Grand Chess Tour

The Grand Chess Tour (GCT) is a circuit of chess tournaments where players compete for multiple prize pools. Major tournaments that have been featured in the Grand Chess Tour include Norway Chess, the Sinquefield Cup, and the London Chess Classic.

History

The Grand Chess Tour was announced on April 24, 2015 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis in St. Louis, Missouri prior to the Battle of the Legends: Garry Kasparov vs Nigel Short match. The tour was designed to promote competitive chess by including all of the top players and the 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 which would be attractive to the players and media alike.[1]

The first Grand Chess Tour took place across three tournaments, Norway Chess, the Sinquefield Cup, and the London Chess Classic with each tournament in the Grand Chess Tour having 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 across the entire circuit.[1][2]

In 2015, nine "standard" players competed in each tournament in the Grand Chess Tour, with a tenth wildcard player is selected by the organizing committee of each individual event. In 2016, there were eight standard players, and two wildcards per event. 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, taken 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]

The point breakdown and prize money for each classical tournament is as follows:

PlacePointsEvent standingsOverall standings
1st13/12*$75,000$75,000
2nd10$50,000$50,000
3rd8$40,000$25,000
4th7$30,000
5th6$25,000
6th5$20,000
7th4$15,000
8th3$15,000
9th2$15,000
10th1$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

#YearWinner
12015 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
22016 Wesley So (United States)
32017 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
42018 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)
52019 Ding Liren (China)

Grand Chess Tour 2015

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 FIDE Rating
December 2015
Norway Chess [7] Sinquefield Cup London Chess Classic Total points Prize money
1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)28344101226$215,000
2 Anish Giri (Netherlands)2784761023$155,000
3 Levon Aronian (Armenia)2788213722$145,000
4 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)277357820$90,000
5 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)279388319$95,000
6 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)2803134118$105,000
7 Alexander Grischuk (Russia)274735614$60,000
8 Viswanathan Anand (India)2796102214$80,000
9 Fabiano Caruana (United States)2787634.513.5$55,000
10 Michael Adams (United Kingdom)27374.54.5$20,000
11 Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway)269511$15,000
12 Wesley So (United States)277511$15,000

Grand Chess Tour 2016

On January 6, 2016, the Altibox Norway Chess event announced it would not be part of the Grand Chess Tour in 2016.[8][9]

On February 11, 2016, the GCT announced it was adding two rapid/blitz tournaments for 2016,[10] sponsored by Colliers International France (Paris), and Your Next Move (Leuven).[11]

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.[12] 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.[13]

Player FIDE rating
June 2016
Paris GCT Leuven GCT Sinquefield Cup London Chess Classic Total points Prize money
 Wesley So (United States)2770710131336$295,000
 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)27871344.5724.5$144,166
 Fabiano Caruana (United States)2804367.751023.75$108,750
 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)2855101323$67,500
 Levon Aronian (Armenia)2792687.75321.75$81,250
 Viswanathan Anand (India)278277.75721.75$82,916
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2787854.5317.5$55,000
 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)277042.5713.5$46,666
 Anish Giri (Netherlands)281252.51512.5$50,000
 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)2761217.75110.75$66,250
 Ding Liren (China)278333$15,000
 Michael Adams (England)272733$15,000
 Peter Svidler (Russia)275122$15,000
 Laurent Fressinet (France)268711$7,500

Grand Chess Tour 2017

The 2017 Grand Chess Tour consisted of five events: three rapid and blitz chess, and two classical chess.[14] By January 2017, six players had qualified for the 2017 Grand Chess Tour;[15] on January 3, three wildcard selections for the tour were announced, bringing the total number of participants to nine.[16] Vladimir Kramnik declined to participate in the 2017 GCT, citing a busy summer schedule. He was replaced by Levon Aronian.[17][18]

On July 5, Garry Kasparov agreed to join the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament as a wildcard.

Players

Player Qualification method URS rating
January 2017
FIDE rating
January 2017
 Wesley So (United States)GCT 2016 Winner27772808
 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)GCT 2016 Runner-Up27872785
 Fabiano Caruana (United States)GCT 2016 3rd place27792827
 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)1st 2016 FIDE Average rating28522840
 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)2nd 2016 FIDE Average rating27872811
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)3rd 2016 FIDE Average rating27742796
 Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)WC (1st URS 1 January 2017 not picked)27792767
 Sergey Karjakin (Russia)WC (2nd URS 1 January 2017 not picked)27782785
 Viswanathan Anand (India)WC27712786
 Levon Aronian (Armenia)WC (Alternate)27712780
 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)WC (Leuven)27872811
 Alexander Grischuk (Russia)WC (Paris)27712742
 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)WC (Paris)27682766
 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)WC (Paris)?2739
 Etienne Bacrot (France)WC (Paris)?2695
 Baadur Jobava (Georgia)WC (Leuven)?2701
 Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine)WC (Leuven)27602752
 Anish Giri (Netherlands)WC (Leuven)27572773
 Peter Svidler (Russia)WC (St. Louis)?2748
 Garry Kasparov (Russia)WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz)N/A [lower-alpha 1]N/A [lower-alpha 2]
 Leinier Domínguez (Cuba)WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz)?2739
 David Navara (Czech Republic)WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz)?2735
 Le Quang Liem (Vietnam)WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz)?2718
 Michael Adams (England)WC (London)?2751

Results

Player Paris GCT
June 21 – June 25
Leuven GCT
June 28 – July 2
Sinquefield Cup
July 31 – August 12
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
August 13 – August 20
London Chess Classic
November 30 – December 11
Total points Prize money
 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)12139741$245,417
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)10813738$207,917
 Levon Aronian (Armenia)5.56.513429$91,250
 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)839525$77,500
 Fabiano Caruana (United States)3451224$95,000
 Sergey Karjakin (Russia)56.59323.5$75,000
 Wesley So (United States)4101.5722.5$79,167
 Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)41.571022.5$100,000
 Viswanathan Anand (India)3921.515.5$75,000
 Anish Giri (Netherlands)77$15,000
 Alexander Grischuk (Russia)77$15,000
 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)66$12,500
 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)5.55.5$11,250
 Peter Svidler (Russia)55$20,000
 Leinier Domínguez (Cuba)55$10,000
 Le Quang Liem (Vietnam)55$10,000
 Garry Kasparov (Russia)33$7,500
 Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine)22$7,500
 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)22$7,500
 Michael Adams (England)1.51.5$15,000
 Etienne Bacrot (France)11$7,500
 Baadur Jobava (Georgia)11$7,500
 David Navara (Czech Republic)11$7,500

Note that wildcard players were not eligible for the overall prize funds.

Grand Chess Tour 2018

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 1.5–0.5. 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.[19]

Results

Player[20] Leuven GCT
June 12 – June 16
Paris GCT
June 20 – June 24
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
August 10 – August 16
Sinquefield Cup
August 17 – August 28
Total points Prize money
 Hikaru Nakamura (United States) 7 13 13 1.5 34.5$105,000
 Levon Aronian (Armenia) 6 7 6 15 34$95,000
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) 9 6 10 6 31$80,000
 Fabiano Caruana (United States) 2 2 7 15 26$85,000
 Wesley So (United States) 13 8 2 3 26$80,000
 Sergey Karjakin (Russia) 9 10 5 1.5 25.5$72,500
 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) 4 3 8 10 25$65,000
 Alexander Grischuk (Russia) 5 4 3 6 18$45,000
 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)

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.[21][22]

Semifinals Final
      
1  Hikaru Nakamura (United States) 18
4  Fabiano Caruana (United States) 10
 Hikaru Nakamura (United States) 15
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) 13
2  Levon Aronian (Armenia) 10
3  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) 18

Grand Chess Tour 2019

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.[23]

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:[24]

PlacePoints (classical)Points (rapid/blitz)
1st18/20*12/13*
2nd1510
3rd128
4th107
5th86
6th75
7th64
8th53
9th42
10th31
11th2N/A
12th1N/A
  • 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

Player Côte d'Ivoire Rapid & Blitz
May 6 – 13
Croatia GCT
June 24 – July 9
Paris GCT Rapid & Blitz
July 26 – August 1
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
August 8 – 15
Sinquefield Cup
August 15 – 30
Superbet Rapid & Blitz
November 4 – 11
Tata Steel Rapid & Blitz
November 20 – 27
Total points Prize money
 Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 13 20 5 16.5 13 67.5 $242,500
 Ding Liren (China) 6 7 8.3 16.5 6 43.8 $144,833
 Levon Aronian (Armenia) 11 13 1.5 11 1 37.5 $121,250
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) 9 3 13 8.3 3.5 36.8 $100,000
 Sergey Karjakin (Russia) 3.5 5 6 11 11 36.5 $99,250
 Viswanathan Anand (India) 3 10 11 8 4 36 $97,500
 Wesley So (United States) 7 15 1.5 2.5 7.5 33.5 $110,000
 Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) 3.5 7 7.5 6.5 5 29.5 $68,583
 Hikaru Nakamura (United States) 9 1 4 3.5 10 27.5 $75,000
 Fabiano Caruana (United States) 11 5 3 6.5 1 26.5 $76,250
 Anish Giri (Netherlands) 7 1 6.5 4.5 7.5 26.5 $67,333
 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

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. 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. All games were played, even after the match result had been decided.

Vachier-Lagrave won the rapid playoff against Carlsen 1½½ 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

Grand Chess Tour 2020

The 2020 Grand Chess Tour features 5 tournaments, with 10 full participants and 10 wild card participants. 3 tournaments are rapid/blitz tournaments and 2 are classical tournaments. The 10 full participants will play in the classical events and in 2 of the 3 rapid/blitz tournaments. Unlike previous years, there is no Grand Chess Tour finals, due to a busy chess schedule, which includes the Candidates Tournament and the World Chess Championship match.[25]

The 2020 series was cancelled on 3 April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26]

Grand Chess Tour 2021

The Grand Chess Tour 2021 is planned to be held in 2021 with the same 5 Tournaments as the cancelled 2020 Tournament. There will be 5 full tour participants who will play in Both Classical Tournaments as well as 2 out of the 3 rapid and blitz tournaments. The will also be 10 wildcards participants who will play in one of the rapid and blitz events. [27]

Player Superbet Chess Classic Romania
June 3 - 15
Paris GCT Rapid & Blitz
June 16 - 23
Croatia GCT Rapid & Blitz
July 5 – 12
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
August 9 – 16
Sinquefield Cup
August 16 – 28
Total points Prize money
 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)
 Ding Liren (China)
 Fabiano Caruana (USA)
 Wesley So (USA)
 Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)
 Alexander Grischuk (Russia)
 Levon Aronian (Armenia)
 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)
 Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan)
 Anish Giri (Netherlands)

Notes

  1. Kasparov did not have a URS rating due to inactivity from the years 2005 to 2017.
  2. Kasparov did not have a FIDE rating due to inactivity from the years 2005 to 2017.

References

  1. Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (April 24, 2015). Grand Chess Tour Press Conference - 04.24.15.
  2. http://grandchesstour.com/content/rules-regulations Grand Chess Tour: Rules & Regulations
  3. https://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=337 Fide Ratings List: January 2015
  4. 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
  5. http://grandchesstour.com/2015-sinquefield-cup/field 2015 Sinquefield Cup: The Field
  6. http://www.londonchessclassic.com/gct_players.htm Archived 2015-08-25 at the Wayback Machine London Chess Classic: Players 2015
  7. http://grandchesstour.com/content/norway-chess-2015 Results of Norway Chess 2015
  8. "Press Release from GCT and Altibox Norway Chess". Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  9. Norway Chess leaves GCT
  10. Grand Tour adds two events
  11. 2016 GCT schedule announced
  12. Grand Chess Tour Announces Field For 2016 Season
  13. "Final Tour Standings - 2016 | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  14. "2017 Events". Grand Chess Tour.
  15. "The 2017 GCT field". Grand Chess Tour.
  16. "TGCT Announces Launch of URS™ and 2017 Wildcard Selections". Grand Chess Tour.
  17. "Carlsen, So In Grand Chess Tour; Kramnik Declines". Chess.com.
  18. "2017 GCT – Final Tour Participants And Event Allocations". Grand Chess Tour.
  19. https://en.chessbase.com/post/new-format-for-grand-chess-tour-2018
  20. "2018 Tour Standings | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
  21. 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.
  22. Pereira, Antonio (2018-12-17). "Nakamura deservedly wins the 2018 Grand Chess Tour". Chessbase.com. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  23. https://grandchesstour.org/2019-grand-chess-tour
  24. "2019 GCT Tour Regulations" (PDF).
  25. "2020 GCT To Feature Ten Full Tour Participants And Five Events (press release)". Grand Chess Tour.
  26. http://chess-news.ru/node/26965
  27. https://chess24.com/en/read/news/carlsen-nakamura-missing-in-2021-grand-chess-tour-field
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