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:
The Under 14, 16 and 18 categories of the World Youth Championship are held as 11-round Swiss tournaments.
Links: official website, chess24: U14, G14, U16, G16, U18, G18
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, chess24, Reports: 1
17-year-old Indian prodigy Gukesh is the top seed for the 13th edition of the London Chess Classic, a 10-player round-robin tournament with a £15,000 top prize.
Links: official website, chess24
The 9th edition of an event held to commemorate the top chess player Vugar Gashimov, who died in 2014 at the age of just 27. The tournament has 10 players who will compete in rapid and blitz.
Links: official website
The eight players who qualified from the six events over the course of the year compete for a $200,000 top prize. The event begins with an all-play-all tournament, where the top-two players will qualify directly to the semifinals, the bottom-two will be knocked out, and the remaining four will play matches to reach the semifinals.
Links: official website
The chess 2023 will end with the traditional 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.
Upcoming/current events:
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, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
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
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, chess24
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, chess24: Play-In, Div I Winners, Div I Losers, Div II Winners, Div II Losers, Div III Winners, Div III Losers, Reports: Play-In, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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
Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura are among the players in action in the Pro Chess League, which is returning after a 3-year absence. The main event of the $150,000 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, chess24, Reports: Preview, Wk 1, Wk 2 preview, Wk 2, Wk 3, Wk 4, Wk 5
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, chess24, Reports: Preview, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
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, chess24, Reports: 1, 2-5, 6-9
This one-day Play-In will determine the 56 players in the Chessable Masters, the 2nd Champions Chess Tour event, that runs April 3-7. Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana will be joined by four more players in Division I, with 16 places in Division II and 32 in Division III also up for grabs.
The qualifier starts with a 9-round 10+2 Swiss tournament open to all grandmasters. The top finishers then play a 2-game match, with a potential Armageddon decider, to decide who plays in which division.
Links: official website, chess24, report
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. The 2023 open line-up features Nakamura, Caruana, So, Dominguez, Aronian, Shankland, Robson and Xiong.
Links: official website, chess24: Open Champions, Open Elimination, Women's Champions, Women's Elimination, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
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, chess24
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, chess24, Reports: 1
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, Reports: 1, 2-5
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, chess24
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.
Links: official website, chess24: Division I Winners | Division I Losers, Division II Winners | Division II Losers, Division III Winners | Division III Losers, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
A strong 10-player round robin for players just below the level of supertournament regulars.
Links: official website, chess24: Group A, Group B
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
Links: official website, chess24, Reports: Preview, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, tiebreaks
The Open Polish Championship is a 16-player knockout while the Polish Women's Championship will be a 10-player single round-robin. The top prize of 60,000 PLN (around $14,000) is identical for each event.
Links: official website, chess24: Open, Women
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
This one-day Play-In will determine the 56 players in the 3rd Champions Chess Tour event, that runs May 22-26. There are four places in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III up for grabs.
The qualifier starts with a 9-round 10+2 Swiss tournament open to all grandmasters. The top finishers then play a 2-game match, with a potential Armageddon decider, to decide who plays in which division.
Links: official website, chess24, Report
A strong 10-player round-robin tournament with Sam Sevian and Andrey Esipenko the top seeds.
Links: official website, chess24
This traditional 8-player event continues to combine young and experienced players, with the 2023 line-up as follows: Boris Gelfand, Peter Svidler, Nils Grandelius, Jorden van Foreest, Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Vincent Keymer and Abhimanyu Mishra.
Links: official website, chess24
A 9-round Swiss open that is the strongest of three tournaments that form the Baku Open Chess Festival. Hans Niemann is the top seed.
Links: official website, chess24
The first of five events on the 2023 Grand Chess Tour is a 10-player classical round-robin with a $350,000 prize fund. New World Champion Ding Liren and his challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi are in the line-up.
Links: official website, chess24, Reports: Preview, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
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, chess24
The 6th edition of a strong 9-round open that takes place in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Indian stars Gukesh, Vidit, Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa are among those set to play.
Links: official website, chess24
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, chess24, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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.
Links: official website, chess24: Div 1 Winners, Div 2 Winners, Div 3 Winners, Div 1 Losers, Div 2 Losers, Div 3 Losers, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
This will be the 11th edition of one of the world’s strongest super-tournaments and sees Magnus Carlsen bidding to win a 5th event in a row, and a 6th in total.
He faces Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Gukesh, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Aryan Tari.
Links: official website, chess24: Blitz, Main Event, Reports: Blitz, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
The French Team Championship is one of the world's strongest team events and sees 16 teams, with 8 players on each team each round, compete for the French title. It starts with two groups where the bottom 4 after 7 rounds go to a lower pool for the last 4 rounds, while the top 4 go to a higher pool where the title will be decided.
Links: official website, chess24: Pool A, Pool B, High Pool, Low Pool
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.
Links: official website, chess24, Report
Six different age groups will compete for world titles in rapid and blitz chess.
Links: official website
This one-day Play-In will determine the 56 players in the 4th Champions Chess Tour event, that runs July 10-14. There are four places in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III up for grabs.
The qualifier starts with a 9-round 10+2 Swiss tournament open to all grandmasters. The top finishers then play a 2-game match, with a potential Armageddon decider, to decide who plays in which division.
Links: official website, chess24, Report
Gukesh and Christopher Yoo are among the young stars in action in the 8-player final knockout of the $50,000 Junior Speed Chess Championship 2023. Each match consists of 90 minutes of 5+1 blitz, 60 minutes of 3+1 blitz and 30 minutes of 1+1 bullet, with all games scored normally (i.e. 1 point for a win).
Links: official website, chess24: Gukesh-Ohanyan, Yoo-Pranav, Raunak-Samadov, Lazavik-Dardha, Gukesh-Pranav, Raunak-Lazavik, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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, chess24: Masters, Challengers, Futures
A chess team event which will be a collaboration between FIDE and the Indian IT company Tech Mahindra. World no. 1 Magnus Carlsen, World Champion Ding Liren and Women's no. 1 Hou Yifan are among the players set to be in action.
Links: official website, chess24, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
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, chess24: NC World Masters, Sparkassen A Open, NRW Sportland Cup
The Dutch Open Championship is 13-player knockout, with the Dutch top three, Anish Giri, Jorden van Foreest and Erwin l'Ami getting a bye through to Round 2. The Dutch Women's Championship is a 4-player double round-robin.
Links: official website, chess24: Open, Women
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. World no. 1 Magnus Carlsen tops the line-up, which also features the 15th World Champion Vishy Anand.
Links: official website, chess24, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun will defend her title in a 12-game match against her Chinese compatriot Lei Tingjie. The first six games are played in Ju Wenjun's home city of Shanghai, before the action switches to Lei Tingjie's Chongqing. The prize fund is €500,000, with €300,000 going to the winner.
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
Links: official website, chess24, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
The 36th Leon Masters features defending champion Boris Gelfand as well as Gukesh, Nikita Vitiugov and Jaime Santos. Each match of the 4-player knockout features four 20+10 games.
Links: official website, chess24
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.
Links: official website, chess24: Div 1 Winners, Div 1 Losers, Div 2W, Div 2L, Div 3W, Div 3L, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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, chess24: Juniors, Girls, Seniors, Report
The Grandmaster Triathlon will once again see eight top players compete in classical, rapid and blitz chess. The players in 2023 are Yu Yangyi, Liem Le, Arjun Erigaisi, Bogdan-Daniel Deac, Vincent Keymer, Bassem Amin, David Navara and Jules Moussard.
Links: official website, chess24: Chess960, GM Triathlon, Report
Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja all play in this 16-player double-elimination tournament to decide the world's best player at bullet chess, i.e. with just one minute for all moves.
Links: chess24, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
This one-day Play-In will determine the 56 players in the 5th Champions Chess Tour event, that runs August 28-September 1. There are four places in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III up for grabs.
The qualifier starts with a 9-round 10+2 Swiss tournament open to all grandmasters. The top finishers then play a 2-game match, with a potential Armageddon decider, to decide who plays in which division.
Links: official website, chess24, Report
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.
Links: official website, chess24: Open, Women, Reports: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3
A strong 10-player round robin for players just below the level of supertournament regulars.
Links: official website, chess24: A tournament, B tournament
A new FIDE endorsed team tournament with the same sponsor as the WR Chess Masters.
Links: official website, chess24, Reports: 1, 2, 3
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.
Links: official website, chess24: Div 1 Winners, Div 1 Losers, Div 2 Winners, Div 2 Losers, Div 3 Winners, Div 3 Losers, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
The 5th edition of this rapid tournament that follows the Grand Chess Tour model of three days of rapid chess followed by two days of blitz.
Links: official website, chess24: Women's Rapid, Women's Blitz, Open Rapid, Open Blitz, Reports: Womens 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Open 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
The European Youth Chess Championship is being held in six age categories, from Under 8 to U18, with separate open and girl sections.
Links: official website, chess24: U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, U18, G8, G10, G12, G14, G16, G18
Hikaru Nakamura will attempt to win the Speed Chess Championship for a 6th year in a row, but Magnus Carlsen is among the 15 players who will try to stop him in a tournament of knockout matches. The format is 90 minutes of 5+1 chess followed by 60 minutes of 3+1 and 30 minutes of 1+1.
Links: chess24: RO16: Nakamura vs. Yu Yangyi, So vs. Aronian, Nihal vs. Sarana, Firouzja vs. Andreikin, Nepomniachtchi vs. Arjun, MVL vs. Gukesh, Caruana vs. Abdusattorov, Carlsen vs. Vidit, QFs: Firouzja vs. So, Nakamura vs. Caruana, Carlsen vs. Nepomniachtchi, Nihal vs. MVL, SFs: Carlsen vs. So, Nakamura vs. MVL, Final: Nakamura vs. Carlsen
This 12-team event combines round-robin and knockout elements with the teams of four players competing in a "slow rapid" format with just under an hour per player in each game.
Links: official website, chess24: Pool A, Pool B, Knockout, Report
This one-day Play-In will determine the 56 players in the 6th Champions Chess Tour event, that runs September 25-29. There are four places in Division I, 16 in Division II and 32 in Division III up for grabs.
The qualifier starts with a 9-round 10+2 Swiss tournament open to all grandmasters. The top finishers then play a 2-game match, with a potential Armageddon decider, to decide who plays in which division.
Links: official website, chess24, Report
The most prestigious youth tournament features two 11-round Swiss opens in Open and Girls categories for players 20 or under.
Links: official website, chess24: Open, Girls
The AI Cup is the sixth stage of the $2 million 2023 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—Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Denis Lazavik—16 in Division II and 32 in Division III.
Links: official website, chess24: Div I Winners, Div I Losers, Div 2 Winners, Div 2 Losers, Div 3 Winners, Div 3 Losers, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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.
Links: official website, chess24: Open, Women, Report
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, chess24: Open, Women, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
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.
Links: official website, chess24, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
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, chess24: Open, Women, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
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.
Links: official website, chess24: Open, Women, Reports: 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Eight players, including women's number-one Hou Yifan, will compete in a knockout to determine the Women's 2023 Speed Chess Champion. The format is the same as in the open event, with 90 minutes of 5+1 games followed by 60 minutes of 3+1 and 30 minutes of 1+1.
Links: official website
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, chess24, Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Please let us know of any other missing major events that have already been announced for 2023!
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