Summer Chess events schedule: June – August 2024

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Summer is a vibrant time for chess enthusiasts, with a plethora of tournaments taking place around the globe. As the season of warmth envelops the globe, the Chess community gears up for a season filled with strategic brilliance and competitive fervor.

Whether you're a seasoned grandmaster or a passionate beginner, there's an event waiting to challenge and inspire you. From June to August 2024, Chess enthusiasts worldwide will witness an array of tournaments and championships showcasing both emerging talents and seasoned grandmasters. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the key events, dates, and locations that will define the game's summer calendar.

FIDE World Junior Chess Championships U20 2024 (June 2 – June 13)

This crucial age-group tournament will run across the first two weeks of June in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. The format is an eleven-round Swiss with a time control of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game, including a 30-second increment from move one.

FIDE World Junior Chess Championship will be held in the open and girls' categories, with the total prize money reading €10,000. The winner in the former category will get €3,000, a gold medal, and a trophy, while the champion from the girls section will receive €2,000, a gold medal, and a trophy.

8th Annual Carolinas Classic 2024 (June 7 – June 9)

  The player-influencer sister duo of Andrea and Alexandra Botez has become quite the draw among online users (Image via Chess.com)   

One of Charlotte Chess Center's signature events is a 'five-round Swiss featuring a $15,000 prize pool across seven sections and an entry-free $1,500 blitz tournament.' This tournament will also be conducted just before the Charlotte Chess Center's Elite Camp, which will run from June 10 to 14 at the same venue.

There are also some special guests who will be invited to this Chess competition, starting with the special VIP, the international master John Bartholomew, who will lead Q&As, blitz challenges, game analysis, and more. Player-cum-streamer sisters Andrea Botez and Alexandra Botez (a Woman FIDE Master) will also be present alongside Woman Grandmaster Dina Belenkaya.

Lastly, Chess legends GM Judit Polgar and GM Veselin Topalov (the former world champion), and world-renowned trainers GM Ramachandran Ramesh and GM Daniel Naroditsky will grace the occasion by holding a book signing and autograph session on Sunday. Overall, lots to look forward to for fans of the game.

Grand Chess Tour: Superbet Romania Chess Classic 2024 (June 25 to July 7)

Not long after the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland comes this Chess tournament in Bucharest, Romania's capital. It will be the first of two classical events and feature a ten-player round-robin with nine tour regulars and one wildcard, handed to local favorite Bogdan-Daniel Deac.

It will also be handing out double the prize fund of the rapid events, meaning all the competitors will be fighting for a total purse of $350,000. For fans interested in catching the live action, the organizers have put together a hosting/casting team that includes GMs Yasser Seirawan, Evgeny Miroshnichenko, and Cristian Chirila along with IM Jovanka Houska on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s Twitch & YouTube channels.

Speed Chess Championship 2024 (June 27 – August 8)

  Format of the Main Event at the Speed Chess Championship 2024 (Image via Chess.com)   

Chess.com has labeled the Speed Chess Championship its 'most important speed chess event,' with some of the game's biggest names competing to see who's the world's best player in this format. The Play-in of this $175,000 prize fund competition begins on June 27, with the main event kicking off on July 25.

Some of the biggest names in the business will be involved in this event, including these grandmasters: Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Ding Liren. These players will battle it out in a 16-player single-elimination bracket during the Main Event, with matches divided into three segments where participants compete in 5+1, 3+1, and 1+1 games until the segment's countdown timer runs out.

All this ensures a route to the first-ever Speed Chess Championship Live Final where players will play face-to-face with fans cheering them on. Fans interested in attending this event live can click here to buy tickets to see their speed Chess heroes in the flesh at the ESpot in Paris — France's largest esports and gaming venue.

Those at home can catch the action live on these channels:

• Chess.com/TV
• Chess.com Twitch
• Chess.com YouTube

Grand Chess Tour: SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz 2024 (July 8 – July 16)

This competition marks the halfway stage of the Grand Chess Tour, one of the top global circuits of international Chess tournaments that invite the world’s best players. SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz will follow the same format as May's Superbet Rapid & Blitz, with competitors getting another chance to display their skills under immense time pressure.

Held in Zagreb, Croatia, this event will feature seven full-tour players and three wildcard players — five-time world champion & World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Vidit Gujrathi (India) and Ivan Saric (Croatia). Viewers can catch all the action alongside GMs Yasser Seirawan, Evgeny Miroshnichenko, Cristian Chirila, and IM Master Jovanka Houska on Saint Louis Chess Club's official channels.

Table of summer Chess events

Grand Chess Tour: Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2024 (August 10 – August 18)

  Full schedule of the Grand Chess Tour 2024 (Image via Grand Chess Tour)   

Sponsored by the Saint Louis Chess Club, this will be the third and final rapid and blitz event of the tour. With another $175,000 in prize money on the line, this tournament will feature seven full-tour players and three wildcard players: Hikaru Nakamura (United States), Levon Aronian (United States), and Leinier Dominguez (United States).

Grand Chess Tour: Sinquefield Cup 2024 (August 17 – September 1)

This event will carry a total prize purse of $350,000 and will serve as the final opportunity for participants to accrue points for the 2024 Grand Chess Tour. This event will feature nine full-tour players and one wildcard player, reigning World Champion Ding Liren (China).