The Champions Chess Tour 2022, known for sponsorship reasons as the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, was a 9-month series of nine online chess tournaments featuring some of the world's top players, who played for a prize money pool of US$1.6 million. The tour started on February 19, 2022, and lasted until November 20, 2022.
Schedule There were 9 tournaments in the tour: 6 labelled as Regular and 3 labelled as Major. DatesTournament NameTypeFebruary 19–26Airthings MastersRegularMarch 19–26Charity CupRegularApril 22–28Oslo Esports CupMajorMay 19–26Chessable MastersRegularJuly 10–17FTX Road to MiamiRegularAugust 15–21FTX Crypto CupMajorSeptember 18–25Julius Baer Generation CupRegularOctober 14–21Aimchess RapidRegularNovember 14–20Tour FinalsMajor
Format The format was similar to that of the previous season, with some innovations.
Qualification
Regular Each Regular tournament had 16 participants. In all Regular tournaments but the first, the top 8 players from the previous tournament (Regular or Major) were invited. The remaining spots were filled by wildcards chosen by the organizer.
Major Each Major tournament had 8 participants: the top two players of each of the previous two Regular tournaments, the top two players in the overall tour standings, and two wildcards. The tour regulations did not specify what happens if these groups of players overlap.
Time controls Three different time controls were used in the tour:
In rapid games, each player has 15 minutes, plus a 10-second increment for each move. In blitz games, each player has 5 minutes, plus a 3-second increment for each move. In Armageddon games, White has 5 minutes and Black has 4 minutes, with no increment.
Stages
Regular Each Regular tournament consisted of a preliminary stage with 15 rounds and a knockout stage with three rounds. In the preliminary stage, 16 players participated in a round-robin spanning four days, with each player playing one rapid game against each other player, for a total of 120 games. In contrast to the previous season, a win scores 3 points and a draw scores 1 point. The eight players with the most points advance to the next stage. Ties are resolved according to the following criteria, in that order:
Result in the game(s) between the tied players Number of wins (including forfeits) Sonneborn–Berger score Koya score
In the quarterfinals and semifinals, each matchup consists of four rapid games played on a single day, with one point for a win and half a point for a draw. Ties are resolved by a playoff consisting of two blitz games. If these also end in a tie, an Armageddon game is played; if this ends in a draw, the Black player wins the round. The player who ranked higher in the preliminary stage gets to pick a colour.
The final consists of two matches of four rapid games each, played on successive days. Each match is scored separately. A tie (if each player wins one match or both matches are tied) is resolved as in the other knockout rounds. There is no match for third place.
Major Each Major tournament will be a round-robin tournament among eight players, without a knockout stage. Each pair of players plays a match of four rapid games as in the knockout stage of Regular tournaments, including blitz and Armageddon tie-breaks if necessary. If the match is decided in the rapid games, the winner gets 3 match points; if it is decided in tie-breaks, the winner gets 2 match points and the loser 1 match point. Ties in the total match points at the end of the tournament are resolved according to the following criteria, in that order:
Result in the match(es) between the tied players Number of match wins (including forfeits)
Tour points and prize money There is no longer a distinction between tour points and prize money as in the previous season. The player who accumulates the most prize money over the course of the tour wins the tour. The winner is awarded an additional $50,000.
Regular The total prize pool for a Regular tournament is $150,000, of which $60,000 are distributed as follows: FinishPrizeWinner$25,000Runner-up$15,000Semifinalists$6,000Quarterfinalists$2,000
In other words, $2,000 are awarded for reaching the quarterfinals, $4,000 for winning a quarterfinal, $9,000 for winning a semifinal and $10,000 for winning a final.
The remaining $90,000 can be won in the preliminary stage, with $250 being awarded per point, that is, $750 for a win and $250 for a draw. The remaining $250 in case of a draw accumulate in a bonus pot that starts out with $20,000 and is used for performance awards at the end of the season.
Major
The total prize pool for a Major tournament is $210,000, with $2,500 being awarded for each match point. A player with less than 2 match points nevertheless receives $5,000, but only the prize money earned with match points is included in the tour standings.
Results Tournament results Tournament NameTypeWinnerRunner-upAirthings MastersRegular Magnus Carlsen Ian NepomniachtchiCharity CupRegular Magnus Carlsen Jan-Krzysztof DudaOslo Esports CupMajor Jan-Krzysztof Duda Lê Quang LiêmChessable MastersRegular Ding Liren R PraggnanandhaaFTX Road to MiamiRegular Levon Aronian Wei YiFTX Crypto CupMajor Magnus Carlsen R PraggnanandhaaJulius Baer Generation CupRegular Magnus Carlsen Arjun ErigaisiAimchess RapidRegular Jan-Krzysztof Duda Shakhriyar MamedyarovTour FinalsMajor Magnus Carlsen Wesley So
Tour rankings Prize money is shown in thousands of US dollars. An asterisk denotes a Major tournament. Pos Name Airthings Masters Charity Cup Oslo Esports Cup* Chessable Masters FTX Road to Miami FTX Crypto Cup* Generation Cup Aimchess Rapid Tour Finals* Total 1 Magnus Carlsen 31¼ 32¼ 30 13 40 33½ 12½ 50 242½ 2 Jan-Krzysztof Duda 4¼ 20¾ 35 13 27½ 5 32 25 162½ 3 R Praggnanandhaa 4¾ 5¼ 30 21¼ 37½ 7¾ 22½ 129 4 Lê Quang Liêm 7½ 14 32½ 30 11½ 27½ 123 5 Anish Giri 5¼ 22½ 13¼ 8 17½ 5¼ 5 15 91¾ 6 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 4¼ 27½ 7½ 4½ 21¾ 15 80½ 7 Levon Aronian 5¼ 30½ 20 7¼ 63 8 Arjun Erigaisi 9¾ 21¼ 8¾ 22½ 62¼ 9 Ding Liren 7½ 11¾ 31¼ 50½ 10 Jorden van Foreest 8¾ 25 4¼ 38 11 Alireza Firouzja 37½ 37½ 12 Wesley So 32½ 32½ 13 Richárd Rapport 5¼ 12¾ 11½ 29½ 14 Wei Yi 8 19¾ 27¾ 15 Eric Hansen 7¾ 4 7½ 3¾ 3¼ 26¼ 16 Vincent Keymer 7½ 11¾ 4¾ 24 17 Hans Niemann 3¾ 7½ 3½ 0 8 22¾ 18 Ian Nepomniachtchi 22¼ 22¼ 19 David Antón Guijarro 8 7 4 19 20 Vidit Gujrathi 5 4¼ 7¼ 16½ 21 Nodirbek Abdusattorov 4¾ 7¾ 12½ 22 Andrey Esipenko 12 12 Vladislav Artemiev 12 12 David Navara 7¼ 4¾ 12 Pentala Harikrishna 4 4½ 3½ 12 26 Aryan Tari 7 4½ 11½ 27 Samuel Sevian 10 10 28 Gukesh D 8¾ 8¾ Radosław Wojtaszek 4½ 4¼ 8¾ 30 Jeffery Xiong 8 8 31 Sam Shankland 4 3¼ 7¼ Christopher Yoo 7¼ 7¼ 33 Ju Wenjun 2½ 4 6½ Nils Grandelius 4 2½ 6½ 35 Gawain Jones 2½ 3 5½ 36 Leinier Domínguez 4¼ 4¼ 37 Daniel Naroditsky 4 4 Vasyl Ivanchuk 4 4 39 Ivan Šarić 3½ 3½ 40 Aditya Mittal 3 3 41 Abhimanyu Mishra 2½ 2½ Boris Gelfand 2½ 2½ Adhiban Baskaran 2½ 2½ 44 Alexandra Kosteniuk ¾ ¾ 45 Lei Tingjie ½ ½ 46 Teimour Radjabov 0 0
Legend Did not participate Eliminated in preliminary stage Lost in quarterfinals Lost in semifinals Runner-Up Winner
The bonus pot, which started off with $20,000, has grown to $61,250 due to 165 draws in preliminary stages.
Tournaments
Airthings Masters
This initial tournament started on February 19 and ended on February 26.
Preliminary stage
NameElo01020304050607080910111213141516Points 01 2773 – 3 1 3 0 1 1 1 0 3 3 3 1 3 3 3 29 02 2865 0 – 3 0 0 1 3 3 1 1 0 1 3 3 3 3 25 03 2700 1 0 – 3 1 0 3 3 3 1 0 1 1 1 3 3 24 04 2714 0 3 0 – 1 3 0 3 3 1 0 1 0 3 3 3 24 05 2606 3 3 1 1 – 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 3 3 3 0 23 06 2799 1 1 3 0 1 – 3 3 0 0 3 1 1 1 1 3 22 07 2709 1 0 0 3 3 0 – 3 1 0 1 0 3 3 1 3 22 08 2664 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 – 1 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 2209 277231001311–103310321 10 2772 0 1 1 1 3 3 3 0 1 – 1 1 0 0 3 3 21 11 2612 0 3 3 3 0 0 1 1 3 1 – 1 0 0 0 3 19 12 2651 0 1 1 1 3 1 3 0 0 1 1 – 1 0 3 3 19 13 2760 1 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 3 3 1 – 1 0 3 17 14 2767 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 3 3 1 – 1 3 17 15 2642 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 3 0 3 1 – 3 15 16 2516 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 3
Knockout stage
Charity Cup
This tournament started on March 19 and ended on March 26.
Preliminary stage
NameElo01020304050607080910111213141516Points 01 2723 – 1 1 3 3 0 1 3 1 3 3 3 1 3 3 3 32 02 2854 1 – 1 1 1 0 3 0 3 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 29 03 2714 1 1 – 3 0 3 3 3 3 0 1 1 1 3 1 3 27 04 2694 0 1 0 – 1 1 0 1 3 3 3 1 1 3 3 3 24 05 2720 0 1 3 1 – 1 3 3 1 3 0 3 0 3 0 1 23 06 2752 3 3 0 1 1 – 0 1 0 0 1 3 3 3 1 3 23 07 2624 1 0 0 3 0 3 – 0 0 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 22 08 2700 0 3 0 1 0 1 3 – 1 1 1 0 1 3 3 3 2109 276210001331–103113321 10 2664 0 0 3 0 0 3 1 1 1 – 1 3 1 1 3 3 21 11 2723 0 1 1 0 3 1 1 1 3 1 – 0 1 1 3 3 20 12 2669 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 3 – 1 3 0 3 16 13 2716 1 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 – 1 1 3 16 14 2672 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 – 3 3 10 15 2560 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 – 1 10 16 2535 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 – 2
Knockout stage
Oslo Esports Cup
This tournament started on April 22 and ended on April 28. For each match, the table shows the match points gained, with the match result in parentheses.
Name Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points 1 2769 – 1(2 : 4) 0(½ : 2½) 3(2½ : ½) 2(4 : 2) 3(2½ : ½) 2(4 : 2) 3(2½ : ½) 14 2 2765 2(4 : 2) – 3(2½ : 1½) 0(½ : 2½) 0(1½ : 2½) 2(3½ : 2½) 3(2½ : ½) 3(2½ : ½) 13 3 2851 3(2½ : ½) 0(1½ : 2½) – 3(3 : 0) 0(½ : 2½) 0(1½ : 2½) 3(2½ : ½) 3(2½ : ½) 12 4 2685 0(½ : 2½) 3(2½ : ½) 0(0 : 3) – 3(2½ : ½) 3(2½ : ½) 0(½ : 2½) 3(2½ : ½) 12 5 2724 1(2 : 4) 3(2½ : 1½) 3(2½ : ½) 0(½ : 2½) – 2(3½ : 2½) 2(3½ : 2½) 0(1½ : 2½) 11 6 2744 0(½ : 2½) 1(2½ : 3½) 3(2½ : 1½) 0(½ : 2½) 1(2½ : 3½) – 2(4 : 2) 3(2½ : 1½) 10 7 2759 1(2 : 4) 0(½ : 2½) 0(½ : 2½) 3(2½ : ½) 1(2½ : 3½) 1(2 : 4) – 3(2½ : 1½) 9 8 2651 0(½ : 2½) 0(½ : 2½) 0(½ : 2½) 0(½ : 2½) 3(2½ : 1½) 0(1½ : 2½) 0(1½ : 2½) – 3
Chessable Masters
This tournament started on May 19 and ended on May 26.
Preliminary stage
NameElo01020304050607080910111213141516Points 01 2730 – 1 1 3 3 1 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 3 3 3 29 02 2824 1 – 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 28 03 2753 1 1 – 3 1 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 1 1 3 3 25 04 2706 0 3 0 – 1 0 0 3 1 3 3 1 1 3 3 3 25 05 2729 0 1 1 1 – 1 3 1 3 3 0 3 1 3 3 0 24 06 2745 1 1 1 3 1 – 1 1 3 1 1 3 3 1 1 0 22 07 2721 1 1 1 3 0 1 – 3 1 1 1 1 3 0 0 3 20 08 2654 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 – 0 3 3 1 3 1 1 3 2009 268911010013–011033318 10 2736 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 – 3 0 3 0 3 3 17 11 2711 0 0 1 0 3 1 1 0 1 0 – 3 3 0 1 3 17 12 2656 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 3 0 – 3 0 3 1 16 13 2709 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 – 3 3 3 16 14 2630 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 1 0 3 3 3 0 – 0 0 15 15 2587 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 – 3 12 16 2524 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 – 10
Knockout stage
FTX Road to Miami
This tournament started on July 10 and ended on July 17.
Preliminary stage
Teimour Radjabov played five rounds of the preliminary stage and then withdrew due to a COVID-19 infection and general ill health. His games, including the ones he had already played, were forfeited, and his opponents received the full 3 points and corresponding prize money.
NameElo01020304050607080910111213141516Points 01 2684 – 1 0 1 3 1 3 3 3 3 1 1 3 3 3 3 32 02 2688 1 – 0 0 3 1 3 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 31 03 2790 3 3 – 1 1 1 1 3 0 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 28 04 2727 1 3 1 – 3 1 1 3 3 0 1 1 0 3 3 3 27 05 2691 0 0 1 0 – 3 3 1 3 3 1 1 1 3 1 3 24 06 2730 1 1 1 1 0 – 1 1 1 1 3 1 3 3 3 3 24 07 2748 0 0 1 1 0 1 – 1 3 0 3 3 3 3 0 3 22 08 2729 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 – 1 3 3 3 0 1 1 3 1909 265001300101–330300318 10 2745 0 0 1 3 0 1 3 0 0 – 1 1 3 1 1 3 18 11 2708 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 – 1 3 3 3 3 18 12 2754 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 1 1 – 3 0 1 3 17 13 2545 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 – 3 3 3 16 14 2651 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 3 0 – 3 3 14 15 2709 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 3 1 0 1 0 0 – 3 13 16 2738 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0
Knockout stage
FTX Crypto Cup