About the Tournament
The 2021 St. Louis Rapid and Blitz is the fourth Super GM tournament to be held in Saint Louis, and it features ten of the best players on the planet including: Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Peter Svidler, Liem Le, Richard Rapport, Sam Shankland, Leinier Dominguez, Jeffery Xiong and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
A staple event since 2017, The 2021 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz will be the fourth and final rapid and blitz tournament in the 2021 GCT schedule. Held just prior to the Sinquefield Cup, this tournament promises to be an exciting and fast-paced event with the world's best competing in the Chess Capital of the United States. These elite grandmasters will compete over 9 rounds of rapid chess and 18 rounds of blitz chess for a total prize fund of $150,000. The chessmen are a reproduction of the earliest Staunton chessmen produced between 1849-1850, but with the magnificent new Camaratta Knight design. Because the players would be playing on DGT Project Electronic Sensor Boards, it was decided that the Chessmen would need to feature a 3.75" King Height, allowing it to fully adhere to both USCF and FIDE tournament rules. And the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Official Chessmen were born!
In cooperation with the Chess Club and Scholastic Chess Center of St. Louis, the House of Staunton is offering the 2021 St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Player's Chessmen. It is a limited edition Chess set, with a total of only 50 units available, with each Chess set coming with a reproduction of a hand-signed Certificate of Authenticity signed by the players in the tournament. Chess sets will be sold on a first come, first serve basis; purchase quickly to insure yourself a low production number!
Here's your chance to own a piece of chess history, featuring ten of the greatest players in the world, including World Champion Fabiano Caruana
Meet the Players
Rank and Name:
FIDE Ranking - 2767
Country - Azerbaijan
FIDE Ranking - 2742
Country - Hungary
FIDE Ranking - 2803
Country - United States
FIDE Ranking - 2738
Country - Russia
GM Lienier Dominguez
FIDE Ranking - 2750
Country - United States
GM Liem Le
FIDE Ranking - 2737
Country - Vietnam
GM Sam Shankland
FIDE Ranking - 2697
Country - United States
GM Jeffery Xiong
FIDE Ranking - 2690
Country - United States
The event is a ten-player, round robin, that began on August 9th. The players compete for a total prize fund of $150,000 prize, and the right to hoist the coveted St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Trophy.
| Place | Prize |
| 1st | $35,000 |
| 2nd | $30,000 |
| 3rd | $25,000 |
| 4th | $20,000 |
| 5th | $15,000 |
| 6th | $10,000 |
| 7th | $5,000 |
| 8th | $5,000 |
| 9th | $5,000 |
| 10th | $5,000 |
About the Chessmen
The House of Staunton is proud to offer another masterpiece - Camaratta Signature Series Cooke Luxury Chess Set! Combining the Staunton perfection of the Cooke set with the Maestro's Knight design from the Craftsman set, these Chessmen showcase the Maestro's passion for Greek architecture, as well as the highest standard of the Staunton pattern.
The Cooke design is a perfect reproduction of the original Staunton-pattern chessmen, the standard by which every tournament Chess set has been designed.
The Chessmen are new and each set consists of 34 Chessmen, including four Queens, a standard that was introduced by The House of Staunton over 10 years ago.
The Chess Set comes with an original manufacturer's plaque indicating the production number, with an adhesive backing that would allow it to be affixed to the underside of a Chess box.
About the Chess Box
Each Chess Set comes packed in a House of Staunton Black Premium Chess Box with the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Cup name and logo laser engraved on the lid.
About the Signed Certificate of Authenticity
Each Chess Set comes with a Reproduction Certificate of Authenticity that was hand-signed by all ten of the participants in the match - Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Peter Svidler, Liem Le, Richard Rapport, Sam Shankland, Leinier Dominguez, Jeffery Xiong and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Upon the completion of the event, we will put up a sample of the Signed 2021 St. Louis Rapid and Blitz Certificate.
ALL PURCHASES BENEFIT THE CHESS CLUB AND SCHOLASTIC CHESS CENTER OF ST. LOUIS
R OF ST. LOUIS
