Grand Chess Tour
The Grand Chess Tour (GCT) is a circuit of chess tournaments in which players compete for multiple prize pools. The tournaments, which vary from year to year, have included Norway Chess, the Sinquefield Cup, and the London Chess Classic.
History
[edit]The Grand Chess Tour was announced on April 24, 2015, at the Saint Louis Chess Club in St. Louis, Missouri, before the "Battle of the Legends", a match between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short. The tour was designed to promote competitive chess by including all of the top players and then-World Champion Magnus Carlsen in a single circuit. With the combination of several established tournaments, the Grand Chess Tour aimed to create a large prize pool that would be attractive to the players and media alike.[1]
Held in 2015, the first Grand Chess Tour included three tournaments—Norway Chess, the Sinquefield Cup, and the London Chess Classic—each with the same prize fund, structure, and time controls. The overall prize pool for the first Grand Chess Tour was $1,050,000, with $300,000 for each tournament and a $150,000 prize for the top three players.[1][2] Nine "standard" players competed in each tournament, with a tenth wildcard player selected by the organizing committee of each tournament. Players earn tour points based on their performance at each event. The top three players who accumulate the most tour points across all events receive extra prize money from the Grand Chess Tour prize fund and automatic invitations to the following year's Grand Chess Tour. Wildcard players receive tour points for any tournaments in which they participate.[2]
In 2016, there were eight standard players and two wildcards per event.
The point breakdown and prize money for each classical tournament is:
Place Points Event standings Overall standings 1st 13/12* $75,000 $75,000 2nd 10 $50,000 $50,000 3rd 8 $40,000 $25,000 4th 7 $30,000 5th 6 $25,000 6th 5 $20,000 7th 4 $15,000 8th 3 $15,000 9th 2 $15,000 10th 1 $15,000
- If a player shares 1st place and wins the tiebreak (*), they earn 12 points rather than the 13 points awarded to an outright winner.
- Rapid and blitz events have the prize money halved.
Winners
[edit]# Year Winner 1 2015 
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 2 2016 
Wesley So (United States) 3 2017 Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 4 2018 Hikaru Nakamura (United States) 5 2019 
Ding Liren (China) 6 2021 Wesley So (United States) 7 2022 
Alireza Firouzja (France) 8 2023 Fabiano Caruana (United States) 9 2024 Alireza Firouzja (France)
Grand Chess Tour 2015
[edit]In 2015, the Grand Chess Tour invited the top-10 players in the world ranked by the January 2015 FIDE rating list. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the 11th ranked player in February 2015, was invited as the ninth player to compete after 8th ranked Vladimir Kramnik and 10th ranked Wesley So declined to participate.[2][3] Jon Ludvig Hammer was selected to participate in the 2015 Norway Chess Tournament after qualifying through a wildcard tournament.[4] Wesley So and Michael Adams were selected to participate in the Sinquefield Cup and the London Chess Classic, respectively.[5][6]
The results of the 2015 Grand Chess Tour. Tour points in bold indicate a tournament win.
Player Norway[7] Sinquefield London Total points Prize money 1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)4 10 12 26 $215,000 2 
Anish Giri (Netherlands)7 6 10 23 $155,000 3 
Levon Aronian (Armenia)2 13 7 22 $145,000 4 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)5 7 8 20 $90,000 5 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)8 8 3 19 $95,000 6 
Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)13 4 1 18 $105,000 T-7 
Alexander Grischuk (Russia)3 5 6 14 $60,000 T-7 
Viswanathan Anand (India)10 2 2 14 $80,000 9 Fabiano Caruana (United States)[a]6 3 4.5 13.5 $55,000 
Michael Adams (England)— — 4.5 4.5 $20,000 Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway)1 — — 1 $15,000 Wesley So (United States)— 1 — 1 $15,000
Grand Chess Tour 2016
[edit]On January 6, 2016, the Altibox Norway Chess event announced it would not be part of the Grand Chess Tour in 2016.[10][11]
On February 11, 2016, the GCT announced it was adding two rapid/blitz tournaments for 2016,[12] sponsored by Colliers International France (Paris), and Your Next Move (Leuven).[13]
For 2016, an initial roster of eight players was created based upon the rules published on the GCT website. The Initial Roster consisted of the three top finishers in the 2015 GCT and the next five highest players by rating will be the average of each monthly FIDE supplement from February through December inclusive, as well as the live ratings after the 2015 London Chess Classic. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was subsequently added to the roster as the GCT Wild Card Player for all 4 events.
World Champion Magnus Carlsen declined participation in the two classic events but competed as a wild card in the rapid/blitz tournaments held in both Paris and Leuven.[14] All other players accepted the invitations for all four tournaments with the exception of Viswanathan Anand who declined the invitation to the Paris tournament. Since GCT Tour Points were based on the best three tournament results, Anand remained eligible for the overall tour prizes. For the Sinquefield Cup, Vladimir Kramnik had to withdraw due to health issues and was replaced by Peter Svidler.
The wildcards were as follows:
Player Event Magnus Carlsen (Norway)Paris & Leuven Laurent Fressinet (France)Paris Ding Liren (China)St Louis Peter Svidler (Russia)St Louis Michael Adams (England)London
The results of the 2016 Grand Chess Tour. Tour points in bold indicate a tournament win.[15]
Player Paris Leuven Sinquefield London Total
pointsPrize
money1 Wesley So (United States)(7) 10 13 13 36 $295,000 2 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)13 (4) 4.5 7 24.5 $144,166 3 Fabiano Caruana (United States)(3) 6 7.75 10 23.75 $108,750 T-4 Levon Aronian (Armenia)6 8 7.75 (3) 21.75 $81,250 T-4 Viswanathan Anand (India)— 7 7.75 7 21.75 $82,916 6 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)8 5 4.5 (3) 17.5 $55,000 7 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)4 2.5 — 7 13.5 $46,666 8 Anish Giri (Netherlands)5 2.5 (1) 5 12.5 $50,000 9 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)2 (1) 7.75 1 10.75 $66,250 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)10 13 — — 23 $67,500 Ding Liren (China)— — 3 — 3 $15,000 Michael Adams (England)— — — 3 3 $15,000 Peter Svidler (Russia)— — 2 — 2 $15,000 Laurent Fressinet (France)1 — — — 1 $7,500
Grand Chess Tour 2017
[edit]The 2017 Grand Chess Tour consisted of five events: three rapid and blitz chess, and two classical chess.[16] By January 2017, six players had qualified for the 2017 Grand Chess Tour;[17] on January 3, three wildcard selections for the tour were announced, bringing the total number of participants to nine.[18] Vladimir Kramnik declined to participate in the 2017 GCT, citing a busy summer schedule. He was replaced by Levon Aronian.[19][20]
On July 5, Garry Kasparov agreed to join the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament as a wildcard.
Players
[edit]Player Qualification method URS rating
January 2017FIDE rating
January 2017 Wesley So (United States)GCT 2016 Winner 2777 2808 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)GCT 2016 Runner-Up 2787 2785 Fabiano Caruana (United States)GCT 2016 3rd place 2779 2827 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)1st 2016 FIDE Average rating 2852 2840 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)2nd 2016 FIDE Average rating 2787 2811 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)3rd 2016 FIDE Average rating 2774 2796 Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)WC (1st URS 1 January 2017 not picked) 2779 2767 Sergey Karjakin (Russia)WC (2nd URS 1 January 2017 not picked) 2778 2785 Viswanathan Anand (India)WC 2771 2786 Levon Aronian (Armenia)WC (Alternate) 2771 2780 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)WC (Leuven) 2787 2811 Alexander Grischuk (Russia)WC (Paris) 2771 2742 
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)WC (Paris) 2768 2766 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)WC (Paris) ? 2739 Étienne Bacrot (France)WC (Paris) ? 2695 
Baadur Jobava (Georgia)WC (Leuven) ? 2701 
Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine)WC (Leuven) 2760 2752 Anish Giri (Netherlands)WC (Leuven) 2757 2773 Peter Svidler (Russia)WC (St. Louis) ? 2748 
Garry Kasparov (Russia/Croatia)[b][21]WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) N/A[c] 2812 
Leinier Domínguez (Cuba)WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) ? 2739 
David Navara (Czech Republic)WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) ? 2735 
Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam)WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) ? 2718 Michael Adams (England)WC (London) ? 2751
Results
[edit]Player Paris Leuven Sinquefield St. Louis London Total
pointsPrize
money1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)12 13 9 — 7 41 $245,417 2 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)10 8 13 — 7 38 $207,917 3 Levon Aronian (Armenia)— 5.5 6.5 13 4 29 $91,250 4 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)8 — 3 9 5 25 $77,500 5 Fabiano Caruana (United States)3 — 4 5 12 24 $95,000 6 Sergey Karjakin (Russia)5 — 6.5 9 3 23.5 $75,000 T-7 Wesley So (United States)4 10 1.5 — 7 22.5 $79,167 T-7 Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)— 4 1.5 7 10 22.5 $100,000 9 Viswanathan Anand (India)— 3 9 2 1.5 15.5 $75,000 Anish Giri (Netherlands)— 7 — — — 7 $15,000 Alexander Grischuk (Russia)7 — — — — 7 $15,000 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)6 — — — — 6 $12,500 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)— 5.5 — — — 5.5 $11,250 Peter Svidler (Russia)— — 5 — — 5 $20,000 Leinier Domínguez (Cuba)— — — 5 — 5 $10,000 Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam)— — — 5 — 5 $10,000 Garry Kasparov (Russia)— — — 3 — 3 $7,500 Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine)— 2 — — — 2 $7,500 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)2 — — — — 2 $7,500 Michael Adams (England)— — — — 1.5 1.5 $15,000 Étienne Bacrot (France)1 — — — — 1 $7,500 Baadur Jobava (Georgia)— 1 — — — 1 $7,500 David Navara (Czech Republic)— — — 1 — 1 $7,500
Wildcard players were not eligible for the overall prize funds.
Grand Chess Tour 2018
[edit]The Grand Chess Tour 2018 saw a format change. While the first four events retained the same rules, the last event – the London Chess Classic – served as the semifinals and finals for the top four players from the first four events and consisted of a classical, rapid and blitz section. After tying for fourth place, Fabiano Caruana qualified for the final event by beating Wesley So in a playoff 1½–½. Hikaru Nakamura emerged victorious at the London Chess Classic and clinched the Grand Chess Tour's top prize by beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the blitz section.[22]
Results
[edit]| Player | Leuven | Paris | St. Louis | Sinquefield | Total points | PO | London | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | 7 | 13 | 13 | 1.5 | 34.5 | — | 1st | $225,000 |
| 2 |  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 9 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 31 | — | 2nd | $160,000 |
| 3 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 2 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 26 | 1½ | 3rd | $145,000 |
| 4 |  Levon Aronian (Armenia) | 6 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 34 | — | 4th | $135,000 |
| 5 | Wesley So (United States) | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 26 | ½ | — | $80,000 |
| 6 |  Sergey Karjakin (Russia) | 9 | 10 | 5 | 1.5 | 25.5 | — | — | $72,500 |
| 7 |  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) | 4 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 25 | — | — | $65,000 |
| 8 | Alexander Grischuk (Russia) | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 18 | — | — | $45,000 |
| 9 |  Viswanathan Anand (India) | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 15 | — | — | $45,000 |
 Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | — | — | — | 15 | 15 | — | — | $55,000 | |
 Leinier Domínguez (Cuba) | — | — | 4 | — | 4 | — | — | $7,500 | |
 Anish Giri (Netherlands) | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | $7,500 | |
| Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | — | $7,500 |
Semifinals and finals at the London Chess Classic (2018)
[edit]In 2018, the London Chess Classic served as the semifinals and finals for the top four players from the 2018 Grand Chess Tour.
The players played 2 classical games, 2 rapid games, and 4 blitz games. 6 points were awarded for a win, 3 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss in classical play. In the rapid games, 4 points were awarded for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. In the blitz games, 2 points were awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss.
After seven consecutive draws that opened his final match with Vachier-Lagrave, Nakamura clinched an event victory by defeating Vachier-Lagrave in the fourth and final blitz game.[23][24]
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| 1 | Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | 18 | |||||||
| 4 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 10 | |||||||
| 1 | Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | 15 | |||||||
| 3 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 13 | |||||||
| 2 | Levon Aronian (Armenia) | 10 | |||||||
| 3 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 18 | Third place | ||||||
| 4 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 16 | |||||||
| 2 | Levon Aronian (Armenia) | 12 | |||||||
Grand Chess Tour 2019
[edit]The 2019 Grand Chess Tour featured 8 tournaments, with 12 full participants and 14 wild card participants. Of the first 7 tournaments, 5 were rapid/blitz tournaments and 2 were classical tournaments. The 12 full participants played in the classical events and in 3 of the 5 rapid/blitz tournaments. As in 2018, the top 4 players after the 7 events qualified for the GCT Finals at the London Chess Classic.[25]
The wildcards were as follows:
Player Event Wei Yi (China)Côte d'Ivoire Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)Côte d'Ivoire 
Bassem Amin (Egypt)Côte d'Ivoire Alexander Grischuk (Russia)Paris 
Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland)Paris Daniil Dubov (Russia)Paris Leinier Domínguez (United States)St. Louis Yu Yangyi (China)St. Louis 
Richárd Rapport (Hungary)St. Louis Vladislav Artemiev (Russia)Superbet Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam)Superbet Anton Korobov (Ukraine)Superbet Vidit Gujrathi (India)Tata Steel Pentala Harikrishna (India)Tata Steel
The tour points were awarded as follows:[26]
| Place | 1st OR | 1st PO | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classical | 20 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Rapid & Blitz | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
- If a player wins 1st place outright, they are awarded 20 points instead of 18 (classical), and 13 instead of 12 (rapid/blitz).
- Tour points are shared equally between tied players.
Results
[edit]| Player | CIV | CRO | PAR | STL | SIN | ROU | IND | Total points | LON | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ding Liren (China) | 6 | 7 | — | 8.3 | 16.5 | — | 6 | 43.8 | 1st | $294,833 |
| 2 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 9 | 3 | 13 | 8.3 | 3.5 | — | — | 36.8 | 2nd | $200,000 |
| 3 | Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | 13 | 20 | — | 5 | 16.5 | — | 13 | 67.5 | 3rd | $302,500 |
| 4 | Levon Aronian (Armenia) | — | 11 | — | 13 | 1.5 | 11 | 1 | 37.5 | 4th | $161,250 |
| 5 | Sergey Karjakin (Russia) | 3.5 | 5 | — | 6 | 11 | 11 | — | 36.5 | — | $99,250 |
| 6 | Viswanathan Anand (India) | — | 3 | 10 | — | 11 | 8 | 4 | 36 | — | $97,500 |
| 7 | Wesley So (United States) | 7 | 15 | — | — | 1.5 | 2.5 | 7.5 | 33.5 | — | $110,000 |
| 8 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) | 3.5 | 7 | 7.5 | — | 6.5 | — | 5 | 29.5 | — | $68,583 |
| 9 | Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | 9 | 1 | 4 | — | 3.5 | — | 10 | 27.5 | — | $75,000 |
| T-10 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | — | 11 | 5 | 3 | 6.5 | 1 | — | 26.5 | — | $76,250 |
| T-10 | Anish Giri (Netherlands) | — | 7 | 1 | — | 6.5 | 4.5 | 7.5 | 26.5 | — | $67,333 |
| 12 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) | — | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6.5 | 2.5 | — | 16 | — | $48,750 |
| Yu Yangyi (China) | — | — | — | 8.3 | — | — | — | 8.3 | — | $20,000 | |
| Alexander Grischuk (Russia) | — | — | 7.5 | — | — | — | — | 7.5 | — | $17,500 | |
 Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam) | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | — | 7 | — | $15,000 | |
 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | $12,500 | |
 Anton Korobov (Ukraine) | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | 6 | — | $12,500 | |
| Wei Yi (China) | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | $10,000 | |
| Vladislav Artemiev (Russia) | — | — | — | — | — | 4.5 | — | 4.5 | — | $8,750 | |
 Richárd Rapport (Hungary) | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | 4 | — | $7,500 | |
| Vidit Gujrathi (India) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.5 | 2.5 | — | $7,500 | |
| Pentala Harikrishna (India) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.5 | 2.5 | — | $7,500 | |
| Daniil Dubov (Russia) | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | $7,500 | |
| Leinier Domínguez (United States) | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | — | $7,500 | |
 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | $7,500 | |
 Bassem Amin (Egypt) | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | $7,500 |
Semifinals and finals at the London Chess Classic
[edit]As in 2018, the London Chess Classic served as the semifinals and finals for the top four players from the 2019 Grand Chess Tour.
The players played 2 classical games, 2 rapid games, and 4 blitz games. In classical play, 6 points were awarded for a win, 3 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss. In the rapid games, 4 points were awarded for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. In the blitz games, 2 points were awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss. All games were played, even after the match result had been decided.
Vachier-Lagrave won the rapid playoff against Carlsen 1½–½ to advance to the final.
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | 14½ | |||||||
| 4 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 15½ | |||||||
| 4 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 12 | |||||||
| 2 | Ding Liren (China) | 16 | |||||||
| 2 | Ding Liren (China) | 19 | |||||||
| 3 | Levon Aronian (Armenia) | 9 | Third place | ||||||
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | 17 | |||||||
| 3 | Levon Aronian (Armenia) | 11 | |||||||
Grand Chess Tour 2020
[edit]The 2020 Grand Chess Tour was to feature 5 tournaments, with 10 full participants and 10 wild card participants. 3 tournaments were to be rapid/blitz tournaments and 2 were to have been classical tournaments. The 10 full participants would have played in the classical events and in 2 of the 3 rapid/blitz tournaments. Unlike previous years, there was scheduled to be no Grand Chess Tour finals, due to a busy chess schedule, which includes the Candidates Tournament and the World Chess Championship match.[27]
The 2020 series was cancelled on 3 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28]
Grand Chess Tour 2021
[edit]The Grand Chess Tour 2021 was held in 2021 with the same 5 Tournaments as the cancelled 2020 Tournament was to have. There were 9 full tour participants who were supposed to play in both Classical Tournaments as well as 2 out of the 3 rapid and blitz tournaments. There were also to be 10 wildcards participants who played in one of the rapid and blitz events. Due to travel restrictions, not all Tour players competed in both classical tournaments, and there ended up being 19 wildcards.[29]
The tour points are awarded as follows:[30]
| Place | 1st OR | 1st PO | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
- If a player wins 1st place outright (without the need for a playoff), they are awarded 13 points instead of 12.
- Tour points are shared equally between tied players.
Results
[edit]The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.
| Player | ROU | PAR | CRO | STL | SIN | Total points | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wesley So (United States) | 8.3 | 13 | — | 7 | 8.3 | 36.6 | $242,500 |
| 2 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 1.5 | 7.5 | 13 | — | 13 | 35 | $206,250 |
| 3 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) | 13 | — | 5 | 4.5 | 4 | 26.5 | $152,000 |
| 4 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 3.5 | 3 | — | 10 | 8.3 | 24.8 | $94,250 |
| 5 | Richárd Rapport (Hungary) | — | 5.5 | — | 8 | 6 | 19.5 | $42,500 |
| 6 | Levon Aronian (Armenia) | 8.3 | 5.5 | — | — | — | 13.8 | $56,250 |
| 7 | Anish Giri (Netherlands) | 5.5 | — | 8 | — | — | 13.5 | $42,500 |
| 8 | Alexander Grischuk (Russia) | 8.3 | — | 4 | — | — | 12.3 | $54,000 |
| 9 | Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) | 5.5 | 1 | — | — | — | 6.5 | $28,500 |
| Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) | — | 10 | 6.5 | — | — | 16.5 | $36,750 | |
| Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | — | — | — | 13 | — | 13 | $37,500 | |
| Leinier Domínguez Pérez (United States) | — | — | — | 4.5 | 8.3 | 12.8 | $54,500 | |
| Viswanathan Anand (India) | — | — | 10 | — | — | 10 | $25,000 | |
| Peter Svidler (Russia) | — | 4 | — | 3 | 2 | 9 | $29,000 | |
 Alireza Firouzja (FIDE) | — | 7.5 | — | — | — | 7.5 | $17,500 | |
| Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) | — | — | 6.5 | — | — | 6.5 | $11,250 | |
| Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam) | — | — | — | 6 | — | 6 | $12,500 | |
| Jeffery Xiong (United States) | — | — | — | 2 | 4 | 6 | $24,500 | |
| Sam Shankland (United States) | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | 5 | $23,500 | |
 Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania) | 3.5 | — | — | — | — | 3.5 | $16,250 | |
| Anton Korobov (Ukraine) | — | — | 3 | — | — | 3 | $8,000 | |
| Etienne Bacrot (France) Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)[d] | — | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | $7,000 | |
 Ivan Šarić (Croatia) Garry Kasparov (RUS/CRO)[e] | — | — | 2 | — | — | 2 | $7,000 | |
| Constantin Lupulescu (Romania) | 1.5 | — | — | — | — | 1.5 | $11,250 | |
| Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands) | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | $6,000 | |
| Dariusz Świercz (United States) | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | $10,000 |
Grand Chess Tour 2022
[edit]The Grand Chess Tour 2022 was held in 2022 with 5 tournaments, with the Superbet Rapid & Blitz in Poland replacing the Paris GCT Rapid & Blitz from the previous Grand Chess Tour. There were 9 full tour participants who were supposed to play in both Classical Tournaments as well as 2 out of the 3 rapid and blitz tournaments. There were also 9 wildcards participants who played in one of the rapid and blitz events.[31]
The tour points were awarded as follows:[32]
| Place | 1st OR | 1st PO | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
- If a player wins 1st place outright (without the need for a playoff), they are awarded 13 points instead of 12.
- Tour points are shared equally between tied players.
Results
[edit]The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.
| Player | ROU | POL | CRO | STL | SIN | Total points | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alireza Firouzja (France) | 3.5 | — | 9 | 13 | 11 | 36.5 | $272,250 |
| 2 | Wesley So (United States) | 10 | 6 | 6.5 | — | 7.5 | 30 | $190,167 |
| 3 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 10 | — | 9 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 29 | $165,167 |
| 4 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 6 | 7 | — | 7.5 | 7.5 | 28 | $108,833 |
| T-5 | Levon Aronian (United States) | 10 | 9 | — | 3.5 | 4.5 | 27 | $124,417 |
| T-5 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)[f] | 3.5 | — | 6.5 | 6 | 11 | 27 | $127,250 |
| 7 | Leinier Domínguez (United States) | 6 | — | 3.5 | 1 | 6 | 16.5 | $68,833 |
| 8 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) | 1.5 | — | 3.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 12.5 | $46,750 |
| 9 | Richárd Rapport (Hungary)[g] | 1.5 | 5 | — | — | — | 6.5 | $22,750 |
| Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | — | — | 13 | — | w/d | 13 | $40,000 | |
| Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) | — | 13 | — | — | — | 13 | $40,000 | |
| Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | — | — | — | 10 | — | 10 | $30,000 | |
| Viswanathan Anand (India) | — | 9 | — | — | — | 9 | $27,500 | |
| Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania) | 6 | — | — | — | — | 6 | $26,333 | |
| Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands) | — | — | 5 | — | — | 5 | $11,000 | |
| Hans Niemann (United States) | — | — | — | — | 4.5 | 4.5 | $19,750 | |
| Radosław Wojtaszek (Poland) | — | 4 | — | — | — | 4 | $10,000 | |
| Jeffery Xiong (United States) | — | — | — | 3.5 | — | 3.5 | $9,500 | |
| Anton Korobov (Ukraine) | — | 3 | — | — | — | 3 | $9,000 | |
| Kirill Shevchenko (Ukraine) | — | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | $8,000 | |
| Sam Shankland (United States) | — | — | — | 2 | — | 2 | $8,000 | |
| Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | — | — | 2 | — | — | 2 | $8,000 | |
| IM David Gavrilescu (Romania) | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | $7,000 | |
| Ivan Šarić (Croatia) | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | $7,000 |
Grand Chess Tour 2023
[edit]The Grand Chess Tour 2023 is being held in 2023 with the same 5 tournaments as the previous edition. There are 9 full tour participants who were supposed to play in both Classical Tournaments as well as 2 out of the 3 rapid and blitz tournaments. As each tournament will have 10 players, the extra spots will be filled by wildcards.
The tour points were awarded as follows:
| Place | 1st OR | 1st PO | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
- If a player wins 1st place outright (without the need for a playoff), they are awarded 13 points instead of 12.
- Tour points are shared equally between tied players.
Results
[edit]The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.
| Player | ROU | POL | CRO | STL | SIN | Total points | Prize money[34] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 13 | — | 7 | 13 | 13 | 46 | $310,000 |
| 2 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 4.5 | 7.5 | — | 10 | 6 | 28 | $148,583 |
| 3 | Wesley So (United States) | 7.75 | 7.5 | — | 4.5 | 8 | 27.75 | $148,750 |
| 4 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)[h] | 2 | — | 10 | 7.5 | 6 | 25.5 | $91,833 |
| 5 | Alireza Firouzja (France) | 7.75 | — | 8 | 6 | 3 | 24.75 | $98,750 |
| 6 | Richárd Rapport (Romania) | 7.75 | 5 | 5 | — | 2 | 19.75 | $77,750 |
| 7 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) | 4.5 | 10 | 3.5 | — | w/d | 18 | $59,250 |
| 8 | Anish Giri (Netherlands) | 7.75 | 4 | — | 2 | 4 | 17.75 | $79,250 |
| 9 | Ding Liren (China)[i] | 3 | — | — | — | — | 3 | $16,000 |
| Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | — | 13 | 13 | — | — | 26 | $80,000 | |
| Levon Aronian (United States) | — | 6 | — | — | 6 | 12 | $41,333 | |
| Leinier Domínguez (United States) | — | — | — | — | 10 | 10 | $65,000 | |
| Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam) | — | — | — | 7.5 | — | 7.5 | $22,500 | |
| Gukesh D (India) | — | — | 6 | — | — | 6 | $15,000 | |
| Ray Robson (United States) | — | — | — | 4.5 | — | 4.5 | $10,500 | |
| Viswanathan Anand (India) | — | — | 3.5 | — | — | 3.5 | $9,500 | |
| Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania) | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 3 | $18,000 | |
| Kirill Shevchenko (Romania) | — | 3 | — | — | — | 3 | $9,000 | |
| Samuel Sevian (United States) | — | — | — | 3 | — | 3 | $9,000 | |
| Ivan Šarić (Croatia) | — | — | 2 | — | — | 2 | $8,000 | |
| Radosław Wojtaszek (Poland) | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | $7,000 | |
| Constantin Lupulescu (Romania) | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | $7,000 | |
| Jeffery Xiong (United States) | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | $7,000 |
Grand Chess Tour 2024
[edit]The Grand Chess Tour 2024 is being held in 2024 with the same 5 tournaments as the previous edition. There are 9 full tour participants who were supposed to play in both Classical Tournaments as well as 2 out of the 3 rapid and blitz tournaments.[37] As each tournament will have 10 players, the extra spots will be filled by wildcards.
The wildcards were as follows:[38]
Player Event Magnus Carlsen (Norway)Poland Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland)Poland Wei Yi (China)Poland Arjun Erigaisi (India)Poland 
Vincent Keymer (Germany)Poland 
Kirill Shevchenko (Romania)Poland Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania)Romania Vidit Gujrathi (India)Croatia Ivan Šarić (Croatia)Croatia Hikaru Nakamura (United States)St. Louis Levon Aronian (United States)Croatia and St. Louis Leinier Domínguez (United States)St. Louis Ding Liren (China)Sinquefield
The tour points were awarded as follows:
| Place | 1st OR | 1st PO | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
- If a player wins 1st place outright (without the need for a playoff), they are awarded 13 points instead of 12.
- Tour points are shared equally between tied players.
Results
[edit]The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.
| Player | POL | ROU | CRO | STL | SIN | Total points | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alireza Firouzja (France) | — | 9.25 | 8.33 | 13 | 13 | 43.58 | $323,750 |
| 2 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | — | 9.25 | 13 | 4.5 | 10 | 36.75 | $234,250 |
| 3 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | — | 5 | 8.33 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 27.33 | $129,333 |
| 4 | Wesley So (United States) | — | 2.5 | 8.33 | 10 | 5 | 25.83 | $91,333 |
| 5 | R Praggnanandhaa (India) | 7 | 9.25 | — | 1 | 5 | 22.25 | $107,583 |
| 6 | Gukesh D (India) | 1 | 9.25 | 4 | — | 5 | 19.25 | $97,583 |
| T-7 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) | — | 5 | 6 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 18 | $61,833 |
| T-7 |  Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) | 5 | 2.5 | — | 3 | 7.5 | 18 | $74,500 |
| 9 | Anish Giri (Netherlands) | 3 | 5 | 3 | — | 1 | 12 | $50,333 |
| Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | 13 | — | — | — | — | 13 | $40,000 | |
| Levon Aronian (United States) | — | — | 5 | 6.5 | — | 11.5 | $28,500 | |
| Wei Yi (China) | 10 | — | — | — | — | 10 | $30,000 | |
| Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) | 8 | — | — | — | — | 8 | $25,000 | |
| Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | — | — | — | 8 | — | 8 | $25,000 | |
| Arjun Erigaisi (India) | 6 | — | — | — | — | 6 | $15,000 | |
| Kirill Shevchenko (Romania) | 4 | — | — | — | — | 4 | $10,000 | |
| Ding Liren (China) | — | — | — | — | 2.5 | 2.5 | $14,500 | |
 Vincent Keymer (Germany) | 2 | — | — | — | — | 2 | $8,000 | |
| Vidit Gujrathi (India) | — | — | 2 | — | — | 2 | $8,000 | |
| Leinier Domínguez (United States) | — | — | — | 2 | — | 2 | $8,000 | |
| Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania) | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | $10,500 | |
| Ivan Šarić (Croatia) | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | $7,000 |
Notes
[edit]- ^ Although representing Italy when the roster was announced, Fabiano Caruana has switched federations and played under the flag of the United States after Norway Chess[8][9]
- ^ Kasparov played under both Russian and Croatian flags
- ^ Kasparov did not have a URS rating due to inactivity from the years 2005 to 2017.
- ^ Bacrot and Kramnik competed as a team, with Bacrot playing the Rapid portion and Kramnik playing the Blitz portion.
- ^ Šarić and Kasparov competed as a team, with Šarić playing the Rapid portion and Kasparov playing the Blitz portion.
- ^ Russian players' flags are displayed as the FIDE flag due to FIDE banning Russian and Belarusian flags from FIDE-rated events in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[33]
- ^ Rapport had withdrawn from both St. Louis events due to COVID-19 restrictions in the United States and was replaced by Jeffery Xiong and Hans Niemann respectively.
- ^ Nepomniachtchi is Russian, but plays under the FIDE flag due to FIDE banning Russian and Belarusian flags from FIDE-rated events in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[35]
- ^ Ding withdrew before the Poland Rapid and Blitz event took place, citing fatigue. As a result of this change, Levon Aronian was chosen as a wildcard to replace him for the event.[36]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (April 24, 2015). Grand Chess Tour Press Conference – 04.24.15.
- ^ a b c http://grandchesstour.com/content/rules-regulations Archived 2015-08-29 at the Wayback Machine Grand Chess Tour: Rules & Regulations
- ^ https://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=337 Fide Ratings List: January 2015
- ^ http://www.chessdom.com/gm-hammer-wins-entercard-scandinavian-masters-to-qualify-for-norway-chess-2015/ GM Hammer Wins Entercard Scandinavia Masters to Qualify for Norway Chess 2015
- ^ http://grandchesstour.com/2015-sinquefield-cup/field Archived 2015-11-21 at the Wayback Machine 2015 Sinquefield Cup: The Field
- ^ http://www.londonchessclassic.com/gct_players.htm Archived 2015-08-25 at the Wayback Machine London Chess Classic: Players 2015
- ^ "Norway Chess 2015". Archived from the original on 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Doggers, Peter (12 May 2015). "Breaking: Fabiano Caruana To Play For USA (Updated)". Chess.com.
- ^ Doggers, Peter (26 June 2015). "Topalov Wins Norway Chess After Quick Draw With Anand". Chess.com.
- ^ "Press Release from GCT and Altibox Norway Chess". Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
- ^ Doggers, Peter (6 January 2016). "Norway Chess Leaves Grand Chess Tour". Chess.com.
- ^ Klein, Mike (12 February 2016). "Grand Chess Tour Adds 2 Events, Keeps $1 Million+ Purse". Chess.com.
- ^ "2016 GCT schedule announced". Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
- ^ "GRAND CHESS TOUR ANNOUNCES FIELD FOR 2016 SEASON | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org.
- ^ "Final Tour Standings - 2016 | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ "2017 Events". Grand Chess Tour.
- ^ "The 2017 GCT field". Grand Chess Tour.
- ^ "TGCT Announces Launch of URS™ and 2017 Wildcard Selections". Grand Chess Tour.
- ^ "Carlsen, So In Grand Chess Tour; Kramnik Declines". Chess.com. February 2017.
- ^ "2017 GCT – Final Tour Participants And Event Allocations". Grand Chess Tour.
- ^ https://www.hina.hr/news/9564889 Kasparov participates in St Louis tournament under Croatian flag
- ^ "New format for Grand Chess Tour 2018". 10 December 2017.
- ^ Fischer, Johannes (2018-12-14). "London Classic: Nakamura and Vachier-Lagrave advance to Final". Chessbase.com. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
Vachier-Lagrave qualified to the finals and the remaining two games served to entertain the spectators. The players traded points, leaving the final tally in the match at 18:10 the same as the score between Nakamura and Caruana.
- ^ Pereira, Antonio (2018-12-17). "Nakamura deservedly wins the 2018 Grand Chess Tour". Chessbase.com. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ^ "2019 Grand Chess Tour | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org.
- ^ "2019 GCT Tour Regulations" (PDF).
- ^ "2020 GCT To Feature Ten Full Tour Participants And Five Events (press release)". Grand Chess Tour.
- ^ "Серия Grand Chess Tour 2020 тоже отменяется | chess-news.ru". December 2023.
- ^ "Carlsen & Nakamura missing in 2021 Grand Chess Tour field".
- ^ "2021 GCT Tour Regulations" (PDF).
- ^ "Full Tour Participants Confirmed For The 2022 Grand Chess Tour And Total Prize Fund Increased To $1.4 Million Across All Five Tournaments".
- ^ "2022 GCT Tour Regulations" (PDF).
- ^ FIDE Condemns Military Action; Takes Measures Against Russia, Belarus, chess.com, 28 February 2022
- ^ https://grandchesstour.org/blog/2023-sinquefield-cup-day-9-recap
- ^ FIDE Condemns Military Action; Takes Measures Against Russia, Belarus, chess.com, February 28, 2022
- ^ Starting Sunday: Carlsen heads intriguing field in Superbet Poland, ChessBase, May 20, 2023
- ^ Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Abdusattorov Join 2024 Grand Chess Tour, Chess.com, February 24, 2024
- ^ Grand Chess Tour announces wildcards and full-tour lineup, ChessBase, April 7, 2024
