The 2022 Chess Candidates Tournament in Ekaterinburg, Russia has been postponed due to the coronavirus, simply organizers are already looking to the future and how blockchain can requite the sport a boost.

The tournament pitted eight grandmasters against each other for the right to take on globe champion Magnus Carlsen, but had to be halted after seven rounds when news emerged Russia was well-nigh to suspend international flights indefinitely.

World Chess told Cointelegraph it was examining moving matches online and introducing blockchain technology.

Opportunity for chess

Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess, the visitor that organized the last world championship match and the official commercial partner of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), told Cointelegraph that chess was unusually well placed to thrive during the pandemic:

"Different other sports, chess can exist played with equal excitement offline and online. That is something that sets it autonomously from all the other major sports. In the absence of other major sporting events, the Candidates Tournament received unprecedented press coverage this time around."

Although considered a gentleman'southward game, cheating is still an issue in chess. Information technology can take many forms  — from taking strategic bathroom breaks, to creating fictitious records of games that never happened, or relying on the assist of computer chess engines when playing online.

Blockchain-based 'anti-cheating engine'

Merenzon believes that blockchain technology can help identify and forestall such unsportsmanlike behavior:

"Nosotros are working on the anti-cheating engine that may tape over one hundred data points for each move — its timestamp, players' biometrics, chess engine evaluation, etc. Storing this data in the decentralized database would make a lot of sense"

Merenzon also shared with Cointelegraph that Algorand and Globe Chess have been working on a project that will:

"introduce blockchain into chess. The project is expected to launch in a few weeks."

Algorand's spokesperson released a statement to Cointelegraph which elaborates the rationale backside the partnership:

"Algorand's partnership with Earth Chess is exciting considering of the overlap of early on blockchain adopters, computer science experts and chess enthusiasts. Globe Chess is focused on bringing new engineering to the forefront of their traditional game and Algorand is proud to be partnering with the organization to drive mainstream adoption of both chess and blockchain."

The 2022 Candidates Tournament will convene at a later date once the situation becomes less volatile. The lucifer for the world title is currently scheduled for Nov.