Grand Chess Tour 2026: Garry Kasparov-founded circuit raises stakes to $2 million

The Grand Chess Tour (GCT), the international professional chess circuit founded by the legendary Garry Kasparov, enters its eleventh year in 2026 with a renewed starting line-up and a prize pool increased from $1.6 million to $2 million, organizers announced. Romania remains a key point on the competition map, with the Super Chess Classic Romania 2026 stage set to take place in Bucharest from May 12-24. The competition will once again bring together the world's best chess players, who will compete in the classic, rapid and blitz formats. The season's headliner is the reigning world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju. "From the very beginning, the GCT has represented the highest level of professional chess. What distinguishes the GCT is not just the strength of the ten selected chess players, but the integrity, tradition and global vision behind the circuit,” said Garry Kasparov, world champion and co-founder of the Grand Chess Tour.

• Nine players confirmed for all six stages

For the 2026 season, nine grandmasters will take part in all six stages of the circuit, with the final to be held in Saint Louis. Among them are established names such as Fabiano Caruan, Alireza Firouzja, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, along with up-and-coming players such as Vincent Keymer and Praggnanandhaa Ramesh Babu. The players who will receive wildcards for each of the five preliminary stages will be announced later by the organizers.

• Bucharest, the second stop of the 2026 season

The Romanian leg, Super Chess Classic Romania 2026, will be the second competition of the season, after the tournament in Poland, and will bring together the world's elite in a classic format. The Romanian Chess Federation continues to be the co-organizer and official partner of the event, consolidating Bucharest's position as one of the European capitals of performance chess. The total prize pool of the Grand Chess Tour reaches $2 million in 2026, one of the most attractive in professional chess. Each tournament in the classic format will have prizes of $350,000, and the rapid & blitz competitions will offer $200,000. The top four players ranked after the five legs will qualify for the GCT Final, where they will fight for the grand trophy and an additional prize of $450,000. There will also be a $250,000 bonus pool, split between the two classic stages. International arbiter Ignatius Leong (Singapore) will lead the arbiter team, and former US GM Alex Onischuk returns as Deputy Executive Director of the circuit.