Chess.com Classic

Qualifier: Open to non-grandmaster titled players, featuring a nine-round Swiss tournament with a 10+0 time control. The top three players advance to the Play-In stage.

Play-In: Open to all grandmasters and the top three players from the Qualifier. This stage consists of a nine-round Swiss tournament with a 10+0 time control. The top player from the Swiss advances directly to the Playoffs, while players ranked second through 15th enter a Match Play phase.​

Match Play: Players ranked second through 15th from the Play-In Swiss compete in two-game matches. Winners of these matches qualify for the Playoffs.

Playoffs: A double-elimination bracket featuring eight invited players and eight qualifiers from the Play-In stage. Matches in the Winners Bracket consist of four games, while those in the Losers Bracket consist of two games. In case of a tie, an Armageddon game with a base time of 10 minutes determines the winner.

The second leg of the 2025 Champions Chess Tour is scheduled to take place from May 20 to May 23, 2025, and will be held online on Chess.com. The top-12 players from the CCT qualify for this year's Esports World Cup. This is the first time in history that chess makes it to the stage of this prestigious esports event.