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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 Norway Chess is an annual closed chess tournament, typically taking place in the May to June time period every year. The first edition took place in the Stavanger area, Norway, from 7 May to 18 May 2013. The 2013 tournament had ten participants, in ...
, the
Sinquefield Cup The Sinquefield Cup is an annual, invitation-only chess tournament in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, honoring Rex Sinquefield and his wife Jeanne, the founders of the Saint Louis Chess Club. Since 2015, the Sinquefield Cup has been a part ...
, and the
London Chess Classic The London Chess Classic is a chess festival held at the Olympia Conference Centre, West Kensington, London. The flagship event is a strong invitational tournament between some of the world's top grandmasters. A number of subsidiary events cove ...
.


History

The Grand Chess Tour was announced on April 24, 2015, at the
Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis The Saint Louis Chess Club (previously named the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis) is a chess venue located in the Central West End in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Opened on July 17, 2008, it contained a tournament hall and ...
in
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
prior to the Battle of the Legends:
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak Elo rating system, rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the hi ...
vs
Nigel Short Nigel David Short (born 1 June 1965) is an English chess grandmaster, columnist, coach, and commentator, who is the vice-president of FIDE since October 2018. Short earned the Grandmaster title at the age of 19, and was ranked third in the ...
match. The tour was designed to promote competitive chess by including all of the top players and the World Champion
Magnus Carlsen Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has ...
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. The first Grand Chess Tour took place across three tournaments,
Norway Chess Norway Chess is an annual closed chess tournament, typically taking place in the May to June time period every year. The first edition took place in the Stavanger area, Norway, from 7 May to 18 May 2013. The 2013 tournament had ten participants, in ...
, the
Sinquefield Cup The Sinquefield Cup is an annual, invitation-only chess tournament in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, honoring Rex Sinquefield and his wife Jeanne, the founders of the Saint Louis Chess Club. Since 2015, the Sinquefield Cup has been a part ...
, and the
London Chess Classic The London Chess Classic is a chess festival held at the Olympia Conference Centre, West Kensington, London. The flagship event is a strong invitational tournament between some of the world's top grandmasters. A number of subsidiary events cove ...
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.http://grandchesstour.com/content/rules-regulations Grand Chess Tour: Rules & Regulations 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. The point breakdown and prize money for each classical tournament is as follows: : * 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

:


Grand Chess Tour 2015

In 2015, the Grand Chess Tour invited the top-10 players in the world ranked by the January 2015
FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
rating list.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French chess grandmaster who is the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2819, Vachier-Lagrave is the seventh-highest ...
, the 11th ranked player in February 2015, was invited as the ninth player to compete after 8th ranked
Vladimir Kramnik Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (russian: Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Ch ...
and 10th ranked
Wesley So Wesley Barbossa So (born October 9, 1993) is a Filipino and American chess grandmaster and 3-time U.S. Chess Champion (in 2017, 2020, and 2021). He is also a three-time Philippine Chess Champion. On the March 2017 FIDE rating list, he was rank ...
declined to participate.
Jon Ludvig Hammer Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer (born 2 June 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster and three-time Norwegian Chess Champion. He was the main second for Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2013. Chess career At the 38th Chess Olympiad in ...
was selected to participate in the 2015 Norway Chess Tournament after qualifying through a wildcard tournament.
Wesley So Wesley Barbossa So (born October 9, 1993) is a Filipino and American chess grandmaster and 3-time U.S. Chess Champion (in 2017, 2020, and 2021). He is also a three-time Philippine Chess Champion. On the March 2017 FIDE rating list, he was rank ...
and Michael Adams were selected to participate in the
Sinquefield Cup The Sinquefield Cup is an annual, invitation-only chess tournament in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, honoring Rex Sinquefield and his wife Jeanne, the founders of the Saint Louis Chess Club. Since 2015, the Sinquefield Cup has been a part ...
and the
London Chess Classic The London Chess Classic is a chess festival held at the Olympia Conference Centre, West Kensington, London. The flagship event is a strong invitational tournament between some of the world's top grandmasters. A number of subsidiary events cove ...
, respectively. The results of the 2015 Grand Chess Tour. Tour points in bold indicate a tournament win. :


Grand Chess Tour 2016

On January 6, 2016, the Altibox
Norway Chess Norway Chess is an annual closed chess tournament, typically taking place in the May to June time period every year. The first edition took place in the Stavanger area, Norway, from 7 May to 18 May 2013. The 2013 tournament had ten participants, in ...
event announced it would not be part of the Grand Chess Tour in 2016. On February 11, 2016, the GCT announced it was adding two rapid/blitz tournaments for 2016, sponsored by Colliers International France (Paris), and Your Next Move (Leuven). 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 Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has ...
declined participation in the two classic events but competed as a wild card in the rapid/blitz tournaments held in both Paris and Leuven. 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: : The results of the 2016 Grand Chess Tour. Tour points in bold indicate a tournament win. :


Grand Chess Tour 2017

The 2017 Grand Chess Tour consisted of five events: three rapid and blitz chess, and two classical chess. By January 2017, six players had qualified for the 2017 Grand Chess Tour; on January 3, three wildcard selections for the tour were announced, bringing the total number of participants to nine.
Vladimir Kramnik Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (russian: Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Ch ...
declined to participate in the 2017 GCT, citing a busy summer schedule. He was replaced by
Levon Aronian Levon Grigori Aronian ( hy, Լևոն Գրիգորի Արոնյան, Levon Grigori Aronyan; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster, who currently plays for the United States Chess Federation. A chess prodigy, he earned the title ...
. On July 5,
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak Elo rating system, rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the hi ...
agreed to join the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament as a wildcard.


Players

:


Results

: 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.


Results


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.


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. The wildcards were as follows: : The tour points were awarded as follows: : * 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


Semifinals and finals at the London Chess Classic

As in 2018, the
London Chess Classic The London Chess Classic is a chess festival held at the Olympia Conference Centre, West Kensington, London. The flagship event is a strong invitational tournament between some of the world's top grandmasters. A number of subsidiary events cove ...
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.


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 The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The w ...
and the
World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 matc ...
match. The 2020 series was cancelled on 3 April 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
.


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. The tour points are awarded as follows: : * 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.


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. The tour points were awarded as follows: : * 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.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Chess tournaments Chess competitions 2015 in chess 2016 in chess 2017 in chess 2018 in chess 2019 in chess 2020 in chess 2021 in chess Sports competition series Recurring sporting events established in 2015