The 2022 Chess.com Global Championship (CGC) is the first Chess.com global championship cycle open to all of our verified players. Players compete in official Chess.com verified events for their share of the $1,000,000 prize pool and the Chess.com Global Champion title.
The cycle features an Open Qualifier phase, with the first event starting on May 1. Open Qualifiers are followed by a Play-in phase beginning on July 11, succeeded by the CGC Knockout starting on September 14. The previous phases culminate in the CGC Finals occurring on November 2.
How To Watch On Chess.com
We will broadcast all the games from the Play-In phase forward. Join the action to enjoy expert commentary by GMs Daniel Naroditsky, Robert Hess, IM Danny Rensch, and more! Just tune in to Chess.com/TV or to our Twitch channel, or watch all our broadcasts on YouTube.com/Chess.comLive.
Open Qualifier Phase
The Chess.com Global Championship kicks off on May 1 with the Open Qualifier phase, which ends on July 31, with a total of 81 events.
Players
All Chess.com Verified players can participate in the Open Qualifier phase. Titled players or players who are already qualified for any of the subsequent phases cannot play in the qualifiers. Players who are already qualified and try to play in another qualifier risk getting banned from the CGC.
Format
- 81 qualifier events happen every Saturday and Sunday across three different times;
- Open Qualifiers consist of 11-round Swiss online tournaments;
- The time control is 10+0;
- The top four players from each event are eligible to advance to the Play-In phase;
- Chess.com’s tiebreaks (Sonneborn-Berger) determine the final standings of each tournament;
- If Chess.com’s tiebreaks cannot resolve a tie that crosses the qualification threshold, the tied players are all eligible to participate in the Play-In phase.
Schedule
Open Qualifier events run three times a day every Saturday and Sunday from May 1 through July 31, totaling 81 events. Note that the last three weekends of qualifiers overlap with the Play-in phase.
| Qualifier | PT | CEST | India | Shanghai |
| #1 | 6:00 a.m | 15:00 | 18:30 | 21:00 |
| #2 | 12:00 p.m | 21:00 | 00:30* | 03:00* |
| #3 | 8:00 p.m | 05:00* | half past eight* | 11:00* |
* Next day
Results
You can check out the results of all the open qualifiers here.
Play-In Phase
The Play-in phase follows the qualifiers, starting on July 11 and ending on August 5, with a total of 16 events.
Players
Titled verified players and the top four finishers from each event of the Open Qualifier phase are eligible to compete.
Titled players include NMs, CMs (FIDE only), FMs, IMs, GMs, WCMs, WFMs, WIMs, and WGMs. Please note that titled players are not automatically verified and therefore need to complete the verification process on our Chess.com Verified page at least 48 hours prior to the first event they want to participate in. Titled verified players will be automatically pulled into a Play-in phase private club.
The 32 players directly invited to the CGC Knockout (read further for more details) cannot participate in the Play-in phase.
Format
- 16 Play-in events happen every Monday and Friday across two different times;
- Titled players can join the qualified players from the previous stage to participate in the Play-in phase (except for the 32 players already invited to the next phase);
- Play-in events consist of Swiss tournaments.
- Two players from each event in the Play-in phase (32 total) qualify for the Knockout phase.
Swiss Format
- Each event consists of a nine-round Swiss tournament;
- The time control is 10+0;
- The first place in each Swiss event advances to the Knockout phase
- The second and third place players contest a two-game match to decide who moves on to the Knockout phase.
- If the match between second and third place ends in a tie, a single armageddon game determines the winner. White gets 10 minutes (no increment) and must win, with a bidding system to determine who plays Black with draw odds. Players communicate privately the amount of time they are willing to get to play as Black; the lower time offered wins the bid and that player starts with the amount of time bid. If the bid is tied, the higher-seeded player chooses the color.
- Chess.com’s tiebreaks (Sonneborn-Berger) are used to determine the final standings of each Swiss tournament.
Prizes
The total prize fund for the Play-in phase is $60,000, with $3,750 for each event.
- 1st: $850
- 2nd: $600
- 3rd-4th: $400
- 5th-8th: $300
- Top non-titled player: $300
The first and second places also qualify for the CGC Knockout.
Schedule
Play-in events run twice a day every Monday and Friday from July 11 through August 5, totaling 16 events.
| Play-in | PT | CEST | India | Shanghai |
| #1 | 05:00 a.m | 14:00 | 17:30 | 20:00 |
| #2 | 10:00 a.m | 19:00 | 10:30 p.m | 01:00* |
* Next day
CGC Knockout
The CGC Knockout occurs after the Play-in phase, starting on September 14 and ending on October 9.
Players
The 32 players who qualify from the Play-in phase continue to the CGC Knockout. They are joined by 32 players invited by Chess.com.
Format
- The 32 players who qualify from the Play-in phase join 32 invited players;
- They play a 64-player single-elimination bracket;
- Players are divided into eight groups of eight players each according to their time zone;
- Matches consist of four 15+2 rapid games;
- If the match ends in a tie, a single rapid armageddon game determines the winner. White gets 15 minutes and must win, with a bidding system to determine who plays Black with draw odds. Players communicate privately the amount of time they are willing to get to play as Black; the lower time offered wins the bid, and that player starts with the amount of time bid. If the bid is tied, the higher-seeded player chooses the color.
Prizes
The top-eight players move on to the CGC Finals, while the remaining 56 players share the total prize fund of $440,000 for the CGC Knockout.
| Position | Players | Prize Per Player | Total |
| 9th-16th | 8 | $15,000 | $120,000 |
| 17th-32nd | 16 | $10,000 | $160,000 |
| 33rd-64th | 32 | $5,000 | $160,000 |
Schedule
CGC Knockout events start on September 14 and end on October 9. Starting times for each round will be determined for each group based on global time zones.
- Round of 64: September 14-17
- Round of 32: September 21-24
- Round of 16: October 2-9
CGC Finals
The CGC Finals occur after the CGC Knockout, starting on November 2 and ending on November 7.
Players
The eight players who advance from the CGC Knockout compete in the CGC Finals.
Location
The finals of the Chess.com Global Championship take place in Toronto, Canada, at the 1 Hotel.
Format
- Players compete in a single-elimination bracket;
- Matches consist of eight 15+10 rapid games
- If the match ends in a tie, a single rapid armageddon game determines the winner. White gets 15 minutes and must win, with a bidding system to determine who plays Black with draw odds. Players communicate privately the amount of time they are willing to get to play as Black; the lower time offered wins the bid, and that player starts with the amount of time bid. If the bid is tied, the higher-seeded player chooses the color. Players get a one-second increment starting on move 40.
Prizes
The total prize fund for the CGC Finals is $500,000.
| Position | Players | Prize Per Player | Total |
| 1 pc | 1 | $200,000 | $200,000 |
| 2nd | 1 | $100,000 | $100,000 |
| 3rd-4th | 2 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
| 5th-8th | 4 | $25,000 | $100,000 |
Schedule
The CGC Finals will happen from November 2 through November 7.
- Arrivals/Setup: October 31-November 1
- Opening ceremony/Quarterfinals: November 2-3
- Semi-finals: November 4-5
- Finals: November 6-7
- Departure: November 8
Results
You can find the results for every event of the CGC here.
Chess.com Verified Players
Any Chess.com member can apply to get their account verified at Chess.com/verified. Only verified members can play in the Chess.com Global Championship. Head over to the Chess.com verified page to learn more.
Please note that titled players are not automatically verified and therefore need to complete the verification process to participate in the CGC.
Fair Play & Regulations
All players must abide by the following rules to play in the Chess.com Global Championship:
All Phases
- Participants must be Chess.com verified players;
- Players must have played at least 50 blitz or 20 rapid games (rated) on Chess.com to become verified prior to their first CGC event;
- Players must join “Proctoring Calls” and share their screen at any time during any event at the request of Chess.com;
- All players must abide by all rules and site policies found at Chess.com/legal/user-agreement and cooperate fully with Chess.com’s fair play and cheat detection team;
- Players who fail to comply with a request can be removed from the event immediately and may be denied participation in future CGC events without warning.
“Play-In” Phase Rules
- Players must be available to join “Proctoring Calls” with a front-facing camera and be ready to set up a second camera in Zoom if requested by the proctor;
- All accounts must be labeled with the player’s real name;
- Players must share their screen upon request;
- All players from the Open Qualifiers must sign a participation agreement prior to being allowed to participate in the tournaments.
“CGC Knockout” Rules
- All players must join Zoom “Proctoring Calls” with a two-camera setup;
- All players must share their screen upon request;
- All players must be willing to follow any other instructions given by proctors.
Note: Players from Russia and Belarus can play in the event under the international flag.
Please refer to the CGC rulebook to read the detailed rules for the event.