Romania’s two best chess players received wildcards in the first stages of the Grand Chess Tour™ 2022 international tournament, founded by the famous Garry Kasparov. The Superbet Foundation becomes a global strategic partner of the tournament.

• The Grand Chess Tour™ 2022, founded by multiple world champion Garry Kasparov, announce the wildcards for the first two legs in Europe.

• Bogdan-Daniel Deac and Constantin Lupulescu, the best Romanian chess players, will compete in the first stages of the GCT circuit: from Bucharest (May 4-15) and Warsaw (May 17-24).
• The Superbet Foundation becomes a global strategic partner of the Grand Chess Tour circuit.

 BUCHAREST, APRIL 13, 2022 – The organizers of the Grand Chess Tour international chess circuit, whose 2022 edition will debut in Bucharest on May 4, announce seven wildcards for the first two stages in Europe: Superbet Chess Classic Romania and Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland . Among the seven grand masters (GMs) selected are also the two best Romanian chess players, according to the FIDE (International Chess Federation) ranking , namely: Bogdan-Daniel Deac (59th place in the world) and Constantin Lupulescu (151st place in the world).

Bogdan-Daniel Deac will play in the stage from Bucharest, and Constantin Lupulescu in Warsaw. Also in Poland , the Ukrainians Kirill Shevchenko and Anton Korobov, the Poles Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Radoslaw Wojtaszek , as well as the Indian Viswanathan Anand, a former world champion, received wildcards .

Starting with the 2022 edition, the Superbet Foundation becomes a strategic partner of the Grand Chess Tour, founded by the greatest chess player of all time, multiple world champion, Garry Kasparov, together with the American billionaire Rex Sinquefield, also known as the “chess mogul”. This is the Foundation’s most honored international collaboration, thus joining the big names that have supported the GCT chess circuit in its early years, including: Vivendi SA, Saint Louis Chess Club, Tata Steel India, Lohia Foundation or DeepMind ( Google’s Artificial Intelligence company).

“We are extremely happy that the two best Romanian chess players, Bogdan Deac and Constantin Lupulescu, are playing again in this prestigious tournament which, for the third consecutive year, brings the elite of world chess to Bucharest. Seeing the extraordinary impact it had on the local chess community and wanting to make this sport an essential component in the education of children and young people, from this year we are also organizing the tournament in Poland, where the Superbet Group has direct operations since 2017. The mission of the Grand Chess Tour is to to take chess to all corners of the world, and we aim to increase interest in this sport, which of all sports is perhaps the most closely related to the social and professional performance of those who practice it”, said the president of the Superbet Foundation ,Augusta Dragic.

Together with the Grand Chess Tour, which is joined by two sponsors from Romania, One United Properties and First Bank, the Superbet Foundation will organize two of the five stages of the world tour: those in Bucharest and Warsaw. The prizes of the entire circuit reach the amount of 1.4 million dollars, of which 350,000 dollars for the classical chess stage and 175,000 dollars for the rapid and blitz chess stages. Each stage of this tournament pits ten chess players – among the best in the world – against each other.

“All these organizational and financial supports make it possible to fulfill the mission of the Grand Chess Tour to popularize chess in all corners of the world”, said the executive director of the Grand Chess Tour, Michael Khodarkovsky .

The five stages of the Grand Chess Tour circuit are as follows: Superbet Chess Classic Romania (May 3-15), Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland (May 17-24), SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia (July 18-25), Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz (August 24-31) and the last stage, the Sinquefield Cup (August 31-September 13), which will take place in Saint Louis (Missouri, USA).

The Romanian Chess Federation is co-organizer and partner of the Romanian stage . Currently, Romania ranks 27th out of 186 countries, worldwide, in the FIDE ranking.

Superbet Chess Classic Romania 3-15 May 2022

Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland May 17 – 24, 2022

About Bogdan Deac

He achieved the title of international grandmaster at only 14 years and 7 months, becoming the youngest grandmaster in the world at the time. He was selected for the first time in the Romanian national team at only 14 years old. In July 2019 he was rated by FIDE as the 8th junior in the world. Today he is Romania’s best chess player, with ELO 2656. At the European Championship in November 2021, he achieved the fourth best ELO performance at the first table.

About Constantin Lupulescu

He is the second best Romanian chess player, currently an international grandmaster, ELO 2622. Multiple National Champion of Romania for seniors, in 2011 he entered the world Top 100 for the first time. He was equal to the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, at the Baku Olympics in 2016, achieving a draw, and thus the Romanian team defeated the Norwegian national team. He won the powerful tournament in Reykjavik in 2019, where he defeated one of the world’s most promising juniors, Alireza Firouzja. He was born in Buftea, in 1984, and was initiated into the secrets of chess, at only 8 years old, by his grandfather.

About the Superbet Foundation

Through the Superbet Foundation, the Superbet Group, the largest operator in the Betting & Gaming industry in Romania, runs a variety of CSR programs through which it gets involved in the life of the community. The foundation promotes education, performance, cultural values ​​and supports the realization of actions and materials (books, films, cultural programs, etc.) that contribute to education, correct information or the development of skills. In addition to being involved in the promotion of chess, it is also a strategic partner of the Romanian Chess Federation since 2019. Notable projects include those dedicated to health (#pariempebine, Race for Cure), as well as cultural ones, supporting the Old Dilema magazine, the Science magazine & Tech or the bimonthly business publication New Money. 

About the Grand Chess Tour (GCT)

The GCT is an international circuit that brings together the world’s best chess players. The legendary Garry Kasparov, one of the biggest “ambassadors” of chess, at the global level, inspired the establishment of the Grand Chess Tour and, at the same time, contributed to strengthening the partnership between the organizers.

Media contact

Loredana Trupșor

loredana.trupsor@porternovelli.ro

0763 597 889

Gabriela Stanciu

gabriela.stanciu@porternovelli.ro

0757 088 838 / 0741 068 170

chesstour@porternovelli.ro