Chess.com is excited to announce the 2021 Junior Speed Chess Championship presented by ChessKid. Starting on June 7, the most talented chess prodigies on the planet will clash to claim their piece of the highest prize fund for this event to date: a total of $35,000!

Although still young, the previous winners have established themselves as strong grandmasters: GM Wei Yi won in 2019 and GM Nihal Sarin won in 2020. The big question is: who will win this year?

World-Famous Prodigies Going Toe-To-Toe

Even though a few invitations are still pending, some of the strongest young players in the world have already confirmed their participation. For the main event, GM Jeffery Xiong is one of the pre-tournament favorites. Can the American prodigy earn his first JSCC title?

GMs Praggnanandhaa R., Haik Martirosyan, and Anton Smirnov are some of the players composing the field. Last year’s champion GM Nihal Sarin will also return to defend his crown.

It’s not only the main event that will be filled with star players. Other top Juniors like GM Vincent Keymer, GM-elect Marc’Andria Maurizzi, GM Gukesh D, GM Raunak Sadhwani, GM Hans Niemann, and IM Christopher Yoo have accepted the invitation to play in the qualifiers.

Don’t Miss Our Broadcast!

All the events will be broadcast live on Chess.com/TV with commentary by experts like GMs Aman Hambleton, Daniel Naroditsky, Robert Hess, and FM Mike Klein. You can also follow the games on our Events page. Don’t miss it!

Which chess superstar do you think will take the JSCC crown this year? Let us know in the comments below!