Dear Friends,

The month of January is over. One-twelfth of the new year has whizzed by, and here at MC, we’re in awe at how quickly time seems to pass when you’re having fun. We hope the dawn of 2015 has been as eventful and fulfilling for you as it has been for us. Here are some of the exciting updates we’ve got for you this time around.

Millionaire Chess & KCFA!

It is with incredible pride that we are able to announce the collaboration between Millionaire Chess and the Kasparov Chess Foundation Africa! The KCFA is organizing three MC global satellite tournaments in Africa over the course of the next 8 months. These satellite tournaments will be a big step for both MC as well as KCFA in bringing to the talented players of Africa the opportunity of participating in the highest stakes chess tournament in the world. Our vision, from the very beginning, was to become a truly global brand and this collaboration is an important step for us in doing so.

To find out more about this tournament and others like it, keep updated by checking out the Millionaire Chess website. If you are interested in organizing Millionaire Chess Satellite Tournaments in your own locality, make sure to email Sid Gandhi - Head of the Global Satellite Program at satellite@millionairechess.com.

Working with Chess.com!
 

Millionaire Chess is officially collaborating with Chess.com, one of the most popular chess websites in the world! GM Maurice Ashley will be creating a video series of 8 lectures and doing several live interviews as well. Chess.com has also agreed to be at the big event in October by distributing swag to chess.com members at the tournament. Fans of the site might even lock horns with some of the Chess.com leadership as they are planning to play in MC#2 as well!

Registration Fee
 

The early bird discount is no longer available, and the fee has officially returned to $1000. It’s very encouraging for us to note the amount of support we’ve gotten over the last month. In January of 2014, we had a mere 40 players registered for our tournament. This year, we already have an incredible 281!! Make sure you register before the March 31st deadline when the fee will go up to $1250. The sooner you plan for your entry, the better. Sign up today at.

Wesley making Waves
 

If you did not follow the illustrious Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2015, you missed an outstanding performance by the 1st ever Millionaire Chess Champion – Wesley So. Wesley had an incredible result by tying for 2nd place behind World Champion Magnus Carlsen with an outstanding 8 ½ out of 13. His only loss was against the young Dutch GM Anish Giri, who also tied for second. He also has vaulted to the number 7 spot on the planet! We’re very excited for Wesley and all of his amazing accomplishments, and we are proud to say that he is the reigning champion of our tournament. Even more exciting, he has just signed up to play in MC#2!

Major Chess Stars jump on board!

In addition to Wesley, two other SuperGMs have registered for our event! Hikaru Nakamura, known as one of the most dangerous players on the planet, and Wang Hao, one of the elite players from China, have both thrown their hats into the ring. Other top stars who have registered early include GMs Le Quang Liem, Ray Robson (last year’s runner up) and Sam Shankland, the most recent American to break into the Top 100 players in the world. The event is shaping up to be a star-studded affair, and we are still 9 months away!

Warmest Regards,

Amy Lee & Maurice Ashley