Can You Win The Speed Chess Championship Fantasy Contest?

Reminder: Deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. Pacific time July 23.

The biggest event in online chess is back for 2018, and the field of 16 grandmasters is set for the 2018 Speed Chess Championship.

While the best players in the world battle it out on the chessboards, you can be a part of the action by predicting the winners in our all-new fantasy chess contest. And don't think you can just pick the favorites, either, because there are bonuses for choosing upsets.

Here's how it works. Use the Google form below to fill out your selections for each match in your bracket. For every correct selection, you earn chess fantasy points. You earn more points for correct selections deeper in the tournament, and you get bonus points for correctly calling upsets.

Take your time and make your best picks, but make sure your entry is submitted before the contest closes at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, July 23. The first Speed Chess match in the main bracket will be the next day as the world championship challenger Fabiano Caruana takes on Levon Aronian at 10 a.m. PDT July 24. 

Fill out all your selections in the form below. You can also fill out the form directly on Google. 

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 11:59 p.m. PDT, July 23.

Need some help with your bracket? The Chess.com SmarterChess statistical model produces the following round-by-round odds, based on past performance in Chess.com featured events. (The odds are a snapshot before round one.)

Click on the image for a larger version.

Rules and Scoring:

• Contest participants will be ranked by total points scored after the Speed Chess final concludes in December.
• All ties will be broken by earliest-submitted entry.
• Non-matching picks will not disqualify your bracket, but the invalid pick will not count towards your total score. For example, if you pick Yifan for 1A and Nakamura for 2A, your pick for 2A will count as 0 points regardless of the result in that match.
• Please only submit one form. Only the first-submitted form will count for scoring.
• Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. PDT July 23.

Prizes:

The highest-scoring participants will win fun and valuable membership prizes on Chess.com.

1. Three years Diamond membership

2. Two years Diamond membership

3. One year Diamond membership

4-6. One year Platinum membership

7-10. One year Gold Membership

Do you think Hou Yifan can pull off the ultimate upset against Hikaru Nakamura in round one? It would be one of the biggest shockers in chess history, but not the first time a 16-seed beat a 1-seed in 2018.

If you get it right, collect a cool nine points. But maybe you think Nakamura will go all the way this year. He'll certainly be a popular choice.

Study the bracket below for inspiration. Is the left side of the bracket "loaded"? Who is your sleeper pick from the right side?

Make sure you get your entries in by the end of July 23, and then follow the tournament starting the next day with the Caruana-Aronian battle. You can track all the Speed Chess Championship schedule and results at the main site.

Be sure to check out our new promotional video trailer for all your hype needs!

Who are your top Speed Chess picks? Fill out your entry and then let us know in the comments.