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.[1][2]
2023 | |
![]() 2023 Grand Chess Tour winner Fabiano Caruana | |
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | May 4–December 3, 2023 |
Host(s) | Bucharest Warsaw Zagreb St. Louis |
Final positions | |
Champion | ![]() |
Runner-up | ![]() |
3rd place | ![]() |
Tournament statistics | |
Most tournament titles | ![]() |
Prize money leader | ![]() |
Points leader | ![]() |
Format
editThe tour consisted of five tournaments, two classicals and three rapid & blitz, respectively. Rapid & Blitz tournaments consisted of two parts – rapid (2 points for win, 1 for draw) and blitz (1 point for win, 0.5 for draw). Combined result for both portions was counted in overall standings.[3]
The tour points were awarded as follows:
Place Tour Points Classical
prize moneyRapid & Blitz
prize moneyGCT Tour
bonuses1st 12/13* $100,000 $40,000 $100,000 2nd 10 $65,000 $30,000 $50,000 3rd 8 $48,000 $25,000 $25,000 4th 7 $32,000 $20,000 5th 6 $26,000 $15,000 6th 5 $21,000 $11,000 7th 4 $18,500 $10,000 8th 3 $16,000 $9,000 9th 2 $13,000 $8,000 10th 1 $10,500 $7,000
- If a player wins 1st place outright (without the need for a playoff), they are awarded 13 points instead of 12.
- Tour points and prize money are shared equally between tied players.
Lineup
editThe field was announced on February 22, 2023. It consisted of nine players, including both participants of World Chess Championship 2023, eventual winner Ding Liren and runner-up Ian Nepomniachtchi, as well as defending Grand Chess Tour champion Alireza Firouzja.[4][5][6]
Player | Country | FIDE rating (February 2023) | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Alireza Firouzja | France | 2785 |
2 | Wesley So | United States | 2766 |
3 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | France | 2737 |
4 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | FIDE[a] | 2793 |
5 | Ding Liren | China | 2788 |
6 | Anish Giri | Netherlands | 2780 |
7 | Fabiano Caruana | United States | 2766 |
8 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | Poland | 2729 |
9 | Richárd Rapport | Romania | 2740 |
Schedule
editThe events in St. Louis took place during the months of November and December, compared to the previous editions where they took place during the months of August and September. The change was implemented to avoid scheduling clashes with the 2023 Chess World Cup and the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament.[7]
Dates | Tournament Name | Format | Host city |
---|---|---|---|
May 4–16, 2023 | Superbet Chess Classic | Classical | Bucharest |
May 19–26, 2023 | Superbet Rapid & Blitz | Rapid & Blitz | Warsaw |
July 3–10, 2023 | SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz | Rapid & Blitz | Zagreb |
November 12–19, 2023 | Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz | Rapid & Blitz | St. Louis |
November 21–30, 2023 | Sinquefield Cup | Classical |
Results
editTournament results
editDates | Tournament Name | Winner | Runner-Up | Third place |
---|---|---|---|---|
May 4–16, 2023 | Superbet Chess Classic | Fabiano Caruana | Wesley So Richárd Rapport Anish Giri Alireza Firouzja |
– |
May 19–26, 2023 | Poland Rapid & Blitz | Magnus Carlsen (WC) | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Wesley So |
July 3–10, 2023 | Croatia Rapid & Blitz | Magnus Carlsen (WC) | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Alireza Firouzja |
November 12–19, 2023 | Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz | Fabiano Caruana | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Ian Nepomniachtchi Lê Quang Liêm (WC) |
November 21–30, 2023 | Sinquefield Cup | Fabiano Caruana | Leinier Domínguez (WC) | Wesley So |
Tour rankings
editThe wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.
Player | ROU | POL | CRO | STL | SIN | Total points |
Prize money[8] | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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)[a] | 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)[b] | 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 |
Tournaments
editSuperbet Chess Classic
editThe first leg of the Grand Chess Tour was held in Bucharest, Romania from May 4–16, 2023. The winner of the tournament was Fabiano Caruana.[11]
2023 GCT Superbet Chess Classic, May 4–16 Bucharest, Romania, Category XXI (2757.1) Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points TB Tour Points Prize money Circuit 1 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2764 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 5½ 13 $100,000 26.84 2 Wesley So (USA) 2760 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 5 7.75 $42,750 17.44 3 Richárd Rapport (ROU) 2745 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 5 7.75 $42,750 17.44 4 Anish Giri (NED) 2768 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 7.75 $42,750 17.44 5 Alireza Firouzja (FRA) 2785 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 5 7.75 $42,750 17.44 6 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 2724 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 4½ 4.5 $19,750 7 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2742 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 4½ 4.5 $19,750 8 Ding Liren (CHN) 2789 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 4 3 $16,000 9 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 2794 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 3½ 2 $13,000 10 Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU) 2700 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 3 WC (1) $10,500
Superbet Rapid and Blitz Poland
editThe second leg of the Grand Chess Tour was held in Warsaw, Poland from May 19 to 26, 2023. Jan-Krzysztof Duda was the winner of the rapid portion, while Magnus Carlsen won the blitz portion, and won the overall tournament.[12][13]
2023 GCT Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland, May 19–26 Warsaw, Poland Player Rapid Blitz Total TB Tour Points Prize money Circuit 1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 10 14 24 WC (13) $40,000 12.73 2 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 13 10 23 10 $30,000 10.19 T-3 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 11 10½ 21½ 7.5 $22,500 8.28 T-3 Wesley So (USA) 11 10½ 21½ 7.5 $22,500 8.28 5 Levon Aronian (USA) 12 8½ 20½ WC (6) $15,000 6.37 6 Richard Rapport (ROU) 9 9 18 5 $11,000 7 Anish Giri (NED) 7 8 15 4 $10,000 8 Kirill Shevchenko (ROU) 4 9 13 WC (3) $9,000 9 Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU) 6 6½ 12½ WC (2) $8,000 10 Radosław Wojtaszek (POL) 7 4 11 WC (1) $7,000
2023 GCT Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland – Rapid, May 21–23 Warsaw, Poland Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 2782 1 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 13 2 Levon Aronian (USA) 2729 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 12 3 Wesley So (USA) 2788 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 2 2 11 4 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2762 0 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 11 5 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2839 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 2 10 6 Richárd Rapport (ROU) 2767 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 9 7 Anish Giri (NED) 2714 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 1 7 8 Radosław Wojtaszek (POL) 2622 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 1 1 7 9 Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU) 2618 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 6 10 Kirill Shevchenko (ROU) 2602 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 4
2023 GCT Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland – Blitz, May 24–25 Warsaw, Poland Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2852 1 1 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 14 2 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2723 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 10½ 3 Wesley So (USA) 2749 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 10½ 4 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 2790 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 1 0 0 ½ 0 1 1 1 1 10 5 Kirill Shevchenko (ROU) 2562 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 1 9 6 Richard Rapport (ROU) 2701 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 1 9 7 Levon Aronian (USA) 2804 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 8½ 8 Anish Giri (NED) 2807 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 8 9 Bogdan-Daniel Deac (ROU) 2649 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 6½ 10 Radosław Wojtaszek (POL) 2605 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 4
SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz Croatia
editThe third leg of the Grand Chess Tour was held in Zagreb, Croatia from July 5 to 9, 2023. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana were the joint winners of the rapid portion, while Magnus Carlsen won the blitz portion, and won the overall tournament.
2023 GCT SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia, July 3–10 Zagreb, Croatia Player Rapid Blitz Total TB Tour Points Prize money Circuit 1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 11 15 26 WC (13) $40,000 13.47 2 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 12 10½ 22½ 10 $30,000 10.78 3 Alireza Firouzja (FRA) 9 13 22 8 $25,000 9.43 4 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 12 9½ 21½ 7 $20,000 8.08 5 Gukesh D (IND) 10 9½ 19½ WC (6) $15,000 6.73 6 Richárd Rapport (ROU) 9 10 19 5 $11,000 T-7 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 9 7½ 16½ 3.5 $9,500 T-7 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 10 6½ 16½ WC (3.5) $9,500 9 Ivan Šarić (CRO) 6 6 12 WC (2) $8,000 10 Constantin Lupulescu (ROU) 2 2½ 4½ WC (1) $7,000
2023 GCT SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia – Rapid, July 5–7 Zagreb, Croatia Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 2760 1 1 1 1 2 2 0 2 2 12 2 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2752 1 2 2 1 1 0 2 1 2 12 3 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2829 1 0 2 2 0 1 2 1 2 11 4 Gukesh D (IND) 2629 1 0 0 2 1 1 1 2 2 10 5 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2731 1 1 0 0 1 2 1 2 2 10 6 Alireza Firouzja (FRA) 2745 0 1 2 1 1 1 0 2 1 9 7 Richárd Rapport (ROU) 2761 0 2 1 1 0 1 2 0 2 9 8 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 2794 2 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 9 9 Ivan Saric (CRO) 2635 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 6 10 Constantin Lupulescu (ROU) 2572 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2
2023 GCT SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia – Blitz, July 8–9 Zagreb, Croatia Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2858 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 15 2 Alireza Firouzja (FRA) 2896 0 1 1 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13 3 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 2781 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 10½ 4 Richárd Rapport (ROU) 2707 0 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 ½ 0 1 1 1 10 5 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2832 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 9½ 6 Gukesh D (IND) 2626 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 9½ 7 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 2783 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 7½ 8 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2733 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 6½ 9 Ivan Saric (CRO) 2576 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 6 10 Constantin Lupulescu (ROU) 2576 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 2½
Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz
editThe fourth leg of the Grand Chess Tour was held in Saint Louis, Missouri, United States from November 12 to 19, 2023.
2023 GCT Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, November 12–19 Saint Louis, Missouri, United States Player Rapid Blitz Total TB Tour Points Prize money Circuit 1 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 10 11 21 13 $40,000 12.55 2 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 10 10½ 20½ 10 $30,000 10.04 T-3 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 9 11 20 7.5 $22,500 8.16 T-3 Lê Quang Liêm (VIE) 9 11 20 WC (7.5) $22,500 8.16 5 Alireza Firouzja (FRA) 9 9½ 18½ 6 $15,000 6.28 T-6 Wesley So (USA) 7 10 17 4.5 $10,500 T-6 Ray Robson (USA) 11 6 17 WC (4.5) $10,500 8 Samuel Sevian (USA) 9 7½ 16½ WC (3) $9,000 9 Anish Giri (NED) 9 7 16 2 $8,000 10 Jeffery Xiong (USA) 7 6½ 13½ WC (1) $7,000
2023 GCT Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz – Rapid, November 14–16 Saint Louis, Missouri, United States Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Ray Robson (USA) 2596 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 0 1 11 2 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2771 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 10 3 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2765 1 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 2 10 4 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 2789 0 1 1 1 1 2 0 2 1 9 5 Alireza Firouzja (FRA) 2742 0 1 2 1 2 1 0 1 1 9 6 Anish Giri (NED) 2697 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 9 7 Lê Quang Liêm (VIE) 2652 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 9 8 Samuel Sevian (USA) 2581 0 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 1 9 9 Wesley So (USA) 2753 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 7 10 Jeffery Xiong (USA) 2727 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 7
2023 GCT Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz – Blitz, November 17–18 Saint Louis, Missouri, United States Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points T-1 Lê Quang Liêm (VIE) 2665 1 1 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 0 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 11 T-1 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2813 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 0 11 T-1 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 2785 1 ½ 1 0 1 1 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 11 4 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2728 1 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 10½ 5 Wesley So (USA) 2760 1 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 10 6 Alireza Firouzja (FRA) 2896 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 0 1 1 9½ 7 Samuel Sevian (USA) 2695 0 1 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 7½ 8 Anish Giri (NED) 2752 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 7 9 Jeffery Xiong (USA) 2726 1 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 6½ 10 Ray Robson (USA) 2665 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 0 ½ ½ 0 6
Sinquefield Cup
edit2023 GCT Sinquefield Cup, November 21–30, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXI (2753.2) Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points TB Tour Points Prize money Circuit 1 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2795 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 – 5½ 13 $100,000 25.93 2 Leinier Domínguez (USA) 2745 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 – 5 WC (10) $65,000 20.74 3 Wesley So (USA) 2752 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 – 4½ 8 $48,000 18.15 4 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2734 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ – 4 6 $26,333 5.19 5 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 2771 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ – 4 6 $26,333 5.19 6 Levon Aronian (USA) 2727 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ – 4 WC (6) $26,333 5.19 7 Anish Giri (NED) 2752 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½3½ 4 $18,500 8 Alireza Firouzja (FRA) 2777 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ – 3 3 $13,000 9 Richárd Rapport (ROU) 2748 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ – 2½ 2 $13,000 10 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL)[c] 2731 – – – – – – ½– – – – –
References
edit- ^ "2023 Grand Chess Tour Overview".
- ^ "The Grand Chess Tour Returns In 2023". Chess News. January 10, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- ^ "2023 GCT Tour Regulations" (PDF).
- ^ "Firouzja returns as 2023 Grand Chess Tour field announced".
- ^ Sergio (March 29, 2023). "Grand Chess Tour 2023 with a dream lineup – Chessdom". www.chessdom.com. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- ^ "Grand Chess Tour Names Field Of Elite Players To Compete For $1.4M Purse". March 9, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Grand Chess Tour: St. Louis Events Moved To November–December".
- ^ https://grandchesstour.org/blog/2023-sinquefield-cup-day-9-recap
- ^ 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
- ^ "Caruana Wins Superbet Classic, Takes Grand Chess Tour Lead".
- ^ "2023 GCT Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland: Day 3 Recap". May 24, 2023.
- ^ McGourty, Colin. "Duda wins Superbet Rapid, Magnus back in business".
Notes
edit- ^ a b 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.[9]
- ^ 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.[10]
- ^ Jan-Krzysztof Duda withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup after round 1 due to illness; his round 1 result was not counted towards the standings.