Romania’s Superbet Chess Classic competition to feature nine of the world’s best players

Superbet Chess Classic Romania, the competition that is part of the most important international chess circuits, will feature the world’s top chess players, among whom three grandmasters.

The competition is part of the Grand Chess Tour. The Romanian stage will take place between June 24 and July 6 and will feature grandmasters Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, and Alireza Firouzja.

For this year's edition, nine of the world's best chess players have been invited to participate in all five stages of the circuit - three of them qualified by finishing in the top three places in the 2022 edition. The other six were invited based on several criteria, such as position in URS and FIDE rankings, fighting spirit, and fair play.

The nine players are Fabiano Caruana (USA), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Wesley So (USA), Gukesh Dommaraju (India), Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja (France), Anish Giri (Netherlands), Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa (India), and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan).

All nine will play in all five stages of the circuit. Wildcards for other players who will participate in the three rapid and blitz stages will be announced once decided.

“We are proud to present the ninth edition of this annual chess circuit to the public. We have gathered the best chess players from around the world, so the tournament will highlight both the experience of renowned champions and the new generation that has reached the world chess stage,” said Michael Khodarkovsky, GCT executive director, cited by News.ro.

Stages will take place in Poland, Romania, Croatia, and the US. The total prizes for the circuit have increased in 2024 to USD 1.5 million, of which USD 350,000 for classic chess stages and USD 175,000 for rapid & blitz chess stages. This year's edition will have an increased bonus prize pool of USD 275,000.

The Romanian Chess Federation, along with sponsor Superbet, will be a co-organizer and partner of the Romanian stage. The final format, along with the complete list of tournament players and wildcards, will be announced soon.

(Photo source: SuperChess on Facebook)