Seven-figure club: Magnus Carlsen was only chess player to earn over $1 million in 2025 from prize money

Magnus Carlsen looking at his position on the board during a Tata Steel India Rapid and Blitz Championship. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)

World No 1 Magnus Carlsen may play in only a handful of classical events these days, but that has not prevented him from topping the 2025 list of top prize money earners in chess. According to a list compiled by Chess.com, the five-time world champion racked up a whopping $1.5 million in prize money alone in 2025. Carlsen earned the money from tournaments like the the Esports World Cup, World Rapid and Blitz Championship, Norway Chess (which was his only classical tournament in 2025), the Clutch Chess exhibition event and events on the Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, which he won in South Africa last month.

The article also noted that Carlsen was the only chess player to pocket seven figures in prize winnings in 2025. The report noted that after his windfall in the 2025 calendar year, Carlsen’s total prize money earnings from chess was up to $1,22,32,249 (approximately Rs 109 crore). Following in Carlsen’s heels were three American grandmasters Fabiano Caruana ($8,89,598 in 2025), Levon Aronian ($7,51,881) and Hikaru Nakamura ($5,88,911). Reigning women’s world champion Ju Wenjun was the top female player in the list, taking home $342,203, which put her just outside the top 10 in the world, at no 11.

Magnus Carlsen at a press conference after winning the FIDE World Rapid Championship with the Betby logo covered with tape. (PHOTO: Screengrab via FIDE YouTube)

India’s top money earner when it came to prize money was Arjun Erigaisi, who pocketed a whopping $431,214 (approximately Rs 3.8 crore) in 2025. This put Arjun 8th in the 2025 list while Praggnanandhaa, who won multiple events in 2025 to secure a spot in the prestigious Candidates tournament, was 12th with $3,17,122 (approximately Rs 2.8 crore). World champion Gukesh Dommaraju, who was 17th in the list after what was a topsy-turvy year on the board with plenty of chess but limited success, raked in $2,02,292 (approximately Rs 1.8 crore). Chess legend Koneru Humpy was also on the list with a takeaway of $1,34,480 in 2025 (approximately Rs 1.2 crore).

It must be noted that this amount does not include money players make from other sources like appearance fees, streaming revenue, sponsorships, royalties, government grants or even prize money from national championships, team events, or small tournaments.

The report also noted that former World Champion Ding Liren, who was deposed from the throne by Gukesh in December 2024, hardly played in too many events this year, and ended up making $6,000 from the Chess.com Classic, the second leg of the Champions Chess Tour.