Six chess players representing all six inhabited continents will travel to Antarctica and the Geographic South Pole this Antarctic summer season to attempt the Polar Chess Expedition, the most geographically extreme chess tournament ever played.
The FIDE-rated tournament will be played at rapid chess time-control, with every round broadcast live. Play opens with early rounds on the Antarctic ice before culminating at 90° South, in an attempt to be certified as the southernmost chess tournament ever played.
Six players, each representing a different continent, and every player also serves their national or regional chess federation in some capacity.
- Aung Kyaw Moe, Candidate Master (Myanmar), Asia
- Damaris Abarca González, Woman FIDE Master (Chile), South America
- Jesse February, Woman International Master (South Africa), Africa
- Nigel Short, FIDE Grandmaster (England), Europe
- Shaun Press, FIDE Master (Papua New Guinea), Oceania
- Tris-Ann Richards, Woman Candidate Master (Saint Lucia), North America
The field is led by Grandmaster Nigel Short of England, who in 1993 became the first Englishman in over a century to challenge for the World Chess Championship, taking on Garry Kasparov. Short currently serves as FIDE’s Director for Chess Development and lends the event both competitive weight and international recognition.
The story behind the Polar Chess Expedition
The idea took root two years ago when Aung came across an interview in which Nigel mentioned that he had won tournaments on every continent except Antarctica.
“I’ve won tournaments on six continents. Antarctica is the one still missing.”
— Nigel Short, Grandmaster, Europe
Aung decided to embark on the project. Together with Nigel, they spoke to national chess federations across all six continents, turning a shared idea into a FIDE-rated tournament.
“Nigel had the idea; my job was to make it real. Now it is, and we’re taking it to the end of the earth.”
— Aung Kyaw Moe, Candidate Master, Asia
Two of the players sum up the appeal of the challenge in their own words.
“I live by a simple rule: If something scares you a little, it’s probably worth doing. By that measure, chess at the bottom of the world was never really a question.”
— Jesse February, Woman International Master, Africa
“Chess has taken me to some strange places over the years. This might be the first one where the biggest opponent isn’t across the board; it’s the weather.“
— Shaun Press, FIDE Master, Oceania
World record attempt: southernmost chess tournament ever played
The Polar Chess Expedition is aiming to set a new world record. Potential record categories include the southernmost chess tournament ever played and the first chess event to bring players representing all six inhabited continents to the Geographic South Pole.
For two of the players carrying continents to a chessboard for the first time, the record is personal as much as historic.
“Saint Lucia is a small island, but chess has never asked me to think small. Representing my country, and an entire continent, is proof you can do big things from small places; there’s no ceiling on where the game can take you.“
— Tris-Ann Richards, Woman Candidate Master, North America
“Chess has always been a bigger board than the one in front of you. Carrying South America to the bottom of the earth is just the latest way I’ve found to keep playing for something larger than myself.“
— Damaris Abarca González, Woman FIDE Master, South America