Here is an article with the prize structure for the FIDE World Championship:

 

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/6274359.html 

 

The new world champion will recieve $390,000 while second place will recieve $325,000. Maybe it does pay to become a chess professional?! 

MattHelfst wrote: The new world champion will recieve $390,000 while second place will recieve $325,000. Maybe it does pay to become a chess professional?! 

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Haha I would buy a sterling silver set just because if I won money playing chess I couldnt really see myself buying anything else

I think it's not so big amount for Chess Champion.

fleiman wrote: I think it's not so big amount for Chess Champion.

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Well it actually is quite a bit just to play chess? I mean I view chess as a fun game and for someone to get payed that much to play it is awesome.

Actually Matt, it pays to be World Champion... The average chess professional does not make very much...

Creg wrote: Actually Matt, it pays to be World Champion... The average chess professional does not make very much...

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Exactly, you have to be pretty much top in the world before you make any money. It seems unfair that other sport players earn millions a year in football etc, but I suppose that is televised.

Yeah Lord, the problem is most people dont understand how much skill playing chess at that level requires

Chess  really is a tough game, especially at the top. Compared to the money other sports professionals make, chess players are grossly underpaid. Or should I say that pro's in other sports are grossly overpaid. However I do feel that lower level chess tournaments, should increase their prize money. Unfortunately chess being a cerebral sport, is not much appreciated by the general public, who would much rather watch two 'dunderheads' swat a ball across a net.

Chess  really is a tough game, especially at the top. Compared to the money other sports professionals make, chess players are grossly underpaid. Or should I say that pro's in other sports are grossly overpaid. However I do feel that lower level chess tournaments, should increase their prize money. Unfortunately chess being a cerebral sport, is not much appreciated by the general public, who would much rather watch two 'dunderheads' swat a ball across a net.

I think the Poker championship winner gets something like 7 million for first place and that game is not even close to being as complex.   I think it just depends on the popularity of the sport. 

Im not sure Ian, I wouldnt want to take anything away from even poker players, because any competition on that level is definitely difficult, but i think that chess players at that level should certainly make more.

congratulations to Anand :)

If you consider the amount of talent, time and conditions necessary to be able to become world champion, and then the amount of people who try but never achieve it, I don't think it is so well paid. I mean the average football (american or not), hockey, baseball, etc. player earn more.

this all falls under entertainment... you get paid based on how many people are entertained. you really can't be overpaid as an entertainer because you can only make as much as people are willing to pay to watch you. the only way you can be underpaid is if the promoter is taking more than they should. but ultimately, i never buy the "overpaid/underpaid" athlete argument

Though this is a large amount, its far from the most earned by a champion from a World Championship. Though this is probably because 1.3 million was split between 8 people. Here are some big prizes from chess matches.

1921 - Capablanca and Lasker play for a total of 25,000. I don't know what that is after inflation, but I imagine its quite a bit.

1972 - Fischer got the prizefund of The Macth of the Century raised to 250,000. I believe he was offered more than a million for the 1975 match, but turned it down.

1978 - $560,000 was the prize fund of Karpov-Korchnoi, with 2/3 going to the victor. *SPOILER* it was Karpov.

1981 - $430,000 (not sure about this) was for the second Karpov-Korchnoi Match

1992 - Fischer won 3.5 million out of 5 million (I think) in a return match against Spassky.  This is the most ever earned from a single sporting event (don't bother arguing over whether chess is a sport, start a new topic for that) except for some boxing matches. Well possibly many boxing matches, I dont really follow boxing.

2003 - 1,000,000 Kasparov - Deep Junior

2004 - Fide knockout was for a total of 1.5 million

Also most of Kasparov's matches had prize funds in the hundreds of thousands, and Kramnik's matches against topalov and Leko both had prize funds over 1 million.

$390K is a paltry sum for winning a world championship in anything. Perhaps Anand's super rich #1 fan-boy, Howard Stern, should sweeten the pot.