Professional Rapid Online Chess League
| Sport | Chess |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 |
| No. of teams | 48 |
| Country | International |
| Official website | www.prochessleague.com |
The Professional Rapid Online Chess League (PRO Chess League) is an online rapid chess league operated by chess.com. It was preceded by the United States Chess League, which announced in 2016 that it would be renamed, reformatted, and opened to cities from around the world, and moved to the website chess.com.
In its inaugural season, the PRO league comprised 48 teams, whose members included some of the highest-rated chess players in the world, including the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen plus over 100 other grandmasters. The 48 teams represent cities in five continents.
Supporters say the league's worldwide distribution, the prize money and the participation of many of the world's top-rated players may create a new level of competition and awareness for the game. It is anticipated that the new formats are leading to a "rise in popularity of online and rapid chess, the PRO Chess League has the potential to dramatically change chess culture" and could lead to corporate sponsorships. This change from an "individual and slow game," to a relatively quick and team format, has made the offering more viewer friendly.
The league features worldwide team competition, with the league having five of the top seven rated players competing. "This event is going to revolutionize chess." The league features close and hard competition, and will move into a "playoff" format.
The first season started on January 11, 2017 and will end on March 26, 2017. 48 teams are participating, twelve of which had previously participated in the USCL.
Teams consist of rosters of at least four players, and each week the manager selects a lineup of four players from the roster, depending on rating, form, and availability. At least three members of this lineup must be local players. Each team's average rating for each match must be less than 2500; this limit is increased by 10 points per female player.
The season starts in January and finishes in March. Each team plays one match per week, and matches are scheduled for Wednesday nights. All matches are played online on chess.com. Team members may either play from home or from a common central location.
Each match is played with a Scheveningen system, where every member of one team plays every member of the other team, for a total of 16 games played per match.
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