus. The encounter will be staged at the Blitz Society and will consist of twelve classical games played over six days.

The format requires the players to contest two games per day, each played with a time control of 60 minutes for the entire game plus a 30-second increment from move one. With a morning start at 10:00 and a second round scheduled for 14:30, the match is expected to test both competitors’ stamina and consistency across a tightly packed programme.

An unusual feature of the event is its charitable dimension: the player who loses the match has pledged to donate $10,000 to a cause of his choice. The contest provides both grandmasters with an opportunity to reinforce their competitive credentials in a classical setting, away from the online arena and the rapid-fire formats that have become increasingly prevalent.

The timing of the Paris showdown coincides with the release of a widely anticipated documentary examining the Niemann-Carlsen controversy from 2022. Niemann is likely to attract particular public attention, and the match may serve as one of his first major appearances in an over-the-board event following the documentary’s premiere.

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Niemann has played similar matches about two years ago. In August 2024, he undertook a series of three multi-format contests against Anish Giri, Nikita Vitiugov and Étienne Bacrot, securing clear overall victories in each. His performance in classical games during that stretch was especially notable: he scored 11½ points from 18 encounters, losing only his first game against Giri. The results translated into a gain of 22 rating points and a climb into the top 20 of the live world rankings, a position he continues to occupy in the official list.

Liang, meanwhile, arrives in Paris shortly after defeating Hikaru Nakamura 6–4 in a three-day training match in Saint Louis organised as preparation for the Candidates Tournament. After two drawn classical games, all eight faster encounters produced decisive results, with Liang prevailing mostly thanks to his tactical resourcefulness. Ranked 25^th in the world with a rating of 2714, the 22-year-old former two-time world youth champion has developed a reputation for troubling higher-rated opponents.