The Rilton Cup is Swisschess tournament taking place annually, between the end of the year and the beginning of the next, in Stockholm, Sweden.The tournament is named after the Swedish doctor and chess player Tore Rilton.[1] Its first edition took place in 1971/1972 with Jan Timman being the winner.[2]
History
In 1971, Tore Rilton sent a donation to the organisers of the Stockholm Open chess tournament, with the instructions to use them to "organise a strong chess tournament". Due to this donation the event was named Rilton Cup and its first edition took place in 1971/1972.[1][3] This inaugural version of the tournament was won by Jan Timman with 7.5 points; Walter Browne finished 2nd with 7 points and Einar Hatlebakk 3rd with 6.5.[1] After Rilton's death, the Rilton Cup continued to be funded by Dr. Tore Rilton's Memorial Fund.[4]
The Rilton Cup's 50th edition was to be played in 2020/2021, however it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its place, an invitational knockout tournament, the Rilton Winners' Cup, was held.[5] The tournament took place on chess.com, with 16 participants. The time control for the matches was 15+10, and 5+3 for the tiebreaks. Krishnan Sasikiran won the event by defeating 2—0 the runner-up, Aleksandr Shimanov in the finals.[6] The Rilton Cup's 50th edition was cancelled again in 2021-2022 and was postponed for 2022–2023.
2022-2023 edition
The 50th edition of Rilton Cup took place from 22 December 2022 to 5 January 2023. This edition of the tournament was also the first international tournament eligible for the 2023 FIDE Circuit.[7]Pranesh M won the tournament with 8 points in 9 rounds, scoring his final GM norm, with Kaan Kucusar finisingf 2nd and Nikita Meshkovs 3rd, both with 7 points.[8]