We’re excited to announce that the Chess.com Global Championship is now called the Chess.com Open! The event, which starts on March 14, is set to be the world’s largest open tournament. With $250,000 in prizes and up to three direct spots to the next Esports World Cup, the Chess.com Open is likely to attract the fiercest competitors in chess.
The event’s format and qualification system remain the same. However, the new name better reflects the event’s unique nature—the world’s largest open, with Chess.com’s most-played time control, open to anyone who wants to compete.
“We believe that Chess.com Open better communicates the truly inclusive nature of this event,” said Michael Brancato, Chess.com’s Events Commissioner. “We’re looking forward to seeing how players embrace the opportunity to prove themselves against the world’s elite.”
In total, 16 players will participate in the Chess.com Open Playoffs, with eight coming from the Winter Split of the Titled Tuesday Grand Prix and the remaining eight through qualifiers.
With the end of the Winter Split on February 24, eight players have already qualified for the Chess.com Open Playoffs. Spearheading the group is world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen, who had a formidable performance over the split, finishing more than 20 points ahead of the last qualified player in eighth place. Other heavyweights of the chess world who have made it are GMs Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Denis Lazavik, Sam Sevian, Javokhir Sindarov, Arjun Erigaisi, and Vincent Keymer.
The other eight players of the Chess.com Open Playoffs will be determined over the course of March. From March 14 to 25, anyone on Chess.com will have the chance to participate in the qualifiers to try to earn a spot—and to be a part of this historic event, playing side-by-side with the legends of the game! Non-titled players can participate by finding the Preliminaries on our Tournaments page, while titled players can join through the Titled Players club.
The Chess.com Open qualifiers will feature Preliminaries for non-titled players, Titled Qualifiers for non-GM titled players, and Play-Ins for grandmasters. You can see the qualifier schedule below:
| Qualifier | Day | Time ET | Time CET | Time IST |
| Preliminary 1 | Mar 14 | 12 p.m. | 17:00 | 9:30 p.m. |
| Titled Qualifier 1 | Mar 15 | 12 p.m. | 17:00 | 9:30 p.m. |
| Play-In 1 | Mar 16 | 12 p.m. | 17:00 | 9:30 p.m. |
| Play-In 2 | Mar 18 | 12 p.m. | 17:00 | 9:30 p.m. |
| Preliminary 2 | Mar 21 | 12 p.m. | 17:00 | 9:30 p.m. |
| Titled Qualifier 2 | Mar 22 | 12 p.m. | 17:00 | 9:30 p.m. |
| Play-In 3 | Mar 23 | 12 p.m. | 17:00 | 9:30 p.m. |
| Play-In 4 | Mar 25 | 12 p.m. | 17:00 | 9:30 p.m. |
The eight qualified players and eight players from the Titled Tuesday Grand Prix Winter Split will then face off in the Playoffs. At stake are not only the $250,000 in cash prizes and up to three direct spots at the Esports World Cup. Players will also be battling for a significant number of CCT Leaderboard points, which can be crucial for reaching the coveted Esports World Cup.
Fans who are not competing can keep up with the Chess.com Open by tuning in to our live broadcast on our Twitch and YouTube channels. The broadcasts take place on March 16, 18, 23, and 25 during the qualifiers, and then resume for the Playoffs on April 23.
Who do you think will make it to the Chess.com Open Playoffs? Let us know in the comments below!
