Annual money rankings are available for many reputable sports. For example, lists by Forbes (highest-earning tennis players; highest-paid NHL players, best-earning men in biathlon, etc.), or even an all-time poker money list. Here are some numbers to give you an idea:
| Sport | Top player |
10th player |
| Tennis | $ 54,300,000 |
$ 8,800,000 |
| Poker | $ 23,800,000 |
$ 11,786,129 |
| NHL | $ 12,700,000 |
$ 7,740,000 |
| Biathlon | € 188,425 |
€ 44,275 |
Unfortunately, such money rankings are not easily possible in chess, where financial data is scarce, and secretly handing out fees in envelopes is a widespread practice. This paper is a first attempt at creating a list featuring chess players who have made more prize money than anyone else in year 2012.
A stereotypical chess player is a noble intellectual who is not interested in money. A common belief is that playing chess is not a profession; hence even grandmasters are expected to have “real jobs”. Is it true or not? Today we are publishing our own Chess Cash Kings 2012 rating – a list of chess players with the highest prize money winnings in 2012.
Notably, there is a serious gap between the two players who played the World Chess Championship match (Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand) and everyone else. Non chess-related activities were not accounted for, so you won’t see Garry Kasparov or Anatoly Karpov on the list. It features only active top players whose primary income sources are chess-related.
The list has been compiled using public information sources, namely, the official websites of the tournaments and official regulations of the events. The figures do not include endorsement deals and non-tournament chess earnings (books, simultaneous exhibitions, coaching, scholarships, unofficial games, etc.). Hence, the real earnings of the players are considerably higher. Another confusing factor is taxes: some of the tournament organizers list the amounts after tax deduction, while others provide pre-tax figures. Additionally, a lot depends on the tax policies of different countries.
Most top tournaments conceal the amount of the prize money and the appearance fees. They prefer to negotiate the conditions personally with each player without informing the public about the details, thus saving money and avoiding paying taxes. While common sense tells us that the chess community should be evolving towards financial transparency and legal payments, it is clear that the organizers and many of the players themselves will be reluctant to cooperate.
Of course, there are exceptions, but the average figure of the first prize at a super tournament is $50,000-$100,000. The appearance fees for players rated 2700+ are usually in the $10,000-$20,000 range. The very top stars can negotiate even better rates.
To make the list more representative, we tried to list the most important details even when the data is missing. Please don’t judge this article too strictly: as far as we know, it is the first attempt of this kind in the chess world.
The Chess Cash Kings 2012 list sorted by estimates of prize money. It will be updated and corrected as more information becomes available and is to be found on the Natalia Pogonina web site here.
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2799 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2772 (-27
points)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $2,000,000
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2739 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2740 (+1
point)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $1,100,000
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2835 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2861 (+26
points)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $480,000
In 2010 Magnus Carlsen made over $1,500,000 and about $650,000 in 2009. Both figures refer to aggregate income, not only prize money.
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2805 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2802 (-3
points)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $330,000
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2769 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2780 (+11
points)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $300,000
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2736 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2781 (+45
points)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $290,000
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2759 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2769 (+10
points)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $275,000
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2801 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2810 (+9
points)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $210,000
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2761 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2764 (+3
points)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $185,000
FIDE rating in January 2012: 2688 FIDE rating in January 2013: 2727 (+39
points)
Prize money in 2013 (estimate): $150,000
Methodology
Information about the prizes was obtained from open sources. All the money fees were converted to US dollars using the appropriate exchange rates. In the cases where the information was lacking, estimates were made by contacting a few 2700+ players and interviewing them. While the abovementioned list is supposed to convey a reasonably accurate picture of the earnings of the top players, it is by no means a precise financial report. We would appreciate feedback from players and their managers in order to improve the article.
Peter Zhdanov is an IT project manager, expert and author of two books on parliamentary debate, BSc in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science and a PhD student in Sociology. In chess he is a Russian candidate master, author, manager of grandmaster Natalia Pogonina and editor of Pogonina.com.
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Geoffrey Borg replies to Zhdanov on the FIDE Women Grand
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FIDE Grand Prix: A call for a fair player selection
process 27.09.2012 – How are the participants of the FIDE Grand Prix chosen? Why are some top players not invited, while some of their less distinguished colleagues are taking part? Is there anything we can do about it? Peter Zhdanov reflects on the topic and pays special attention to women’s chess, which is relatively neglected compared to that of their male counterparts. What do you think? |
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Theory of success in life applied to chess 27.08.2012 – What are the factors that define success? How does one become successful in life in general and in chess in particular? Peter Zhdanov explains KPIs (key performance indicators) used to measure success and seeks to apply them to the game we all love. By objectively evaluating all the components described in his article, you can create your own plan of becoming a successful person. |
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Is chess not for everybody? – Feedback from our readers 05.07.2012 – Boris Gelfand said he thought that chess was not for everyone, Peter Zhdanov wrote a piece saying it was. Chess must be presented to the general public for what it is: a sport, an art and science. Many readers agree: "Let us make a Smörgåsbord and have everyone decide what is tasty for them," writes one, and another says we should emulate the mentalist Derren Brown. |
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Is chess not for everybody? |
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Do Women Have a Chance against Men in Chess? 08.03.2012 – As we know all too well: most of the strongest players in the world are male. In the past we have speculated on the reasons for this gender discrepancy, with vigorous reader participation. On International Women's Day Peter Zhdanov, who is married to a very strong female player, provides us with some valuable statistics, comparing men and women on a country-by-country basis. Eye-opening. |
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Do men and women have different brains? 30.06.2009 – In a recent thought-provoking article WGM Natalia Pogonina and Peter Zhdanov presented their views on the topic of why women are worse at chess than men. A number of our readers were unconviced: they think that efforts at "explaining" differences between the sexes only from environmental factors are doomed at the outset. Recent studies seem to support this. Feedback and articles. |
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Women and men in chess – smashing the stereotypes 20.06.2009 – |
