When the clock struck midnight on January 1, 2023, 35,000 players received notifications to play their first moves in Chess.com’s most prestigious daily chess tournament. With players being split into groups of 12 for a double round-robin and only one player destined to progress from each pool, making every game was vital.

With so many games running simultaneously, it didn’t take long for some striking tactics to appear…

For some, the chance to be paired with a titled player was reason enough to join the tournament, and for the top players, winning would give them ultimate bragging rights and an exclusive trophy to be displayed on their Chess.com profile permanently. Several also took the time to analyze their games on YouTube and some won a share of the prize fund.

The tournament’s top seed and last year’s second-placed finisher, GM Andrei Belozerov, cruised through the first three rounds with a perfect score of 60/60 but was reminded of the brutal realities of a 35,000-strong event when he fell just short of qualification in round four.

Though Drozdowski finished ahead of him, Belozerov went out with a bang and scored a spectacular win against the IM, opting for an enterprising knight sacrifice on the white side of the Semi-Slav Defense: Anti-Meran, Anti-Moscow Gambit. 

The path to the podium was an arduous one and even the eventual winner Szymanski nearly crashed out after a 12-point tie alongside DanilinDP in round four. Despite losing his individual matchup with the anonymous talent 0.5-1.5, the tournament’s regulations stipulated that both players would qualify for the final round.

Szymanski believed that his win over NM Leonid Starozhilov was crucial to his progression and he would later state on his Chess.com blog: “There is no doubt that it was thanks to this game that I managed to advance to the final 5th round of the Championship.” The game, which followed a book line in the French Defense for 13 moves, was an attacking masterpiece.

Of the 424,652 games played throughout the event, it was unsurprising to see Szymanski continue to pop up in the best moves list, his most memorable being a rambunctious queen sacrifice in round two. His own annotations can be read below.

In the end, the tournament was realistically decided by a single win and that was Szymanski’s over Drozdowski. The Bogo-Indian Defense: Grunfeld Variation was the battleground for the clash between the two Polish IMs and though the center became locked in the middlegame, Syzmanski managed to win the exchange and the game.

Standings – Round Five

(Full final standings here.)

After 10 months of play, the 2023 edition is over however entries to the 2024 event are now open. Sign up now to play daily games for the duration of the calendar year, with prizes awarded throughout each round. Titled players, Chess.com staff, and users of all skill levels are welcome to participate in the tournament.

The 2023 Chess.com Daily Chess Championship is one of Chess.com’s longest-running open tournaments and this year’s 1-day-per-move event had 35,000 participants. With $5,000 in prize money and boasting rights on the line, members had to finish first in their group to progress until one player remained.

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