Pro Chess League Discontinued

An Update About The Pro Chess LeagueThe Pro Chess League (PCL) which featured online chess teams from around the world, recently announced that they were discontinuing the league.  


The announcement on the website states:  "As we've invested in these goals, we've also reflected honestly on the fact that the PCL hasn't garnered the viewership or the fandom that we expected or that we've seen for our other events.  Despite this, the league requires more staff commitment to run and asks for a larger commitment from players and managers than almost any event we organize.  As such, we feel the decision to discontinue the league, though difficult, is necessary."


The PCL had been ready to launch the 2024 season but abruptly made the decision to discontinue before the season started.


The league, which began as the United States Chess League in 2005, evolved into the Professional Rapid Online Chess League and then the Pro Chess League.  In its inaugural season, the PCL comprised 48 teams, whose members included some of the highest-rated chess players in the world, including the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen, and other elite players including Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Hikaru Nakamura, and Wesley So plus over 100 other grandmasters.  The 48 teams represented cities in five continents. 


The Gotham Knights (USA) took the final championship title in 2023.  The St. Louis Arch Bishops were one of the league's dominant teams winning three league titles (2017, 2019, 2020).  


The league had 16 teams in 2023.  













 

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