Chess.com Rapid Chess Championship 2022: all the information

the Chess.com Rapid Chess Championship 2022 is a series of world-class online fast-paced events for the world’s top 100 players, top 10 women and top 10 juniors. From February 12 to August 28, these chess stars will be able to participate in weekly Swiss and knockout tournaments to fight for the top of the leaderboard and their share of the $650,000 prize fund– the largest prize fund in the history of Chess.com.

Broadcast

Make sure you don’t miss a single minute of the action by joining our live stream of the event on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on our Twitch channel or access all of our live streams on YouTube.com/ChesscomLive.

Don’t forget to head over to our Events page to follow every detail of the event, including live matches, results, standings and more!

Players

• The top 100 players, according to the classic FIDE ranking list
• Top 10 Junior Players
• Top 10 players

Any player who has been in any of the above categories from January 2021 to the current FIDE list is eligible to play.

The following players have confirmed their intention to participate regularly:

Ranking

To be determined

Program

Players compete in a Swiss tournament every Saturday. The top eight Swiss players qualify for a knockout match on Sunday. These weekend events lead to the finals of the Chess.com Rapid Chess Championship, August 25-28.

^{* Difference due to summer time}

Regular season

• Swiss events take place on Saturday, knockout events on Sunday
• Events begin at 9:00 a.m. PT/6:00 p.m. CET
• February 12-June 12
• 2022 Candidates Tournament Break: June 13-July 8
• July 9-August 21

Finals

• August 25: Round of 16
• August 26: Quarter-finals
• August 27: Semi-finals
• August 28: Final

Format

The 2022 Chess.com Rapid Chess Championship consists of a regular season and finals. The regular season includes Swiss and knockout events every Saturday and Sunday, with players earning Grand Prix points based on their placement on these events. At the end of the regular season, the top 12 players with the most Grand Prix points qualify to join four guest players in the Rapid Chess Championship Finals.

Regular season

Swiss Saturday Events

• Time control is 10 + 0.
• Players compete in a nine-round Swiss tournament.
• The top eight players qualify for this weekend’s knockout tournament.
• In the event of a tie, the Swiss tournament tiebreakers apply.

Sunday Knockout Events

• Time control is 10 + 2.
• Players are ranked in order of arrival from the previous Swiss event for this weekend in an eight-man knockout bracket.
• If a player is unable to compete on Sunday, the next highest ranked player takes their place.
• The players play a game, with the highest seed playing White.
• If the first game is drawn: the players play a game of 3+2 with the lowest ranked player playing with the white pieces.
• If the players are still tied, the players play a 1+1 game with the highest seed playing with the white pieces.
• If the players are still tied, a single The Armageddon game is played with the top seed choosing a color.

Finals

To be announced at a later date.

Grand Prize Points

Players accumulate Grand Prix Points throughout the season based on their performance in each weekly event:

• 1st: 10 points
• 2nd: 7 points
• 3rd-4th: 5 points
• 5th-8th: 3 points
• 9-16: 2 points
• 17th-32nd: 1 point

The top 12 players with the most Grand Prix points earn the right to participate in the Rapid Chess Championship Finals.

Price

The prize fund for the event is $650,000, with $500,000 in prize money for weekly Swiss and knockout events and a $150,000 prize pool for Rapid Chess Championship Finals.

Weekly Prize Fund: $20,000

• 1st: $7,500
• 2nd: $3,500
• 3rd: $2,500
• 4th: $2,500
• 5th-8th: $1,000

Final Prize Fund: $150,000

• 1st: $30,000
• 2nd: $20,000
• 3rd: $16,000
• 4th: $12,000
• 5th-8th: $8,000
• 9th-16th: $5,000

How to play in the event

Only players on the FIDE Classical Top 100 Rankings list from January 2021 to the current published ranking list are eligible to play in the 2022 Chess.com Rapid Chess Championship. and the top 10 juniors by classic ranking from January 2021 to the current published ranking list.

Any qualified player who has a Preferred Account that is not yet added to the Official Club must contact [email protected] to be added to the Official Club.

Identification requirements and fair play

• All accounts must be labeled with the player’s real name.
• All players will be required to participate in a Zoom call for all Swiss events
• Players must have a dual camera setup for knockout events.
• Players must have the ability to share their screen on demand.
• Players are allowed to broadcast the event with a chat emote only.