The big news last week was that Millionaire Chess 3 will happen! The event will run from 6th to 11th October 2016 in Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, USA.
This is fantastic news for chess. Many of you will recall that Millionaire Chess had a massive positive impact on Kenyan chess in 2015 by hosting a Nairobi edition where the winner won an all expense paid trip to Las Vegas to play in the Millionaire Open. This deal was brokered by our big supporters Kasparov Chess Foundation Africa. This was perhaps the most glamorous events to be held in Kenya. Links to the this event can be found on the following links. Kenya was greatly honoured to have Amy Lee herself in Nairobi during the event.
Millionaire Chess Nairobi Edition Day 1,
Millionaire Chess Nairobi Edition Day 2,
Millionaire Chess Nairobi Edition Day 4,
Harold Wanyama wins Millionaire Chess Nairobi Edition
The question on the minds of Kenyan chess players is will there be a Nairobi edition as well? We do not have any details at this moment but will have to wait for Chess Kenya to make the announcement.
MC2 had its difficult moments and I have enclosed an extract from Daaim Shabaaz which appeared on his website Reflection on MC2.
This is is what Amy Lee had to say on her website after the event –Reflection by Amy Lee.
I am just appalled by the terrible behaviour exhibited by some of those players who treated Amy in the way they did. Shame on you!
This is the official announcement from Millionaire Chess on MC3.
Millionaire Chess is happy to announce that there will be a 3rd edition of the Millionaire Chess Open. The event will move from Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas to Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City. The tournament will take place from October 6-11, 2016, maintaining the same Columbus Day holiday weekend as before. The event will feature a new structure as compared to the first two versions. Details will appear on the Millionaire Chess website by March 1st.
The decision to host another MC was made after much deliberation by the company. Though the first two MCs were a branding and marketing success, the lack of sponsors and player participation made the idea of moving forward a challenging proposition. The possibility of canceling the event remained on the table until mid-January when the team began considering new ways to restructure the event. We finally settled on a new format that made sense from a financial point of view. With the new location and a reputation for delivering a quality event, Millionaire Chess is confident that this year’s tournament will put the company on surer footing.
The journey begins anew!
Best wishes,
Amy and Maurice
