Chess World Cup 2023

FIDE Chess World Cup 2023

Magnus Carlsen, the winner of the 2023 FIDE World Cup.
Tournament information
Sport	Chess
Location	Baku, Azerbaijan
Dates	30 July 2023–24 August 2023
Administrator	FIDE
Tournament format(s)	Single-elimination tournament
Host(s)	Azerbaijan Chess Federation
Participants	206
Final positions
Champion	Magnus Carlsen
Runner-up	R Praggnanandhaa
3rd place	Fabiano Caruana
← 2021 2025 →

The Chess World Cup 2023 was a 206-player single-elimination chess tournament that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan from 30 July to 24 August 2023.^[1] It was the 10th edition of the Chess World Cup. The winner, runner-up and third-place finisher of the tournament (Magnus Carlsen, R Praggnanandhaa and Fabiano Caruana) earned the right to the play in the 2024 Candidates Tournament.^[2][3] In January 2024, Carlsen withdrew from the Candidates tournament, with the fourth-place finisher from the World Cup (Nijat Abasov) qualifying in his place.^[4][5] The tournament was held in parallel with the Women's Chess World Cup 2023.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda was the defending champion.^[6][7] He lost in the fifth round (last 16) to Fabiano Caruana.^[8]

Format[edit]

The tournament was an eight-round knockout event, with the top 50 seeds having been given a bye directly into the second round. The losers of the two semi-finals played a match for third place. The players who finished first, second, and third qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2024, a tournament to decide the challenger for the upcoming World Championship.^[9][10]

Each round consisted of classical time limit games on the first two days, plus tie-breaks on the third day if they were required. The time limits were as follows:

Two classical time limit games: 90 minutes, plus a 30-minute increment on move 40, plus a 30-second increment per move from move 1, per player. If the match was tied after the classical games, players played two rapid chess games, with 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move, per player. If the match was tied, players played two more rapid chess games, with 10 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move, per player. If the match was still tied, players played two blitz games, with five minutes plus a three-second increment per move, per player. If the match was still tied, a single blitz game, with three minutes plus a two-second increment per move, was played to decide the match. A drawing of lots determined which player had white. If the game was drawn, the players switched colors and played again, and this process was repeated until a decisive result was obtained.

Schedule[edit]

Each round lasted three days: two for classical time control games and a third, if necessary, for tie-breaks. Rounds 1 to 3 ran from July 30 to August 7; August 8 was a rest day; Rounds 4 to 6 ran from August 9 to 17; August 18 was a rest day; and the last two rounds ran from August 19 to 24.

Prize money[edit]

The total prize fund is US$1,834,000, with the first prize of US$110,000.

Participants[edit]

The participants are seeded here by their FIDE rating of July 2023.^[a] All players are grandmasters unless indicated otherwise.^[11]

Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.

Qualifier explanation[edit]

The following 206 players qualified for the World Cup:^[9]

• The world chess champion^[17] (declined to play)
• The women's world chess champion as of 1 June 2023 (WWC)^[18] (declined to play)
• The 2022 World Junior Champion U20 (U20)^[19]
• The top four players in the Chess World Cup 2021 (WC)
• 109 players qualifying from Continental and Zonal events:
  • Europe (47+20): including European Championships 2021 (E21, 23), 2022 (E22, 20), and 2023, (E23, 23), and Zone 1.10 2022 (Z1.10, 1)^[20][21]
  • Americas (11+9): including American Continental Championships 2022 (AM22, 4) and 2023 (AM23, 4), Zonals 2.1 (Z2.1, 5), 2.2 (Z2.2, 1), 2.3 (Z2.3, 2), and 2.4 2022 (Z2.4, 2), and Zonal 2.5 2023 (Z2.5, 2)^{[22][23][24][25][26]}
  • Asia (18): including Asian Championships 2022 (AS22, 4) and 2023 (AS23, 4), Zonals 3.1 (Z3.1, 1), 3.2 (Z3.2, 1), 3.3 (Z3.3, 2), 3.4 (Z3.4, 2), 3.5 (Z3.5, 2), 3.6 (Z3.6, 1), and 3.7 2023 (Z3.7, 1)^{[27][28][29][30]}
  • Africa (4): including the African Championships 2022 (AF22, 3) and 2023 (AF23, 1)^[31]
• The 13 highest-rated players from the June 2023 FIDE World Rankings^[b] (R)
• 71 federations spots selected according to the final standings of the 44th Chess Olympiad Main Competition (FN)^[32]
• 4 nominees of the FIDE President (PN)
• 2 nominees of the organizer (ON)

Armenia did not nominate a player, and a third Organizer's nominee was invited instead.

The participants were seeded by their FIDE rating of July 2023.^[9]

Replacements[edit]

The following are the players from the list of qualifiers^[11] who declined to play, and their replacements:

•  Ding Liren (CHN), 2780 (World Champion) →  Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB), 2732 (R)
•  Alireza Firouzja (FRA), 2786 (R) →  Lê Quang Liêm (VIE), 2728 (R)
•  Viswanathan Anand (IND), 2754 (R) →  Wei Yi (CHN), 2722 (R)
•  Hikaru Nakamura (USA), 2775 (R) →  Wang Hao (CHN), 2709 (R)^[c]
•  Richárd Rapport (ROU), 2752 (R) →  Nikita Vitiugov (FIDE), 2721 (R)
•  Sergey Karjakin (RUS), 2750 (WC) →  Parham Maghsoodloo (IRI), 2716 (R)
•  Levon Aronian (USA), 2742 (R) →  Daniil Dubov (RUS), 2716 (R)
•  Ju Wenjun (CHN), 2566 (WWC) →  Vidit Gujrathi (IND), 2719 (R) (Ju Wenjun played in the Women's World Cup instead.)
•  Gabriel Sargissian (ARM), 2692 (E22) →  Markus Ragger (AUT), 2624 (E22)
•  Haik Martirosyan (ARM), 2685 (E22) →  Mateusz Bartel (POL), 2614 (E22)

•  Shant Sargsyan (ARM), 2640 (E22) →  Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli (ESP), 2617 (E22)

•  Yasser Quesada (CUB), 2609 (AM22) →  Leonel Figueredo Losada (MEX), IM, 2345
•  Samvel Ter-Sahakyan (ARM), 2598 (E22) →  Vladimir Baklan (UKR), 2550 (E22)

•  Hovhannes Gabuzyan (ARM), 2579 (E21) →  Levan Pantsulaia (GEO), 2564
•  Kirk Ghazarian (USA), IM, 2479 (AM23) →  Gianmarco Leiva (PER) (AM23).

Rounds 1–4[edit]

Pairings were published on July 4, on the official FIDE website.^[34]

Section 1[edit]

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	1	M Carlsen	Bye
	-	Bye 1
						1	M Carlsen	2
						128	L Pantsulaia	0
	128	L Pantsulaia	2½
	129	H Bharathakoti	1½
											1	M Carlsen	1½
											65	A Tari	½
	65	A Tari	2
	192	A El Jawich	0
						65	A Tari	1½
						64	TDV Nguyen	½
	64	TDV Nguyen	2
	193	Y Zhang	0
																1	M Carlsen	3½
																32	V Keymer	2½
	33	A Tabatabaei	Bye
	-	Bye 33
						33	A Tabatabaei	1½
						161	P Salinas Herrera	½
	96	D Kadrić	0
	161	P Salinas Herrera	2
											33	A Tabatabaei	0
											32	V Keymer	2
	97	D Dardha	1½
	160	WM Goh	½
						97	D Dardha	½
						32	V Keymer	1½
	32	V Keymer	Bye
	-	Bye 32

Section 2[edit]

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	17	N Abdusattorov	Bye
		Bye 17
						17	N Abdusattorov	½
						112	V Şanal	1½
	112	V Şanal	5
	145	Z Kožul	3
											112	V Şanal	3
											48	A Korobov	1
	81	E Iturrizaga Bonelli	2½
	176	G Amartuvshin	1½
						81	E Iturrizaga Bonelli	1½
						48	A Korobov	2½
	48	A Korobov	Bye
	-	Bye 48
																112	V Şanal	2½
																49	V Ivanchuk	3½
	49	V Ivanchuk	Bye
	-	Bye 49
						49	V Ivanchuk	4
						80	C Henriquez Villagra	2
	80	C Henriquez Villagra	1½
	177	D Cawdery	½
											49	V Ivanchuk	2½
											16	Y Wei	1½
	113	LP Supi	3
	144	A Fawzy	1
						113	LP Supi	½
						16	Y Wei	1½
	16	Y Wei	Bye
	-	Bye 16

Section 3[edit]

First round

Second round

Third round

Fourth round

9

S Mamedyarov

Bye

-

Bye 9

9

S Mamedyarov

½

120

J Tin

1½

120

J Tin

1½

137

V Baklan

½

120

J Tin

½

73

R Svane

1½

73

R Svane

1½

184

P Laohawirapap

½

73

R Svane

1½

56

I Šarić

½

56

I Šarić

1½

201

D Beukes

½

73

R Svane

4

24

H Wang

5

41

D Howell

Bye

-

Bye 41

41

D Howell

3

88

A Brkić

1

88

A Brkić

4½

169

C Matamoros Franco

3½

41

D Howell

1½

24

H Wang

2½

105

R Jumabayev

3½

152

L Paichedze

2½

105

R Jumabayev

½

24

H Wang

1½

24

H Wang

Bye

-

Bye 24

Section 4[edit]

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	25	F Vallejo Pons	Bye
	-	Bye 25
						25	F Vallejo Pons	2
						104	V Ivić	0
	104	V Ivić	3
	153	E Gurel	1
											25	F Vallejo Pons	1
											40	A Esipenko	3
	89	E Safarli	3
	168	R Sanchez Alvarez	1
						89	E Safarli	1
						40	A Esipenko	3
	40	A Esipenko	Bye
	-	Bye 40
																40	A Esipenko	1½
																8	Gukesh D	2½
	57	S. L. Narayanan	2
	200	P Oatlhotse	0
						57	S. L. Narayanan	1½
						72	Y Kuzubov	½
	72	Y Kuzubov	2
	185	M Tissir	0
											57	S. L. Narayanan	½
											8	Gukesh D	1½
	121	B Cheng	1½
	136	M Iskandarov	2½
						136	M Iskandarov	0
						8	Gukesh D	2
	8	Gukesh D	Bye
	-	Bye 8

Section 5[edit]

First round

Second round

Third round

Fourth round

5

A Giri

Bye

-

Bye 5

5

A Giri

2½

133

A Nesterov

1½

124

F Peralta

2½

133

A Nesterov

3½

5

A Giri

3½

69

N Abasov

4½

69

N Abasov

2

188

R Makoto

0

69

N Abasov

2½

60

L Fressinet

1½

60

L Fressinet

2

197

M Djabri

0

69

N Abasov

2½

37

P Svidler

1½

37

P Svidler

Bye

-

Bye 37

37

P Svidler

1½

92

A Puranik

½

92

A Puranik

2

165

L Ibarra Chami

0

37

P Svidler

2½

28

J van Foreest

1½

101

A Adly

1½

156

E Amorim Barbosa

½

101

A Adly

½

28

J van Foreest

1½

28

J van Foreest

Bye

-

Bye 28

Section 6[edit]

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	21	D Dubov	Bye
	-	Bye 21
						21	D Dubov	1½
						108	A Baskaran	½
	108	A Baskaran	3
	149	L Henderson de La Fuente	1
											21	D Dubov	½
											85	D Vocaturo	1½
	85	D Vocaturo	2
	172	R Fahad	0
						85	D Vocaturo	3
						44	A Volokitin	1
	44	A Volokitin	Bye
	-	Bye 44
																85	D Vocaturo	1
																53	S Saleh	3
	53	S Saleh	2
	204	A Gezachew Abera	0
						53	S Saleh	1½
						181	G Leiva	½
	76	A Demchenko	½
	181	G Leiva	1½
											53	S Saleh	2½
											117	B Daneshvar	1½
	117	B Daneshvar	1½
	140	M Muradli	½
						117	B Daneshvar	5
						12	A Grischuk	4
	12	A Grischuk	Bye
	-	Bye 12

Section 7[edit]

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	13	Y Yu	Bye
	-	Bye 13
						13	Y Yu	1½
						116	T Kuybokarov	½
	116	T Kuybokarov	1½
	141	V Bernadskiy	½
											13	Y Yu	1½
											52	É Bacrot	2½
	77	A Inđić	2
	180	A Zaibi	0
						77	A Inđić	1½
						52	É Bacrot	2½
	52	É Bacrot	2
	205	Nay Lin Tun	0
																52	É Bacrot	½
																20	V Gujrathi	1½
	45	M Blübaum	Bye
	-	Bye 45
						45	M Blübaum	2½
						84	D Paravyan	1½
	84	D Paravyan	1½
	173	TT Trần	½
											45	M Blübaum	4
											20	V Gujrathi	5
	109	D Mastrovasilis	4
	148	F Blohberger	2
						109	D Mastrovasilis	3½
						20	V Gujrathi	4½
	20	V Gujrathi	Bye
	-	Bye 20

Section 8[edit]

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	29	B–D Deac	Bye
	-	Bye 29
						29	B–D Deac	2
						157	Pablo Ismael Acosta	0
	100	K Piorun	2½
	157	Pablo Ismael Acosta	3½
											29	B–D Deac	1½
											36	N Sarin	2½
	93	A Bachmann	1½
	164	S Bilguun	½
						93	A Bachmann	0
						36	N Sarin	2
	36	N Sarin	Bye
	-	Bye 36
																36	N Sarin	1
																4	I Nepomniachtchi	3
	61	A Predke	2
	196	O Balogun	0
						61	A Predke	2½
						68	R Mamedov	3½
	68	R Mamedov	2
	189	RZ Lim	0
											68	R Mamedov	1½
											4	I Nepomniachtchi	2½
	125	V Asadli	2½
	132	MT Lê	1½
						125	V Asadli	½
						4	I Nepomniachtchi	1½
	4	I Nepomniachtchi	Bye
	-	Bye 4

Section 9[edit]

	First round					Second round					Third round					Fourth round
	3	F Caruana	Bye
	-	Bye 3
						3	F Caruana	2
						131	M Mchedlishvili	0
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