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.
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 |
| # | 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) |
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 Dec 2015 | Norway [7] | Sinquefield | London | Total points | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | 2834 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 26 | $215,000 |
| 2 |  Anish Giri (Netherlands) | 2784 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 23 | $155,000 |
| 3 |  Levon Aronian (Armenia) | 2788 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 22 | $145,000 |
| 4 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 2773 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 20 | $90,000 |
| 5 | Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | 2793 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 19 | $95,000 |
| 6 |  Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | 2803 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 18 | $105,000 |
| 7 |  Alexander Grischuk (Russia) | 2747 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 | $60,000 |
| 8 |  Viswanathan Anand (India) | 2796 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 14 | $80,000 |
| 9 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 2787 | 6 | 3 | 4.5 | 13.5 | $55,000 |
| 10 |  Michael Adams (United Kingdom) | 2737 | — | — | 4.5 | 4.5 | $20,000 |
| 11 | Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway) | 2695 | 1 | — | — | 1 | $15,000 |
| 12 | Wesley So (United States) | 2775 | — | 1 | — | 1 | $15,000 |
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) | 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. [13]
| Player | FIDE rating June 2016 | Paris | Leuven | Sinquefield | London | Total points | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wesley So (United States) | 2770 | (7) | 10 | 13 | 13 | 36 | $295,000 |
| 2 | Hikaru Nakamura (United States) | 2787 | 13 | (4) | 4.5 | 7 | 24.5 | $144,166 |
| 3 | Fabiano Caruana (United States) | 2804 | (3) | 6 | 7.75 | 10 | 23.75 | $108,750 |
| T-4 | Levon Aronian (Armenia) | 2792 | 6 | 8 | 7.75 | (3) | 21.75 | $81,250 |
| T-4 | Viswanathan Anand (India) | 2782 | — | 7 | 7.75 | 7 | 21.75 | $82,916 |
| 6 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) | 2787 | 8 | 5 | 4.5 | (3) | 17.5 | $55,000 |
| 7 | Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) | 2770 | 4 | 2.5 | — | 7 | 13.5 | $46,666 |
| 8 | Anish Giri (Netherlands) | 2812 | 5 | 2.5 | (1) | 5 | 12.5 | $50,000 |
| 9 | Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | 2761 | 2 | (1) | 7.75 | 1 | 10.75 | $66,250 |
| Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | 2855 | 10 | 13 | — | — | 23 | $67,500 | |
| Ding Liren (China) | 2783 | — | — | 3 | — | 3 | $15,000 | |
| Michael Adams (England) | 2727 | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | $15,000 | |
| Peter Svidler (Russia) | 2751 | — | — | 2 | — | 2 | $15,000 | |
| Laurent Fressinet (France) | 2687 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | $7,500 |
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.
| 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) [lower-alpha 1] | WC (St. Louis Rapid & Blitz) | N/A [lower-alpha 2] | 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 |
| 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/Croatia) [lower-alpha 3] | — | — | — | 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.
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. [19]
| Player [20] | 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 | 1½ | 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 |
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 | 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 | |||||||
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) | 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: [24]
| 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 |
| 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 |
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 | |||||||
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]
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 | 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 |
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) [lower-alpha 4] | — | 2 | — | — | — | 2 | $7,000 | |
| Ivan Šarić (Croatia) Garry Kasparov (RUS/CRO) [lower-alpha 5] | — | — | 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 |
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 | 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 |
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 |
| 5 | Levon Aronian (United States) | 10 | 9 | — | 3.5 | 4.5 | 27 | $124,417 |
| 6 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) [lower-alpha 6] | 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) | 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 |
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 |
The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.
| Player | ROU | POL | CRO | STL | SIN | Total points | Prize money [32] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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) [lower-alpha 7] | 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) [lower-alpha 8] | 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 |
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. [35] As each tournament will have 10 players, the extra spots will be filled by wildcards.
The wildcards were as follows: [36]
| 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 |
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 |
| 7 | Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) | — | 5 | 6 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 18 | $61,833 |
| 8 |  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 |
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007. He has won three team gold medals and three individual medals at Chess Olympiads.
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand is an Indian chess grandmaster, a former five-time World Chess Champion and a record two-time Chess World Cup Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and he has the eighth-highest peak FIDE rating of all time. In 2022, he was elected the deputy president of FIDE.
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. Carlsen is a five-time World Chess Champion, the reigning five-time World Rapid Chess Champion, the reigning seven-time World Blitz Chess Champion, and the reigning Chess World Cup Champion. He has held the No. 1 position in the FIDE world chess rankings since 1 July 2011 and trails only Garry Kasparov in time spent as the highest-rated player in the world. His peak rating of 2882 is the highest in history. He also holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at an elite level in classical chess at 125 games.
Teimour Boris oghlu Radjabov is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster.
Christopher Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess grandmaster, streamer, YouTuber, five-time U.S. Chess Champion, and the reigning World Fischer Random Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 15, the youngest American at the time to do so. With a peak rating of 2816, Nakamura is the tenth-highest-rated player in history.
Levon Grigori Aronian is an Armenian-American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned the title of grandmaster in 2000, at age 17. He is a former world rapid and blitz champion and has held the No. 2 position in the March 2014 FIDE world chess rankings with a rating of 2830, becoming the fourth highest-rated player in history.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French chess grandmaster who is a former World Blitz Champion. With a peak rating of 2819, he is the seventh-highest rated player in history.
Fabiano Luigi Caruana is an Italian and American chess grandmaster who is the reigning three-time United States Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2844, Caruana is the third-highest-rated player in history.
Ding Liren is a Chinese chess grandmaster and the reigning World Chess Champion. He is the highest-rated Chinese chess player in history and also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion. He was the winner of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the finals and winning the 2019 Sinquefield Cup. Ding is the first Chinese player ever to play in a Candidates Tournament and pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE world rankings. In July 2016, with a Blitz rating of 2875, he was the highest-rated Blitz player in the world. In July 2023, Ding became the No. 1 ranked Rapid player, with a rating of 2830.
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 cover a wide range of chess activities, including tournaments suitable for norm and title seekers, junior events, amateur competitions, simultaneous exhibitions, coaching, and lectures.
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, including seven of the ten highest rated players in the world per the May 2013 FIDE World Rankings. It was won by Sergey Karjakin, with Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura tied for second place. Norway Chess 2014 took place in mid-June 2015 and was a part of the inaugural Grand Chess Tour. The tournament has since decided to withdraw from the Grand Chess Tour.
The Sinquefield Cup is an annual, closed 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 of the Grand Chess Tour.
Alireza Firouzja is an Iranian and French chess grandmaster. Firouzja is the youngest player to have surpassed a FIDE rating of 2800, beating the previous record set by Magnus Carlsen by more than five months.
The Grand Chess Tour 2021 was a series of chess tournaments, which was sixth edition of Grand Chess Tour. It consisted five tournaments, including two tournaments with classical time control and three tournaments with faster time controls. It was won by American grandmaster Wesley So.
The Grand Chess Tour 2019 was a series of chess tournaments, held in from 6 May to 10 December 2019. It was the fifth edition of Grand Chess Tour. The tour consisted of 8 tournaments, including 2 classical, 5 fast tournaments and tour final in London, the United Kingdom. It was won by Ding Liren from China.
The Grand Chess Tour 2023 was a series of chess tournaments, which was the eighth edition of the Grand Chess Tour. It consisted of five tournaments with a total prize pool of US$1.4 million, including two tournaments with classical time control and three tournaments with faster time controls.
The Grand Chess Tour 2024 was a series of chess tournaments, which was the ninth edition of the Grand Chess Tour. It consisted of five tournaments with a total prize pool of US$1.4 million, including two tournaments with classical time control and three tournaments with faster time controls.
The Grand Chess Tour 2018 was a circuit of chess tournaments, held from June to December 2018. It was the fourth edition of Grand Chess Tour. The series consisted of four events, including 1 classical and 3 fast chess tournaments, as well as Tour Final in London. It was won by Hikaru Nakamura.
Grand Chess Tour 2017 was a circuit of chess tournaments, which was the third edition of Grand Chess Tour. It took place from June 21 to December 12, 2017, and was won by reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen.
Grand Chess Tour 2015 was an inaugural edition of Grand Chess Tour, an annual circuit of chess tournaments. It was won by incumbent World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen.
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.
