Champions Chess Tour 2023: All The Information
The 2023 Champions Chess Tour (CCT) is the biggest and most important online chess tournament series to date. The tour features six events spanning the entire year and culminates in live in-person Finals.
The CCT features a $2,000,000 prize fund and the best players in the world.
CCT Finalists
The following eight players qualified to play in the CCT Finals, happening live in Toronto, Canada.
- GM Magnus Carlsen
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov
- GM Fabiano Caruana
- GM Hikaru Nakamura
- GM Wesley So
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
- GM Alireza Firouzja
- GM Denis Lazavik
Events And Results
The CCT features six events and live in-person Finals. Below, you can learn more about each event. You can also visit the event's official website for more information about the format.
Airthings Masters
The first event of the tour happened in February 2023. Below are the results:
- GM Magnus Carlsen: Division I winner.
- GM Hikaru Nakamura: Division I runner-up.
- GM Wesley So: Division I third place.
- GM Fabiano Caruana: Division II winner.
Chessable Masters
The second event of the tour happened in March 2023. Below are the results:
- GM Hikaru Nakamura: Division I winner.
- GM Fabiano Caruana: Division I runner-up.
- GM Magnus Carlsen: Division I third place.
- GM Nodirbek Abdussattorov: Division II winner.
ChessKid Cup
The Play-in of the third event of the tour happened on May 1, and the Knockout on May 22 through 26.
Below are the results
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov: Division I winner.
- GM Fabiano Caruana: Division I runner-up.
- GM Jorden van Foreest: Division I third place.
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev: Division II winner.
Aimchess Rapid
The Play-in of the fourth event of the tour happened on June 12, and the Knockout on July 10 through 14.
Below are the results
- GM Magnus Carlsen: Division I winner.
- GM Wesley So: Division I runner-up.
- GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov: Division I third place.
- GM Denis Lazavik: Division II winner.
Julius Baer Generation Cup
The Play-in of the fifth event of the tour happened on July 24, and the Knockout happened on August 30 through September 3.
Below are the results
- GM Magnus Carlsen: Division I winner.
- GM Alireza Firouzja: Division I runner-up.
- GM Denis Lazavik: Division I third place.
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi: Division II winner.
AI Cup
The Play-in of the sixth event of the tour happened on September 18, and the Knockout on September 25 through 29.
Below are the results:
- GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave: Division I winner.
GM Magnus Carlsen: Division I runner-up.
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi: Division I third place.
GM Vladimir Fedoseev: Division II winner.
Champions Chess Tour Finals
The CCT Finals happen on December 9 through 16. The Finals consist of a single-elimination bracket featuring the champion of each of the tour's events and the top players from the tour leaderboard.
Tour Leaderboard
Below is the overall tour standings. Click here to learn more about the Tour Point system.
| Pos | Name | Fed | Tour points | Total prizes |
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen | 625 | $125,000 | |
| 2 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 325 | $67,500 | |
| 3 | Fabiano Caruana | 325 | $75,000 | |
| 4 | Hikaru Nakamura | 290 | $65,000 | |
| 5 | Wesley So | 235 | $55,000 | |
| 6 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 180 | $37,500 | |
| 7 | Alireza Firouzja | 180 | $47,500 | |
| 8 | Denis Lazavik | 175 | $44,300 | |
| 9 | Vladimir Fedoseev | 148 | $39,000 | |
| 10 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 131 | $28,500 | |
| 11 | Levon Aronian | 110 | $30,000 | |
| 12 | Sam Sevian | 98 | $25,700 | |
| 13 | Jorden van Foreest | 95 | $22,500 | |
| 14 | Vladislav Artemiev | 80 | $23,500 | |
| 15 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 80 | $22,900 | |
| 16 | Anish Giri | 75 | $20,300 | |
| 17 | Yu Yangyi | 69 | $19,100 | |
| 18 | Alexey Sarana | 66 | $24,600 | |
| 19 | Eduardo Iturrizaga | 60 | $18,100 | |
| 20 | Arjun Erigaisi | 56 | $16,000 |
Schedule
The CCT Finals happen on December 9 through 16. The start time will be announced soon.
Tour Points
After each event, players earn CCT Tour Points based on their placement in each division, according to the table below:
| Placing | Division I | Division II | Division III |
| 1st | 150 | 50 | 20 |
| 2nd | 100 | 30 | 15 |
| 3rd | 75 | 20 | 10 |
| 4th | 50 | 15 | 8 |
| 5th (x2) | 30 | 10 | 6 |
| 7th (x2) | 20 | 8 | 5 |
| 9th (x4) | - | 6 | 4 |
| 13th (x4) | - | 5 | 3 |
| 17th (x8) | - | - | 2 |
| 25th (x8) | - | - | 1 |
Prizes
The Champions Chess Tour features a $2,000,000 prize fund, the biggest prize fund for an online chess event in history. Individual events count with a $235,000 prize purse, $500,000 go to the Finals, and $100,000 to the CCT Leaderboard.
Below is a breakdown of the prize pot.
Champions Chess Tour Events: $235,000 each
| Placing | Division I | Division II | Division III |
| 1st | $30,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| 2nd | $20,000 | $7,500 | $3,600 |
| 3rd | $15,000 | $6,000 | $2,800 |
| 4th | $12,500 | $5,000 | $2,400 |
| 5th (x2) | $10,000 | $4,500 | $2,000 |
| 7th (x2) | $7,500 | $4,000 | $1,800 |
| 9th (x4) | - | $3,500 | $1,600 |
| 13th (x4) | - | $3,000 | $1,400 |
| 17th (x8) | - | - | $1,200 |
| 25th (x8) | - | - | $1,000 |
| Total | $112,500 | $71,500 | $51,000 |
Champions Chess Tour Leaderboard: $100,000
| Placing | Prize |
| 1st | $25,000 |
| 2nd | $20,000 |
| 3rd | $16,000 |
| 4th | $12,000 |
| 5th | $9,000 |
| 6th | $7,000 |
| 7th | $5,000 |
| 8th | $3,000 |
| 9th | $2,000 |
| 10th | $1,000 |
Champions Chess Tour Finals: $500,000
| Placing | Prize |
| 1st | $200,000 |
| 2nd | $100,000 |
| 3rd (x2) | $50,000 |
| 5th | $25,000 |
| 6th | $20,000 |
| 7th | $15,000 |
| 8th | $12,000 |
| Per Playoff match win | $1,000 |
