2023 sees a new classical World Chess Champion crowned for the first time in a decade, as Ian Nepomniachtchi takes on Ding Liren for the title vacated by Magnus Carlsen. There’s a new $2 million Champions Chess Tour combining the best of last year's tour and the Chess.com Global Championship, while we’ve also got the World Cup, Grand Swiss, Women’s World Championship match, European Team Championship and much more.

We already know the dates for a lot of big events in 2023, but there are a lot more to come, with, for instance, the US Championships and the Grand Chess Tour schedule yet to be announced. What follows is a work in progress, which will be updated during the course of 2023.

Upcoming/current events:

January 2023

January 14 - 29 | Tata Steel Chess | Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands

The 85th edition of the Tata Steel Masters has a phenomenal line-up topped by Magnus Carlsen, Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana and features most of the world’s top prodigies, with teenage stars Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer and Praggnanandhaa all in action.

It’s accompanied by the Challengers, which includes the world’s youngest ever GM Abhimanyu Mishra, and amateur events for the first time since the pandemic struck. We’ve got Peter Svidler, David Howell and Laurent Fressinet commentating here on chess24.

Links: official website, chess24: Masters, Challengers

February 2023

February 1 - 3 | PRO Chess League Qualifier | Chess.com

The $100,000 PRO Chess League is back after a 2-year hiatus and will feature 16 teams. 15 will be announced before it begins, while the 16th will be decided in this qualifier.

Links: official website  

February 2 - 13 | FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2 | Munich, Germany

This 12-player round-robin is the 2nd of four events in the 2022-3 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series that will decide two players for the 2024 Women’s Candidates Tournament.

Links: official website

February 4 - 5 | Chess Bundesliga 2022-3 | Germany

The German Chess League runs from October 2022 to April 2023 and is one of the world’s strongest chess team events. It features 16 teams who play each other over 15 rounds spread over a number of weekends in venues across Germany.

Links: official website, chess24

February 6 - 10 | Airthings Masters | Chess.com

The Airthings Masters is the first stage of the new $2 million Champions Chess Tour. The $235,000, 5-day double-elimination tournament is the first of six such events that will decide the eight players to go forward to the Playoffs in December. The tournament is split into three decisions, with 8 players in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III.

In 2023 all the top players are set to play in the same online events

Links: official website

February 11 - 12 | 4NCL 2022-3 | United Kingdom

The Four Nations Chess League is a strong team event taking place in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Teams of 8 players compete over 11 rounds, with weekend sessions held from October 2022 to May 2023.

Links: official website, chess24

February 14 - May 16 | PRO Chess League | Chess.com

The main event of the $100,000 Pro Chess League features 16 teams of 4 players who compete at a rapid (10+2) time control, with blitz tiebreaks. The 16 teams will be cut in half before 8-team playoffs, with the 4 top teams competing in a live venue.

Links: official website  

February 16 - 26 | WR Chess Masters | Dusseldorf, Germany

A new 10-player super-tournament that will feature Ian Nepomniachtchi, Anish Giri, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Gukesh, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vincent Keymer, Praggnanandhaa and Andrey Esipenko.

Links: official website

March 2023

March 2 - 14 | European Chess Championship | Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia

The 11-round European Individual Chess Championship has a €20,000 top prize and also serves as a qualifier for the 2023 FIDE World Cup, with the top 23 players qualifying.

Links: official website

March 17 - 25 | American Cup | Saint Louis, USA

In 2022 Fabiano Caruana and Irina Krush won the inaugural edition of this event, with two 8-player knockouts where players get another chance if they lose one match.

March 18 - 29 | European Women’s Chess Championship | Petrovac, Montenegro

The 11-round European Women’s Individual Chess Championship has a top prize of €10,000 and also qualifies 9 players to the 2023 FIDE Women’s World Cup.

Links: official website

March 29 - April 4 | Reykjavik Open | Reykjavik, Iceland

This traditional 9-round open will be back in Reykjavik’s iconic Harpa Music and Conference Center in 2023, with Nils Grandelius, Tania Sachdev and Savitha Shri among the players already signed up.

Links: official website

March | FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 3 | India

This 12-player round-robin is the 3rd of four events in the 2022-3 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series that will decide two players for the 2024 Women’s Candidates Tournament.

Links: official website

1st Quarter of 2023 | FIDE Women’s Candidates Final

China’s Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi will play a 6-game match to decide who faces their compatriot Ju Wenjun in the Women’s World Championship match later in the year.

Links: official website, chess24

April 2023

April 1 - 10 | Spring Chess Classic | Saint Louis, USA

A strong 10-player round robin for players just below the level of supertournament regulars. 

April 3 - 7 | Champions Chess Tour 2 | Chess.com

The second stage of the new $2 million Champions Chess Tour. The $235,000, 5-day double-elimination tournament is the second of six such events that will decide the eight players to go forward to the Playoffs in December. The tournament is split into three decisions, with 8 players in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III.

April 7 - 30 | Nepo vs. Ding World Championship Match | Astana, Kazakhstan

Magnus Carlsen deciding not to defend the World Championship title he’s held since 2013 meant that the top two players in the 2022 FIDE Candidates Tournament, winner Ian Nepomniachtchi and runner-up Ding Liren, will now battle it out for the most prestigious title in chess. The match will again be 14 classical games, with a €2 million prize fund.

Ian Nepomniachtchi or Ding Liren, who finished 1st and 2nd in the Madrid Candidates, will become the World Chess Champion in 2023 | photo: Stev Bonhage, FIDE

May 2023

May 4 - 10 | Tepe Sigeman & co. Chess | Malmo, Sweden

This traditional 8-player event, which aims to combine young and experienced players, is set to return in 2023.

Links: official website  

May 5 - 15 | Superbet Chess Classic Romania | Bucharest, Romania

The first of five events on the 2023 Grand Chess Tour is a 10-player classical round-robin with a $350,000 prize fund.

Links: official website

May 5 - 14 | African Individual Chess Championship

9-round Swiss tournament to decide the 2023 African Champion and African Women’s Champion. Egypt’s Bassem Amin and Wafa Shahenda are the defending champions.

May 5 – 14 | Dubai Open | Dubai, UAE

The 23rd edition of this strong 9-round open tournament.

Links: official website

May 17 – 25 | Sharjah Masters | Sharjah, UAE

The 6th edition of a strong 9-round open that takes place in Sharjah, a city adjacent to Dubai.

May 20 - 25 | Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland | Warsaw, Poland

The second of five events on the 2023 Grand Chess Tour is a 10-player rapid and blitz tournament with a $175,000 prize fund.

Links: official website

May 22 - 26 | Champions Chess Tour 3 | Chess.com

The third stage of the new $2 million Champions Chess Tour. The $235,000, 5-day double-elimination tournament is the third of six such events that will decide the eight players to go forward to the Playoffs in December. The tournament is split into three decisions, with 8 players in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III.

May 25 - June 4 | European Senior Chess Championship | Acqui Terme, Italy

A 9-round individual tournament held in 50+ and 65+ categories.

May 28 - June 9 | Norway Chess | Stavanger, Norway

This will be the 11th edition of one of the world’s strongest super-tournaments and is likely to see Magnus Carlsen bidding to win a 5th event in a row, and a 6th in total.

Magnus has long since ended the discussion of how he struggles on home soil

Links: official website

May | FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 4 | Bydgoszcz, Poland

This 12-player round-robin is the 4th and final event in the 2022-3 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series that will decide two players for the 2024 Women’s Candidates Tournament.

Links: official website

June 2023

June 2 - 12 | Cairns Cup | Saint Louis, USA

This female equivalent of the Sinquefield Cup was held in 2019 and 2020 but suffered an enforced 2-year hiatus because of the pandemic. It's back in 2023 and is sure to feature some of the world's top women players in a 10-player classical round-robin. 

June 5 - 12 | World Youth U8-18 Rapid and Blitz Championships | Batumi, Georgia

Six different age groups will compete for world titles in rapid and blitz chess.

June 17 - July 2 | Mahindra Global Chess League

A chess team event which will be a collaboration between FIDE and the Indian IT company Tech Mahindra. 

June 20 - 30 | Prague International Chess Festival | Prague, Czech Republic

The 5th edition of the Prague Chess Festival is likely to again see strong classical round-robin Masters and Challengers tournaments, as well as a number of other events.

Harikrishna won the Prague Masters in 2022, but a lot of the excitement was provided by the Challengers, where Vincent Keymer eventually defeated Hans Niemann in a playoff | photo: Petr Vrabec

Links: official website  

June 24 - July 2 | Dortmund International Chess Days | Dortmund, Germany

For its 50th edition Dortmund will again feature 10-time Champion Vladimir Kramnik’s favourite chess variant, No Castling Chess, with Kramnik playing the NC World Masters alongside 2022 winner Dmitrij Kollars and two more players. There are also open events.

Links: official website  

July 2023

July 4 - 9 | SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia | Zagreb, Croatia

The third of five events on the 2023 Grand Chess Tour is a 10-player rapid and blitz tournament with a $175,000 prize fund.

Links: official website

July 10 - 14 | Champions Chess Tour 4 | Chess.com

The fourth stage of the new $2 million Champions Chess Tour. The $235,000, 5-day double-elimination tournament is the fourth of six such events that will decide the eight players to go forward to the Playoffs in December. The tournament is split into three decisions, with 8 players in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III.

July 15 - 25 | U.S. Junior, Girls & Senior Championships | Saint Louis, USA

These events for young and old players are probably the best funded and covered of any similar national championships around the world. The winners of the junior events can earn a spot in the overall U.S. Championships. 

Links: official website

July 31 - August 26 | FIDE World Cup | Baku, Azerbaijan

The FIDE World Cup will in 2023 decide 3 of the players for the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament. The Open will again feature 206 players, with the 50 top seeds joining from Round 2. Matches are decided in 2-game classical matches, with rapid and blitz playoffs.

Duda knocked Carlsen out in the semi-finals and went on to win the 2021 FIDE World Cup — will Magnus be back to try and win one of the few events he's yet to win? | photo: Eric Rosen, FIDE

The Women’s event is one round shorter and has 103 players, with the top 25 seeds joining in Round 2. There’s a $110,000 top prize in the Open and $50,000 in the Women’s.

August 2023

August 1 - 11 | Summer Chess Classic | Saint Louis, USA

A strong 10-player round robin for players just below the level of supertournament regulars. 

August 28 - September 1 | Champions Chess Tour 5 | Chess.com

The fifth stage of the new $2 million Champions Chess Tour. The $235,000, 5-day double-elimination tournament is the fifth of six such events that will decide the eight players to go forward to the Playoffs in December. The tournament is split into three decisions, with 8 players in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III.

Summer 2023 | Women’s World Championship Match

Defending Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun will defend her title in a match against one of her Chinese compatriots, Tan Zhongyi or Lei Tingjie, who will play each other in the Candidates Final earlier in the year.

We may get a repeat of the 2018 Women's World Championship match, when Ju Wenjun defeated the reigning champion Tan Zhongyi to claim the title | photo: Chinese Chess Federation

September 2023

September 4 - 15 | European Youth Chess Championship | Mamaia, Romania

The European Youth Chess Championship is being held in six age categories, from Under 8 to U18, with separate open and girl sections.

September 7 - 10 | Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX | Saint Louis, USA

The latest edition of the traditional event where all the games are played in Chess960 or Fischer Random Chess, a chess variant where the configuration of the pieces on the back rank is selected randomly from one of 960 options.

September 23 – October 8 | Asian Games | Hangzhou, China

The 19th Asian Games, originally planned for 2022 but postponed because of the pandemic, features chess among its 24 disciplines.

Links: official website

September 25 - 29 | Champions Chess Tour 6 | Chess.com

The sixth stage of the new $2 million Champions Chess Tour. The $235,000, 5-day double-elimination tournament is the last of six such events that will decide the eight players to go forward to the Playoffs in December. The tournament is split into three decisions, with 8 players in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III.

October 2023

October 1 - 8 | European Club Cup | Durres, Albania

The European Club Cup is a team event for open and women’s teams that have played in European national team competitions. A 7-round sprint, it’s usually featured World Champion Magnus Carlsen.

October 5 - 17 | U.S. Championships | Saint Louis, USA

The U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship have become gruelling events, with stars such as Levon Aronian, Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Leinier Dominguez facing off against ambitious youngsters. The event plans to return to a 12-player format in 2023 after the 14-player event in 2022.

Links: official website

October 10 - 20 | Qatar Masters | Doha, Qatar

14th World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and 16th World Champion Magnus Carlsen made a quick draw as Magnus won the Qatar Masters at his 1st attempt | photo: Katerina Savina, Qatar Masters

In 2014 and 2015 the Qatar Masters helped transform open tournaments with a prize fund that attracted the likes of Vladimir Kramnik and Magnus Carlsen. It's returning in 2023, with a $110,000 prize fund.

October 23 - November 5 | FIDE Grand Swiss | Douglas, Isle of Man

The Grand Swiss returns to the Isle of Man in 2023 with the two 11-round Swiss tournaments set to decide two places in the next FIDE Candidates and FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournaments. The Open event will feature 114 players and the Women’s 50, with a total prize fund of $600,000.

Fabiano Caruana beat Alireza Firouzja in 2021, but Alireza won the event and both players qualified for the Candidates | photo: Anna Shtourman, FIDE

Links: official website

November 2023

November 10 - 21 | European Team Chess Championship | Budva, Montenegro

The European Team Chess Championship is a 9-round biennial event for national teams. Ukraine (Open) and Russia (Women’s) are the defending champions, though it remains to be seen if Russia or Belarus will be eligible to play in 2023.

November 12 – 25 | World Youth Championship | Montesilvano, Italy

The Under 14, 16 and 18 categories of the World Youth Championship are held as 11-round Swiss tournaments.  

November 13 - 18 | Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz | Saint Louis, USA

The fourth of five events on the 2023 Grand Chess Tour is a 10-player rapid and blitz tournament with a $175,000 prize fund.

Links: official website

November 20 - December 2 | Sinquefield Cup | Saint Louis, USA

The 2022 Sinquefield Cup was overshadowed by Magnus Carlsen's withdrawal, but Alireza Firouzja beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in a playoff to win the tournament — and the Tour as a whole | photo: Lennart Ootes

The last of five events on the 2023 Grand Chess Tour is a 10-player classical tournament with a $175,000 prize fund. An additional $175,000 will also be awarded to the top 3 overall finishers on the Tour.

Links: official website

December 2023

December 1 - 11 | Winter Chess Classic | Saint Louis, USA

A strong 10-player round robin for players just below the level of supertournament regulars. 

December 26 - 30 | World Rapid and Blitz Championships

We can expect 2023 to end with the usual Christmas speed chess extravangza of three days of the World Rapid Championship (15+10) followed by two days of the World Blitz (3+2), with Open and Women's sections. 

Please let us know of any other missing major events that have already been announced for 2023!