The 2023 Champions Chess Tour has been updated and includes both premier events from Chess.com and format components from previous seasons of the Champions Chess Tour. This is the result of Chess.com purchasing Play Magnus Group.
Six events, including playoffs, make up the circuit before an eight-player finals event in December. Magnus Carlson, the current event’s two-time champion and current world number one, will defend his title.
He competes against other well-known chess players including Wesley So, the winner of the 2022 Chess.com Global Championship, and rival grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, better known to the Twitch community as “GMHikaru.”
The biggest chess website in the world, Chess.com, has partnered with companies including Meltwater, PUMA, Airthings, and Mastercard to support its events. The relationship between Airthings and the Norwegian firm will last until 2023.
For the 2023 tour, Chess.com has made certain adjustments to “maximise excitement and make every match matter.” The new format starts with open qualifying rounds and a play-in, then moves on to a knockout round where 56 players battle for cash prizes and a spot in the next knockout round.
Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com, stated in a news release: “Chess.com will provide the fans with the best possible coverage, incorporating all that was fantastic about both the Global Championship and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
All Champions Tour games will be played on Chess.com. The live broadcast will air on the site itself as well as its Twitch and YouTube channels starting February 3rd.
