The greatest chess players of the world kick off the Grand Chess Tour 2022

Ten of the greatest chess players of the world, according to the FIDE rankings, including the top Romanian player at this moment, will compete next week, in Bucharest, in the first stage of the international event Grand Chess Tour 2022. The opening ceremony organized on 4 May 2022 will be attended by a leading figure of worldwide chess: Garry Kasparov, deemed the best player of all times.

The first of the five stages of the international event Grand Chess Tour – one of the most important chess tournaments worldwide, will kick off next week in Bucharest. Ten chess grand masters (GMs) from among the top players in the world, including the number 1 chess player in Romania now (who received a wildcard for this stage) will compete against each other in the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2022 competition.

The 10 great chess players competing in the Bucharest competition are:

GM Alireza Firouzja (France) – ranking 2^nd worldwide, in his first year of playing throughout GCT
GM Levon Aronian (US) – 6^th place worldwide, currently competing for a place in the 2022 Candidates Tournament
GM Fabiano Caruana (US) – 4^th place worldwide, currently competing for a place in the 2022 Candidates Tournament
GM Wesley So (US) – winner of GCT 2021 and of the Paris Rapid & Blitz 2021 stage.
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) – 3^rd place in GCT 2021 and winner of Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2021
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) – 5th place worldwide, world title challenger in CM 2021, currently competing for a place in the 2022 Candidates Tournament
GM Richard Rapport (Hungary) – 10^th place worldwide, currently competing for a place in the 2022 Candidates Tournament
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) – ranking 2^nd in GCT 2021, winner of Sinquefield 2021 Cup and of GCT Croatia 2021
GM Leinier Dominguez (US) – Competing for the first time in GCT, currently competing for a place in the 2022 Candidates Tournament
GM Bogdan Deac (Romania) – the best Romanian chess player (ranking 59th worldwide), obtained the title of international Grand Master at only 14 years and 7 months, thus becoming the youngest grand master worldwide at that time. He was first selected to be part of the Romanian national team at the age of 14. In July 2019 he was designated the 8th junior player in the world by FIDE.

Carrying a strategic significance in establishing the best chess player of the world, the Bucharest competition will consist in classical chess matches where players will compete as part of a tournament, one against the other, and the winner will be decided based on the accumulated score. The prizes awarded in the Bucharest competition amount to $350,000.

The tournament will be kicked off Wednesday, 4 of May, as of 4 pm, and will be marked by the extraordinary participation of the multiple-time world champion, Garry Kasparov, along with the Executive Director of Grand Chess Tour – Michael Khodarkovsky, Romanian Prime Minister – Nicolae Ciucă, President of the Romanian Senate – Florin Cîțu, President of the Chamber of Deputies – Marcel Ciolacu, President of Superbet Foundation – Augusta Dragic, all 10 players, as well as guests from various social and professional areas and media.

The event will kick off with the introduction of the tournament and of the players of this first stage, the random draw of the participants, followed by a first chess move of the international Grandmaster Garry Kasparov versus a special guest, a Q&A session for the media, and a series of special moments with the guests, including the 10 Grandmasters and Garry Kasparov.

The opening ceremony of the chess tournament, conveying a message of trust and hope, celebrating life and peace and the universal values, while also being an homage to those who serve the greater good, under the slogan “Uniting Minds”, will be broadcast live on TVR 1, and on the website grandchesstour.org.

The chess competition will take place at the Sheraton Hotel in Bucharest, between 5 and 14 May, with one leisure day on 10 May. The matches will begin every day at 3 pm and end at approximately 8 pm. Each day of the competition will be kicked off by a first move made by special guests, athletes, officials and various public figures from Romania.

The event is also available to the wide public. All those who are enthusiastic about this sport may book tickets on www.superchess.ro and watch the 10 GMs competing against each other, right there in the room. Tickets are available in a limited number.

Media access both at the opening ceremony and the chess competition is exclusively based on an accreditation. In order to participate, journalists are invited to apply for accreditation by filling in the accreditation form and sending it at chesstour@porternovelli.ro, by 2 May 2022, 1 pm.

The Romanian Chess Federation is the co-organizer and partner of the Bucharest competition together with the Superbet Foundation. Romania currently ranks 27^th out of 186 countries worldwide, according to FIDE rankings.

Media Partners: TVR 1, Prima Sport, Pro Sport, gsp.ro/Gazeta Sporturilor, Digi Sport, Rock FM, wesport.ro

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