ChessKid Cup Up Next As Champions Chess Tour Reaches Midway Point

The next event in Chess.com’s blockbuster $2 million Champions Chess Tour has been revealed as the inaugural ChessKid Cup.

Qualifying for the event will kick off with a Play-In on Monday, May 1, to decide the final lineup. The five-day Knockout then begins on May 22.

Fifty-six players will battle it out across three divisions for a total prize pot of $235,000, plus Tour points and a ticket to the Tour Playoffs for the winner.

The elite tournament is named after Chess.com’s familiar scholastic extension and the number-one chess learning website for kids. The theme of the tournament will center around youth education in chess and the rising field of superstar junior players, meaning younger chess fans can expect plenty of inspiration.

Magnus Chess Academy, which teaches chess to children both online and in-person, will also be featured during the ChessKid Cup.

U.S. star GM Hikaru Nakamura, who won the Chessable Masters in April, currently tops the overall Tour leaderboard. GM Magnus Carlsen, the world number-one but no longer world champion, is second.

Nakamura has so far earned 250 Tour points and $50,000, while Carlsen has earned 225 Tour points and $45,000. GM Fabiano Caruana, the Chessable Masters runner-up, is third on 150 and $30,000. Nakamura, Carlsen, Caruana, and Uzbekistan’s 18-year-old rising star GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov have pre-qualified for Division I.

We are waiting to learn if they will take their places. The ChessKid Cup will be the third of six Champions Chess Tour events before the Playoffs start on December 4, running until December 13. The Tour Finals will run from December 16 to 23.

All the information on the ChessKid Cup and the Champions Chess Tour is available here. Coverage of the Play-In starts on May 1 at 8 a.m. PT/17:00 CEST.