The Romanian Grand Prix 2023, a series of five tournaments with a total prize fund of 195.000 USD, is about to kick off in Bucharest. Each tournament of the series features the prize fund of 150.000 lei (~33.500 USD).
The capital of Romania will host the first stage of the Romanian Grand Prix which is also the Romanian Rapid Chess Championship for 2023. The tournament will take place from 29-30 April with participation of world known grandmasters: GM Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2699), GM Alexander Motylev (FIDE, 2652), GM Grigoriy Oparin (USA, 2650), GM Alexey Sarana (Serbia, 2643), GM Yuriy Kuzubov (Ukraine, 2636), GM Rauf Mamedov (Azerbaijan, 2632), GM Pentala Harikrishna (India, 2627), GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania, 2618) etc. Complete starting list of players can be found below
The event will be played in 10 rounds, swiss system, with the time control of 15 minutes + 5 seconds increment. The Winner of the tournament will pocket the money prize of 25.000 lei (~5.500 USD). Distribution of prizes (1 lei = 0.22 USD):

Romanian Grand Prix 2023, list of events:
- Stage 1 โ Bucharest โ 29-30 April
- Stage 2 โ Brasov โ 16-22 July
- Stage 3 โ Timisoara โ 5-6 August
- Stage 4 โ Arad โ 7-13 August
- Stage 5 โ Cluj โ 4-5 November
- FINALS โ Alba Iulia โ 4-5 December
Starting list of players (as of 27/4/2023):
| No. | Name | FED | Rtg | |
| 1 | GM | Ponomariov, Ruslan | UKR | 2669 |
| 2 | GM | Motylev, Alexander | FID | 2652 |
| 3 | GM | Oparin, Grigoriy | USA | 2650 |
| 4 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | FID | 2643 |
| 5 | GM | Kuzubov, Yuriy | UKR | 2636 |
| 6 | GM | Mamedov, Rauf | AZE | 2632 |
| 7 | GM | Harikrishna, Pentala | IND | 2627 |
| 8 | GM | Deac, Bogdan-Daniel | ROU | 2618 |
| 9 | GM | Georgiev, Kiril | MKD | 2618 |
| 10 | GM | Shevchenko, Kirill | ROU | 2598 |
| 11 | GM | Lupulescu, Constantin | ROU | 2584 |
| 12 | GM | Vocaturo, Daniele | ITA | 2584 |
| 13 | GM | Chigaev, Maksim | FID | 2568 |
| 14 | GM | Sadhwani, Raunak | IND | 2550 |
| 15 | GM | Iordachescu, Viorel | MDA | 2531 |
| 16 | GM | Yuffa, Daniil | ESP | 2526 |
| 17 | GM | Chirila, Ioan-Cristian | ROU | 2508 |
| 18 | IM | Gavrilescu, David | ROU | 2505 |
| 19 | GM | Grigoriants, Sergey | HUN | 2495 |
| 20 | GM | Nanu, Costica-Ciprian | ROU | 2493 |
| 21 | IM | Castellanos Rodriguez, Renier | ESP | 2476 |
| 22 | GM | Pranav, V | IND | 2465 |
| 23 | GM | Kobo, Ori | ISR | 2448 |
| 24 | GM | Istratescu, Andrei | ROU | 2436 |
| 25 | GM | Hamitevici, Vladimir | MDA | 2427 |
| 26 | IM | Costachi, Mihnea | ROU | 2423 |
| 27 | GM | Szabo, Gergely-Andras-Gyula | ROU | 2421 |
| 28 | IM | Samunenkov, Ihor | UKR | 2420 |
| 29 | FM | Kilic, Eray | TUR | 2418 |
| 30 | GM | Drazic, Sinisa | SRB | 2412 |
| 31 | IM | David, Alexandru-Vasile | ROU | 2408 |
| 32 | GM | Petkov, Momchil | BUL | 2407 |
| 33 | GM | Pranav, Anand | IND | 2402 |
| 34 | IM | Rakotomaharo, Fy Antenaina | MAD | 2395 |
| 35 | GM | Yankelevich, Lev | GER | 2381 |
| 36 | GM | Georgescu, Tiberiu-Marian | ROU | 2378 |
| 37 | GM | Nevednichy, Vladislav | ROU | 2374 |
| 38 | IM | Bulmaga, Irina | ROU | 2371 |
| 39 | IM | Dhulipalla, Bala Chandra Prasad | IND | 2371 |
| 40 | IM | Prraneeth, Vuppala | IND | 2360 |
| 41 | GM | Manolache, Marius | ROU | 2352 |
| 42 | IM | Vedmediuc, Serghei | MDA | 2343 |
| 43 | FM | Stoleriu, George | ROU | 2339 |
| 44 | FM | Ghimpu, Samuel-Timotei | ROU | 2328 |
| 45 | IM | Baltag, Iulian | MDA | 2328 |
| 46 | Roubalik, Jakub | CZE | 2320 | |
| 47 | IM | Toma, Radu-Cristian | ROU | 2310 |
| 48 | FM | Secheres, Adrian-Simion | ROU | 2309 |
| 49 | GM | Djuric, Stefan | SRB | 2307 |
| 50 | IM | Filip, Lucian-Ioan | ROU | 2295 |
| 51 | IM | Soltanici, Ruslan | MDA | 2294 |
| 52 | FM | Antonica, Dragos-Andrei | ROU | 2285 |
| 53 | FM | Cruz De La Osa, Reyder | CUB | 2261 |
| 54 | IM | Cosma, Ioan | ROU | 2258 |
| 55 | IM | Sidhant, Mohapatra | IND | 2255 |
| 56 | IM | Manea, Alexandru | ROU | 2246 |
| 57 | FM | Filev, Georgi | BUL | 2246 |
| 58 | FM | Stepanencu, Nicodim-Cosmin | ROU | 2243 |
| 59 | WGM | Papp, Petra | HUN | 2236 |
| 60 | IM | Itkis, Boris | ROU | 2234 |
| 61 | FM | Ciorgovean, Iustin | ROU | 2228 |
| 62 | FM | Patrascu, Catalin-Lucian | ROU | 2221 |
| 63 | WGM | Cosma, Elena-Luminita | ROU | 2212 |
| 64 | FM | Ognean, Mihnea-Ionut | ROU | 2199 |
| 65 | FM | Breahna, Radu | ROU | 2199 |
| 66 | FM | Magold, Filip | ROU | 2196 |
| 67 | FM | Ignatescu, Radu | ROU | 2194 |
| 68 | FM | Toncheva, Nadya | BUL | 2191 |
| 69 | FM | Miroiu, George-Catalin | ROU | 2177 |
| 70 | CM | Padurariu, Mihai-Edward | ROU | 2174 |
| 71 | FM | Gheorghiu, Calin | ROU | 2172 |
| 72 | I | Sava, Catalin-Vasile | ROU | 2164 |
| 73 | CM | Serban, Cristian-Stefan | ROU | 2160 |
| 74 | IM | Dumitrache, Dragos-Nicolae | ROU | 2159 |
| 75 | FM | Filip, Andrei | ROU | 2157 |
| 76 | FM | Daianu, Cristian-Clement | ROU | 2157 |
| 77 | CM | Bulau, Andrei-Cristian | ROU | 2153 |
| 78 | Niezhentsev, Kyrylo | UKR | 2149 | |
| 79 | CM | Nedelcu, Teodor-Cosmin | ROU | 2135 |
| 80 | WIM | Sgircea, Silvia-Raluca | ROU | 2133 |
| 81 | FM | Antal, Hunor-Zoltan | ROU | 2133 |
| 82 | NM | Martian, Dragos-Daniel | ROU | 2132 |
| 83 | WGM | Sandu, Mihaela | ROU | 2131 |
| 84 | CM | Coman, Mihnea-George | ROU | 2126 |
| 85 | FM | Cnejev, Vladimir-Alexandru | ROU | 2125 |
| 86 | FM | Pisu, Robert-Daniel | ROU | 2125 |
| 87 | CM | Pit-Rada, Mihail-Cosmin | ROU | 2124 |
| 88 | FM | Nastore, Pavel-Alexandru | ROU | 2120 |
| 89 | FM | Coca, Cristi-Iulian | ROU | 2117 |
| 90 | Schain, Randolph | CAM | 2116 | |
| 91 | FM | Mitev, Valentin | BUL | 2093 |
| 92 | CM | Stefan, Romulus-Cristian | ROU | 2080 |
| 93 | Hnatyshyn, Anastasiia | UKR | 2078 | |
| 94 | Berin, Artem | UKR | 2077 | |
| 95 | IM | Vasilescu, Lucian-Mihail | ROU | 2069 |
| 96 | CM | Economescu, Valentin | ROU | 2062 |
| 97 | CM | Dulman, Egmond-Gabriel | ROU | 2061 |
| 98 | FM | Voiteanu, Gabriel | ROU | 2059 |
| 99 | CM | Zubcu, Vlad-George | ROU | 2058 |
| 100 | WFM | Ciolacu, Alessia-Mihaela | ROU | 2048 |
| 101 | CM | Craciun, Sasha-Matei | ROU | 2043 |
| 102 | I | Padurean, Daniel-Cristian | ROU | 2040 |
| 103 | CM | Prisacaru, Stefan-Emilian | ROU | 2033 |
| 104 | I | Tampea, Radu | ROU | 2033 |
| 105 | I | Albu, George | ROU | 2029 |
| 106 | CM | Sachilaru, Alexandru | ROU | 2027 |
| 107 | I | Oltean, Cristian-Daniel | ROU | 2024 |
| 108 | I | Kondort, Mihai | ROU | 2023 |
| 109 | I | Veress, Armand | ROU | 2018 |
| 110 | CM | Pavel, Sebastian-Ionut | ROU | 2011 |
| 111 | Baranciuc, Alexandr | MDA | 2000 | |
| 112 | IM | Mozes, Ervin | ROU | 1990 |
| 113 | WFM | Obada, Ema | ROU | 1987 |
| 114 | CM | Anghel, Iulian-Mihai | ROU | 1986 |
| 115 | I | Coicev, Matei-Andrei | ROU | 1981 |
| 116 | I | Balaban-Voia, Alexandru | ROU | 1963 |
| 117 | CM | Ciocani, Iosif | ROU | 1962 |
| 118 | I | Caraba, Alexandru | ROU | 1962 |
| 119 | CM | Andronescu, Madalin | ROU | 1959 |
| 120 | I | Voinescu, David-Ioan | ROU | 1958 |
| 121 | AIM | Stan, Andrei-Mihaita | ROU | 1956 |
| 122 | CM | Armenciu, Bogdan-Ovidiu | ROU | 1951 |
| 123 | WCM | Matasaru, Stephanie | ROU | 1951 |
| 124 | WCM | Lolici, Iselin-Amanda | ROU | 1950 |
| 125 | I | Danila, Stefan | ROU | 1946 |
| 126 | I | Barbu, Simon-Alexandru | ROU | 1940 |
| 127 | Scurtu, Alexandr | MDA | 1926 | |
| 128 | I | Vedmediuc, Artiom | ROU | 1924 |
| 129 | I | Vrajitoru, Vlad-Laurentiu-Flo | ROU | 1923 |
| 130 | WFM | Pirvulescu, Ekaterina | ROU | 1914 |
| 131 | I | Ghita, Vlad-Bogdan | ROU | 1913 |
| 132 | I | Mihailiuc, Flavius-Iulian | ROU | 1903 |
| 133 | Lauda, Alexandr | MDA | 1903 | |
| 134 | I | Negrean, Andrei | ROU | 1895 |
| 135 | II | Tanasie, Cosmin | ROU | 1894 |
| 136 | I | Galatanu, Iulian-Marinica | ROU | 1879 |
| 137 | I | Corbu, George-Alexandru | ROU | 1874 |
| 138 | CM | Tudor, Henry Edward | ROU | 1872 |
| 139 | I | Leu, Dragos Stefan | ROU | 1868 |
| 140 | I | Ienasoaie, Rafael | ROU | 1865 |
| 141 | I | Costescu, Mihnea-Constantin | ROU | 1859 |
| 142 | Kovalskyi, Roman | UKR | 1849 | |
| 143 | I | Tudoroiu, Razvan-Catalin | ROU | 1838 |
| 144 | I | Prelipcean, Eric-Matei | ROU | 1821 |
| 145 | WCM | Stanciu, Andreea-Briana | ROU | 1818 |
| 146 | I | Nagy, Janos-Nandor | ROU | 1817 |
| 147 | I | Rusu, Lucas | ROU | 1814 |
| 148 | I | Pavelescu, Dumitru-Stefan | ROU | 1811 |
| 149 | Sustov, Savva | MDA | 1809 | |
| 150 | I | Danila, Tudor-Gabriel | ROU | 1808 |
| 151 | I | Gales, Randi-Ioan | ROU | 1801 |
| 152 | Gobjila, Nicolai | MDA | 1800 | |
| 153 | I | Sava, Robert-Gabriel | ROU | 1792 |
| 154 | I | Fulger, Ionut-Alexandru | ROU | 1790 |
| 155 | I | Ciobanu, Bogdan | ROU | 1789 |
| 156 | AIM | Dobre, Ana-Margareta-Alexandr | ROU | 1788 |
| 157 | NM | Craciun, Ovidiu | ROU | 1782 |
| 158 | I | Korcsek, Alexandru-David | ROU | 1779 |
| 159 | II | Ienasoaie, Gabriel | ROU | 1779 |
| 160 | Bejan, Sergiu | MDA | 1779 | |
| 161 | I | Vitan, Rares-Mihai | ROU | 1768 |
| 162 | II | Ionica, Robert | ROU | 1767 |
| 163 | I | Lup, Constantin-Ionel | ROU | 1764 |
| 164 | Kucuk, Dogukan | TUR | 1764 | |
| 165 | I | Pitigoi, Sabina-Andreea | ROU | 1761 |
| 166 | I | Sabarez, Iulian | ROU | 1758 |
| 167 | I | Radulescu, Gabriel | ROU | 1756 |
| 168 | I | Oprea, Florea | ROU | 1754 |
| 169 | I | Stan, Luciana-Gabriela | ROU | 1744 |
| 170 | WFM | Sariteanu, Sabina | ROU | 1740 |
| 171 | I | Pirvulescu, Adrian | ROU | 1735 |
| 172 | Siddharth, Gopakumar | ENG | 1735 | |
| 173 | II | Grigoras, Alexandru-Nicolae | ROU | 1734 |
| 174 | Talmaci, Chiril | MDA | 1734 | |
| 175 | I | Ardelean, Lorela-Daniela | ROU | 1727 |
| 176 | Vardanian, Yurii | UKR | 1726 | |
| 177 | II | Vafiadis, Catalin-Gabriel | ROU | 1724 |
| 178 | Martinenco, Sergiu | MDA | 1716 | |
| 179 | I | Irimia, Horia-Ion | ROU | 1713 |
| 180 | WCM | Maria, Lia-Alexandra | ROU | 1711 |
| 181 | Bujac, Dan | MDA | 1700 | |
| 182 | I | Alexa, Mirel-Gabriel | ROU | 1665 |
| 183 | I | Linca, Ionel | ROU | 1655 |
| 184 | I | Dima, Ioan-Radu | ROU | 1650 |
| 185 | WCM | Stefan, Iulia-Cristiana | ROU | 1639 |
| 186 | AIM | Ivancescu, Bogdan-Andrei | ROU | 1638 |
| 187 | WCM | Iordache, Alexia-Andreea | ROU | 1635 |
| 188 | I | Sofronie, Vladimir | ROU | 1618 |
| 189 | I | Matei, Adrian | ROU | 1616 |
| 190 | FC | Tinteanu, Mihai-Alexandru | ROU | 1614 |
| 191 | I | Gorunescu, Nicolae-Gabriel | ROU | 1608 |
| 192 | I | Zanfir, Iulian | ROU | 1606 |
| 193 | Manaure Trujillo, Ibrahim | VEN | 1603 | |
| 194 | I | Antal, Attila-Laszlo | ROU | 1596 |
| 195 | II | Vasile, Matei | ROU | 1589 |
| 196 | I | Badica, Ariana | ROU | 1589 |
| 197 | Parpalac, Vadim | MDA | 1587 | |
| 198 | I | Kedves, Lorand | ROU | 1581 |
| 199 | II | Cruceru-Uceanu, Tudor-Mihai | ROU | 1579 |
| 200 | Pozniak, Yunna | UKR | 1574 | |
| 201 | II | Podea, Andrei | ROU | 1572 |
| 202 | I | Fileru, Maria | ROU | 1571 |
| 203 | II | Vaduva, Ion-Valentin | ROU | 1567 |
| 204 | II | Popescu, Alexandru-Mihai | ROU | 1559 |
| 205 | I | Pruszter, Rudolf | ROU | 1557 |
| 206 | II | Chiriac, Andrei-Cosmin | ROU | 1540 |
| 207 | II | Grasu, Gigi | ROU | 1540 |
| 208 | I | Pandelescu, Maria-Catalina | ROU | 1533 |
| 209 | Shevchenko, Matviei | UKR | 1516 | |
| 210 | I | Aldea, Maria-Antonia | ROU | 1509 |
| 211 | II | Dascalescu, Adelin-Stefan | ROU | 1509 |
| 212 | Hristova, Ivelina | BUL | 1505 | |
| 213 | II | Haineala, Iustin-Petru | ROU | 1504 |
| 214 | Velychko, Sem | UKR | 1504 | |
| 215 | II | Pirvu, Ciprian-Valentin | ROU | 1498 |
| 216 | II | Turcan, Gheorghe | ROU | 1493 |
| 217 | II | Vorniceanu, Alina | ROU | 1492 |
| 218 | Talmaci, Arsenie | MDA | 1486 | |
| 219 | AFM | Bunghez, Matei | ROU | 1482 |
| 220 | II | Purece, Victor | ROU | 1477 |
| 221 | II | Lungu, Cristian | ROU | 1467 |
| 222 | II | Serbanoiu, Constantin | ROU | 1467 |
| 223 | CM | Covaci, Stefan | ROU | 1467 |
| 224 | II | Savu, Victor-Xavier | ROU | 1458 |
| 225 | II | Meriuta, George-Cosmin | ROU | 1456 |
| 226 | Guretchii, Kirill | MDA | 1455 | |
| 227 | II | Vitan, Matei-Gabriel | ROU | 1453 |
| 228 | I | Cazacu, Iustin-Nicolas | ROU | 1452 |
| 229 | II | Balaban, Nicolae-Adrian | ROU | 1450 |
| 230 | I | Vladescu, Ovidiu-Viorel | ROU | 1446 |
| 231 | II | Negotei, Alin-Adrian | ROU | 1446 |
| 232 | II | Constantin, Eduard-Andrei | ROU | 1443 |
| 233 | II | Matei-Catruna, Andrei | ROU | 1432 |
| 234 | II | Oncescu, Vlad-Norin | ROU | 1430 |
| 235 | II | Datcu, Adrian-Iulian | ROU | 1427 |
| 236 | II | Lupusoru, Costica | ROU | 1417 |
| 237 | II | Harabor, David-Alexandru | ROU | 1403 |
| 238 | Martinenco, Nicolae | MDA | 1399 | |
| 239 | II | Campean, Radu-Traian | ROU | 1397 |
| 240 | II | Varabiescu, Petru | ROU | 1396 |
| 241 | I | Citra, Anton-Valeriu | ROU | 1386 |
| 242 | Volcov, Igor | MDA | 1385 | |
| 243 | II | Ioachimescu, Eva-Maria | ROU | 1377 |
| 244 | II | Craciun, Dorian-Raul | ROU | 1361 |
| 245 | II | Panaite, Mihai-Teodor | ROU | 1359 |
| 246 | II | Schmit, Andrei-Marian | ROU | 1357 |
| 247 | II | Puscasu, Marian-Constantin | ROU | 1356 |
| 248 | II | Vitan, Adrian | ROU | 1354 |
| 249 | Suparski, Dmitrii | MDA | 1354 | |
| 250 | II | Moisi, Diana | ROU | 1351 |
| 251 | II | Draga, Laurentiu | ROU | 1351 |
| 252 | II | Apostol, Ioan | ROU | 1351 |
| 253 | II | Zlate-Ion, Matei | ROU | 1350 |
| 254 | II | Bibis, Vlad-Andreas | ROU | 1349 |
| 255 | II | Petculescu, Diana-Silvana | ROU | 1348 |
| 256 | II | Vlagiu, Alexandru-Andrei | ROU | 1337 |
| 257 | II | Moldovan, Maia-Rut | ROU | 1329 |
| 258 | Volosin, Roman | MDA | 1327 | |
| 259 | II | Petculescu, Silvan-Dorian | ROU | 1318 |
| 260 | II | Savu, Vicentiu-Dorian | ROU | 1317 |
| 261 | II | Sarba, Dacian-Flaviu | ROU | 1313 |
| 262 | Velychko, Sofiya | UKR | 1305 | |
| 263 | II | Ghita, Costa-Cristian | ROU | 1292 |
| 264 | II | Ficlenescu, Rares-Mihai | ROU | 1288 |
| 265 | II | Raditoiu, Laurentiu | ROU | 1281 |
| 266 | II | Mihali-Viorescu, Andrei | ROU | 1281 |
| 267 | II | Mohonea, Alexandru | ROU | 1273 |
| 268 | II | Obreja, Andrei-Daniel-Stefan | ROU | 1271 |
| 269 | Cubarschii, Stanislav | MDA | 1264 | |
| 270 | I | Cretescu, Emma | ROU | 1254 |
| 271 | I | Sunea, Sara Maria | ROU | 1250 |
| 272 | II | Beldiman, Tudor | ROU | 1246 |
| 273 | II | Iorga, Flavius Stefan | ROU | 1227 |
| 274 | II | Paulet, Elena-Cristiana | ROU | 1226 |
| 275 | II | Nicula, Rebeca | ROU | 1224 |
| 276 | Uzun, Pavlo | UKR | 1218 | |
| 277 | II | Bosinceanu, Iosif | ROU | 1211 |
| 278 | II | Spirache, Catalin | ROU | 1197 |
| 279 | Uzun, Volodymyr | UKR | 1192 | |
| 280 | III | David, Teodor-Spiridon | ROU | 1177 |
| 281 | II | Topircean, Ioan | ROU | 1172 |
| 282 | II | Onofrasc, Ivan | ROU | 1160 |
| 283 | II | Ungureanu, Sorin-Alexandru | ROU | 1157 |
| 284 | II | Diaconescu, Andrei-Cristian | ROU | 1156 |
| 285 | Madan, Bogdan | MDA | 1144 | |
| 286 | II | Constantin-Ciuntu, Anne-Sophi | ROU | 1140 |
| 287 | II | Raduletu, Teodor | ROU | 1136 |
| 288 | II | Gutu, Clara-Iasmina | ROU | 1117 |
| 289 | II | Ionascu, Darius Alexandru | ROU | 1112 |
| 290 | II | Bobes, Radu-Catalin | ROU | 1103 |
| 291 | II | Pruszter, Alexandru | ROU | 1095 |
| 292 | II | Quiros Florea, Rafael-Santiag | ROU | 1091 |
| 293 | II | Caraiman, Cezar-Cristian | ROU | 1076 |
| 294 | II | Moraru, Stefan-Robert | ROU | 1075 |
| 295 | I | Avram-Corbu, Ioana | ROU | 1056 |
| 296 | FC | Ninu, Razvan-Andrei | ROU | 1052 |
| 297 | II | Bostina, Teodor | ROU | 1049 |
| 298 | II | Mohonea, Maria | ROU | 1029 |
| 299 | Madan, David | MDA | 1029 | |
| 300 | II | Codreanu, Carol | ROU | 1019 |
| 301 | II | Grigore, Melania-Cristina | ROU | 1017 |
| 302 | FC | Avramescu, Alexandra | ROU | 1001 |
| 303 | FC | Avramescu, Alexandru | ROU | 1001 |
| 304 | FC | Bogatan, Ladislau-Petru | ROU | 1001 |
| 305 | FC | Bratu, Luca | ROU | 1001 |
| 306 | FC | Burlacu, Dan | ROU | 1001 |
| 307 | FC | Iliescu, Matei-Ioan | ROU | 1001 |
| 308 | FC | Mark, Eden | ROU | 1001 |
| 309 | FC | Mihaescu, Atia-Maria | ROU | 1001 |
| 310 | FC | Munteanu, Vladimir | ROU | 1001 |
| 311 | FC | Oloeriu, Florin-Constantin | ROU | 1001 |
| 312 | FC | Panait, Stefan | ROU | 1001 |
| 313 | FC | Sura, Costel | ROU | 1001 |
| 314 | FC | Sura, Dorian | ROU | 1001 |
| 315 | Guretchii, Denis | MDA | 0 | |
| 316 | Volosin, Oleg | MDA | 0 |