A staple since 2019, the SuperUnited Croatia Grand Chess Tour signals the third tournament and midway point of the Grand Chess Tour. Continuing in the thrilling fashion of rapid and blitz format, exciting displays of chess play and blunders under time pressure will certainly keep fans entertained. The event will be held in Zagreb, Croatia at the Westin Zagreb from July 19-24, 2022 with rounds beginning at 15:00 CEST daily.
The Grand Chess Tour has confirmed the field for the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia leg that will include six full tour participants and four wildcards. Reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, headlines the field and will be joined by former FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov. Rounding out the wildcards will be 2021 Tata Steel winner GM Jorden van Foreest and top Croatian GM Ivan Saric.
The SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia is sponsored by the Superbet Foundation and will include 9 rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz chess for a total prize fund of $175,000.
Participants of Grand Chess Tour Croatia 2022:
- Magnus Carlsen
- Alireza Firouzja
- Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Wesley So
- Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
- Leinier Dominguez
- Jorden van Foreest
- Veselin Topalov
- Ivan Saric
The Winner of the event will get 12 GCT points, as well as the money prize of 40.000$. Any player who wins a GCT event outright (without the need for a playoff) will earn a bonus GCT Tour Point for the outright victory and the total of 13 GCT points for winning the tournament from the tour. Tour Points are shared equally between tied players and shall not be impacted by the result of any playoff or tiebreaks that may take place.
After the end of the Grand Chess Tour Romania 2022 and Grand Chess Tour Poland 2022, the overall tour ranking list is led by Levon Aronian with 19 GCT points, Wesley So with 16 GCT points and Fabiano Caruana with 13 GCT points.
Read more: Jan-Krzysztof Duda wins Grand Chess Tour Poland 2022 / Maxime Vachier-Lagrave wins Grand Chess Tour Romania 2022 /
“The SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia will feature quite unique competition,” said GCT Executive Director Michael Khodarkovsky. “Fans can expect five days of exhilarating chess demonstrated by the best players in the world. We are especially excited to watch World Champion Magnus Carlsen compete in this event and later this year at the Sinquefield Cup hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club.”.
Interviews with Grand Chess Tour players: Fabiano Caruana: “Firouzja is one of the hardest players in the World” / Interview with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – the Winner of GCT Romania 2022 / Interview with Wesley So: “Everyone except Magnus has a lot of weaknesses” /
