This October in St. Louis, USA, fans will witness two highly anticipated matchups that are set to captivate the chess world. The events will bring together past and present legends, with iconic rivalries and fresh matchups taking center stage.
In a clash for the ages, Indian great Viswanathan Anand will face off against Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov in a special Clutch Chess exhibition match. The two former world champions last met in 2021, and their upcoming duel from October 7-11 is being hailed as a "once-in-a-generation clash" by the St. Louis Chess Club. This event will also mark the official reopening of the club's newly enhanced facility. The exhibition will feature a $144,000 prize fund for a 12-game Chess960 (Fischer Random) match, utilizing rapid and blitz time controls with a unique scoring system.
Later in the month, the action continues with the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown, held from October 27-29 at the same venue. The lineup features World Champion D. Gukesh, who will renew his rivalry with Magnus Carlsen. The event is being billed as the highest-rated chess tournament of the year, with a star-studded field that also includes World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana.
The stakes will be high for the four-player showdown, with a massive $412,000 in prize money up for grabs. This includes daily win bonuses and a "Champion’s Jackpot," adding an extra layer of excitement. The format is an 18-game rapid double round-robin, with a unique scoring system where the point values for a win increase each day.
The matchup between Gukesh and Carlsen is particularly intriguing. Carlsen holds a dominant head-to-head record against Gukesh across all formats, with 31 wins to Gukesh’s 12. This will be an opportunity for the young World Champion to close the gap and prove his mettle against his formidable rival on a grand stage.
