2024 US Masters – interview with Peter Giannatos

The 2024 US Masters is going to take place in Charlotte, USA. It is an official US Chess National Championship and FIDE-rated event and this year it features world number 3 Fabiano Caruana as the top player. Chessdom had the chance to speak to Charlotte Chess Center CEO and founder Peter Giannatos

The 2024 US Chess Masters will be held during the Thanksgiving weekend this year. What is new in this year’s edition?

Yes, this will be our 4th year running the Masters in Charlotte and over Thanksgiving Week(end). This year we have increased the prize fund to $28,000 and now features substantial women’s and senior’s prizes. In addition, the event is being held in downtown Charlotte this year. While that means a slight increase in fees, the location of the venue allows players to get a taste of what Charlotte is really like!

Fabiano Caruana is among the participants!

We were delighted when Fabiano expressed interest in playing. Fabi is primarily interested in the event because the event is part of the FIDE Circuit which is part of the World Championship qualification cycle. There are quite a number of criteria for an event to qualify for the circuit but we are acutely aware of those and will be sure to meet them.

One of our favorite players, Abhi Mishra is also there

Abhimanyu is an incredible talent. He was a familiar face at our norm RR tournaments before he became GM. I had the great privilege of playing him OTB while he was still in my league! There are also a number of other talents in the event including GM Andy Woodward, IM Ryo Chen, IM Alice Lee, and IM-elect Liam Putnam to name a few. We expect other top juniors to join the event soon.

Where can the players register for the 2024 US Chess Masters?

Players can register for the US Masters here. Players must be master titled to play. Junior (u18) players may be rated 2000+ FIDE or 2100+ USCF.

How about side events for the families and friends of the Masters participants?

For amateurs and non-master level players, the North Carolina Open runs alongside the event and features a $13,000 prize fund of its own. Expected attendance for the open is 300+. GM Daniel Naroditsky will be leading side events such as blitz challenges, lectures, and game analysis throughout the weekend. There is also a $2,000 blitz on Saturday night which will feature a load of top players.

The Chess Olympiad 2024 starts in a few days and team USA is top seeded in the Open section. There is no Hikaru Nakamura, but how do you evaluate the chances of the team?

While I would have liked to see Nakamura play the event, the US still has quite the team. As the top seed, naturally their chances are good, but all of the teams are highly competitive. As usual, it will come down to a few key games. Regardless, I will be rooting for the home team! (and Greece for second!).

More about Chess Olympaid 2024 : Live blog / Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

Pre-registered participants at 2024 US Chess Masters

	Name	Fed.	FIDE Rating
1	GM FABIANO CARUANA	USA	2798
2	GM GRIGORIY OPARIN	USA	2662
3	GM ABHIMANYU MISHRA	USA	2630
4	GM OLEXANDR BORTNYK	UKR	2608
5	GM CHRISTOPHER YOO	USA	2603
6	GM LAZARO BRUZON BATISTA	USA	2597
7	GM BENJAMIN BOK	NED	2596
8	GM MIKHAIL ANTIPOV	USA	2594
9	GM JIANCHAO ZHOU	CHN	2585
10	GM JOHN MICHAEL BURKE	USA	2578
11	GM GUILLERMO VAZQUEZ	PAR	2569
12	GM FIDEL CORRALES JIMENEZ	USA	2567
13	GM VIKTOR MATVIISHEN	UKR	2551
14	GM HARSHA BHARATHAKOTI	IND	2550
15	GM ANDY WOODWARD	USA	2545
16	GM DAVID BRODSKY	USA	2534
17	GM BRYCE TIGLON	USA	2530
18	GM YAIR PARKHOV	ISR	2528
19	GM TITAS STREMAVICIUS	LTU	2527
20	GM IVAN SCHITCO	MDA	2527
21	GM DANIEL HOWARD FERNANDEZ	ENG	2524
22	GM KOUSTAV CHATTERJEE	IND	2522
23	GM EMILIO CORDOVA	PER	2519
24	GM GUHA MITRABHA	IND	2518
25	GM RAHUL SRIVATSHAV PEDDI	IND	2501
26	GM BRIAN ESCALANTE	PER	2481
27	GM LUKA BUDISAVLJEVIC	SRB	2481
28	GM SAMANT ADITYA S	IND	2472
29	IM MARK HEIMANN	USA	2472
30	IM YEVGENIY ROSHKA	UKR	2467
31	GM BALAJI DAGGUPATI	USA	2465
32	IM ANDREI MACOVEI	MDA	2464
33	IM ALEXANDER KATZ	USA	2426
34	IM RYO CHEN	USA	2421
35	IM OLEKSII BILYCH	UKR	2420
36	IM ROBERT SHLYAKHTENKO	USA	2411
37	FM LIAM PUTNAM	USA	2398
38	GM ALEXANDER FISHBEIN	USA	2393
39	IM ANTHONY ATANASOV	CAN	2392
40	IM KAROLIS JUKSTA	LTU	2392
41	IM AARAV DENGLA	IND	2390
42	IM ALICE LEE	USA	2384
43	IM KYRON GRIFFITH	USA	2382
44	IM EMIL RISTESKI	MKD	2367
45	IM ANNA SARGSYAN	ARM	2364
46	IM JUSTUS WILLIAMS	USA	2361
47	IM EVAN PARK	USA	2353
48	IM EMIL STEFANOV	BUL	2351
49	IM PIJUS STREMAVICIUS	LTU	2346
50	IM JONATHAN YEDIDIA	USA	2345
51	IM JOHNATHAN HAN	CAN	2335
52	IM PADMINI ROUT	IND	2328
53	WGM MAILI-JADE OUELLET	CAN	2318
54	IM SAKSHAM RAUTELA	IND	2315
55	IM TAMAS PETENYI	SVK	2303
56	FM DONALD JOHNSON	USA	2296
57	WIM ANN LINDSAY CHUMPITAZ	PER	2273
58	FM GERGANA PEYCHEVA	BUL	2248
59	FM GABRIELA ANTOVA	BUL	2224
60	WGM ANASTASIA PARAMZINA	FID	2198
61	FM JAMES CANTY	USA	2189
62	WIM MICHELLE CATHERINA PRINCE	IND	2185
63	WGM DINA BELENKAYA	ISR	2175
64	IM NHA THANH DUONG	CAN	2166
65	WIM MUNKHZUL DAVAAKHUU	MGL	2163
66	FM ROSE ATWELL	USA	2161
67	CM RYAN YANG	CAN	2154
68	KYLE LANCMAN	USA	2150
69	LOGAN C SHAFER	USA	2149
70	SAMUEL COPELAND	USA	2145
71	SIDDHARTH SINGH	USA	2131
72	ELBERT FANG	USA	2103
73	WIM TARINI GOYAL	IND	2103
74	NATE ZIEGLER	USA	2036
75	ABHISHEK OBILI	USA	2031
76	DOMINIQUE MYERS	USA	2029
77	IM OLADAPO ADU	NGR	2024
78	ZACHARY LIU	CAN	2022
79	DANIEL A.M VANHEIRZEELE	BEL	1993
80	VIHAAN SAXENA	USA	1973
81	WILLIAM WU	USA	1973
82	VIJAY ANANDH	USA	1966
83	ZUBIN BALIGA	USA	1935
84	TIM MCENTEE	USA	1932