2017 PRO Chess League Prize Fund
2017 PRO Chess League Prizes:
End of Year:
- PRO Chess League Champions: $20,000
- 2nd Place Team: $10,000
- 3rd Place Team: $3,000
- 4th Place Team: $3,000
- Most Valuable Player | GOLD: $2,500
- Most Valuable Player | SILVER: $1,500
- Most Valuable Player | BRONZE: $1,000
- Top Female Player: $1,000
- Top Under 2600 Rated: $500
- Top Under 2500 Rated: $400
- Top Under 2400 Rated: $300
- Top Under 2300 Rated: $200
- Top Under 2200 Rated: $100
Are you a chess player looking to join a team? Apply to be picked up as a Free Agent here!
Weekly:
$600 / week will be allocated for weekly prizes (including Championship Weekend):
- $200 Best Game
- $100 Best Move / Brilliancy Prize
- $100 Best Match Recap Blog (written on Chess.com)
- $100 Best Video or Live Show (recapping a previous match)
- $100 Best Performing Social and Fan Engaging Team (including but not limited to team Facebook posts, Twitter activity, Official clubs on Chess.com, etc.)
Not long after launching the PRO Chess League, Chess.com has made a big move: increasing the total prize fund for the world's first international, professional chess league from $10,000 to $50,000, surpassing the Grandmaster Blitz Battle Championship in total cash and making the PRO Chess League one of the best-funded online chess events ever.
For details on how to start a PRO Chess League franchise, click here.
The higher prizes will motivate teams around the world to not just play, but compete for first every year. With huge cash payouts for the league's best teams, managers will look to attract the strongest, biggest names to play for their teams, whether they are local or "free agent" acquisitions.
Weekly prizes will also help to reward the most active team managers and players as they promote their own teams. Offering sizable cash rewards for things as simple as blogging or posting to Facebook, the PRO Chess League believes it can provide decent returns on the time investment it takes to organize a championship-level team.
2017 PRO Chess League Prizes:
Season "End of Year" Prizes: $43,500
- PRO Chess League Champions: $20,000
- 2nd Place Team: $10,000
- 3rd Place Team: $3,000
- 4th Place Team: $3,000
- Most Valuable Player | GOLD: $2,500
- Most Valuable Player | SILVER: $1,500
- Most Valuable Player | BRONZE: $1,000
- Top Female Player: $1,000
- Top Under 2600 Rated: $500
- Top Under 2500 Rated: $400
- Top Under 2400 Rated: $300
- Top Under 2300 Rated: $200
- Top Under 2200 Rated: $100
Are you a chess player looking to join a team? Apply to be picked up as a Free Agent here!
Weekly Prizes: $6,600
$600 / week will be allocated for weekly prizes (including Championship Weekend):
- $200 Best Game
- $100 Best Move / Brilliancy Prize
- $100 Best Match Recap Blog (written on Chess.com)
- $100 Best Video or Live Show (recapping a previous match)
- $100 Best Performing Social and Fan Engaging Team (including but not limited to team Facebook posts, Twitter activity, Official clubs on Chess.com, etc.)
All weekly cash prizes will be nominated and voted on by PRO Chess League Staff and volunteers, with weekly winners published in the next weekly match news report and announced during the official broadcast.
Looking to Sponsor the PRO Chess League?
Chess.com reaches millions of unique viewers every year with its special events and coverage (both live and written) of top chess events -- and we expect the PRO Chess League will be one of the most actively followed events of 2017.
Chess.com is currently engaged with potential title sponsors for the inaugural season of the PRO Chess League, but that doesn't mean you can't get involved!
Fill out this form to receive information about your company becoming an official sponsor of a specific team, a player, or even one of the weekly cash prizes.
Danny Rensch is an international master and Chief Chess Officer at Chess.com. After a successful scholastic chess career, Danny joined Chess.com as a co-founder in 2009. He directs the company's content, media partnerships, and professional chess events. Danny is an accomplished commentator and broadcaster, which he used to establish Chess.com's streaming and creator programs. He has channeled his lifelong passion for playing and teaching chess to advance Chess.com's mission of growing the game and helping people enjoy their lives through chess. With over 200 million registered users, Chess.com is the leading platform for playing and learning chess.
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Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Rensch
Company Address: P.O. Box 60400 Palo Alto, CA 94306
Company Phone: 1 (800) 318-2827
Read “Dark Squares,” Danny’s Highly Anticipated Memoir
Danny Rensch has released his highly anticipated memoir on September 16, 2025. Described as Educated meets The Queen’s Gambit, this powerful and deeply personal book dives into his upbringing in an abusive cult and how chess ended up saving his life.
