Chess tournament records
542 chess tournaments tracked since 2017 with $69 305 424 in prize money; 2021 is the record year with 613 439 peak viewers. This page keeps the milestones: the tournament that set each year's peak and biggest purse, the totals by year, and the all-time records. The full top-25 rankings are on their own pages.
Total chess tournaments
542
Peak viewers, all time
613 439
FIDE World Championship 2021 · 26.11.2021 – 10.12.2021
Hours watched, single event
12 537 768
2024 FIDE World Championship · 25.11.2024 – 12.12.2024
Biggest prize fund
$2 500 000
2024 FIDE World Championship · 25.11.2024 – 12.12.2024
Longest broadcast
174 h
FIDE Online Olympiad · 25.07.2020 – 30.08.2020
Record holders by year
| Year | Tournaments | Most watched tournament | Peak viewers | Biggest prize fund | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 85 | PogChamps 6 7 | 222 870 | Esports World Cup 2026 | $1 500 000 |
| 2025 | 131 | Esports World Cup 2025 | 259 353 | FIDE World Chess Cup 2025 | $2 000 000 |
| 2024 | 75 | 2024 FIDE World Championship | 518 260 | 2024 FIDE World Championship | $2 500 000 |
| 2023 | 40 | FIDE World Championship 2023 | 572 396 | FIDE World Championship 2023 | $2 225 500 |
| 2022 | 52 | Speed Chess Championship 2022 | 222 112 | World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2022 | $1 000 000 |
| 2021 | 51 | FIDE World Championship 2021 | 613 439 | FIDE World Championship 2021 | $2 259 000 |
| 2020 | 57 | Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Finals | 193 856 | Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Finals | $300 000 |
| 2019 | 41 | King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2019 | 48 045 | King Salman World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2019 | $1 000 000 |
| 2018 | 10 | Chess World Championship 2018 | 260 115 | Candidates Chess Tournament 2018 | $517 000 |
Most watched chess tournaments
Top 25| # | Tournament | Peak Viewers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FIDE World Championship 2021 26.11.2021 – 10.12.2021 | 613 439 |
| 2 | FIDE World Championship 2023 09.04.2023 – 01.05.2023 | 572 396 |
| 3 | 2024 FIDE World Championship 25.11.2024 – 12.12.2024 | 518 260 |
| 4 | FIDE World Cup 2023 30.07.2023 – 24.08.2023 | 380 518 |
| 5 | Chess.com Pogchamps 3 14.02.2021 – 01.03.2021 | 375 110 |
Biggest chess prize pools
Top 25| # | Tournament | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2024 FIDE World Championship 25.11.2024 – 12.12.2024 | $2 500 000 |
| 2 | FIDE World Championship 2021 26.11.2021 – 10.12.2021 | $2 259 000 |
| 3 | FIDE World Championship 2023 09.04.2023 – 01.05.2023 | $2 225 500 |
| 4 | FIDE World Chess Championship 2023 09.04.2023 – 30.04.2023 | $2 202 110 |
| 5 | FIDE World Chess Cup 2025 01.11.2025 – 26.11.2025 | $2 000 000 |
For organizers, sponsors and media
Put your tournament on this list — and prove it
Records here are the headline. A Chess Watch report shows sponsors exactly how the audience was built:
- Every channel and co-stream, with hours watched and airtime
- Viewers by hour, day and stage
- Languages × platforms, with peaks per day
- Sponsor and brand exposure on stream
- Comparison with previous editions and the year's events
- Live dashboard while the tournament runs
from $1,500 per tournament report, or every chess event for $12,000 a year
Book a callChess records FAQ
What was the most popular year for chess?
2021 is the record year by viewership with a peak of 613 439 concurrent viewers, set by FIDE World Championship 2021. The busiest calendar was 2025 with 131 tracked tournaments. So far 2026 peaks at 222 870 (PogChamps 6 7), 36% of the all-time record.How many chess tournaments does Chess Watch track?
542 tournaments with broadcast statistics since 2017, $69 305 424 in combined prize money. Every one has its own page with peak viewers, results and where it was streamed; the yearly totals above come from the same set.How are chess records verified and how often do they update?
Records come from continuous monitoring of live Twitch, YouTube and Kick broadcasts — official streams and co-streams — not from organizer estimates. A tournament enters the tables once it has finished; the year tables refresh daily, and a new all-time record is double-checked against the raw stream data before it is published.
Where are the full top-25 rankings?