Champions Chess Tour Returns With 2024 Chess.com Classic
NOTE: This event was renamed the Chess.com Classic. To understand why we made this decision, please read Chief Chess Officer Danny Rensch's blog post here.
Chess.com is excited to announce the 2024 Chess.com Classic—the second leg of this year’s prestigious $1.7 million Champions Chess Tour.
Starting on May 8, the Chess.com Classic follows the Chessable Masters won by world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen in a thrilling final in February. Its conclusion on May 15 will mark the mid-way point of the flagship Tour’s regular season.
With his victory in the last leg, Carlsen gained direct entry into Division I of the Chess.com Classic. GM Alireza Firouzja also qualified as runner-up alongside GM Vincent Keymer, who won Division II. All three have confirmed they will vie for the title.
GMs Denis Lazavik, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Levon Aronian, and Alexey Sarana also gained entry to the Divisional Placement stage of the Chess.com Classic qualifying process following their performances in the Chessable Masters.
They each have an opportunity to qualify to Division I. Nepomniachtchi will be coming into the tournament fresh from his campaign in the FIDE Candidates in April. However, the winner of that event, India's GM Gukesh Dommaraju, will have to go through the qualifying process.
The players will compete for a prize pool of $300,000 and all-important CCT points. The players with the most CCT Points at the end of the regular season’s four online events qualify for the live CCT Finals.
The elite rapid chess event will follow the now-familiar Champions Chess Tour format with 56 players sorted into three divisions. You can find more information on the details here.
The Chess.com Classic qualifier for non-GM titled players kicks off on May 3 at 11 a.m. ET/17:00 CEST. The event's Play-in starts on May 8 at 12:30 p.m. ET/18:30 CEST. You can watch the live broadcast of the 2024 Chess.com Classic on Chess.com/TV or on our Twitch and YouTube channels.
Leon is an award-winning former national newspaper journalist now working for Chess.com, having previously been chess24 and Chessable. His main mission is to spread the word about chess, but he is also a keen league player and secretary of Battersea Chess Club in London. In his previous career as a reporter/editor, Leon worked for The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, and The Sun, breaking many chess stories as well as writing general news and features. As an ex-hack, Leon is still always on the hunt for a good chess tale.
Contact him at leon.watson@chess.com.
