Norway Chess kicks off Monday, Rapport withdraws

The tenth edition of the Norway Chess Tournament is set to kick off on Monday, with a blitz tournament which will decide who gets more whites in the main event. An impressive lineup, including Magnus Carlsen, Vishy Anand and Veselin Topalov, will fight in a 9-round all-play-all with a unique format — in case of a draw, an Armageddon follows. Richad Rapport, who will play the Candidates in a few weeks, withdrew from the tournament; Aryan Tari stepped in (pictured). | Photo: Lennart Ootes