2024 in chess
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The Candidates Tournament 2024 and Women's Candidates Tournament 2024 will be held concurrently for the first time to determine the challengers for the World Chess Champion Ding Liren and Women's World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun.[1] The winner of the Candidates Tournament will play Ding in the World Chess Championship 2024, while Ju will defend her title in 2025.
The World Championship runner-up will no longer get an automatic Candidates spot in the 2024–2026 cycle. Instead, he will be awarded bonus points in the 2024 FIDE Circuit, the winner of which will qualify of the Candidates Tournament 2026.[2]
Timeline[edit]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Chng |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Magnus Carlsen | 2830 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 |  Fabiano Caruana | 2804 | +10 |
| 3 | 3 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2788 | 0 |
| 4 | 4 |  Ding Liren | 2780 | 0 |
| 5 | 5 |  Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2769 | -2 |
| 6 | 6 |  Alireza Firouzja | 2759 | -4 |
| 7 | 8 | Wesley So | 2757 | +5 |
| 8 | 11 | Leinier Domínguez | 2752 | +7 |
| 9 | 9 | Sergey Karjakin | 2750 | 0 |
| 10 | 7 |  Anish Giri | 2749 | -5 |
January[edit]
- Jan 1 –
Alireza Firouzja confirms his position above 
Wesley So in the January rating list and qualifies for the Candidates Tournament 2024.[a] - Jan 5 – Adani Group announces a long term sponsorship agreement with grandmaster
R Praggnanandhaa.[3] - Jan 9 – The President of India Droupadi Murmu confers the Arjuna Award on grandmaster-elect R Vaishali and the Dronacharya Award on grandmaster and coach RB Ramesh.[4]
- Jan 28 – Grandmaster
Wei Yi wins the 2024 Tata Steel Masters after beating grandmaster Gukesh D in the tiebreak final. Leon Luke Mendonca wins the Challengers' section and qualifies to next year's Masters.[5][6] - Jan 30 – 13-year-old Andy Woodward earns his final grandmaster norm and becomes the youngest grandmaster in the world and the tenth youngest in history.[7]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Chng |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen | 2830 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | Fabiano Caruana | 2804 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2788 | 0 |
| 4 | 4 | Ding Liren | 2762 | -18 |
| 5 | 10 | Anish Giri | 2762 | +13 |
| 6 | 6 | Alireza Firouzja | 2760 | +1 |
| 7 | 5 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2758 | -11 |
| 8 | 7 | Wesley So | 2757 | 0 |
| 9 | 16 | Wei Yi | 2755 | +15 |
| 10 | 8 | Leinier Domínguez | 2752 | 0 |
February[edit]
- Feb 1 – After the results of Tata Steel,
Anish Giri climbs to world number five while Wei Yi debuts in the world's top ten.[8] - Feb 2 – FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich posthumously awards the honorary grandmaster title to the late Sultan Khan.[9]
- Feb 7 –
Magnus Carlsen wins the Chessable Masters, the first leg of the Champions Chess Tour, after beating Alireza Firouzja in the Grand Final.[10][11] - Feb 16 – Magnus Carlsen beats Fabiano Caruana in the final to win the inaugural Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge, the first major classical Fischer random chess tournament.[12][13]
- Feb 18 – 8-year-old
Ashwath Kaushik becomes the youngest player in history to beat a grandmaster in classical chess.[14][15] - Feb 25 –
Daniel Dardha and Hans Niemann tie for first at the Djerba Masters, with Dardha taking first on tiebreaks.[16]
March[edit]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Chng |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen | 2830 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | Fabiano Caruana | 2804 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2789 | +1 |
| 4 | 4 | Ding Liren | 2762 | 0 |
| 5 | 5 | Anish Giri | 2762 | 0 |
| 6 | 6 | Alireza Firouzja | 2760 | 0 |
| 7 | 7 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2758 | 0 |
| 8 | 8 | Wesley So | 2757 | 0 |
| 9 | 9 | Wei Yi | 2755 | 0 |
| 10 | 12 |  Viswanathan Anand | 2751 | +3 |
- Mar 2 – FIDE makes an urgent appeal to the Canadian government, urging them to expedite the visa process for several players ahead of the Candidates Tournament.[17][18]
- Mar 7 – FIDE confirms that all visas have been approved in time and the event will go ahead in Toronto as planned.[19]
- Mar 6-7 –
Nodirbek Abdusattorov wins the Prague Masters with a round to spare.[20] 
Ediz Gurel wins the Challengers' section and completes his third grandmaster norm.[21] - Mar 7 – Bu Xiangzhi, Yu Yangyi and Arjun Erigaisi tie for first at the Shenzhen Masters, with Bu winning on tiebreaks.
- Mar 15 – Magnus Carlsen and Jan Henric Buettner announce the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour, a series of Fischer random chess tournaments that will run across five continents, starting with an event in India in November 2024.[22][23]
- Mar 18 –
Bassem Amin wins the African Chess Championship. 
Jesse February wins the title in the women's section.[24] - Mar 20-21 – Levon Aronian defeats Wesley So in the grand final to win the American Cup. 14-year-old Alice Lee beats Irina Krush in blitz playoffs to win the women's section.[25]
- Mar 21 –
Bogdan-Daniel Deac defeats 
Alisher Suleymenov in the last round to win the Reykjavik Open half a point ahead of seven runner-ups.[26]
Events[edit]
FIDE World Championship cycle[edit]
| Tournament | City | System | Dates | Players | Winner | Runner-up | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates Tournament |  Toronto | Double round robin | 3–22 Apr | 8 | |||
| Women's Candidates Tournament | |||||||
| World Championship | TBA | Match | TBA | 2 |
Major tournaments[edit]
| Tournament | City | System | Dates | Players (2700+) | Winner | Runner-up | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tata Steel Masters | Wijk aan Zee | Round robin | 13 – 28 Jan | 14 (10) | Wei Yi | Gukesh D | Anish Giri Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
| Chessable Masters | Online | Double elimination | 2 – 7 Feb | 8 (6) | Magnus Carlsen | Alireza Firouzja |  Denis Lazavik |
| Prague Masters |  Prague | Round robin | 27 Feb – 7 Mar | 7 (10) | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Thai Dai Van Nguyen |  Parham Maghsoodloo |
| Shenzhen Masters | Shenzhen | Round robin | 29 Feb – 7 Mar | 8 (5) | Bu Xiangzhi | Yu Yangyi | Arjun Erigaisi |
| Aeroflot Open |  Moscow | Swiss | 2 – 8 Mar | 142 (3) | Amin Tabatabaei | Andrey Esipenko | Nodirbek Yakubboev |
National events[edit]
| Tournament | City | System | Dates | Players | Winner | Runner-up | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanian Championship |  Eforie Nord | Swiss | 24 Feb – 2 Mar | 69 | Mircea Pârligras | Constantin Lupulescu | David Gavrilescu |
| American Cup | St. Louis | Double elimination | 12 – 21 Mar | 8 | Levon Aronian | Wesley So | Ray Robson |
Deaths[edit]
- 28 March — Igors Rausis[27]
- 1 May — Juzefs Petkēvičs[28]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ For more information, see Candidates Tournament 2024#FIDE Rating qualifier.
References[edit]
- ^ "FIDE publishes the regulations for 2024 World Candidates Tournaments". www.fide.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Changes to qualification paths for the Candidates Tournament". www.fide.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ Bureau, Sports (2024-01-05). "Praggnanandhaa receives backing from Adani Group". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ Svensen (TarjeiJS), Tarjei J. (2024-01-10). "Vaishali, Ramesh Receive Awards, Pragg Backed By India's 2nd Richest Man". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Wei Yi wins 2024 Tata Steel Masters". www.fide.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ Barden, Leonard (2024-02-02). "Chess: Wei Yi wins at Wijk aan Zee as former prodigy emerges from shadows". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ Svensen (TarjeiJS), Tarjei J. (2024-02-01). "Woodward World's Youngest GM, 12-Year-Old Close To Polgar's Record". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "FIDE February 2024 rating list: Wei Yi debuts in top 10 Open". www.fide.com. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (2024-02-05). "Honorary Grandmaster Title Posthumously Awarded To Sultan Khan". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ "Magnus Carlsen strikes back to win 2024 Chessable Masters". www.fide.com. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ Barden, Leonard (2024-02-09). "Chess: Carlsen beats Firouzja to secure another Champions Tour title". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ "Magnus Carlsen wins inaugural Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge". www.fide.com. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ Barden, Leonard (2024-02-16). "Chess: Carlsen beats Caruana in freestyle final while Ding finishes last". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ "Eight-year-old Indian-origin boy becomes youngest to beat grandmaster". The Economic Times. 2024-02-21. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ Svensen (TarjeiJS), Tarjei J. (2024-02-20). "8-Year-Old Ashwath Kaushik Beats Chess Grandmaster To Break World Record". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ Lang, J. J. (2024-03-01). "Youth Triumphs as Dardha, Niemann Take Top Honors at Djerba Masters". US Chess.org. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ Svensen (TarjeiJS), Tarjei J. (2024-03-01). "FIDE Makes 'Urgent Visa Appeal' To Canadian Government Regarding Candidates". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ "Chess: FIDE raises alarm on visas for Toronto Candidates – DW – 03/04/2024". dw.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ Svensen (TarjeiJS), Tarjei J. (2024-03-07). "Candidates Given Green Light As Visa Issues Resolved Just In Time". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (2024-03-06). "Abdusattorov Wins Prague Masters With Round To Spare As New World Number 4". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ "Prague: Ediz Gurel wins Challengers, grabs third GM norm". Chess News. 2024-03-07. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ Svensen (TarjeiJS), Tarjei J. (2024-03-15). "Carlsen, Buettner Unveil Extravagant Chess960 Grand Slam Tour Across Five Continents". Chess.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ Barden, Leonard (2024-03-22). "Richest chess tour announced for 2025 as freestyle wins global appeal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ "African Championship 2024: Bassem Amin and Jesse February win titles". www.fide.com. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ "Aronian and Lee clinch American Cup titles!". Chess News. 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ "Bogdan-Daniel Deac outright winner in Reykjavik". Chess News. 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
- ^ Levitt, Jonathan. "Igor Kasimi, aka Rausis, died today aged 62". X.
- ^ Mūžībā devies Juzefs Petkēvičs