Grand Chess Tour Announces Wildcards and Full-Tour Line-up
Reigning World Champion Ding Liren and Five-time World Champion, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen Play as Wildcards
Reigning World Champion Ding Liren and Five-time World Champion, World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen Play as Wildcards
Saint Louis, MO, April 2, 2024 – Grand Chess Tour (GCT), a leading global circuit of international chess tournaments featuring the world’s best players, announced today the players selected to compete across the 2024 season.
Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz: May 6-13, 2024 in Warsaw, Poland
Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz, sponsored by the Superbet Foundation, will kick off the GCT as 10 players battle for $175,000 in prizes. The event will feature four full-tour players and six wildcard players including:
- Five-time World Champion & World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
- Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland)
- Wei Yi (China)
- Arjun Erigaisi (India)
- Vincent Keymer (Germany)
- Kirill Shevchenko (Romania)
Superbet Romania Classic: June 24-July 6, 2024 in Bucharest, Romania
The Superbet Romania Chess Classic, sponsored by the Superbet Foundation, is the first classical event in the 2024 Tour, with a 10-player round-robin format and a total of $350,000 in prizes. The tournament will feature all nine full-tour players and one wildcard player including:
- Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania)
SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz: July 8-15, 2024 in Zagreb, Croatia
SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz is the second rapid and blitz event of the tour with a total prize fund of $175,000. This event will feature seven full-tour players and three wildcard players including:
- Five-time World Champion & World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
- Vidit Gujrathi (India)
- Ivan Saric (Croatia)
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz: August 10-17, 2024 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, sponsored by the Saint Louis Chess Club, will be the third and final rapid and blitz event of the tour, with another $175,000 in prize money on the line. This event will feature seven full-tour players and three wildcard players including:
- Hikaru Nakamura (United States)
- Levon Aronian (United States)
- Leinier Dominguez (United States)
Sinquefield Cup: August 17-30, 2024 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
The Sinquefield Cup, sponsored by the Saint Louis Chess Club, will offer a $350,000 prize fund and will be the final opportunity for competitors to earn points for the 2024 Grand Chess Tour. This event will feature nine full-tour players and one wildcard player including:
- Reigning World Champion Ding Liren (China)
The complete field for all international events are as follows:
Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz
| No. | Given Name | Surname | Role | URS Rating | FIDE Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnus | Carlsen | Event Wildcard | 2844 | 2830 |
| 2 | Yi | Wei | Event Wildcard | 2770 | 2755 |
| 3 | Nodirbek | Abdusattorov | Full Tour | 2765 | 2765 |
| 4 | Praggnanandhaa | Rameshbabu | Full Tour | 2758 | 2747 |
| 5 | Jan-Krzysztof | Duda | Event Wildcard | 2758 | 2731 |
| 6 | Anish | Giri | Full Tour | 2749 | 2745 |
| 7 | Arjun | Erigaisi | Event Wildcard | 2743 | 2756 |
| 8 | Gukesh | Dommaraju | Full Tour | 2726 | 2743 |
| 9 | Vincent | Keymer | Event Wildcard | 2702 | 2726 |
| 10 | Kirill | Shevchenko | Event Wildcard | 2678 | 2675 |
| 2749 | 2747 | ||||
Superbet Romania Chess Classic
| No. | Given Name | Surname | Role | URS Rating | FIDE Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabiano | Caruana | Full Tour | 2786 | 2803 |
| 2 | Ian | Nepomniachtchi | Full Tour | 2776 | 2758 |
| 3 | Alireza | Firouzja | Full Tour | 2771 | 2760 |
| 4 | Nodirbek | Abdusattorov | Full Tour | 2765 | 2765 |
| 5 | Wesley | So | Full Tour | 2762 | 2757 |
| 6 | Maxime | Vachier-Lagrave | Full Tour | 2760 | 2732 |
| 7 | Praggnanandhaa | Rameshbabu | Full Tour | 2758 | 2747 |
| 8 | Anish | Giri | Full Tour | 2749 | 2745 |
| 9 | Gukesh | Dommaraju | Full Tour | 2726 | 2743 |
| 10 | Bogdan-Daniel | Deac | Event Wildcard | 2684 | 2692 |
| 2754 | 2750 | ||||
SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz
| No. | Given Name | Surname | Role | URS Rating | FIDE Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnus | Carlsen | Event Wildcard | 2844 | 2830 |
| 2 | Fabiano | Caruana | Full Tour | 2786 | 2803 |
| 3 | Ian | Nepomniachtchi | Full Tour | 2776 | 2758 |
| 4 | Alireza | Firouzja | Full Tour | 2771 | 2760 |
| 5 | Wesley | So | Full Tour | 2762 | 2757 |
| 6 | Maxime | Vachier-Lagrave | Full Tour | 2760 | 2732 |
| 7 | Anish | Giri | Full Tour | 2749 | 2745 |
| 8 | Vidit | Guadrathi | Event Wildcard | 2744 | 2727 |
| 9 | Gukesh | Dommaraju | Full Tour | 2726 | 2743 |
| 10 | Ivan | Saric | Event Wildcard | 2649 | 2670 |
| 2757 | 2753 | ||||
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
| No. | Given Name | Surname | Role | URS Rating | FIDE Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hikaru | Nakamura | Event Wildcard | 2795 | 2789 |
| 2 | Fabiano | Caruana | Full Tour | 2786 | 2803 |
| 3 | Ian | Nepomniachtchi | Full Tour | 2776 | 2758 |
| 4 | Alireza | Firouzja | Full Tour | 2771 | 2760 |
| 5 | Nodirbek | Abdusattorov | Full Tour | 2765> | 2765 |
| 6 | Wesley | So | Full Tour | 2762 | 2757 |
| 7 | Maxime | Vachier-Lagrave | Full Tour | 2760 | 2732 |
| 8 | Praggnanandhaa | Rameshbabu | Full Tour | 2758 | 2747 |
| 9 | Levon | Aronian | Event Wildcard | 2754 | 2729 |
| 10 | Leinier | Dominguez | Event Wildcard | 2722 | 2748 |
| 2765 | 2759 | ||||
Sinquefield Cup
| No. | Given Name | Surname | Role | URS Rating | FIDE Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabiano | Caruana | Full Tour | 2786 | 2803 |
| 2 | Ian | Nepomniachtchi | Full Tour | 2776 | 2758 |
| 3 | Alireza | Firouzja | Full Tour | 2771 | 2760 |
| 4 | Nodirbek | Abdusattorov | Full Tour | 2765 | 2765 |
| 5 | Wesley | So | Full Tour | 2762 | 2757 |
| 6 | Liren | Ding | Event Wildcard | 2761 | 2762 |
| 7 | Maxime | Vachier-Lagrave | Full Tour | 2760 | 2732 |
| 8 | Praggnanandhaa | Rameshbabu | Full Tour | 2758 | 2747 |
| 9 | Anish | Giri | Full Tour | 2749 | 2745 |
| 10 | Gukesh | Dommaraju | Full Tour | 2726 | 2743 |
| 2761 | 2757 | ||||
“We are happy to welcome back reigning World Champion Ding Liren and five-time World Champion, World’s No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, as well as 2023 Grand Chess Tour champion Fabiano Caruana and former winners of the GCT Wesley So and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave,” said Michael Khodarkovsky, Executive Director of the GCT. “They will be challenged by the new wave of stars like Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Alireza Firouzja, Dommaraju Gukesh and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, which promises us thrilling and exciting competitions this year.”
Tour participants will compete for an increased overall tour prize fund of $1.5 million over the course of the 2024 season. Total cash prizes for each of the two classical tournaments will be $350,000 and $175,000 per event for rapid and blitz. In addition, a bonus prize fund totalling $275,000 will be awarded at the end of the 2024 season.
The prize fund is provided by the 2024 GCT major sponsors Superbet Foundation and the Saint Louis Chess Club, both non-profit organizations that support chess education and the mission to expand the game of chess globally. For more information, visit grandchesstour.org.
Grand Chess Tour
Grand Chess Tour is a circuit of international events, each demonstrating the highest level of organization for the world’s best players. The legendary Garry Kasparov, one of the world’s greatest ambassadors for chess, inspired the Grand Chess Tour and helped solidify the partnership between the organizers. All Grand Chess Tour 2024 events will comply with local and regional COVID-19 restrictions. For more information about the tour, please visit grandchesstour.org.
Superbet Foundation
The Superbet Foundation, a non-profit organization, is responsible for coordinating the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives of the Superbet Group. Our goal is to support the advancement of health, education, and sports initiatives, with a special emphasis on promoting the game of chess and its myriad benefits within all the communities we serve.
Saint Louis Chess Club
The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures.
Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit saintlouischessclub.org.
