Paris To Host Live Final Of 2024 Speed Chess Championship: Nakamura, Carlsen Confirmed
The 2024 Speed Chess Championship is fast approaching—and this year it will end with a live, in-person final staged in Paris. For the first time, Chess.com is taking the climax of its flagship fast time control event offline.
The French capital will play host to the Winners and Losers finals and then the Grand Final as the top four battle it out for the ultimate title in speed chess. A prize pool of $175,000 is at stake across the whole tournament, which will run in three stages starting in June and finishing in September.
Live commentary of the final stage will be provided from ESpot, the city’s new esports arena, from September 6 to 8 and fans will be able watch the action in person. Tickets are on sale now.
The live finals will follow the 16-player Main Event held online from July 25 to August 9. Seven of the world’s top speed chess players are already confirmed by invitation.
GM Hikaru Nakamura returns to reclaim the title he has won a record six times—but lost in 2023 to his great rival, three-time winner GM Magnus Carlsen. What a final that was.
What a fight by both players, but Magnus wins again!
— chess24 (@chess24com) September 22, 2023
Carlsen 13:11 Nakamura. #SpeedChess pic.twitter.com/2WmSxOdsUl
Nakamura and Carlsen have so far carved up the Speed Chess Championship since its inception in 2017 facing each other in four finals and winning every event between them. No other event has brought their rivalry into sharper focus.
Will 2024 be the year a new name takes the crown?
Joining the big two are GMs Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, the French top two Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and World Champion Ding Liren. It is already a hugely exciting field, and two more invitation spots will be announced later.
A further six qualification spots are available via the Titled Tuesday open leaderboard. The last place, bringing the total field to 16, in the Main Event is available to the winner of a play-in open to all titled players on June 27 and 28.
However, only four will ultimately make it through to Paris before battling it out to win the strongest speed event in chess. This year, a third-place match will also take place.
The Speed Chess Championship is a real fan favorite on the chess calendar that combines 5+1 and 3+1 blitz with 1+1 bullet in a double-elimination knockout format tournament.
The Speed Chess Championship’s return is one of a trio of tournaments Chess.com is announcing this week, along with the Chess.com Hyperbullet Championship, part of the new Community Championships series, and the 2024 Bullet Chess Championship.
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.
