World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen to Headline Event
After thrilling wins by GM Fabiano Caruana and five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the first two legs of the Grand Chess Tour, the next tour stop will be in Zagreb, Croatia for SuperUnited Rapid Blitz Croatia, July 4-9, 2023.
"The Grand Chess Tour features the world's best chess players and this year's competition has been no exception thus far," said Grand Chess Tour Executive Director Michael Khodarkovsky. "We are eager to see which player will take top honors when they face off over the board in Croatia in another fast paced Rapid Blitz event."
SuperUnited Rapid Blitz Croatia will mark the midway point of the Grand Chess Tour and will feature $175,000 in prizes. Five full-tour and five wildcard players will compete over nine rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz to see who comes out on top. The field includes:
| Player Name | Invitation Method | Country | FIDE Rating | URS Rating |
1 | Magnus Carlsen | Wildcard | NOR | 2848 | 2849 |
2 | Alireza Firouzja | Full Tour | FRA | 2811 | 2795 |
3 | Fabiano Caruana | Full Tour | USA | 2781 | 2780 |
4 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Full Tour | FID | 2778 | 2789 |
5 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | Full Tour | POL | 2767 | 2767 |
6 | Viswanathan Anand | Wildcard | IND | 2739 | 2750 |
7 | Richard Rapport | Full Tour | ROU | 2736 | 2746 |
8 | Dommaraju Gukesh | Wildcard | IND | 2655 | 2690 |
9 | Ivan Saric | Wildcard | CRO | 2624 | 2656 |
10 | Constantin Lupulescu | Wildcard | ROU | 2584 | 2602 |
Grandmaster Wesley So from the United States is currently at the top of 2023 Grand Chess Tour leaderboard, followed by Poland's GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda and GM Fabiano Caruana, also from the United States.
The Grand Chess Tour is a leading global circuit of international chess tournaments featuring the world's best players competing for $1.4 million in cash throughout the 2023 season. The tour will conclude in America's chess capital at the Saint Louis Chess Club with the Saint Louis Rapid Blitz and the Sinquefield Cup, taking place in Fall 2023.
"We are happy to welcome back to the Grand Chess Tour former World Champions Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand," said Michael Khodarkovsky, Executive Director of the Grand Chess Tour. "They will be challenged by young and rising stars like Firouzja and Gukesh, which promises us thrilling and exciting competition in Zagreb."
Tune in daily at 3:00 p.m. CEST (8:00 a.m. CDT) to watch the exciting coverage, featuring commentators Yasser Seirawan, Nazi Paikidze, Evgenij "Miro" Miroshnichenko and Cristian Chirila. For more information and the full tournament standings, visit grandchesstour.org.
About the Grand Chess Tour
The Grand Chess Tour is a circuit of international events, each demonstrating the highest level of organization for the world's best players. The legendary Garry Kasparov, one of the world's greatest ambassadors for chess, inspired the Grand Chess Tour and helped solidify the partnership between the organizers. All Grand Chess Tour 2023 events will comply with local and regional COVID-19 restrictions. For more information about the tour, please visit grandchesstour.org.
About the Superbet Foundation
Since 2019, Superbet Foundation has made chess one of its core initiatives by organizing the first tournament of the Grand Chess Tour in Bucharest. The Foundation is committed to establishing a tradition of Grand Chess Tour tournaments within the Romanian and Polish chess communities. For more information, visit www.superbetfoundation.com.
About the Saint Louis Chess Club
The Saint Louis Chess Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to making chess an important part of our community. In addition to providing a forum for the community to play tournaments and casual games, the club also offers chess improvement classes, beginner lessons and special lectures.
Recognizing the cognitive and behavioral benefits of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club is committed to supporting those chess programs that already exist in area schools while encouraging the development of new in-school and after-school programs. For more information, visit saintlouischessclub.org.
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Contacts:
Rebecca Buffington
Grand Chess Tour Public Relations
Email: press@grandchesstour.org
