The Biggest Chess Prizewinners In 2023 (And How Much They Made)

In 2023, GM Magnus Carlsen became the first chess player to eclipse $10,000,000 in lifetime winnings just from major tournaments alone—never mind from sponsorships or royalties or helping to run a business. After winning more than $700,000 in 2023, he is the all-time leader, passing GM Viswanathan Anand.

But Carlsen wasn't the biggest money winner of 2023. That honor belonged to GM Ding Liren, victor in the €2,000,000 ($2,200,000) World Championship. Despite falling ill and not playing for most of the rest of the year, he retained his cash lead on runner-up GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, although it was a virtual tie with less than $2,000 separating them. Nepomniachtchi was also a 2023 tournament millionaire even though, unlike Ding, he had more work to do after the championship match to reach that milestone.

Note: Prizes tracked for major tournaments (generally meaning a first-place prize of $10,000 or more), except national and team events. The figures also do not include streaming revenue, coaching income, appearances fees, sponsorships, royalties, or government grants.

• Top Winners
• $100,000 Club
• All-Time Update
• Top Events of 2023
• Conclusion

Top Winners

In addition to the world championship contenders, several usual suspects had another great year. Earning at least $250,000 were Carlsen, GM Fabiano Caruana, GM Wesley So, GM Hikaru Nakamura, and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. And that's just from prizes in major tournaments, except national championships and team events. It also does not include streaming revenue, coaching income, appearances fees, sponsorships, or government grants. (Nor does it take out for travel expenses, which became an issue for the World Rapid and Blitz in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.)

After only one woman, GM Tan Zhongyi, earned six figures last year, two reached that mark this year thanks to the €500,000 ($553,000) World Championship in July, where GM Ju Wenjun defeated GM Lei Tingjie. Both of them also ended up over a quarter-million on the year.

Rounding out the top 10 after Ding, Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen, Caruana, So, Ju, Nakamura, Vachier-Lagrave, and Lei was GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov just ahead of GM Alireza Firouzja.

$100,000 Club

Here is the complete list of players who won $100,000 in major tournaments throughout the year, from the WR Masters in February to the FIDE World Blitz Championship that ended on December 30:

Two players reached $90,000 but couldn't quite get to six figures. They were GMs Aleksandra Goryachkina ($94,569) and Daniil Dubov ($93,739).

The United States had the most players on the six-figure winners list of any country, with five (Caruana, So, Nakamura, Aronian, and Dominguez), followed by India with four (Gukesh, Vidit, Arjun, and Praggnanandhaa).

All-Time Update

Carlsen hitting $10,000,000 in winnings and passing Anand wasn't the only major development on the all-time list in 2023. Nepomniachtchi and Caruana hit the $3,000,000 mark, the eighth and ninth players to do so, while Ding and So became the 15th and 16th players to reach $2,000,000. Nepomniachtchi jumped into the top 10, all the way up to sixth.

Here is the complete list of all-time major event millionaires through December 31, 2023. Note: This list is not adjusted for inflation.

The number of players at $1,000,000 or more remains at 27, where it was at the time of our first article on all-time winnings from the summer of 2022. Next year might see three new members, however, with Firouzja, Duda, and Ju Wenjun all needing less than $150,000 to get there. Ju would become the first woman to reach the million-dollar mark, thanks in part to a significant increase in the prize fund for the FIDE Women's World Championship in recent years.

Top Events of 2023

The $2.2 million World Championship match between Ding and Nepomniachtchi was the most lucrative of the year, while the $553,000 match between Ju and Lei ranked fourth. In between was the World Cup, in which the open field had $1,834,000 available and the women's field another $676,250. Rounding out the top five was the $460,000 Grand Swiss.

Below are all the year's major open events along with the first place prize winner and amount.

Conclusion

In 2024 there is both a Candidates Tournament and World Championship, giving ample opportunity for big cash money with the Champions Chess Tour, Grand Chess Tour, and World Rapid & Blitz all back on the docket as well. Who will claim the largest slice of the prize pie? Stay tuned throughout the year to find out!

Which 2023 prize winner's amount surprised you the most? The least? Who will win the most prize money in 2024? Let us know in the comments!