Candidates Tournament 2024: Date, participants, venue, and more details

The upcoming 2024 Candidates Tournament looms on the horizon, promising a captivating clash as the world's top chess players gear up to challenge the reigning world champion, Ding Liren. This year's edition is anticipated to be particularly intriguing, offering a plethora of compelling storylines and angles to captivate chess enthusiasts worldwide.

Scheduled to commence on April 4, 2024, the 2024 Candidates Tournament boasts a comprehensive schedule, as follows:

- April 3: Opening Ceremony and Media Day
- April 4-22: Rounds 1-14, interspersed with rest days
- April 22: Tie Breaks and Closing Ceremony

This prestigious event will feature eight Grandmasters vying for supremacy. Notably, Magnus Carlsen, the winner of the Chess World Cup in 2023, opted out of participation in the World Chess Championship, thereby opening up a spot for the fourth-ranked player in the Chess World Cup, Nijat Abasov.

The esteemed participants of the 2024 Candidates Tournament include:

- Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Nijat Abasov
- R Praggnanandhaa
- Fabiano Caruana
- Vidit Gujrathi
- Hikaru Nakamura
- Gukesh D
- Alireza Firouzja

Chess enthusiasts keen on witnessing the tournament unfold can catch the action via live streams on Chess.com's official website, as well as Chess24's Twitch and YouTube channels.

In terms of prize money, the Candidates Tournament offers an impressive total prize pool of 500,000 euros ($541,000 USD), with rewards distributed to top-performing players. The champion stands to claim 48,000 euros ($51,937 USD), with substantial prizes allocated to the runner-up and second runner-up, along with additional rewards based on half-point scores.

The venue for the 2024 Candidates Tournament is set at The Great Hall in Toronto, Canada, marking a historic occasion as it hosts both the men's and women's Candidates Tournaments concurrently for the first time in chess history.

As for the format, players will engage in a double round-robin competition, adhering to strict time controls and regulations to ensure fair play and riveting gameplay. The player with the highest score at the tournament's conclusion will emerge victorious, securing a place of honor in the annals of chess history.