Chess.com Announcing Chess960 Community Championship With $7,500 In Prizes

Scramble the back rank of your sets because the 2024 Chess.com Community Championships is launching the Chess960 Championships in just a few weeks!

The enticing prize fund of $7,500 includes $2,000 for first place, $1,400 for second, $800 for third and fourth place, and $500 for the remaining fifth to eighth places. Top Streamer Prizes will also be awarded to the highest-placing streamer in the qualifiers who does not win another prize. 

Last week, GM Andrew Tang fought courageously through the losers bracket of the inaugural HyperBullet Championships to defeat GM Daniel Naroditsky in a nail-biting match in the finals.

Now, we’re randomizing gears. Qualifiers will be held from June 17 to 20, with early and late tournaments. Days one, three, and four will host each qualifier at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET. Day two will slightly shift to 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET to accommodate the regular schedule for Title Tuesday! 

Community Championship events like these always incorporate open qualifiers and a knockout finals format. Members from around the world will compete in this captivating variant, second only to “regular” chess.

In order to participate you need to have at least 25 rated games played in the 960 variant, as well as join the Chess.com Community Club! In the qualifiers, we may require participating players to join a video call for fair play checks. These participants will be asked to set up two cameras (typically a webcam and phone) from different angles in the room to ensure fair play. Non-compliance will result in a player's removal from the event.

The anticipated Finals day on June 21 will be complete with Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and the Winners Finals to conclude the event. Keep up with the action and join us on the final day where the chat community will be invited to select the starting positions for the Winners Finals! 

You will have eight chances to win a spot in the finals! This is your opportunity to win fantastic prizes and face off against the best in the mind boggling variant Chess960, 9LX, Fischer-Random, Freestyle Chess, we’ve lost track! 

Follow the action on Chess.com’s Community YouTube and Twitch channels!