Millionaire Chess is a company that promotes chess and organizes global chess tournaments. The organization conducted the first Millionaire Chess Open tournament which was held in Las Vegas, USA. With a total of $1,000,000 in prizes, it is the highest-stakes open chess tournament in history.
The first Millionaire Chess Open took place from 9 to 13 October 2014, and was held at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The tournament consisted of six sections, the Open section and the Under sections: Under 2200, Under 2000, Under 1800, Under 1600, Under 1400. The winner of the Open section and recipient of the highest prize of $100,000 was Grandmaster Wesley So, who defeated Grandmaster Ray Robson during the final round of Millionaire Monday. The third place winner was Yu Yangyi who defeated compatriot Zhou Jinchao in the third place play off.
The prize fund also consisted of $40,000 for the winners of 1st place Under 2200, Under 2000, Under 1800, and Under 1600 sections. The 1st place prize for the Under 1400 section was $24,000.
The second edition of the tournament took place from 8 to 12 October 2015. The winner of the Open section and recipient of the highest prize of $100,000 was grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura who defeated grandmaster Le Quang Liem in the final round of Millionaire Monday. The third place winner was Yu Yangyi once more after defeating Aleksandr Lenderman in the third place play-off.