2024 proved to be a big year for Indian chess, where many players not only made a mark for themselves, brought laurels for the country, but also made a lot of money in the process as well. One of the biggest sporting highlight of the year was, D Gukesh first winning the Candidates tournament, and then beating Chinese Ding Liren in the World Championships in Singapore.
D Gukesh Makes Big Money
That meant, as per a report in Chess.com, that D Gukesh earned USD 15,77,842 (approximately Rs 13.6 crore), just from the prize money in 2024. Not to forget, he was handsomely rewarded by the Tamil Nadu government — 5 Cr to win the World Championship. In fact, Vellamal Vidyalaya also gifted him a Mercedes-Benz E Class after winning the Candidates tournament.
If that is not enough, as many as 17 players won over USD 100,00, including Indian’s Koneru Humpy. If the overall list is concerned, D Gukesh, of course topped the charts for the entire year, followed by Ding Liren at USD 11,83,600. Despite not being in the fray for most tournament, Magnus Carlsen was at the fourth spot with USD 633,639.
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Magnus Carlsen & Vishwanathan Anand Still Richest Overall
Another Indian, Praggnanandhaa finished with a prize money of USD 202,136 — overall 9th. Arjun Erigasi was also on the list and finished the year with a prize money of USD 119,767. Meanwhile, if the lifetime earnings of the chess players are to be taken into account, Carlsen leads with a massive USD 10776973. In the second place is Vishwanathan Anand with a staggering figure of USD 9485844.
