Chess Bonanza with Death Match 2.0 and Comedians over the board at DreamHack
DreamHack India is the biggest gaming festival in the country. To be held in Hyderabad from 4th to 6th of November 2022, it will witness the gathering of over 20,000 gamers from all across the country! This year, chess has been introduced as a part of the DreamHack. In order to make it like a chess festival we have the DreamHack Rapid and Blitz with a massive prize fund of Rs.10 lakh. We have the Death Match 2.0 between two of the biggest chess sensations in the country right now - Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi and we have the Comedians On Board, happening first time over the board! With a total prize fund of Rs.20 lakh allocated to chess and many exciting events like workshops, simuls and more, this promises to be a one-of-its-kind chess experience! Don't miss it.
Chess at the biggest gaming Festival of India
Check out the above image! This is what a DreamHack looks like. It's the biggest community gathering of gamers all across the world! DreamHack began in Sweden in the early 1990s when a small group of friends got together to enjoy a few fun days of gaming together. Over the years with the interest in gaming growing and the strategic partnerships that DreamHack forged, it has become the world's biggest gaming festival. The first ever DreamHack was held in India in Mumbai in 2018 by NODWIN Gaming, the Gaming and eSports arm of Nazara Technologies. This was followed by the next one in 2019 in Delhi. And then the pandemic struck. So the years 2020, 2021 went by. But now with the Covid-19 situation behind us, DreamHack is back and this time the city of Hyderabad will host it from the 4th to the 6th of November 2022. While there are several DreamHack events that happen in Europe and North America, DreamHack India is the only one that takes place in Asia. It's the vision of NODWIN Gaming that this property has been brought to India. This year's event promises to have more than 20,000 gamers at one place. The venue of the event is Hall no.1 and 3 of the Hitex Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad.
The followership of chess has grown over the last couple of years in a huge way! At the same time India has a huge pool of talents in the sport. In order to give the sport a further boost, NODWIN Gaming has teamed up with Samay Raina and ChessBase India to bring Chess into the DreamHack this year! With a total prize pool of Rs.20 lakh dedicated to chess, this promises to be a wonderful chess festival. We have the Comedians over the Board (COTB) for the first time in real life! 8 of the best chess playing stand-up comedians will fight it out for glory. The 2nd edition of ChessBase India Originals Death Match will take place between two of the most amazing talents in the world of chess. A massive DreamHack rapid and blitz tournament is organized which is open to all. The three-day chess activities will also witness exciting simultaneous exhibitions and informative workshops. A true chess celebration!
Speaking to ChessBase India, Gautam Virk, the COO of NODWIN Gaming said, "After the massive success of Chess Super League (CSL), it was a no brainer that we would include chess as a major event in India’s largest digital festival. NODWIN Gaming has always been fascinated with chess, and therefore we will leave no stone unturned to facilitate this sport to a higher degree for everyone present at DreamHack Hyderabad. It will be interesting to watch the gaming and chess community come together to hopefully make this event a grand affair."
This is how the schedule of chess at DreamHack will roughly look like:
4th of November
11 a.m to 4 p.m - First 4 rounds of the DreamHack rapid event
5 p.m to 9 p.m - Comedians Over The Board
5th of November:
10 a.m. to 4 p.m - Rounds 5-9 of the DreamHack Rapid event
5 p.m. to 9 p.m. - ChessBase India Originals Death Match
6th of November:
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - The DreamHack Blitz event
5 p.m. to 9 p.m. - The Special Simultaneous exhibition.
The ChessBase India Originals Death Match 2.0
The first ChessBase India Originals Death Match was held at the Phoenix Marketcity Mumbai between Anish Giri and Vidit Gujrathi in June 2022. We now have the second edition at the DreamHack, this time between two of the brightest talents, not just in Indian chess, but the world. Facing off against each other are India no.2 and 3 D. Gukesh vs Arjun Erigaisi. Gukesh is just 16 years old, has a rating of 2732 and is world no.19, while Arjun is 19 years old, has a rating of 2728 and is world no.21. What an evenly matched battle this is! Deathmatches are grueling, all-out battles of wit, speed, skill, and endurance. The players will be tested in all formats from bullet, blitz, rapid, blindfold, chess960, no castling chess and more. The event will be held on the 5th of November from 5 p.m. onwards and will have a total prize pool of INR 5,00,000. The winner takes home Rs.3,00,000 and the runner-up Rs.2,00,000. The exact format of the Death Match will soon be revealed.
Gukesh: "I am excited and eagerly looking forward to battling it out with Arjun Erigaisi, my fierce rival on the board and close buddy off it at the 2nd edition of the ChessBase India originals Death Match. It's also very exciting that this time it's going to be in Hyderabad on 5th November and it's going to be part of DreamHack! I am looking forward to a great match."
Arjun Erigaisi: "I was closely following the 1st edition of Death Match between Anish and Vidit, it was so thrilling and intense. Now I'm super delighted to be playing the 2nd edition of Death Match, that too against a very strong opponent like Gukesh. Also, as far as I can recall this is going to be my first 1 on 1 OTB that too in my backyard at Hyderabad. So all in all extremely excited!"
Comedians over the Board (COTB)
Comedians on Board is one of the most popular events in the world of chess organized already for 6 editions by Samay Raina. But it had always been online. This is the first time that COB will be held LIVE in person. 8 of the strongest chess playing stand-up comedians will face off against each other in a bid to not only win the total prize fund of Rs.5,00,000 but also have the bragging rights of becoming the first ever Comedians over the board champion! This event will take place on 4th of November from 5 p.m. onwards.
Players:
1. Samay Raina
2. Biswa Kalyan Rath
3. Vaibhav Sethia
4. Anirban Dasgupta
5. Joel Dsouza
6. Manik Mahna
7. Sumit Sourav
8. Tanmay Bhat
Format:
It will be a knockout event. The players will face off against each other in a best of 2 with a time control of 10 mins + 5 seconds increment. In case of a 1-1 draw, we will have an Armageddon with a time control of 5 minutes for white and 4 minutes for black with draw odds. This format will hold true for the Quarter Finals and Semi-Finals. The Finals will have four games (instead of two).
Prize money:
Players who lose the quarter finals = 4 x 50,000 = Rs.2,00,000
Players who lose the semi-finals = 2 x 60,000 = Rs.1,20,000
Player who loses the final = 1 x 80,000 = Rs.80,000
Player who wins the event = 1 x 100,000 =1,00,000
Total = Rs.5,00,000
DreamHack Rapid and Blitz Tournament 2022
The DreamHack Rapid and Blitz tournament will be open to all and will have a total prize fund of Rs.10,00,000. 4th and 5th of November will be the rapid event, while 6th of November will be Blitz. The Rapid event has a prize fund of Rs.7,50,000 and the blitz event Rs.2,50,000. The rapid event will have a time control of 15 mins + 10 seconds of increment and 9 rounds (4 rounds on day 1 and 5 rounds on day 2). The blitz event will have a time control of 3 mins + 2 seconds and will have 9 rounds on day 3.
The exact (round by round) schedule of the above tournament will be published soon. For now the first 4 rounds of the rapid tournament will be held on 4th of November. The remaining 5 rounds will be held on the 5th of November. The entire blitz tournament will be played on 6th of November and the number of rounds (9, 10 or 11) will depend upon the number of entries. Please note, because we will be in a Gaming environment, there would be some noise. Players will have to be ready for the same. The tournament is not FIDE rated.
Other events:
Apart from the events mentioned above, there will also be workshops that will be held at DreamHack. These would include "how to be an effective chess teacher" by Sagar Shah, "how to be an effective chess streamer and caster" by Samay Raina and also "how to be an effective arbiter" by a well accomplished arbiter. On the final day - 6th of November 2022 we will have a unique simultaneous exhibition that will be held. And you are sure to enjoy it.
Get your tickets:
Which kind of tickets you want to get depends on how you want to be at the DreamHack. If you want to come and witness the Comedians over the board event, you can get the Friday Pass (4th November) of Rs.499. If you want to be present at the Death Match as a spectator, you can get the Saturday Pass (5th November) of Rs.499. But if you want to take part in the DreamHack rapid and blitz, then you must get the Chess player Festival Pass of Rs.1299. This pass will not only allow you to play the Rs.10 lakh prize fund Rapid and Blitz, but also give you access to all the chess + other events taking place at the DreamHack. Generally the entry fee to play in a chess event that has a prize fund of Rs.10 lakh, the entry fee is very high. At the DreamHack we want to make playing chess accessible to one and all and hence we have kept a modest entry fee.
The below is the ticketing process when you go to the Paytm Insider Platform:
Get your tickets from:
FAQs on the ticketing:
You can purchase the Chess Player- Festival Pass from any one of our ticketing partners. Do follow the details below for a hassle free experience.
BookMyShow– Log into the platform and select the Chess Player-Festival Pass category. Proceed to checkout and complete payment by following the steps on the screen. After confirmation of purchase, send the following details via an email to ChessAtDreamhack@nodwin.com
Email subject: Dreamhack rapid & blitz tournament registration
Full Name:
Email Address:
Mobile No.:
Date of Birth:
FIDE ID (optional):
Paytm Insider- Log into the platform and select the Chess Player-Festival Pass category. Select the number of tickets you want to purchase. Click on ‘buy’ to move on to the next page and fill in the additional information. Complete the mandatory fields and proceed to checkout to complete payment.
Mera Events- Log into the platform and select the Chess Player-Festival Pass category. Select the number of tickets you want to purchase. Scroll down and click on the ‘Book Now’ button. Fill in all the mandatory information at the ‘Registration Information’ page before scrolling down to select the method of payment. Proceed according to the steps on the screen to complete payment.
Perks of being at the Dreamhack
Being at Dreamhack Hyderabad will be an experience to remember. You will not only get to play chess in a relaxed environment, but also get a chance to meet your favourite creators, gamers and stand-up comedians! You will also get to witness the ultimate showdown between two of India's brightest young talents - Gukesh and Arjun Erigaisi. The event will be spectator friendly, which means you will be able to tune in to the commentary by Sagar Shah, Samay Raina and many other commentators. You will also be able to get autographs and selfies with your favourite stars as a special area is made for meet and greet with the celebrities! Dreamhack is the perfect environment for you to spend three days of your time if you are a chess enthusiast! You will definitely go back with wonderful memories and who knows, even with some prize money!
