ticketfly.com/purchase/event … ium=459899
$75 to $600 per day for individuals.
Does anyone know if the only way to follow it online is to buy a $15 online access pass from the worldchess.com site?
Since chess games can’t be (so far) copyrighted, then SOMEONE will cover and publish the games. The quality of the annotations may be suspect, however.
On a side note; the WCC website is offering VR as part of the packages… I hope someone makes the mistake of buying that BEFORE they realize VR gives them nausea!
Indeed, they can not be copyrighted and Agon has backed off from its claims on which they went to court in Moscow against Chessbomb, chess24 and ICC. They have press restrictions for press in attendance. The press may not relay moves outside of the venue during the games. If caught, the remedy will likely be expulsion and possibly damages for lost revenue ((assuming they can prove such damages) unless there is a liquidated damages clause in the press credentialing agreement.
What is more likely to happen is that sites like Chess24 and ICC will have one of their people purchase the $15 access package to obtain the moves in real time and relay them to their site followers. As long as they don’t relay Agon’s broadcast commentary they’ll have no actionable issues. However, their Terms of Use state:
[b]"YOU ALSO AGREE THAT INFORMATION ABOUT CHESS MOVES OF THE GAMES IS EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE AND GATHER AND TIME-SENSITIVE AND THAT UNCONTROLLED COPYING OF THIS INFORMATION DURING THE RESPECTIVE CHESS GAME MAY REDUCE THE INCENTIVE OF THE ORGANIZER TO STAGE SIMILAR EVENTS IN THE FUTURE. YOU FURTHER AGREE NOT TO COPY OR COMMUNICATE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THE CHESS MOVES OF THE BROADCASTED GAMES DURING SUCH GAMES BY ANY MEANS TO ANY PARTY OUTSIDE OF THE MATCH VENUE.
YOU AGREE THAT YOUR RETRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION ABOUT CHESS MOVES OF THE GAMES IN VIOLATION OF THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH IS LIKELY TO CAUSE IMMEDIATE IRREPARABLE HARM TO US THAT WILL NOT BE FULLY COMPENSABLE BY MONEY DAMAGES, AND THEREFORE YOU AGREE THAT WE SHALL BE ENTITLED TO IMMEDIATE INJUNCTIVE RELIEF TO RESTRAIN ANY SUCH VIOLATION."[/b]
How enforceable this will be is problematic in view of Agon’s attempting to restrict via contract material which is not subject to copyright protection and which is newsworthy under the Second Circuit’s NBA judicial decision.
That said, under the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which covers Manhattan, it is doubtful that the relay restriction on accredited journalists would be enforceable under their NBA case decision. That’s why Agon is trying to restrict the press via contractual agreement. Is this an enforceable contract provision or an unenforceable adhesion provision? Stay tuned in the event the issue is litigated which may well be unlikely given the easy workaround discussed above.
Overall, IMO, Agon and it’s minions are basically a greedy group of business people looking to restrict access to that which they have no copyright interest by using adhesion contracts to limit the dissemination of non-copyrightable, newsworthy information. The AUG does not permit me to tell them here what they can do with their Terms of Use and journalist restrictions.
Yawn. We can all be patient and wait to see the games in Chess Life or New in Chess in a few weeks time with proper annotations. In an earlier match the “real time commentary” that was gushed over was little more than stream of consciousness prattle. The GMs often were puzzled by the players’ moves and had to retract the bad analysis they gave. Their reliance on a computer program was almost comical. Unfortunately, many World Championship games are boring to watch and even more tedious to go over later in the comfort of your own home. Repeated use of certain variations of the Queens Gambit Declined and the Berlin Defense of the Ruy Lopez to notch a book draw are like watching a 0-0 soccer game where neither side demonstrates an eagerness to cross the midfield line. Wait for the book of the match to come out so that you can skip over these “brilliant” games.
LOL…many GM games can be as exciting as watching paint dry or grass grow. In the case of this match, assuming it gets played, the moves will be available worldwide within minutes of the game ending when the press leaves the Fulton Market Building (and likely during the game) and goes in search of affordable food and drink.
Agon’s press credentials and terms of use adhesion contracts are a cute try at avoiding the Second Circuit Court of Appeals NBA decision. If Agon dares to go after a journalist, of if an ejected journalist goes to court seeking readmission without the restrictions, I’m not at all certain Agon will prevail. But, as a practical matter, if “millions” of chess fans sign up for Agon coverage and then in real time one or two relay the moves orally to a buddy at ICC or Chess24, it will be very difficult to prove which fan(s) violated Agon’s terms of use. As Edie said in one of The Mummy films, “Little people always get their comeuppance…Always.”
Starting with game 3, Svidler will be doing commentary on chess24. Generally very good commentary.
I will be in Manhattan for the first week of the match (just registered for the workshop at the Marshall), but I’m not sure I’ll visit Fulton Market more than once. One can kibitz pretty much anywhere…
One of the members of our club will be in NYC during the match. He bought a one day pass to the event. When he comes back, we will get a picture of what it is like to be at a World Championship match. So far, I have seen very little buzz about the match in US media. Chess news and virtually all other news is overwhelmed by election coverage.
Please ask him to take photos of the outside of the building and the inside where the games are being played. This is assuming that the event takes place at the Fulton Market Building… 
They will likely inhibit taking photos of the inside of the building before or during the match in any area that can be controlled. As for the outside, I am sure that our member would rather go and take pictures of the Statue of Liberty, the Wall Street bulls or the entrance to Yankee Stadium. He is likely to look for souveniers, T-shirts, or other bric a brac concerning the match.
Another (apparently licensed) broadcast: http://chessmaine.net/chessmaine/2016/11/chessmaine-to-broadcast-world-.html
No word on whether the discount is good for onsite tickets.
Alex Relyea