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The new online Champions Chess Tour kicks off on Sunday when a group of 16 grandmasters take the stage for the Skilling Open.
The Skilling Open begins with a full round-robin of rapid chess, after which the top eight players will qualify for the knockout phase, where they will play head-to-head matches until a champion is crowned.
Skilling Open begins on the way to the Tour finals
The Champions Chess Tour comes immediately after the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour and will consist of 10 events. The Skilling Open is classified as a “regular” event, with a total prize pool of $ 100,000. Players will compete in regular tour events to earn qualifying points, which can qualify them for the majors, the first of which will arrive in December.
Major League Baseball winners will qualify for the Tour Finals in September 2021. Each grand has a prize pool of $ 200,000, with $ 300,000 up for grabs in the final event.
| Skilling Open Odds – Tournament Winner (via Unibet) | |
| Magnus Carlsen (-118) | Ding Liren (+800) |
| Hikaru Nakamura (+900) | Wesley So (+1400) |
| Levon Aronian (+1500) | Ian Nepomniachtchi (+1500) |
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (+1500) | Alireza Firouzja (+2000) |
| Anish Giri (+2000) | Sergey Karjakin (+2000) |
| Jan-Krzystof Doubt (+3000) | Teimour Radjabov (+5000) |
| Peter Svidler (+5000) | David Anton Guijarro (+10000) |
| Le Quang Liem (+10000) | Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (+10000) |
That adds up to a lot of chess online over the next year. The tour begins with the Skilling Open, where the winner will win $ 30,000. Players will compete in five quick games per day for the first three days of the tournament, after which the top eight players will advance to the quarterfinals. There are no rest days in the nine-day event, and each knockout match takes place over two days. Various versions of live commentary are streamed on Twitch and YouTube during the tournament.
No shortage of challengers for Carlsen
The Skilling Open course features many of the best players in the world, as well as some new faces who did not participate in the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour earlier this year.
Carlsen himself leads the way and will be the favorite all the way. The World Chess Champion won three of the four main events on his eponymous online tour, then beat Hikaru Nakamura in a thrilling seven-match series to win the tour championship. Carlsen also holds the World Rapid and Blitz Championship titles, making him the clear choice in every event he participates in, whether it’s live or online.
But there are many challengers on the Skilling Open field who are capable of defeating the champion. Nakamura will pose the biggest threat, with a knockout showdown between him and Carlsen that feels almost inevitable at some point in the tournament. Ding Liren, Wesley So, Levon Aronian and Alireza Firouzja are just a few of the other names who will also fight for eliminated places and a chance to take the first Champions Chess Tour title.
While each of the 16 grandmasters is capable of beating Carlsen in an individual game, he is a clear favorite when it comes to the overall event. Carlsen enters the Skilling Open as a -118 favorite to win the tournament, according to online sportsbook Unibet. Ding (+800) appears as the second choice, with the US contingent of Nakamura (+900) and So (+1400) also among the top contenders.
