The Champions Showdown Chess 960 tournament in St Louis ended on Saturday 15 September and there were 5 fascinating matches played in this unique format.

KCF Africa wishes to thank our Patron GM Garry Kasparov who has once again donated his tournament prize money of $20,000 to further the work of KCF in Africa. Garry has previously donated his winnings from the 2017 St Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament and he continues to provide both his personal time as well as his personal resources to support the work of his charitable foundation.

KCF Africa would also like to congratulate GM Veselin Topalov, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Wesley So, GM Levon Aronian and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave who all ended up victorious in their respective matches.

Garry gave a great interview at the end of the tournament where he discussed his overall impressions of the tournament as well as his thoughts on the future of Chess960 as a sport. There was also a very interesting pre-recorded segment where he discusses the thoughts behind the inclusion of Chess960 results within the Universal Rating System.

Both interviews can be accessed on the YouTube page of the St Louis Chess Club at the following links

Garry's final day interview discussing his results and the donation to KCF Africa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxAfCIYklbQ

Garry's thoughts on the inclusion of Chess960 within the Universal Rating System
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lom3VEhiKw