Forbes Lists 10 Highest-Paid Chess Players of 2026

Magnus Carlsen remains the undisputed star of chess, topping Forbes’ ranking of the 10 players with the highest annual prize earnings. Even without competing for the formal world championship title, the Norwegian dominated tournaments across multiple continents.

Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian also claimed top spots, while veterans like Hikaru Nakamura made a major comeback after a quieter previous year.

Two young Uzbek grandmasters broke into the top 10 as well. Nodirbek Abdusattorov had a breakthrough season with wins at major events including the London Chess Classic, and Javokhir Sindarov captured attention with a historic FIDE World Cup victory.

The 2025 calendar was shaped by the Esports World Cup and freestyle chess tournaments, offering substantial prize pools even without a world championship match.

Top 10 chess prize earners, 2026

1. Magnus Carlsen, Norway: $1.37 mln
2. Fabiano Caruana, USA: $1.05 mln
3. Levon Aronian, USA: $832,272
4. Hikaru Nakamura, USA: $737,967
5. Arjun Erigaisi, India: $497,199
6. Alireza Firouzja, France: $474,792
7. Vincent Keymer, Germany: $469,997
8. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, France: $461,110
9. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Uzbekistan: $371,837
10. Javokhir Sindarov, Uzbekistan: $360,083

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