Hello, my lovely chess friends!

Today's blog, as promised, will be a bit more serious than my previous ones. However, that doesn't mean it won't be a pleasant read. So please stay with me, because the goal here is to explain which are the most prestigious chess tournaments in the world nowadays, what each of them is worth, and their level of importance in the chess scene.

The idea for this text is a suggestion from three of my readers, who told me that they were sometimes confused by so many tournaments happening all the time. For them, it was hard to understand which ones were significant and worth following, and which ones were "just another one".

At first, I thought it was obvious, but it only took a few seconds to realize that this is a very fair question and not everyone is as addicted to chess as I am. Although I know that this information can be found by searching on the web, I noticed that there is a lack of material summarizing it in a single and simple article. Hence my decision to explain it once and for all.

Also, I feel the need to write a more “technical” blog after so many crazy stupidities, like aliens invading the Earth, and provide some useful content before the Chess.com staff decides to remove my Top Blogger badge.

Nevertheless, I will try to add some creativity, since my worst nightmare would be a reader finding it boring. But how? Well, as you all know, I love sports, so maybe it will not only be more fun but also more helpful for a better understanding if I compare the major chess tournaments with other big events in various sports.

"Ok, enough talking, Vanessa, go to the blog!”. Alright, sorry... here it is:

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Tata Steel: The Wimbledon of Chess.

2. Chess Olympiad: Our own version of the Olympic Games.

3. Rapid & Blitz World Championship: Chess T20 format.

4. FIDE Grand Swiss: A real race for only 2 spots.

5. FIDE World Cup: The knockout tournament every sport needs.

6. Candidates Tournament: Where only the best compete.

7. World Chess Championship: The ultimate and absolute glory.

8. Conclusion: Honorable mentions and extinct events.

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TATA STEEL CHESS

The Tata Steel Chess is the most important “loose” tournament (you will better understand what this means during the blog) on the current standard chess scene. It is traditionally held in January in the town of Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.

Proof of its tradition and importance is the fact that since its creation in 1938 under the name of Hoogovens, the tournament was not held only in 1945, due to the Second World War. The prestige of this event has not diminished over the years, and it still attracts the best players in the world.

Some of the most famous winners are World Champions Max Euwe, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, and Magnus Carlsen. In fact, of all the World Chess Champions since the 1st edition was played, only four of them have not won the Tata Steel during their careers.

This tournament is known for always inviting players who aren't afraid to fight on the board, thus avoiding the monotonous draws that are typical of other high-level competitions. Tata Steel's greatest champion is Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, with an impressive 8 titles.

There is also a "Challengers" division, which invites young and promising players at the beginning of their journey in the sport. The Challengers’ champion is guaranteed a spot in the following year's Masters tournament.

Tata Steel is so traditional and prestigious that it is often referred to as the "Wimbledon of Chess", in reference to the world's most important tennis tournament.

So, it wasn't hard to correlate it with a major event in another sport. And to tell you the truth, that's where the idea came from to do these comparisons with all the other tournaments I'm going to mention from now on.

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CHESS OLYMPIAD

I bet you've heard a lot about the Chess Olympiad lately, right? After all, its latest edition ended just a few days ago, with India winning both the Open and Women's sections. This event is by far the most glamorous team chess tournament in the world.

Personally, what I like most about it is that it brings together many top players at the same time and in the same place, always providing spectacular games and a lot of fighting, thus making it my favorite chess competition to follow among all the others.

While many closed tournaments only have 8 or 10 elite players and open tournaments usually don't have the presence of the super GMs, the Olympiad combines the best of both worlds. The fact that you are cheering for your nation, rather than just for an individual, is also a differentiating factor that makes it even more fun.

I won’t go into a long explanation of how the tournament rules work because it has just been held and I have already done so in my blog "Chess And The Olympic Games: An Eternal Friendzone?", so click on the link if you want to understand a bit more. The country with the most gold medals is the Soviet Union, which is quite natural considering their chess tradition.

Once again, the correlation is obvious. Which sporting event brings out the best athletes in the world to represent their countries and distributes medals for the best performances? You are correct if you answered the Olympic Games.

So yes, despite not being included in the world's biggest sports festival, chess has found its own way to unite people from all continents in a healthy and exciting competition. I am sure that I am not the only one who loves the Chess Olympiad.

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RAPID & BLITZ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Even though I'm not a big fan of OTB Rapid or Blitz tournaments, there's one in particular that I love, and it's the most important one of them all. Of course, I'm talking about the World Championship of these time controls.

This event is not as old and traditional as the others mentioned in this blog, as it has only been played annually since 2012, although there have been other previous editions that did not last too long. Nevertheless, it's considered very important nowadays, especially due to the growing popularity of faster games.

Another factor that makes this tournament special is that it takes place at the end of the year, usually between Christmas and New Year's Day, making it an interesting program to distract yourself during that trip to visit relatives in the countryside when there's not much to do and not even many other sports to follow.

What's more, the unpredictable nature of faster time controls leaves room for big surprises, such as Nodirbek Abdusattorov being crowned World Rapid Champion in 2021, when he was just 17 years old. But one thing won't change: the greatest champion is the legend Magnus Carlsen, who, despite relinquishing the world title in Standard games, still holds the crown in both Rapid and Blitz.

And of course, what better comparison for a faster-paced World Cup than the shortest format of cricket? As with India's most popular sport, the Test and ODI tournaments are more prestigious and important, but fans can also enjoy cheering on their country in the T20 World Cup, where the matches are faster, more dynamic, and more unpredictable.

Winning these types of tournaments may not be the final confirmation that you are the best, but it is undoubtedly an extraordinary achievement and one to be proud of.

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FIDE GRAND SWISS

The FIDE Grand Swiss opens the tournaments that are directly related to the World Championship Match. I say this because it is one of the possible first steps for a player to become a World Champion. (That's why I called the Tata Steel a "loose").

Held every two years, this event attracts great players who compete for a top-two finish and a spot in the Candidates Tournament, which then paves the way to the world's biggest stage. As the name suggests, it is played in a Swiss format to reward regularity and consistency.

Besides the Olympiad, this is where you will see the most elite players simultaneously, this time in an individual competition. But that doesn't mean it's any less exciting, especially in the final rounds when any slip-up could ruin their dream of becoming a world champion.

In terms of tradition, the Grand Swiss is not so old. In fact, only 3 editions have been held so far, won by Wang Hao in 2019, Alireza Firouzja in 2021 and Vidit Gujrathi in 2023. However, since it is worth two seats in the Candidates Tournament, it has an enormous relevance despite its recent creation.

To get a better idea of how this works, a good analogy is a Formula 1 race, or other motorsports, such as Nascar. All cars and drivers, regardless of their power or talent, enter the track at the same time and race to get ahead of their rivals while the fans bite their nails in anticipation.

To win, it's not enough to focus on your performance. All players are constantly looking to the side and in the rearview mirror to make sure they are ahead of their main competitors. And of course, a direct dispute on the final lap... ops, round... can always happen and add to the excitement.

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FIDE WORLD CUP

If you're not a big fan of points tournaments and prefer the thrilling knockout format, chess also has a perfect competition for you! It's the FIDE World Cup, created in 1998 under the name FIDE World Championship (the confusion with its name is too much to explain), and also held every two years.

The rules are simple, all 206 participants are paired up in 1v1 matches and play two games with reversed colors. The winner of this small match advances and the loser is eliminated. If there is a tie, they play Rapid and Blitz games until one of them wins. Both finalists and the 3rd place go to the Candidates Tournament.

This event is so unpredictable and hard to win that even Magnus Carlsen, considered by many to be the GOAT of the sport, only won his first title last year, in 2023. Levon Aronian is the only player to have won it more than once, in 2005 and 2017.

This happens because once the player loses a match, that's it, there's no chance to recover. So, if you want maximum excitement and direct clashes between the best in the world, this system is a lot of fun.

"Wait, you won’t compare it to the Football World Cup?” No! Because despite the same name, the Chess World Cup does not have the same relevance as its namesake has for football. Besides, if you think a little bit, it is easy to guess what I am saving this event for.

Still, it is a competition of great importance, so a good correlation would be with the world's biggest club competition. I am talking about the UEFA Champions League, which brings together the elite of world football in electrifying matches watched not only in Europe but around the world.

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CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT

Now we're almost at the top. The Candidates Tournament is undoubtedly the second most important in the chess scene, as it is played between only eight players. Unlike other elite tournaments, they aren’t invited, but must qualify for the next one in 2026 as follows:

• Top three World Cup finishers.

• Top two finishers of the Grand Swiss.

• Both winners of the FIDE Circuit 2024 and 2025.

• Highest average rating from August 2025 to January 2026.

The format is also easy to understand. All eight participants play in a double round-robin format (two games with reversed colors against each player). The winner, as the name suggests, earns the right to challenge the reigning champion for the world crown.

Talking about who has already played or won the tournament becomes irrelevant in this case, because this is the place where everyone wants to be, so the event itself becomes bigger than the players who played in it.

The first time it was used to define the challenger for the world title was in 1948. Since then, all players who have been world champions have had to beat it to achieve the greatest of all glories, including of course Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, and Magnus Carlsen. In terms of quality of play, this is perhaps the competition with the highest average accuracy in world chess.

The Candidates Tournament is, for me, somewhat similar to the famous "Playoffs" of the major American leagues: The National Basketball Association (NBA), the Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL).

I say this not because of the format, as these are knockout competitions, but mainly because it only brings together those who have proven themselves throughout the season and are worthy of competing among the best.

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WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

And finally, the most important tournament in chess, the World Chess Championship, played between the champion, trying to defend his title, and the challenger, the winner of the last Candidates Tournament. The next edition will be held in Singapore in November, between the Chinese Ding Liren and the Indian Dommaraju Gukesh.

This tournament is a 14-game match in which both players alternate between white and black pieces until one of them reaches 7.5 points. In the event of a tie, as in 2023, tie-breaks are played in rapid and blitz matches if necessary.

If we look at the pre-FIDE era, the first World Championship Match was played in 1886 between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort, with the first emerging victorious. The rest of its history and champions are easy to find on the web, so I don't think it's worth spending too much time on it.

But just to mention some curious facts: The longest reigning champion was Emanuel Lasker, who held it for 27 years between 1894 and 1921; Kasparov was the youngest to win it, in 1985, at the age of 22; and Mikhail Botvinnik is the only player to have lost and regained the title twice, against Vasily Smyslov and Mikhail Tal.

As you might have expected, the most obvious correlation of all is with the world's greatest sporting event, the Football World Cup Final! After all, we are talking about the big stage, the quest for maximum glory, and the moment when the whole world is watching.

Unfortunately, the popularity of each of them is still ridiculously far from any possibility of comparison, but I would like to take this opportunity to express my hope that one day, perhaps, this distance will at least decrease a little. In the meantime, there's no reason for us not to enjoy both.

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CONCLUSION

I hope this blog post was useful for you. Or, if you are a chess addict like me, it is possible that you already knew everything written there. But let's not forget that new people join our community every day and maybe this can be a good starting guide for many of them. Feel free to share it with anyone who asks you to explain this topic.

One last clarification for those who are confused about the two spots in the next Candidates Tournament given to the winners of the "FIDE Circuit" in 2024 and 2025. This Circuit is not a specific tournament, but rather a sum of points earned in all official events, large or small.

Therefore, it was kind of hard to talk about it as a whole, and the math to determine how many points the players get in each of them is very complicated, but just be informed that every chess competition has its importance for the professionals somehow.

My readers after reading this blog. At least I hope so!

Finally, I would like to add a few honorable mentions. Tournaments which may not be at the top of relevance today, but are still very traditional and worth to be mentioned here: Norway Chess, London Chess Classic, Grand Chess Tour Circuit, St. Louis Rapid & Blitz,  ̷N̷Z̷ ̷C̷h̷e̷s̷s̷ ̷C̷o̷n̷g̷r̷e̷s̷s̷, Sinquefield Cup, as well as the extinct Linares International Chess Tournament and the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting (today played in a no-castling chess variant).

So yes, time to say goodbye. Please let me know in the comments if you like this kind of informative article and which chess tournaments you also consider important that I have forgotten to mention. I think it is good and healthy to mix the craziness with some more down-to-earth topics. Our next meeting will be on October 15th. Take care!