chess tournament
A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London 1851 chess tournament, London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard ...
, typically taking place in the May to June time period every year. The first edition took place in the
Stavanger
Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
area,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, from 7 May to 18 May 2013. The 2013 tournament had ten participants, including seven of the ten highest rated players in the world per the May 2013
FIDE World Rankings
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) governs international chess competition. Each month, FIDE publishes the lists "Top 100 Players", "Top 100 Women", "Top 100 Juniors" and "Top 100 Girls" and rankings of countries according to the average r ...
. It was won by
Sergey Karjakin
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (chess), grandmaster and politician. A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, having qualified for the title a ...
, with
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
and
Hikaru Nakamura
Christopher Hikaru NakamuraGrand Chess Tour. The tournament has since decided to withdraw from the Grand Chess Tour.
Winners
Open section
:
Women's section
:
2013
The 2013 tournament started with a blitz round played at the
University of Stavanger
The University of Stavanger ( Norwegian: '','' UiS) is a public research university located in Stavanger, Norway. It was established in 2005 when the Stavanger University College received university status.
The university is organised in six f ...
on 7 May 2013. Rounds 1–8 were played at Hotel Residence,
Sandnes
Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sand ...
(rounds 1–3, 5–6, 8), at Aarbakke factory in
Bryne
Bryne (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Time, Norway, Time municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality of Time and it is also List of urban areas in Norway by population ...
Strand
Strand or The Strand may refer to:
Topography
*The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a:
** Beach
** Shoreline
* Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida
Places Africa
* Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa
* ...
(round 7). The final round 9 was played in Stavanger Concert Hall on 18 May 2013. In addition to the super tournament, there was a local school tournament and a celebrity tournament. Partly parallel to the tournament, Stavanger Open NGP 2013 was arranged by Stavanger Chess Club from 8 to 12 May. Games were streamed live with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam and
Simen Agdestein
Simen Agdestein (born 15 May 1967) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster, chess coach, author, and former professional footballer as a striker for the Norway national football team.
Agdestein won nine Norwegian Chess Championships between 1982 a ...
as commentators.
The tournament was arranged by the foundation Norway Chess, with economic support from local businesses and municipalities and the
Rogaland
Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...
county. The cost of the arrangement was predicted to be about 5 million
Norwegian kroner
The krone (, currency sign, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); ISO 4217, code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is the currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including List of possessions of Norway, overseas territories and dependencies). It was t ...
(approximately 672,000
euro
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
was originally among the expected participants, but in April 2013 it was announced that he had withdrawn and was replaced with
Peter Svidler
Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (; born 17 June 1976), commonly known as Peter Svidler, is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and commentator who is an eight-time Russian Chess Champion.
Svidler has competed in three World Championshi ...
.
Blitz tournament
On 7 May 2013, a blitz tournament was played to decide the play order for the main tournament. According to regulations, the winner of the blitz tournament had the right to choose the number in the table by his own, and
Sergey Karjakin
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (chess), grandmaster and politician. A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, having qualified for the title a ...
tiebreaker
In games and sport, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is any method used to determine a winner or to rank participants when there is a tie - meaning two or more parties have achieved a same score or result. A tiebreaker provides the additional criterion ...
The second edition took place from 2 to 13 June 2014. The ten participants were
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
,
Levon Aronian
Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...
,
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
,
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; ; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE ...
,
Fabiano Caruana
Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an Italian and American chess grandmaster who is the reigning four-time United States Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2844, Caruana is the third-highest-rated player in history.
Born in Mia ...
,
Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Igorevich Grischuk (born October 31, 1983) is a Russian chess grandmaster. Grischuk was the Russian champion in 2009. He is also a three-time world blitz chess champion (in 2006, 2012 and 2015).
He has competed in five Candidates To ...
,
Sergey Karjakin
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (chess), grandmaster and politician. A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, having qualified for the title a ...
,
Peter Svidler
Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (; born 17 June 1976), commonly known as Peter Svidler, is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and commentator who is an eight-time Russian Chess Champion.
Svidler has competed in three World Championshi ...
,
Anish Giri
Anish Kumar Giri (; ; born 28 June 1994) is a Dutch chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on ...
and
Simen Agdestein
Simen Agdestein (born 15 May 1967) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster, chess coach, author, and former professional footballer as a striker for the Norway national football team.
Agdestein won nine Norwegian Chess Championships between 1982 a ...
. Agdestein qualified by defeating Jon Ludvig Hammer in a rapid match that took place from 26 to 27 April 2014.
Blitz tournament
On 2 June 2014, a blitz tournament was played to decide the play order for the main tournament.
:
The places 3, 4, 7 and 8 were decided by tiebreakers: Karjakin on most games with black pieces, Kramnik with one victory with black against Caruana's zero victory.
Classical tournament
:
The
tiebreaker
In games and sport, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is any method used to determine a winner or to rank participants when there is a tie - meaning two or more parties have achieved a same score or result. A tiebreaker provides the additional criterion ...
The third edition of the tournament took place from 15 to 26 June 2015. This was the first tournament of a three tournament series in the inaugural Grand Chess Tour, where participants accumulate as many points as possible over the three tournaments for prizes in the overall tour. The players were
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
,
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster. Anand is a five-time World Chess Champion, a two-time World Rapid Chess Champion, a two-time Chess World Cup Champion and a World Blitz Chess Cup Champion. ...
,
Levon Aronian
Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...
,
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; ; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE ...
,
Hikaru Nakamura
Christopher Hikaru NakamuraFabiano Caruana
Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an Italian and American chess grandmaster who is the reigning four-time United States Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2844, Caruana is the third-highest-rated player in history.
Born in Mia ...
,
Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Igorevich Grischuk (born October 31, 1983) is a Russian chess grandmaster. Grischuk was the Russian champion in 2009. He is also a three-time world blitz chess champion (in 2006, 2012 and 2015).
He has competed in five Candidates To ...
,
Anish Giri
Anish Kumar Giri (; ; born 28 June 1994) is a Dutch chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on ...
,
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster who is a former World Blitz Chess Championship, World Blitz Champion. With a peak Elo rating system, ra ...
, and Jon Ludvig Hammer. Jon Ludvig Hammer was not invited to the overall Grand Chess Tour; however, he qualified for the 10th spot in the tournament by winning the Enter Card Scandinavian Masters Tournament in May 2015.
Wildcard qualifier
Jon Ludvig Hammer won the event to qualify as the wildcard for the main tournament.
:
Blitz tournament
On 15 June 2015, a blitz tournament was played to decide the play order for the main tournament. It was won by
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster who is a former World Blitz Chess Championship, World Blitz Champion. With a peak Elo rating system, ra ...
of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
:
Classical tournament
:
The tiebreakers were: most wins, direct encounter, Sonneborn-Berger system, extended Koya system.
2016
The fourth Norway Chess Tournament took place from 18 to 30 April 2016 with a new title sponsor, Altibox. The tournament withdrew from the Grand Chess Tour in early January 2016 citing differences on the future of chess supertournaments and tournament sponsorship.
The players were initially announced as
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
,
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
,
Anish Giri
Anish Kumar Giri (; ; born 28 June 1994) is a Dutch chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on ...
,
Levon Aronian
Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...
,
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster who is a former World Blitz Chess Championship, World Blitz Champion. With a peak Elo rating system, ra ...
,
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; ; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE ...
,
Sergey Karjakin
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (chess), grandmaster and politician. A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, having qualified for the title a ...
Pentala Harikrishna
Pentala Harikrishna (born 10 May 1986) is an Indian chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster. He achieved a peak world ranking of 10 in November 2016, and a peak Elo rating system, Elo rating of 2770 in December 2016.
On 17 August 2001, he bec ...
, and a wildcard to be determined in a qualifying tournament.
On 6 April, Karjakin decided not to play in the tournament. His spot was taken by Li Chao.
Wild card qualifier
A qualifying tournament took place from 23 to 26 March 2016. It was a double round robin consisting of two stages: the first leg was played with a classical time control and 3–1–0 scoring system; the second leg was played with a rapid time control and 2–1–0 scoring system. It was won by Nils Grandelius.
:
Blitz tournament
On 18 April 2016, a blitz tournament was conducted to determine the pairings in the tournament. The top 5 finishers in the blitz tournament earned an extra white game in the tournament.
The following is the final crosstable of the event (obtained from chess.com).
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
,
Anish Giri
Anish Kumar Giri (; ; born 28 June 1994) is a Dutch chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on ...
,
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster who is a former World Blitz Chess Championship, World Blitz Champion. With a peak Elo rating system, ra ...
,
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
, and
Levon Aronian
Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...
finished in the top 5 and, thus, earned their extra white game.
:
Classical tournament
:
2017
The fifth Norway Chess tournament was held between 6–16 June 2017. The tournament involved all ten of the world's best players by rating (at the time of announcement) and had an average Elo rating of 2797. As a result, it was billed as the strongest chess tournament in history by Altibox, its sponsor. However, by the time the tournament was held two players had dropped out of the top ten (Karjakin and Giri; their replacements Mamedyarov and Ding Liren did not play). It is also not the tournament with the highest-ever rating average; the 2014 Zurich Chess Challenge and the 2014 Sinquefield Cup had average ratings of 2801 and 2802, respectively.
Blitz tournament
On 5 June 2017, a Blitz tournament was conducted to determine the pairings in the tournament. The top 5 finishers in the blitz tournament earned an extra white game in the tournament.
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
,
Hikaru Nakamura
Christopher Hikaru NakamuraLevon Aronian
Levon Grigori Aronian (; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenian chess grandmaster who has represented the United States since 2021. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at the age of 17. He is a former world rapid and blit ...
,
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster who is a former World Blitz Chess Championship, World Blitz Champion. With a peak Elo rating system, ra ...
and
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
finished in the top 5 and earned their extra white game.
:
Classical tournament
:
2018
Blitz tournament
The blitz tournament was played on 27 May 2018. The winner of the blitz tournament chose his number in the main tournament. Number 2 got the highest available number, and number 3 the second highest, and so on.
:
Classical tournament
:
On 31 May 2018,
Ding Liren
Ding Liren ( zh, c=丁立人; born 24October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster who was the 17th World Chess Champion from 2023–24. He is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion, was a member of the Chinese chess teams that won the Chess ...
fractured his hip bone in a bicycle accident and underwent surgery the next morning. It was announced on 2 June that Ding had withdrawn from the tournament. Due to him having played less than half the rounds, the three draws (against Nakamura, Vachier-Lagrave and Anand) that he had played in rounds 1–3 were discounted for tournament purposes, and counted only for rating purposes.
2019
Blitz tournament
:
Classical tournament
The tournament regulations for the classical tournament were different than other tournaments. Players were awarded 2 points for a win, and 0 points for a loss. In the case of draws, the players would move on to an Armageddon game, with 10 minutes for White and 7 minutes for Black, with Black having draw odds. Players were awarded 1½ points for a draw and an Armageddon win, and ½ points for a draw and an Armageddon loss.
:
2020
The performance rating is based on classical games only. As with 2019, an Armageddon game was to follow if the main classical game ended in a draw. The points system was altered to award 3 points for a win, 0 points for a loss, 1½ for a draw and an Armageddon win and 1 for a draw and an Armageddon loss.
:
2021
:
2022
Blitz tournament
:
Classical tournament
Seeding was based on a blitz tournament played before the classical event. A classical win was worth 3 points and a loss 0 points. If the classical game was drawn, an
armageddon
Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
game was played, with the same colours as the classical game. The player who won the armageddon game received 1½ points and the loser 1 point.
:
2023
Blitz tournament
:
Classical tournament
Seeding was based on a blitz tournament played before the classical event. A classical win was worth 3 points and a loss 0 points. If the classical game was drawn, an
armageddon
Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
game was played, with the same colours as the classical game. The player who won the armageddon game received 1½ points and the loser 1 point.
:
2024
Classical tournament
In parallel with the open tournament, an inaugural women-only version will be held, with an equal prize fund given for the open and women's tournament. A classical win is worth 3 points and a loss 0 points. If the classical game is drawn, an
armageddon
Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
game (white with 7 minutes, black with 10 minutes) will be played, with the same colours as the classical game. The player who wins the armageddon game will receive 1½ points and the loser 1 point. The open section of the tournament was won by
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, five-time World Rapid Chess Championship, World Rapid Chess Champio ...
, whilst
Ju Wenjun
Ju Wenjun (; born 31 January 1991) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. She is the reigning five-time Women's World Champion, the reigning Women's World Blitz Chess Champion, and a two-time Women's World Rapid Chess Champion. In March 2017, she be ...