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 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 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  Magnus Carlsen (Norway) Magnus Carlsen (Norway)- 2 - 2016  Wesley So (United States) Wesley So (United States)- 3 - 2017  Magnus Carlsen (2) (Norway) Magnus Carlsen (2) (Norway)- 4 - 2018  Hikaru Nakamura (United States) Hikaru Nakamura (United States)- 5 - 2019  Ding Liren (China) Ding Liren (China)- 6 - 2021  Wesley So (2) (United States) Wesley So (2) (United States)- 7 - 2022  Alireza Firouzja (France) Alireza Firouzja (France)- 8 - 2023  Fabiano Caruana (United States) Fabiano Caruana (United States)
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) Magnus Carlsen (Norway)- 2834 - 4 - 10 - 12 - 26 - $215,000 - 2  Anish Giri (Netherlands) Anish Giri (Netherlands)- 2784 - 7 - 6 - 10 - 23 - $155,000 - 3  Levon Aronian (Armenia) Levon Aronian (Armenia)- 2788 - 2 - 13 - 7 - 22 - $145,000 - 4  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)- 2773 - 5 - 7 - 8 - 20 - $90,000 - 5  Hikaru Nakamura (United States) Hikaru Nakamura (United States)- 2793 - 8 - 8 - 3 - 19 - $95,000 - 6  Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)- 2803 - 13 - 4 - 1 - 18 - $105,000 - 7  Alexander Grischuk (Russia) Alexander Grischuk (Russia)- 2747 - 3 - 5 - 6 - 14 - $60,000 - 8  Viswanathan Anand (India) Viswanathan Anand (India)- 2796 - 10 - 2 - 2 - 14 - $80,000 - 9  Fabiano Caruana (United States) Fabiano Caruana (United States)- 2787 - 6 - 3 - 4.5 - 13.5 - $55,000 - 10  Michael Adams (United Kingdom) Michael Adams (United Kingdom)- 2737 - 4.5 - 4.5 - $20,000 - 11  Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway) Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway)- 2695 - 1 - 1 - $15,000 - 12  Wesley So (United States) Wesley So (United States)- 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  Magnus Carlsen (Norway) Magnus Carlsen (Norway)- Paris & Leuven  Laurent Fressinet (France) Laurent Fressinet (France)- Paris  Ding Liren (China) Ding Liren (China)- St Louis  Peter Svidler (Russia) Peter Svidler (Russia)- St Louis  Michael Adams (England) 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) Wesley So (United States)- 2770 - 7- 10 - 13 - 13 - 36 - $295,000  Hikaru Nakamura (United States) Hikaru Nakamura (United States)- 2787 - 13 - 4- 4.5 - 7 - 24.5 - $144,166  Fabiano Caruana (United States) Fabiano Caruana (United States)- 2804 - 3- 6 - 7.75 - 10 - 23.75 - $108,750  Magnus Carlsen (Norway) Magnus Carlsen (Norway)- 2855 - 10 - 13 - 23 - $67,500  Levon Aronian (Armenia) Levon Aronian (Armenia)- 2792 - 6 - 8 - 7.75 - 3- 21.75 - $81,250  Viswanathan Anand (India) Viswanathan Anand (India)- 2782 - 7 - 7.75 - 7 - 21.75 - $82,916  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)- 2787 - 8 - 5 - 4.5 - 3- 17.5 - $55,000  Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)- 2770 - 4 - 2.5 - 7 - 13.5 - $46,666  Anish Giri (Netherlands) Anish Giri (Netherlands)- 2812 - 5 - 2.5 - 1- 5 - 12.5 - $50,000  Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)- 2761 - 2 - 1 - 7.75 - 1- 10.75 - $66,250  Ding Liren (China) Ding Liren (China)- 2783 - 3 - 3 - $15,000  Michael Adams (England) Michael Adams (England)- 2727 - 3 - 3 - $15,000  Peter Svidler (Russia) Peter Svidler (Russia)- 2751 - 2 - 2 - $15,000  Laurent Fressinet (France) Laurent Fressinet (France)- 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 2017- FIDE rating 
 January 2017 Wesley So (United States) Wesley So (United States)- GCT 2016 Winner - 2777 - 2808  Hikaru Nakamura (United States) Hikaru Nakamura (United States)- GCT 2016 Runner-Up - 2787 - 2785  Fabiano Caruana (United States) Fabiano Caruana (United States)- GCT 2016 3rd place - 2779 - 2827  Magnus Carlsen (Norway) Magnus Carlsen (Norway)- 1st 2016 FIDE Average rating - 2852 - 2840  Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)- 2nd 2016 FIDE Average rating - 2787 - 2811  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)- 3rd 2016 FIDE Average rating - 2774 - 2796  Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)- WC (1st URS 1 January 2017 not picked) - 2779 - 2767  Sergey Karjakin (Russia) Sergey Karjakin (Russia)- WC (2nd URS 1 January 2017 not picked) - 2778 - 2785  Viswanathan Anand (India) Viswanathan Anand (India)- WC - 2771 - 2786  Levon Aronian (Armenia) Levon Aronian (Armenia)- WC (Alternate) - 2771 - 2780  Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)- WC (Leuven) - 2787 - 2811  Alexander Grischuk (Russia) Alexander Grischuk (Russia)- WC (Paris) - 2771 - 2742  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)- WC (Paris) - 2768 - 2766  Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)- WC (Paris) - ? - 2739  Étienne Bacrot (France) Étienne Bacrot (France)- WC (Paris) - ? - 2695  Baadur Jobava (Georgia) Baadur Jobava (Georgia)- WC (Leuven) - ? - 2701  Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine)- WC (Leuven) - 2760 - 2752  Anish Giri (Netherlands) Anish Giri (Netherlands)- WC (Leuven) - 2757 - 2773  Peter Svidler (Russia) Peter Svidler (Russia)- WC (St. Louis) - ? - 2748   Garry Kasparov (Russia/Croatia)[lower-alpha 1] Garry Kasparov (Russia/Croatia)[lower-alpha 1]- WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) - N/A[lower-alpha 2] - N/A[lower-alpha 3]  Leinier Domínguez (Cuba) Leinier Domínguez (Cuba)- WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) - ? - 2739  David Navara (Czech Republic) David Navara (Czech Republic)- WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) - ? - 2735  Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam) Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam)- WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) - ? - 2718  Michael Adams (England) Michael Adams (England)- WC (London) - ? - 2751 
Results
- Player - Paris GCT 
 June 21–25- Leuven GCT 
 June 28 – July 2- Sinquefield Cup 
 July 31 – August 12- Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 
 August 13–20- London Chess Classic 
 November 30 – December 11- Total points - Prize money  Magnus Carlsen (Norway) Magnus Carlsen (Norway)- 12 - 13 - 9 - 7 - 41 - $245,417  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)- 10 - 8 - 13 - 7 - 38 - $207,917  Levon Aronian (Armenia) Levon Aronian (Armenia)- 5.5 - 6.5 - 13 - 4 - 29 - $91,250  Hikaru Nakamura (United States) Hikaru Nakamura (United States)- 8 - 3 - 9 - 5 - 25 - $77,500  Fabiano Caruana (United States) Fabiano Caruana (United States)- 3 - 4 - 5 - 12 - 24 - $95,000  Sergey Karjakin (Russia) Sergey Karjakin (Russia)- 5 - 6.5 - 9 - 3 - 23.5 - $75,000  Wesley So (United States) Wesley So (United States)- 4 - 10 - 1.5 - 7 - 22.5 - $79,167  Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)- 4 - 1.5 - 7 - 10 - 22.5 - $100,000  Viswanathan Anand (India) Viswanathan Anand (India)- 3 - 9 - 2 - 1.5 - 15.5 - $75,000  Anish Giri (Netherlands) Anish Giri (Netherlands)- 7 - 7 - $15,000  Alexander Grischuk (Russia) Alexander Grischuk (Russia)- 7 - 7 - $15,000  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)- 6 - 6 - $12,500  Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)- 5.5 - 5.5 - $11,250  Peter Svidler (Russia) Peter Svidler (Russia)- 5 - 5 - $20,000  Leinier Domínguez (Cuba) Leinier Domínguez (Cuba)- 5 - 5 - $10,000  Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam) Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam)- 5 - 5 - $10,000   Garry Kasparov (Russia/Croatia)[lower-alpha 4] Garry Kasparov (Russia/Croatia)[lower-alpha 4]- 3 - 3 - $7,500  Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine) Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine)- 2 - 2 - $7,500  Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)- 2 - 2 - $7,500  Michael Adams (England) Michael Adams (England)- 1.5 - 1.5 - $15,000  Étienne Bacrot (France) Étienne Bacrot (France)- 1 - 1 - $7,500  Baadur Jobava (Georgia) Baadur Jobava (Georgia)- 1 - 1 - $7,500  David Navara (Czech Republic) David Navara (Czech Republic)- 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 12–16 | Paris GCT June 20–24 | Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz August 10–16 | Sinquefield Cup August 17–28 | 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) Wei Yi (China)- Côte d'Ivoire  Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)- Côte d'Ivoire  Bassem Amin (Egypt) Bassem Amin (Egypt)- Côte d'Ivoire  Alexander Grischuk (Russia) Alexander Grischuk (Russia)- Paris  Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland)- Paris  Daniil Dubov (Russia) Daniil Dubov (Russia)- Paris  Leinier Domínguez (United States) Leinier Domínguez (United States)- St. Louis  Yu Yangyi (China) Yu Yangyi (China)- St. Louis  Richárd Rapport (Hungary) Richárd Rapport (Hungary)- St. Louis  Vladislav Artemiev (Russia) Vladislav Artemiev (Russia)- Superbet  Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam) Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam)- Superbet  Anton Korobov (Ukraine) Anton Korobov (Ukraine)- Superbet  Vidit Gujrathi (India) Vidit Gujrathi (India)- Tata Steel  Pentala Harikrishna (India) Pentala Harikrishna (India)- 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 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  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. 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 | |||||||
Grand Chess Tour 2020
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.[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 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.[27]
The tour points are awarded as follows:[28]
- Place - Points - 1st - 12/13* - 2nd - 10 - 3rd - 8 - 4th - 7 - 5th - 6 - 6th - 5 - 7th - 4 - 8th - 3 - 9th - 2 - 10th - 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
The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.
| 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 | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Wesley So (United States) | 8.3 | 13 | 7 | 8.3 | 36.6 | $242,500 | |
|  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 1.5 | 7.5 | 13 | 13 | 35 | $206,250 | |
|  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) | 13 | 5 | 4.5 | 4 | 26.5 | $152,000 | |
|  Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 3.5 | 3 | 10 | 8.3 | 24.8 | $94,250 | |
|  Richárd Rapport (Hungary) | 5.5 | 8 | 6 | 19.5 | $42,500 | ||
|  Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) | 10 | 6.5 | 16.5 | $36,750 | |||
|  Levon Aronian (Armenia) | 8.3 | 5.5 | 13.8 | $56,250 | |||
|  Anish Giri (Netherlands) | 5.5 | 8 | 13.5 | $42,500 | |||
|  Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | 13 | 13 | $37,500 | ||||
|  Leinier Domínguez Pérez (United States) | 4.5 | 8.3 | 12.8 | $54,500 | |||
|  Alexander Grischuk (Russia) | 8.3 | 4 | 12.3 | $54,000 | |||
|  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 | ||||
|  Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) | 5.5 | 1 | 6.5 | $28,500 | |||
|  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 | ||||
|  Étienne Bacrot (France) 
 | 2 | 2 | $7,000 | ||||
|  Ivan Šarić (Croatia)   Garry Kasparov (Russia/Croatia)[lower-alpha 6] | 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
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.[29]
The tour points were awarded as follows:[30]
- Place - Points - 1st - 12/13* - 2nd - 10 - 3rd - 8 - 4th - 7 - 5th - 6 - 6th - 5 - 7th - 4 - 8th - 3 - 9th - 2 - 10th - 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
The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.
| Player | Superbet Chess Classic Romania May 3–15 | Poland GCT Rapid & Blitz May 17–24 | Croatia GCT Rapid & Blitz Jul 18–25 | Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Aug 24–31 | Sinquefield Cup Sep 2–11 | Total points | Prize money | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Alireza Firouzja (France) | 3.5 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 36.5 | $272,250 | |
|  Wesley So (United States) | 10 | 6 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 30 | $190,167 | |
|  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 10 | 9 | 7.5 | 2.5 | 29 | $165,167 | |
|  Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 6 | 7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 28 | $108,833 | |
|  Levon Aronian (United States) | 10 | 9 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 27 | $124,417 | |
|  Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)[lower-alpha 7] | 3.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 11 | 27 | $127,250 | |
|  Leinier Domínguez (United States) | 6 | 3.5 | 1 | 6 | 16.5 | $68,833 | |
|  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) | 1.5 | 3.5 | 5 | 2.5 | 12.5 | $46,750 | |
|  Richárd Rapport (Hungary) | 1.5 | 5 | 6.5 | $22,750 | |||
|  Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | WC (13) | Withdrew | $40,000 | ||||
|  Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) | WC (13) | $40,000 | |||||
|  Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | WC (10) | $30,000 | |||||
|  Viswanathan Anand (India) | WC (9) | $27,500 | |||||
|  Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania) | WC (6) | $26,333 | |||||
|  Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands) | WC (5) | $11,000 | |||||
|  Hans Niemann (United States) | WC (4.5) | $19,750 | |||||
|  Radosław Wojtaszek (Poland) | WC (4) | $10,000 | |||||
|  Jeffery Xiong (United States) | WC (3.5) | $9,500 | |||||
|  Anton Korobov (Ukraine) | WC (3) | $9,000 | |||||
|  Kirill Shevchenko (Ukraine) | WC (2) | $8,000 | |||||
|  Sam Shankland (United States) | WC (2) | $8,000 | |||||
|  Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | WC (2) | $8,000 | |||||
|  David Gavrilescu (Romania) | WC (1) | $7,000 | |||||
|  Ivan Šarić (Croatia) | WC (1) | $7,000 | 
Grand Chess Tour 2023
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 will be awarded as follows:
| Place | Points | 
|---|---|
| 1st | 12/13* | 
| 2nd | 10 | 
| 3rd | 8 | 
| 4th | 7 | 
| 5th | 6 | 
| 6th | 5 | 
| 7th | 4 | 
| 8th | 3 | 
| 9th | 2 | 
| 10th | 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
The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.
| Player | Superbet Chess Classic Romania | Poland GCT Rapid & Blitz | Croatia GCT Rapid & Blitz | Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz | Sinquefield Cup | Total points | Prize money | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|  Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 13 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 46 | $160,000 | |
|  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 4.5 | 7.5 | 10 | 6 | 28 | $72,250 | |
|  Wesley So (United States) | 7.75 | 7.5 | 4.5 | 8 | 27.75 | $75,750 | |
|  Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)[lower-alpha 7] | 2 | 10 | 7.5 | 6 | 25.5 | $67,500 | |
|  Alireza Firouzja (France) | 7.75 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 24.75 | $82,750 | |
|  Richárd Rapport (Romania) | 7.75 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 19.75 | $64,750 | |
|  Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) | 4.5 | 10 | 3.5 | 18 | $59,250 | ||
|  Anish Giri (Netherlands) | 7.75 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 17.75 | $60,750 | |
|  Ding Liren (China)[lower-alpha 8] | 3 | 3 | $16,000 | ||||
|  Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | 13 (WC) | 13 (WC) | 26 | $80,000 | |||
|  Leinier Domínguez (United States) | 10 (WC) | 10 | |||||
|  Lê Quang Liêm (Vietnam) | 7.5 (WC) | 7.5 | $22,500 | ||||
|  Levon Aronian (United States) | 6 (WC) | 6 (WC) | 6 | $15,000 | |||
|  Gukesh D (India) | 6 (WC) | 6 | $15,000 | ||||
|  Ray Robson (United States) | 4.5 (WC) | 4.5 | $10,500 | ||||
|  Viswanathan Anand (India) | 3.5 (WC) | 3.5 | $9,500 | ||||
|  Bogdan-Daniel Deac (Romania) | 1 (WC) | 2 (WC) | 3 | $18,000 | |||
|  Kirill Shevchenko (Romania) | 3 (WC) | 3 | $9,000 | ||||
|  Samuel Sevian (United States) | 3 (WC) | 3 | $9,000 | ||||
|  Ivan Šarić (Croatia) | 2 (WC) | 2 | $8,000 | ||||
|  Radosław Wojtaszek (Poland) | 1 (WC) | 1 | $7,000 | ||||
|  Constantin Lupulescu (Romania) | 1 (WC) | 1 | $7,000 | ||||
|  Jeffery Xiong (United States) | 1 (WC) | 1 | $7,000 | 
Notes
- ↑ Kasparov played under both Russian and Croatian flags
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Kasparov played under both Croatian and Russian flags
- ↑ Bacrot and Kramnik compete as a team, with Bacrot playing the Rapid portion and Kramnik playing the Blitz portion.
- ↑ Šarić and Kasparov compete as a team, with Šarić playing the Rapid portion and Kasparov playing the Blitz portion.
- 1 2 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.[31]
- ↑ 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.[32]
References
- 1 2 Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (April 24, 2015). Grand Chess Tour Press Conference – 04.24.15.
- 1 2 3 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
- ↑ http://grandchesstour.com/content/norway-chess-2015 Archived 2015-12-01 at the Wayback Machine 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.
- ↑ Doggers, Peter. "Norway Chess Leaves Grand Chess Tour". Chess.com.
- ↑ Klein, Mike. "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. 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.
- ↑ "New format for Grand Chess Tour 2018". 10 December 2017.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "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".
- ↑ "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, February 28, 2022
- ↑ Starting Sunday: Carlsen heads intriguing field in Superbet Poland, ChessBase, May 20, 2023
