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

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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

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# 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

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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

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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
points
Prize
money
1   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

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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

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Player Qualification method URS rating
January 2017
FIDE 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

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Player Paris Leuven Sinquefield St. Louis London Total
points
Prize
money
1   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

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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

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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 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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ 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]
  2. ^ Kasparov played under both Russian and Croatian flags
  3. ^ Kasparov did not have a URS rating due to inactivity from the years 2005 to 2017.
  4. ^ Bacrot and Kramnik competed as a team, with Bacrot playing the Rapid portion and Kramnik playing the Blitz portion.
  5. ^ Šarić and Kasparov competed as a team, with Šarić playing the Rapid portion and Kasparov playing the Blitz portion.
  6. ^ 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]
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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]
  9. ^ 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

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  1. ^ a b Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (April 24, 2015). Grand Chess Tour Press Conference – 04.24.15.
  2. ^ a b c http://grandchesstour.com/content/rules-regulations Archived 2015-08-29 at the Wayback Machine 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 Archived 2015-11-21 at the Wayback Machine 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. ^ "Norway Chess 2015". Archived from the original on 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  8. ^ Doggers, Peter (12 May 2015). "Breaking: Fabiano Caruana To Play For USA (Updated)". Chess.com.
  9. ^ Doggers, Peter (26 June 2015). "Topalov Wins Norway Chess After Quick Draw With Anand". Chess.com.
  10. ^ "Press Release from GCT and Altibox Norway Chess". Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  11. ^ Doggers, Peter (6 January 2016). "Norway Chess Leaves Grand Chess Tour". Chess.com.
  12. ^ Klein, Mike (12 February 2016). "Grand Chess Tour Adds 2 Events, Keeps $1 Million+ Purse". Chess.com.
  13. ^ "2016 GCT schedule announced". Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  14. ^ "GRAND CHESS TOUR ANNOUNCES FIELD FOR 2016 SEASON | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org.
  15. ^ "Final Tour Standings - 2016 | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-10. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  16. ^ "2017 Events". Grand Chess Tour.
  17. ^ "The 2017 GCT field". Grand Chess Tour.
  18. ^ "TGCT Announces Launch of URS™ and 2017 Wildcard Selections". Grand Chess Tour.
  19. ^ "Carlsen, So In Grand Chess Tour; Kramnik Declines". Chess.com. February 2017.
  20. ^ "2017 GCT – Final Tour Participants And Event Allocations". Grand Chess Tour.
  21. ^ https://www.hina.hr/news/9564889 Kasparov participates in St Louis tournament under Croatian flag
  22. ^ "New format for Grand Chess Tour 2018". 10 December 2017.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Pereira, Antonio (2018-12-17). "Nakamura deservedly wins the 2018 Grand Chess Tour". Chessbase.com. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  25. ^ "2019 Grand Chess Tour | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org.
  26. ^ "2019 GCT Tour Regulations" (PDF).
  27. ^ "2020 GCT To Feature Ten Full Tour Participants And Five Events (press release)". Grand Chess Tour.
  28. ^ "Серия Grand Chess Tour 2020 тоже отменяется | chess-news.ru". December 2023.
  29. ^ "Carlsen & Nakamura missing in 2021 Grand Chess Tour field".
  30. ^ "2021 GCT Tour Regulations" (PDF).
  31. ^ "Full Tour Participants Confirmed For The 2022 Grand Chess Tour And Total Prize Fund Increased To $1.4 Million Across All Five Tournaments".
  32. ^ "2022 GCT Tour Regulations" (PDF).
  33. ^ FIDE Condemns Military Action; Takes Measures Against Russia, Belarus, chess.com, 28 February 2022
  34. ^ https://grandchesstour.org/blog/2023-sinquefield-cup-day-9-recap
  35. ^ FIDE Condemns Military Action; Takes Measures Against Russia, Belarus, chess.com, February 28, 2022
  36. ^ Starting Sunday: Carlsen heads intriguing field in Superbet Poland, ChessBase, May 20, 2023
  37. ^ Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Abdusattorov Join 2024 Grand Chess Tour, Chess.com, February 24, 2024
  38. ^ Grand Chess Tour announces wildcards and full-tour lineup, ChessBase, April 7, 2024
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