Millionaire Chess is a company which organises the Millionaire Chess Open tournament. With a $1,000,000 guaranteed prize fund it has the largest prize fund for a chess Open in history.
Millionaire Chess Open #1
The first Millionaire Chess Open took place from October 9–13, 2014 and was held at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament consisted of six sections, Open, Under 2200, Under 2000, Under 1800, Under 1600, and Under 1400. Unrated and provisionally rated players were only allowed in the Open and U2200 sections. The tournament used players highest rating ever achieved starting from December 1, 2013, the date in which Millionaire #1 was announced, in order to prevent sandbagging. The winner of the Open section and recipient of the highest prize of $100,000 was Grandmaster Wesley So, who defeated Grandmaster Ray Robson during the final round of Millionaire Monday. The third-place winner was Yu Yangyi who defeated compatriot Zhou Jianchao in the third place playoff. The prize fund also consisted of $40,000 for the 1st-place finishers in the U2200, U2000, U1800, and U1600 sections and $24,000 for the U1400 section.
Millionaire Chess Open #2
The second edition of the tournament took place from 8–12 October 2015 at the same location. The second edition changed the structure slightly. The U1400 and U1600 sections were merged into one and an unrated/provisional section was added. Players had to have played 50 games under a recognized rating system to play in any section other than the Open and unrated/provisional sections. Player's highest rating from December 1, 2013 and the time they registered was used to prevent sandbagging. The winner of the Open section and recipient of the highest prize of $100,000 was grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura who defeated grandmaster Le Quang Liem in the final round of Millionaire Monday. The third-place winner was Yu Yangyi once more after defeating Aleksandr Lenderman in the third place playoff.
Millionaire Chess Open #3
On February 1, 2016 it was announced that the third edition of the tournament would take place from October 6–11 at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City. The winner of the Open section and recipient of the highest prize of $30,000 was grandmaster Dariusz Świercz who defeated grandmaster Gawain Jones in the final round of Millionaire Monday.
