Gukesh, Pragg, Abdusattorov Join 2024 Grand Chess Tour

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The line-up for the 2024 Grand Chess Tour has been announced, with teenage GMs Gukesh Dommaraju (17), Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (18), and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (19) the three newcomers, replacing GMs Richard Rapport, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and World Champion Ding Liren. World number-two GM Fabiano Caruana tops the field, while world numbers one and three, GMs Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, are again absent, but can still play as wildcards for individual events.

If there’s been one criticism leveled at the Grand Chess Tour down the years it’s been a reluctance to introduce new talent, instead focusing on a small field of the world’s top-rated players. That seems to have changed this year, with three teenagers introduced.

	Title	Name	FED	Rating	World rank	Age
1	GM	Fabiano Caruana		2804	2	31
2	GM	Anish Giri		2752	5	29
3	GM	Alireza Firouzja		2760	6	20
4	GM	Ian Nepomniachtchi		2771	7	33
5	GM	Wesley So		2752	8	30
6	GM	Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu		2747	13	18
7	GM	Nodirbek Abdusattorov		2744	15	19
8	GM	Gukesh Dommaraju		2743	16	17
9	GM	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave		2732	19	33

Of course, it helps to include young players when the prodigies—India’s Gukesh and Praggnananadhaa, and Uzbekistan’s 2021 World Rapid Champion Abdusattorov—are already knocking on the door of the world top-10.

Looking forward with excitement! https://t.co/8VMQm3jIss

— Gukesh D (@DGukesh) February 22, 2024

The players they replaced struggled in 2023. Duda dropped to world number-20, Rapport to 28, and Ding, despite the career-capping success of winning the world championship title, dropped out of the 2023 Tour after a disappointing event in Bucharest just after winning the crown.

It’s not all new, however, with six players back, including tour winner Caruana, runner-up GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and third-placed GM Wesley So, who all got automatic spots.

The final places went to GMs Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja, and Anish Giri, with the organizers explaining their choice among the players who didn’t qualify automatically with: “The remaining six were invited based on a number of factors, including URS rating, FIDE rating, fighting spirit, and sportsmanship.”

No less than five of the players will be competing in the upcoming 2024 FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament in Toronto, but by the time the Tour starts we’ll already know who will challenge Ding in the next world championship match. As in previous years, there are five events, with the nine regular players competing in both classical tournaments ($375,000 prize fund each): the Superbet Romania Classic (June 24-July 6, Bucharest) and the Sinquefield Cup (August 17-31, St. Louis).

They also play in two of the three rapid events ($175,000 prize fund each): the Superbet Poland Rapid & Blitz (May 6-13, Warsaw), the SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz (July 8-15, Zagreb), and the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz (August 10-17).

Wildcards will fill the remaining spots, with Carlsen playing—and winning—two rapid events in 2023, including posting an incredible perfect 9/9 day of blitz in Zagreb.