Pro Chess League 2023: All 16 Teams And The Players To Watch Out For

The Main Event of the Pro Chess League begins on February 14. Sixteen teams will vie for a championship worth $25,000 for first place and $150,000 overall.

Each team has six to ten players on the roster. Four will play each week, including at least one woman. For competitive balance, there is a rating cap (a 2550 average) in each match that cannot be exceeded. Teams must plan around the cap and carefully consider potential matchups in order to maximize their chances of winning each week.

So, who's playing? Let's go ahead and meet the teams, players, captains, and managers.

Team Listing (click to jump to your favorite!): Gotham Knights | Canada ChessBrahs | Saint Louis Arch Bishops | Levitov Chess Wizards | Indian Yogis | Team MGD1 | Blitz | Charlotte Cobras | Shanghai Tigers | Garden State Passers | California Unicorns | Croatia Bulldogs | Brazil Capybaras | Norway Gnomes | Berlin Bears | Spanish Maniac Shrimps

Gotham Knights

Instead of the New York Marshalls, this year features the Gotham Knights, captained by (you may have guessed from the name) IM Levy Rozman. He's taking a back seat in the actual games, leaving it to GM Hikaru Nakamura to lead one of the favorites to win it all. Two other super-GMs, Liem Quang Le and Vladimir Fedoseev, are also on the squad. The Knights brought in ascendant IM Nurgyul Salimova as one of two women on their roster as well. It's going to be a tough team to beat on all four boards whoever plays each week.

Canada ChessBrahs

The ChessBrahs were able to poach the biggest name in chess, GM Magnus Carlsen, for their attempt at a first-ever PCL championship. The only 2800 FIDE-rated player in the world, Carlsen only counts for 2700 against the rating cap, as does every player over 2700.

GM Anish Giri is, to put it mildly, not a bad #2 option. But this team is stacked with many great options: GM Eric Hansen, of course, as well as GMs Jorden van Foreest and Aryan Tari. FM Jennifer Yu, the two-time U.S. women's champion including 2022, will be the women's lead.

GM Aman Hambleton is not on the playing roster but will fill the role of team captain.

Saint Louis Arch Bishops

What can you say about the Arch Bishops, three-time PCL champions? Doesn't this PCL lineup look like the clear favorite?

The SLAB's top player is once again GM Fabiano Caruana, with GMs Leinier Dominguez and Jeffery Xiong also on the roster. WGM Rochelle Wu and WIM Alice Lee can make an impact as well.

Levitov Chess Wizards

Despite all the strength above, it is the Wizards who have the highest average rating in the field, at 2606. This includes two of the best women in the world, GMs Alexandra Kosteniuk and Valentina Gunina. With near-2500 ratings that still only count as 2350 towards the rating limit, the other two boards can be occupied by their 2700 players, GMs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Daniil Dubov, should they so choose.

Charlotte Cobras

GM Daniel Naroditsky will captain and star for one of six U.S.-based teams in this year's PCL, the most of any country. But with GMs Grigoriy Oparin, Awonder Liang, and eight-time U.S. women's champion Irina Krush also on board, he's not alone.

Indian Yogis

There are actually two India-based teams in this year's PCL, which could make for a great rivalry depending on how the schedule shakes out. The Yogis have GM Nihal Sarin, siblings GM Praggnanandhaa and WGM Vaishali R, and will feature GM Vidit Gujrathi as well. 

Team MGD1

MGD1, the Indian chess agency, also has an exciting team. They have India's highest-rated under-20 player in the PCL field, GM Arjun Erigaisi, as well as GM Harika Dronavalli, the country's highest-rated woman playing in the PCL (one of two Indian women rated above 2500, along with GM Humpy Koneru, who is not playing in the PCL).

Blitz

FM Kevin Bordi, who runs the mega-popular Blitzstream, is filling the roles of both captain and manager for the simply named Blitz. He's on the playing roster, too, but GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Etienne Bacrot, and even Alexander Grischuk will also help carry the French team.

Shanghai Tigers

Women's world champion GM Ju Wenjun is just one of many stars on the Shanghai team, with super-GM Wei Yi as their highest-rated player. GM Ni Hua is the captain and manager, as well as the #2 player on the team after Wei Yi.

Garden State Passers

Captain FM James Canty III is also playing for a team that includes CGC quarterfinalist GM Sam Sevian, the youngest GM ever Abhimanyu Mishra, and two rising women stars, IM Carissa Yip and WIM Meruert Kamalidenova. It should be a fun team to watch.

California Unicorns

The Unicorns are being managed by ChessDojo operators IMs Kostya Kavutskiy and David Pruess and feature three super grandmasters, GMs Gukesh D, Sam Shankland, Ray Robson, as well as GM Christopher Yoo and WGM Sabina Foisor. 

Croatia Bulldogs

Star YouTuber Agadmator (Antonio Radic) is the Bulldogs team captain. Although he won't be playing in the games, his team does have GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac leading the way on the chessboard. GM Leon Livaic and IM Polina Shuvalova will also play a key role in Team Croatia's fate.

Brazil Capybaras

The Capybaras are back, managed and captained by GM Krikor Mekhitarian. To build their roster, Brazil went outside the box (the border), picking up GMs Jose Martinez and Sandro Mareco, but GMs Luis Paulo Supi and four-time Brazilian champ Alexandr Fier are also on board. Romanian WGM Irina Bulmaga is the top woman on their roster.

Norway Gnomes

The Gnomes, run by GM Jon Ludvig Hammer and IM Anna Rudolf, weren't able to secure the services of Carlsen or Tari, but they do have GMs Salem AR Saleh, David Howell, and Gawain Jones.

Berlin Bears

In addition to the Svane brothers, GMs Rasmus and Frederik, WGM Sarah Papp and GM Dmitrij Kollars, the Bears secured Ukrainian star GM Anton Korobov as their highest-rated player.

Spanish Maniac Shrimps

Yes, you read that name right. The Maniac Shrimps won the qualifier to become the 16th and final team in the 2023 Pro Chess League. Don't let their name fool you—if their performance in the qualifier is any indication, it would be a mistake to overlook their chances in the main event. 

Conclusion

The first full season of PCL in nearly three years promises to be a wild ride, especially with teams and players like these. You will not want to miss a second of the action.

Who do you think will win the PCL in 2023, Saint Louis? Gotham? The Levitov Wizards? And what team or teams are you rooting for? Let us know in the comments!