Unibet, the leading online gambling operator , has announced the FIDE World Chess Championship is forecasted to generate a turnover higher than some FIFA World Cup 2018 matches and comparable to the turnover of the Champions League final, firmly positioning Chess as one of the fastest growing sports in the betting arena.

Following the announcement that World Chess crowned Unibet as the first official betting partner in the history of the FIDE World Chess Championship Match, Unibet have released predictions on the punters’ favourite to be crowned champion. The event takes place in London from 9^th to 28^th November and sees defending champion Magnus Carlsen face American challenger Fabiano Caruana.

The pre-match odds give Magnus Carlsen a 2/3 chance of winning and Fabiano Caruana has 1/3 chance, which is no surprise as victory in London would deliver a fourth World Championship for Carlsen. However, looking at the results after 12 games specifically, the chance of a victory for Magnus is 29/50, with 7/25 chance for Fabiano and an 9/50 chance of a draw. Caruana’s long odds are in part down to his nationality; no player born in the United States has won or even competed for a World Championship since Bobby Fischer in 1972.

In terms of the first game, 16/25 of the punters believe that Carlsen will be the first to win a game, while 9/25 believe in Caruana. No matter who wins, the punters don’t believe in a one-sided match; the odds give a 7/10 chance of at least 11 games being played before the next World Champion is made clear.

Despite that, the consensus still seems to be that the match will be decided within the 12 games; the odds give only a 1/4 chance for the match to be decided on tiebreakers, with a significant 3/4 chance of the match being decided by the end of the 12^th game. This means that there is approximately a 1/2 chance of the match being decided on exactly 11 or 12 games.

Ilya Merenzon, the CEO of World Chess, says: “The odds from the World Chess betting partner Unibet shows just how exciting this championship will be. It’s great to see the betting community from across the globe, as well as six hundred million chess fans, come together, proving that the sport is continually becoming even more popular. The tournament is the highlight of the chess calendar and millions of fans around the world will follow every move.”

Richard Öström, Country Manager for Unibet Norway says: “The interest in Chess is continuing to grow and as the leading online bookmaker in Europe, we want to be a part of and contribute to big sporting events. The odds in this highly competitive match will continue to fluctuate and this year’s World Championship showdown between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana in London will continue to establish chess as a permanent fixture in betting.”