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:
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
# Year Winner 1 2015 
2 2016 
3 2017 4 2018 5 2019 
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 2015Norway Chess [7] Sinquefield Cup London Chess Classic Total points Prize money 1 2834 4 10 12 26 $215,000 2 
2784 7 6 10 23 $155,000 3 
2788 2 13 7 22 $145,000 4 
2773 5 7 8 20 $90,000 5 2793 8 8 3 19 $95,000 6 
2803 13 4 1 18 $105,000 7 
2747 3 5 6 14 $60,000 8 
2796 10 2 2 14 $80,000 9 2787 6 3 4.5 13.5 $55,000 10 
2737 4.5 4.5 $20,000 11 2695 1 1 $15,000 12 2775 1 1 $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 Paris & Leuven Paris St Louis St Louis 
London
The results of the 2016 Grand Chess Tour. Tour points in bold indicate a tournament win.[13]
Player FIDE rating
June 2016Paris GCT Leuven GCT Sinquefield Cup London Chess Classic Total points Prize money 2770 710 13 13 36 $295,000 2787 13 44.5 7 24.5 $144,166 2804 36 7.75 10 23.75 $108,750 2855 10 13 23 $67,500 2792 6 8 7.75 321.75 $81,250 2782 7 7.75 7 21.75 $82,916 2787 8 5 4.5 317.5 $55,000 2770 4 2.5 7 13.5 $46,666 2812 5 2.5 15 12.5 $50,000 2761 2 1 7.75 110.75 $66,250 2783 3 3 $15,000 2727 3 3 $15,000 2751 2 2 $15,000 2687 1 1 $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 2017FIDE rating
January 2017GCT 2016 Winner 2777 2808 GCT 2016 Runner-Up 2787 2785 GCT 2016 3rd place 2779 2827 1st 2016 FIDE Average rating 2852 2840 2nd 2016 FIDE Average rating 2787 2811 3rd 2016 FIDE Average rating 2774 2796 WC (1st URS 1 January 2017 not picked) 2779 2767 WC (2nd URS 1 January 2017 not picked) 2778 2785 WC 2771 2786 WC (Alternate) 2771 2780 WC (Leuven) 2787 2811 WC (Paris) 2771 2742 
WC (Paris) 2768 2766 WC (Paris) ? 2739 WC (Paris) ? 2695 
WC (Leuven) ? 2701 
WC (Leuven) 2760 2752 WC (Leuven) 2757 2773 WC (St. Louis) ? 2748 WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) N/A [lower-alpha 1] N/A [lower-alpha 2] 
WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) ? 2739 
WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) ? 2735 
WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) ? 2718 WC (London) ? 2751
Results
Player Paris GCT
June 21 – June 25Leuven GCT
June 28 – July 2Sinquefield Cup
July 31 – August 12Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
August 13 – August 20London Chess Classic
November 30 – December 11Total points Prize money 12 13 9 7 41 $245,417 10 8 13 7 38 $207,917 5.5 6.5 13 4 29 $91,250 8 3 9 5 25 $77,500 3 4 5 12 24 $95,000 5 6.5 9 3 23.5 $75,000 4 10 1.5 7 22.5 $79,167 4 1.5 7 10 22.5 $100,000 3 9 2 1.5 15.5 $75,000 7 7 $15,000 7 7 $15,000 6 6 $12,500 5.5 5.5 $11,250 5 5 $20,000 5 5 $10,000 5 5 $10,000 3 3 $7,500 2 2 $7,500 2 2 $7,500 1.5 1.5 $15,000 1 1 $7,500 1 1 $7,500 1 1 $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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
7 | 13 | 13 | 1.5 | 34.5 | $105,000 |
|
6 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 34 | $95,000 |
|
9 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 31 | $80,000 |
|
2 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 26 | $85,000 |
|
13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 26 | $80,000 |
|
9 | 10 | 5 | 1.5 | 25.5 | $72,500 |
|
4 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 25 | $65,000 |
|
5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 18 | $45,000 |
|
3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 15 | $45,000 |
|
– | – | – | 15 | 15 | $55,000 |
|
– | – | 4 | – | 4 | $7,500 |
|
1 | – | – | – | 1 | $7,500 |
|
– | 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 | | 18 | |||||||
| 4 | | 10 | |||||||
| 15 | ||||||||
| 13 | ||||||||
| 2 | | 10 | |||||||
| 3 | | 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 Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire 
Côte d'Ivoire Paris 
Paris Paris St. Louis St. Louis 
St. Louis Superbet Superbet Superbet Tata Steel Tata Steel
The tour points were awarded as follows:[24]
Place Points (classical) Points (rapid/blitz) 1st 18/20* 12/13* 2nd 15 10 3rd 12 8 4th 10 7 5th 8 6 6th 7 5 7th 6 4 8th 5 3 9th 4 2 10th 3 1 11th 2 N/A 12th 1 N/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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
13 | 20 | 5 | 16.5 | 13 | 67.5 | $242,500 | ||
|
6 | 7 | 8.3 | 16.5 | 6 | 43.8 | $144,833 | ||
|
11 | 13 | 1.5 | 11 | 1 | 37.5 | $121,250 | ||
|
9 | 3 | 13 | 8.3 | 3.5 | 36.8 | $100,000 | ||
|
3.5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 36.5 | $99,250 | ||
|
3 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 36 | $97,500 | ||
|
7 | 15 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 7.5 | 33.5 | $110,000 | ||
|
3.5 | 7 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 5 | 29.5 | $68,583 | ||
|
9 | 1 | 4 | 3.5 | 10 | 27.5 | $75,000 | ||
|
11 | 5 | 3 | 6.5 | 1 | 26.5 | $76,250 | ||
|
7 | 1 | 6.5 | 4.5 | 7.5 | 26.5 | $67,333 | ||
|
3 | 3 | 1 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 16 | $48,750 | ||
|
8.3 | 8.3 | $20,000 | ||||||
|
7.5 | 7.5 | $17,500 | ||||||
|
7 | 7 | $15,000 | ||||||
|
6 | 6 | $12,500 | ||||||
|
6 | 6 | $12,500 | ||||||
|
5 | 5 | $10,000 | ||||||
|
4.5 | 4.5 | $8,750 | ||||||
|
4 | 4 | $7,500 | ||||||
|
2.5 | 2.5 | $7,500 | ||||||
|
2.5 | 2.5 | $7,500 | ||||||
|
2 | 2 | $7,500 | ||||||
|
2 | 2 | $7,500 | ||||||
|
2 | 2 | $7,500 | ||||||
|
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 1½–½ to advance to the final.
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | | 14½ | |||||||
| 4 | | 15½ | |||||||
| 4 | | 12 | |||||||
| 2 | | 16 | |||||||
| 2 | | 19 | |||||||
| 3 | | 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.[26]
Results
| Player | Superbet Chess Classic Romania May 3 – 16 |
Paris GCT Rapid & Blitz June 22 – 29 |
Croatia GCT Rapid & Blitz July 2 – 9 |
Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz August 22 – 31 |
Sinquefield Cup August 29 – September 11 |
Total points | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Notes
- Kasparov did not have a URS rating due to inactivity from the years 2005 to 2017.
- Kasparov did not have a FIDE rating due to inactivity from the years 2005 to 2017.
References
- Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (April 24, 2015). Grand Chess Tour Press Conference - 04.24.15.
- http://grandchesstour.com/content/rules-regulations 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 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
- http://grandchesstour.com/content/norway-chess-2015 Results of Norway Chess 2015
- "Press Release from GCT and Altibox Norway Chess". Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
- Norway Chess leaves GCT
- Grand Tour adds two events
- 2016 GCT schedule announced
- Grand Chess Tour Announces Field For 2016 Season
- "Final Tour Standings - 2016 | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org. 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.
- "2017 GCT – Final Tour Participants And Event Allocations". Grand Chess Tour.
- https://en.chessbase.com/post/new-format-for-grand-chess-tour-2018
- "2018 Tour Standings | Grand Chess Tour". grandchesstour.org. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
- 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.
- https://grandchesstour.org/2019-grand-chess-tour
- "2019 GCT Tour Regulations" (PDF).
- "2020 GCT To Feature Ten Full Tour Participants And Five Events (press release)". Grand Chess Tour.
- http://chess-news.ru/node/26965
External links
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