Arjun Erigaisi will face the World's best at FTX Road to Miami

by Shahid Ahmed - 10/07/2022

The fifth leg of Meltwater Champions Chess Tour 2022 season is FTX Road to Miami. Arjun Erigaisi will be the sole Indian taking part in this event. He will face his nemesis Levon Aronian on the very first day of the Prelims, in Round 2. They will be joined by the three Candidates - Teimour Radjabov, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Richard Rapport. Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Jeffery Xiong and Sam Sevian will be making their Tour debuts. Three more Americans will also be seen in action - Leinier Dominguez Perez, Sam Shankland and teenager Hans Niemann. Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun, Wei Yi, Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Aryan Tari are also there. Round 1 starts tonight at 9:30 p.m. IST. Photo: chess24

Arjun Erigaisi faces Aronian in Round 2

The second round of FTX Road to Miami will witness a clash between the current India no.5 and World no.46 Arjun Erigaisi and USA no.2 and World no.6 Levon Aronian tonight.

FTX Road to Miami players line up | Photo: chess24

Schedule

There will be a 4-day preliminary round-robin stage of rapid chess (15+10), before the top eight players advance to the knockout stage. The Quarterfinals and Semifinals match is played in one day with four rapid games each day. Only Finals will last two days, consisting of two matches with four Rapid games each. If the match score is tied, the players will then play two 5+3 blitz games followed by, if needed - Armageddon.

FTX Road to Miami 2022 schedule | Photo: chess24

All games will start from 9:30 p.m. IST between 10th and 17th July 2022.

FTX Road to Miami Participants

Magnus Carlsen continues to lead the tour standings table with $106,500 earnings so far. Praggnanandhaa is at second place with $61250. However, both of them are not taking part in this event. The World Champion will take part in the next Major event, FTX Crypto Cup starting next month from 15th August. Levon Aronian will join the three Candidates - Teimour Radjabov, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Richard Rapport. Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Jeffery Xiong and Sam Sevian will be making their Tour debuts. Three more Americans will also be seen in action - Leinier Dominguez Perez, Sam Shankland and 19-year-old Hans Niemann. Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun, China no.3 Wei Yi, Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Aryan Tari and Arjun Erigaisi will also be seen in action.

Prizes

The total prize fund of the Tour is $1,600,000. The prize fund for FTX Road to Miami is $150,000. A win earns $750, while a draw fetches one-third of a victory, $250. Winner earns $25000, Runner-up $15000, Semifinalists $6000 and Quarterfinalists $2000.

Total Prize fund for FTX Road to Miami s is US$ 150000 | Photo: chess24

Tour Standings

The Tour Standings are determined by the sum of the prizes earned by each player throughout the season. If two or more players have the same sum of prizes at any stage, the tie shall be resolved according to the following criteria:

1.Number of tournament wins (more is better)

2.Number of events played (less is better)

3.Number of appearances in a final (more is better)

4.Number of appearances in a semi-final (more is better)

5.Number of appearances in a quarter-final (more is better)

If the tie affects qualification for a Tour event, a play-off shall be held between all tied players. The format will be determined in due time, depending on the number of players and the Tour schedule. The Organizer retains the right to forego such play-offs. In that case, ties will be resolved by the criteria above. The Season Bonus Prize Fund will not count towards the Tour Standings.