Bucharest is preparing for the opening of the second stage of the Grand Chess Tour 2024

Ten of the world’s most valuable chess players (according to the FIDE ranking, at this moment), including one of Romania’s greatest chess players, Bogdan Deac, are preparing for the start of the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2024 – the second stage of the international Grand Chess Tour (GCT), which will start at the end of June in Bucharest.

This year’s classical chess competition, which will be held at the Grand Hotel Bucharest (Sala Ronda), is distinguished by its strategic importance in determining the world’s best chess player. The players will play in a closed tournament system, each against each other, and the winner will be decided by the accumulated score.

The 10 players who start the competition in Bucharest are:

• Bogdan Daniel Deac: ranked 42nd in the world, number 2 in Romania
• Fabiano Caruana: ranked 2nd in the world, winner of the Grand Chess Tour 2023
• Ian Nepomniachtchi: ranked 4th in the world
• Nodirbek Abdusattorov: ranked 5th in the world
• Gukesh Dommaraju: ranked 6th in the world
• Wesley So: ranked 9th in the world
• Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu: 14th place in the world
• Anish Giri: 15th in the world
• Alireza Firouzja: world 16th place, winner of the Grand Chess Tour 2022
• Maxime Vachier-Lagrave: ranked 20th in the world

On the occasion of the 2024 GCT Tour, the multiple world champion Garry Kasparov, founder of the tournament, will be present again in Romania. The great chess player will be in Bucharest for the second part of the local competition calendar.

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The prize money for the Bucharest leg is $350,000. Prizes for the entire circuit amount to $1.5 million, including $350,000 for the classical chess stage and $175,000 for each of the rapid and blitz chess stages. The 2024 edition will also benefit from a bonus prize pool of $275,000, which will be awarded to the top finishers at the end of the entire tournament.

The current edition’s prize fund is provided by the main sponsors: the Superbet Foundation and the Saint Louis Chess Club, both non-profit organizations that support chess education and the GCT’s mission to promote the sport of chess around the world. The Romanian Chess Federation will be co-organizer and partner of the Romanian stage.

Tickets to watch the competition now on sale

The general public is expected to attend the event. Lovers of the mind sport can book tickets HERE to watch the matches between the 10 Grand Masters directly in the competition hall. Tickets have already gone on sale and are limited in number. Children up to the age of 14 receive free entry, but they must ensure their participation on the above-mentioned page in the “tickets for children” section. The minimum age for participation is five years old, with the understanding that quiet must be maintained in the competition hall. All funds raised from the purchase of tickets will be donated to the REKARO program for the revival of Romanian kayaking.

The opening ceremony will take place on June 25, at 3.00 PM, at the Grand Hotel Bucharest (Sala Ronda), and will consist of the presentation of the tournament and the players of this stage, the drawing of the competition numbers, followed by the first symbolic move, made by a special guest, as well as a series of moments made with guests, with the participation of the 10 chess grandmasters. The chess competition will take place at the same Grand Hotel Bucharest in the capital from 25 June to 6 July 2024.

Programme of the local stage

• Monday 24 June: Arrival of the players in Bucharest
• Tuesday, 25 June: Opening ceremony of the local stage.
• Wednesday 26 June: Round 1
• Thursday 27 June: Round 2
• Friday 28 June: Round 3
• Saturday 29 June: Round 4
• Sunday 30 June: Round 5
• Monday 1 July: Competitive day off
• Tuesday, 2 July: Round 6
• Wednesday 3 July: Round 7
• Thursday, 4 July: Round 8
• Friday 5 July: Round 9 and Awards Ceremony