Grand Chess Tour announced the wildcard players for Superbet Chess Classic Romania, Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland and SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia.
The Superbet Chess Classic Romania, sponsored by the Superbet Foundation, will kick off the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour, with all nine full tour players and one wildcard player, Grandmaster Bogdan-Daniel Deac from Romania. This 10-player round-robin tournament will feature a total of $350,000 in prizes for the top performers.
Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland is the first rapid and blitz leg of the tour and will include a 10 player round-robin battle for a $175,000 prize fund.
The event will feature six full-tour players and four wildcard players including:
- Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen from Norway
- Grandmaster Radoslaw Wojtaszek from Poland
- Grandmaster Kirill Shevchenko from Romania
- Grandmaster Bogdan-Daniel Deac from Romania
SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia will include nine rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz chess for a total prize fund of $175,000. This event will feature five full-tour players and five wildcard players including:
- Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen from Norway
- Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand from India
- Grandmaster Ivan Saric from Croatia
- Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh from India
- Grandmaster Constantin Lupulescu from Romania
“Romanian chess has a rich history of notable performances and talented players. One such example is Corina Peptan, who at just 10 years old, amazed the world of chess by becoming the world chess champion for Romania in her age category back in 1988. Today, we are confident that we can reach similar heights and even surpass them,” said Augusta Dragic, President of the Superbet Foundation.
Dragic continued: โWe are fully committed to supporting the Romanian Chess Federation and bringing the world’s best chess players to Bucharest every year. This year’s Superbet Chess Classic promises to be spectacular, with two chess players battling it out in April for the world title. We look forward to welcoming the new world champion to Bucharest for the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour starting on May 5, alongside the world’s chess elite. Among them, our very own Bogdan Deac, who serves as an inspirational role model for young chess players who have the unique chance to see their idols every year.”
Superbet Chess Classic Romania and Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland are all sponsored by the Superbet Foundation.
Tour participants will compete for $1.4 million in cash over the course of the 2023 season, events include:
- Superbet Chess Classic Romania: May 4-16, 2023, Bucharest, Romania
- Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland: May 19-26, 2023, Warsaw, Poland
- SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia: July 3-10, 2023, Zagreb, Croatia
- Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz: November 12 – 19, 2023, Saint Louis, USA
- Sinquefield Cup: November 19 – December 3, 2023, Saint Louis, USA
