We're fortunate to have a team of world-class commentators who will be dropping in on the Emirates Stadium to help explain what's going on in every round of the Elite section.

Three-time British Champion David Howell needs no introduction, having established himself in recent years as one of the world's leading commentators. A former regular participant at the Classic, David is unfortunately too busy traversing the globe to have much time to play these days, but he still boasts an impressive 2668 rating and will no doubt enjoying being back in the UK. These days, like his good friend Magnus Carlsen, David resides in Oslo and has commentated on Norwegian TV, as well as for the Take Take Take app. This time last year, David was in Singapore as one of the official commentators for the World Chess Championship match no less. He is also the chess columnist for The Times.

Daniel King has long been admired as one of the world's leading voices on chess, both as a television and tournament commentator, and through his popular YouTube channel. Older visitors to the Classic may recall him being a regular presence on Channel 4 during their coverage of the 1993 World Chess Championship match between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short at the Savoy Theatre on the Strand. Daniel went on to establish himself as a consultant for various television programmes and even appeared in an advertising campaign for Audi. Nowadays this Grandmaster and former England International is busier than ever, regularly producing videos, courses and his famous How Good Is Your Chess column?, as well as playing the double bass and cheering on his beloved Brentford FC.

Leinier Domínguez Perez will be a very special guest, travelling over from the US to commentate on the closing rounds of the Elite section, ahead of being one of the top seeds in the Super Rapid. One of a number of players in recent years to have been enticed by Rex Sinquefield to relocate to America, Leinier is a five-time champion of his native Cuba and has long been one of the world's strongest as well as most solid players. Currently ranked world no.16 , he is as strong as ever even now in his early 40s. Career highlights include winning the 2008 World Blitz Championship and coming second at the super-strong 2023 Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis. We've little doubt that Leinier's 2700+ insights on the leading games will prove invaluable as the tension mounts and the Elite tournament draws towards a close.

Former British Champion Stuart Conquest is enjoying a renaissance since returning to the board to help the all-conquering England senior sides. In 2008 Stuart triumphed in a playoff at Liverpool to win the British, a feat he almost repeated this summer when the tournament returned to Liverpool's iconic St. George's Hall. There he stunned top seed Nikita Vitiugov as Black to win in the final round ahead of only finding Michael Adams too strong come a playoff. Stuart has long been one of Britain's most creative grandmasters, as well as a leading tournament organiser, having run the highly successful Gibraltar Chess Festival for many years until Covid and now being at the helm of one of the world's most famous and longest-running tounaments, the Hastings International Congress.

Bulgarian Grandmaster Antoaneta Stefanova has spent her entire adult life as one of the world's leading female chess players. She reached the final of the 2012 Women's World Championship, the same year she became Women's World Rapid Chess Champion. Nowadays she combines her chess career with being an active politician, while being married to fellow Bulgarian chess star Ivan Cheparinov. For many years Antoaneta played a key role in Guildford's domination of the 4NCL, the British Chess League, so she is fully aware of the strength and unique characteristics of the leading English players.

Links to the live commentary will appear on this page when the tournament begins.