Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh to compete in the Superbet Classic Romania
R Praggnandhaa and D Gukesh are set to take part in the Superbet Chess Classic in Romania. The tournament is scheduled for June 26, 2024, to July 5, 2024, and will take place at the Grand Hotel Bucharest in Romania's capital.
Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh will lead India's challenge as both stars will be seen in action once again. The opening ceremony for the Superbet Classic Romania was held on June 25 and was attended by the participants and former world champion Garry Kasparov.
This would also be the first classical event and the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour (GCT), which began with the Superbet Rapid and Blitz in Poland in May. Magnus Carlsen, who came in as a wild card entrant in the event, won the first leg that was held in Warsaw.
The Superbet Classic will see all nine participants, including Indians Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh, in GCT taking part in Romania. Local hero and wild card entrant Bogdan-Daniel Deac is also set to participate in the event.
GCT made the announcement on June 17, 2024, taking to social media.
"Ready for the 2nd GCT event?😉 The Superbet Chess Classic Romania will take place in Bucharest, Romania, from June 26 to July 5," the captioned.
"The first of two classical events, this tournament will feature a 10-player round-robin format with nine tour regulars: Gukesh D, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Alireza Firouzja, and one wildcard, local Romanian favorite Bogdan-Daniel Deac.
"With double the prize fund of the rapid events, the players will compete for a total purse of $350,000. Make sure to catch all the action online via the Saint Louis Chess Club’s Twitch and YouTube channels. The event starts in just 10 days!" Grans Chess Tour wrote on Instagram.
D Gukesh back in action in Classical Chess
2023 GCT winner Fabiano Caruana is set to be the top seed and will be followed by Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Looking at the Indians, D Gukesh, World Championship Challenger, is all set to be back in action in Classical Chess. He will be back after his recent triumph in the Candidates in Toronto back in April.
A 120-minute control time is set for the classical event for the game, with 30-second increments from move one.
A total of $350,000 has been set as the prize money, with $100,000 set aside for the winner alone. The achievers will also be awarded points for the Grand Chess Tour.