Chess legends Judit Polgar and Vladimir Kramnik have joined forces with Play Magnus Group to launch a new elite online tour designed to support rising young players and advance gender equality in the sport. The Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour features some of the world’s top talent and includes a healthy balance of male and female competitors.
The tour starts on April 8 and includes four 4-day rapid tournaments, leading into a Final taking place from September 9 to 13. The winner of each event will qualify for a place on the $1.5 million Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, Play Magnus Group’s flagship series.
Each tournament is a 20-player single round robin with a time control of 10 minutes for the game plus 5-second increments per move.
Commentary by GMs Judit Polgar and Vladimir Kramnik
| Rk. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | ||
| 1 |
|
GM | Praggnanandhaa R | 2608 | 15,5 | 0,0 |
| 2 |
|
GM | Abdusattorov Nodirbek | 2627 | 14,0 | 2,0 |
| 3 |
|
GM | Gukesh D | 2578 | 14,0 | 1,5 |
| 4 |
|
GM | Nihal Sarin | 2620 | 14,0 | 1,5 |
| 5 |
|
IM | Murzin Volodar | 2478 | 14,0 | 1,0 |
| 6 |
|
GM | Keymer Vincent | 2591 | 13,5 | 0,0 |
| 7 |
|
GM | Liang Awonder | 2592 | 12,5 | 0,0 |
| 8 |
|
IM | Yoo Christopher Woojin | 2455 | 12,0 | 1,0 |
| 9 |
|
IM | Mendonca Leon Luke | 2549 | 12,0 | 0,0 |
| 10 |
|
GM | Bjerre Jonas Buhl | 2550 | 10,5 | 0,0 |
| 11 |
|
GM | Lei Tingjie | 2505 | 10,0 | 1,0 |
| 12 |
|
WGM | Zhu Jiner | 2459 | 10,0 | 0,0 |
| 13 |
|
IM | Salimova Nurgyul | 2397 | 7,0 | 0,0 |
| 14 |
|
IM | Shuvalova Polina | 2476 | 6,5 | 0,5 |
| 15 |
|
IM | Abdumalik Zhansaya | 2472 | 6,5 | 0,5 |
| 16 |
|
IM | Khademalsharieh Sarasadat | 2494 | 5,5 | 1,0 |
| 17 |
|
IM | Mammadzada Gunay | 2443 | 5,5 | 0,0 |
| 18 |
|
IM | Yip Carissa | 2430 | 4,0 | 0,0 |
| 19 |
|
IM | Badelka Olga | 2433 | 3,0 | 0,0 |
| 20 |
|
IM | Saduakassova Dinara | 2500 | 0,0 | 0,0 |
The players are split into two teams, Team Polgar and Team Kramnik, and their points will also be tallied for their teams. The winning team at the end of the tour will get to travel to Dubai, where Magnus Carlsen is set to play his 5th World Championship match this November.
| Player | Country | Age | Rating |
| Nihal Sarin | India | 16 | 2620 |
| Awonder Liang | United States | 17 | 2592 |
| Vincent Keymer | Germany | 16 | 2591 |
| Gukesh D | India | 14 | 2578 |
| Sarasadat Khademalsharieh | Iran | 24 | 2494 |
| Volodar Murzin | Russia | 14 | 2478 |
| Polina Shuvalova | Russia | 20 | 2476 |
| Zhansaya Abdumalik | Kazakhstan | 21 | 2472 |
| Zhu Jiner | China | 18 | 2459 |
| Gunay Mammadzada | Azerbaijan | 20 | 2443 |
| Player | Country | Age | Rating |
| Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Uzbekistan | 16 | 2627 |
| Praggnanandhaa | India | 15 | 2608 |
| Jonas Bjerre | Denmark | 16 | 2550 |
| Leon Mendonca | India | 15 | 2549 |
| Lei Tingjie | China | 24 | 2505 |
| Dinara Saduakassova | Kazakhstan | 24 | 2500 |
| Christopher Yoo | United States | 14 | 2455 |
| Olga Badelka | Belarus | 18 | 2433 |
| Carissa Yip | United States | 17 | 2430 |
| Nurgyul Salimova | Bulgaria | 17 | 2397 |
