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.[1]
2018 | |
![]() 2018 Grand Chess Tour winner Hikaru Nakamura. | |
Tournament information | |
---|---|
Dates | 10 June–21 December 2019 |
Host(s) | Leuven Paris St. Louis London |
Final positions | |
Champion | ![]() |
Runner-up | ![]() |
3rd place | ![]() |
Tournament statistics | |
Most tournament titles | ![]() |
Prize money leader | ![]() |
Points leader | ![]() |
Format
editThe tour consisted of four events, including three rapid and blitz and one classical event, and concluded in Tour Finals in London, where four top scorers qualified.[2] Each event consisted of 9 regular tour participants and 1 wildcard. Scoring system looked as follows:
Place Points (classical) Points (rapid/blitz) 1st 18/20* 12/13* 2nd 15 10 3rd 12 8 4th 10 7 5th 8 6 6th 6 5 7th 4 4 8th 3 3 9th 2 2 10th 1 1
Lineup
editThe field was announced on January 29, 2018.[3] The lineup was selected based on several criteria, including top three finish in previous edition, URS, average FIDE rating from February 1, 2017, to January 1, 2018, and personal invitation by GCT Advisory Board. Initially, it consisted of ten players, including reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and his predecessors – Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. However, Carlsen and Kramnik declined the invitations, with number of players reducing to nine and last sport being given to Sergey Karjakin. Both Carlsen and Kramnik later played as wildcards.
Player | Country | Rating (January 2018) | Eligility criteria | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | France | 2793 | 2017 Grand Chess Tour runner-up |
2 | Levon Aronian | Armenia | 2797 | Third place in 2017 Grand Chess Tour |
3 | Fabiano Caruana | United States | 2811 | Average rating |
4 | Wesley So | United States | 2792 | Average rating |
5 | Hikaru Nakamura | United States | 2781 | URS |
6 | Alexander Grischuk | Russia | 2767 | URS |
7 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | Azerbaijan | 2804 | URS |
8 | Viswanathan Anand | India | 2767 | Wildcard |
9 | Sergey Karjakin | Russia | 2753 | Replacement |
Schedule and results
editDates | Tournament | Host city | Winner |
---|---|---|---|
10–17 June | Your Next Move Rapid and Blitz | Leuven | Wesley So |
17–26 June | Paris Rapid and Blitz | Paris | Hikaru Nakamura |
9–16 August | Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz | St. Louis | Hikaru Nakamura |
16–29 August | Sinquefield Cup | St. Louis | Magnus Carlsen (WC) Levon Aronian Fabiano Caruana |
11–17 December | London Chess Classic | London | Hikaru Nakamura |
Tournaments
editYour Next Move Rapid and Blitz
editFirst leg of 2018 Grand Chess Tour took place on June 12–16 in Leuven City Hall, Leuven, Belgium. The wildcard for the event was Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri, who ultimately finished on last place. The tournament was won by Wesley So.[4][5][6]
2018 Your Next Move, June 12–16 Leuven, Belgium Player Rapid Blitz Total TB Tour Points Prize money 1 Wesley So (USA) 14 8 22 13 $37,000 2 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 10 11½ 21½ 9 $22,500 3 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 11 10½ 21½ 9 $22,500 4 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 10 11 21 7 $15,000 5 Levon Aronian (ARM) 11 9½ 20½ 6 $12,500 6 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 8 9½ 17½ 5 $10,000 7 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 9 8 17 4 $7,500 8 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 5 9½ 14½ 3 $7,500 9 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 7 6½ 13½ 2 $7,500 10 Anish Giri (NED) 5 6 11 WC (1) $7,500
Your Next Move Rapid, June 12–14 Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Wesley So (USA) 2763 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 14 2 Levon Aronian (ARM) 2795 1 1 2 0 1 1 2 1 2 11 3 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2777 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 11 4 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2813 0 0 1 1 2 2 0 2 2 10 5 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2743 1 2 1 1 1 2 0 1 1 10 6 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2766 0 1 1 0 1 1 2 2 1 9 7 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2783 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 2 1 8 8 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2753 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 2 7 9 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2822 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 5 10 Anish Giri (NED) 2779 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 5
Your Next Move Blitz, June 15–16 Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2816 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 11½ 2 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2878 ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 0 0 1 11 3 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2837 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 10½ 4 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2831 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 9½ 5 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2817 0 0 1 0 1 1 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 9½ 6 Levon Aronian (ARM) 2809 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 9½ 7 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2757 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 8 8 Wesley So (USA) 2856 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 1 8 9 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2818 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 6½ 10 Anish Giri (NED) 2799 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 6
Paris Rapid and Blitz
editParis Grand Chess Tour took place on June 20–24 in Paris, France and was second event of 2018 Grand Chess Tour. Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik played as wildcard. The event was won by Hikaru Nakamura.[7][8]
2018 Paris GCT, June 20–24 Paris, France Player Rapid Blitz Total TB Tour Points Prize money 1 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 11 12 23 13 $37,500 2 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 11 10½ 21½ 10 $25,000 3 Wesley So (USA) 12 9 21 8 $20,000 4 Levon Aronian (ARM) 9 11 20 7 $15,000 5 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 9 10½ 19½ 6 $12,500 6 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 9 8 17 5 $10,000 7 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 7 9 16 4 $7,500 8 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 7 8½ 15½ 3 $7,500 9 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 8 5½ 13½ 2 $7,500 10 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 7 6 13 WC (1) $7,500
Paris GCT Rapid, June 20–22 Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Wesley So (USA) 2763 1 1 2 1 1 2 0 2 2 12 2 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2743 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 11 3 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2813 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 11 4 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2777 0 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 0 9 5 Levon Aronian (ARM) 2795 1 1 1 0 1 0 2 1 2 9 6 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2822 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 2 1 9 7 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2753 0 1 0 1 2 1 1 2 0 8 8 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2766 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 7 9 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 2775 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 2 7 10 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2783 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 7
Paris GCT Blitz, June 23–24 Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2878 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 12 2 Levon Aronian (ARM) 2809 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 11 3 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2837 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ 10½ 4 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2816 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 ½ 10½ 5 Wesley So (USA) 2856 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 9 6 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2831 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 9 7 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2757 1 0 ½ 0 1 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0 1 8½ 8 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2817 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 8 9 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 2793 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 0 6 10 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2799 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 0 1 5½
Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz
edit2018 Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz, August 10–16 St. Louis, Missouri, United States Player Rapid Blitz Total TB Tour Points Prize money 1 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 12 10½ 22½ 13 $37,000 2 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 8 13½ 21½ 10 $25,000 3 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 12 9 21 8 $20,000 4 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 11 9 20 7 $15,000 5 Levon Aronian (ARM) 9 9 18 6 $12,000 6 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 9 8 17 5 $10,000 7 Leinier Domínguez (CUB) 9 7 16 WC (4) $7,500 8 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 6 9½ 15½ 3 $7,500 9 Wesley So (USA) 8 7 15 2 $7,500 10 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 6 7½ 13½ 1 $7,500
Saint Louis Rapid, August 11-13 Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2812 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 12 2 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2782 1 1 2 0 1 2 2 1 2 12 3 Levon Aronian (ARM) 2794 0 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 11 4 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2791 1 0 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 9 5 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2785 1 2 0 1 0 1 1 2 1 9 6 Leinier Domínguez (CUB) 2754 0 1 1 0 2 1 2 1 1 9 7 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2796 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 2 8 8 Wesley So (USA) 2794 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 2 8 9 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2782 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 6 10 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2771 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 6
Saint Louis Blitz, August 15–16 Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2878 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 13½ 2 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2913 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 10½ 3 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2831 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 9½ 4 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2795 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 0 1 0 9 5 Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2709 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 9 6 Levon Aronian (ARM) 2871 ½ 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 9 7 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2898 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 8 8 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2812 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 7½ 9 Leinier Domínguez (CUB) 2687 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 7 10 Wesley So (USA) 2800 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 7
Sinquefield Cup
editThe Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri, United States was the last leg of 2018 Grand Chess Tour before the tour finals. Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana all shared first place by scoring 5½ out of 9.[9]
6th Sinquefield Cup, 18–28 August 2018, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXII (2787.5) Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points H2H Wins Black TPR Tour Points 1–3 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2842 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 5½ 1 2 0 2861 WC (15) Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2822 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 5½ 1 2 0 2864 15 Levon Aronian (ARM) 2767 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 5½ 1 2 0 2870 15 4 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2801 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 1 0 2829 10 5 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2766 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 4½ 1 1 1 2790 6 6–7 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2779 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 4½ 1 0 0 2788 6 6–7 Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2768 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 4½ 1 0 0 2790 6 8 Wesley So (USA) 2780 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 4 0 0 2745 3 9–10 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2777 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 3 ½ 0 0 2664 1.5 9–10 Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2773 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 3 ½ 0 0 2664 1.5
Tour finals
editSemifinals | 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 |
Standings
editPlayer | 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 |
References
edit- ^ "Nakamura Wins 2018 Grand Chess Tour". December 18, 2018.
- ^ "New format for Grand Chess Tour 2018". December 10, 2017.
- ^ "2018 Grand Chess Tour Participants, Event Dates, and Tour Point Regulations". January 29, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Your Next Move".
- ^ "Wesley So Wins Your Next Move Grand Chess Tour". June 18, 2018.
- ^ "Leuven Grand Chess Tour: Viswanathan Anand's improved show helps him finish fifth; Wesley So wins tournament". Firstpost. June 15, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Paris Grand Chess Tour".
- ^ "Paris GCT Rapid and Blitz 2018". The Week in Chess. June 19, 2018.
- ^ Saravanan, Venkatachalam (28 August 2018). "Sinquefield Cup: Three winners (one playoff)!". ChessBase.