Grand Chess Tour 2021 Explained

Grand Chess Tour
Year:2021
Start Date:3 June
End Date:27 August 2021
Host:Bucharest
Paris
Zagreb
St. Louis
Champion: Wesley So
Runner-Up1: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
3Rd Place: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Stat1 Label:Most tournament titles
Stat1: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2)
Stat2 Label:Prize money leader
Stat2: Wesley So ($242,500)
Stat3 Label:Points leader
Stat3: Wesley So (36.6)
Previous:GCT 2019 GCT 2020
Next:GCT 2022

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.[1] It was won by American grandmaster Wesley So.[2]

Format

Tour consists five tournaments, two classicals and three rapid & blitz, respectively. Rapid & Blitz tournaments consisted 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.The tour points are awarded as follows:

Place Points
1st 12/13*
2nd 10
3rd 8
4th 7
5th 6
6th 5
7th 4
8th 3
9th 2
10th 1

Lineup

The lineup was announced on January 13, 2021.[3] Initially, ten players were invited as regular participants, with only difference from cancelled 2020 edition being the absence of Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura and participation of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Teimour Radjabov.[4] [5] Later, Ding Liren has withdrawn from the Tour due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in China, being replaced by Richárd Rapport. After winning the Candidates Tournament 2020–2021 and qualifying for the World Chess Championship 2021, Ian Nepomniachtchi also withdrew from the Tour, reducing number of regular participants to nine.[6]

PlayerCountryFIDE Rating (January 2021)
1Fabiano Caruana2823
2Maxime Vachier-Lagrave2784
3Wesley So2770
4Alexander Grischuk2777
5Levon Aronian2781
6Shakhriyar Mamedyarov2770
7Teimour Radjabov2765
8Anish Giri2764
9Richárd Rapport2759

Schedule

DatesTournament NameHost city
3 June – 15 June 2021Superbet Chess Classic Bucharest
20 June – 24 June 2021Paris Rapid & Blitz Paris
7 July – 11 July 2021Croatia Rapid & Blitz Zagreb
11 August – 16 August 2021Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz St. Louis
17 August – 27 August 2021Sinquefield Cup St. Louis

Results

DatesTournament NameWinnerRunner-UpThird place
3 June – 15 June 2021Superbet Chess Classic Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Levon Aronian
Wesley So
Alexander Grischuk		–
20 June – 24 June 2021Paris Rapid & Blitz Wesley So Ian Nepomniachtchi (WC) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Alireza Firouzja (WC)
7 July – 11 July 2021Croatia Rapid & Blitz Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Viswanathan Anand (WC) Anish Giri
11 August – 16 August 2021Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Hikaru Nakamura (WC) Fabiano Caruana Richard Rapport
17 August – 27 August 2021Sinquefield Cup Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Fabiano Caruana
Leinier Domínguez (WC)
Wesley So		–

Tournaments

Superbet Chess Classic

The first leg of the 2021 Grand Chess Tour was held in Bucharest, Romania in 3–15 June. It was won by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov from Azerbaijan.[7]

2021 Superbet Chess Classic, 3–15 June Bucharest, Romania, Category XXI (2750.5)! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points !! TPR !! Tour Points !! Prize money
1 2770 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 6 2882 13 $90,000
2 2781 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 5 2791 8.3 $45,000
3 2770 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 2793 8.3 $45,000
4 2776 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 5 2792 8.3 $45,000
5 2780 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 4½ 2747 5.5 $22,500
6 2765 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 4½ 2749 5.5 $22,500
7 2627 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 4 2720 WC (3.5) $16,250
8 2820 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 4 2698 3.5 $16,250
9 2656 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 3½ 2672 WC (1.5) $11,250
10 2760 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 3½ 2660 1.5 $11,250

Paris Rapid & Blitz

The second leg of the 2021 Grand Chess Tour was won by Wesley So.

2021 GCT Paris Rapid & Blitz, 20–24 June 2021, Paris, France! !! Player !! Rapid !! Blitz !! Total !! Tour Points !! Prize money
1 12 12½ 24½ 13 $37,500
2 11 10½ 21½ WC (10) $25,000
T-3 9 9 18 7.5 $17,500
T-3 7 11 18 WC (7.5) $17,500
T-5 8 9½ 17½ 5.5 $11,250
T-5 8 9½ 17½ 5.5 $11,250
7 9 8 17 WC (4) $9,000
8 8 8½ 16½ 3 $8,000
9
10 5½ 15½ WC (2) $7,000
10 8 6 14 1 $6,000
2021 GCT Paris Rapid & Blitz – Rapid, 20–22 June 2021, Paris, France! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points
1 2741 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 12
2 2778 1 2 1 0 2 1 2 1 1 11
3 2667 1 0 1 2 0 2 1 2 1 10
4 2742 1 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 1 9
5 2860 0 2 0 0 1 1 2 1 2 9
6 2778 1 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 1 8
7 2773 0 1 0 2 1 1 1 1 1 8
8 2758 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 2 8
9 2727 0 1 0 2 1 1 1 1 1 8
10 2703 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 7
2021 GCT Paris Rapid & Blitz – Blitz, 23–24 June 2021, Paris, France! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points
1 2816 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 12½
2 2770 0 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 0 1 0 0 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 11
3 2785 ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 10½
4 2739 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 9½
5 2759 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 9½
6 2822 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 9
7 2711 ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 0 8½
8 2754 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 1 8
9 2757 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 6
10 2797 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 0 0 1 5½

Croatia Rapid & Blitz

The third leg of the Grand Chess Tour was held in Zagreb, Croatia in 7-11 July, 2021. It had a lot of attention from media because of participation of former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. The event was won by French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

2021 Croatia GCT Rapid & Blitz, 7–11 July 2021, Zagreb, Croatia! !! Player !! Rapid !! Blitz !! Total !! Tour Points !! Prize money
1 10 13 23 13 $37,500
2 9 12 21 WC (10) $25,000
3 10 10½ 20½ 8 $20,000
T-4 11 9 20 WC (6.5) $13,750
T-4 10 10 20 WC (6.5) $13,750
6 9 10 19 10 $10,000
7 8 10 18 4 $9,000
8 7 8½ 15½ WC (3) $8,000
9
10 2½ 12½ WC (2) $7,000
10 6 4½ 10½ WC (1) $6,000
2021 Croatia GCT Rapid & Blitz – Rapid, 7–9 July 2021, Zagreb, Croatia! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points
1 2791 0 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 11
2 2650 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 10
3 2831 1 1 2 1 0 2 1 1 1 10
4 2774 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 2 1 10
5 2731 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 10
6 2761 0 1 2 0 1 1 1 1 2 9
7 2753 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 2 2 9
8 2784 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8
9 2781 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 7
10 2543 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 6
2021 Croatia GCT Rapid & Blitz – Blitz, 10–11 July 2021, Zagreb, Croatia! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points
1 2794 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 13
2 2785 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12
3 2744 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 10½
4 2765 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 10
5 2716 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 10
6 2799 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 10
7 2807 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 9
8 2668 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 8½
9 2622 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 4½
10 2801 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 2½

Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz

2021 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, 12–16 August 2021, St. Louis, Missouri, United States! !! Player !! Rapid !! Blitz !! Total !! Tour Points !! Prize money
1 12 12 24 WC (13) $37,500
2 11 10 21 10 $25,000
3 11 8½ 19½ 8 $20,000
4 9 9½ 18½ 7 $15,000
5 6 11½ 17½ WC (6) $12,500
T-6 8 9 17 4.5 $9,500
T-6 7 10 17 WC (4.5) $9,500
8 9 7 16 WC (3) $8,000
9 8 7 15 WC (2) $7,000
10 9 5½ 14½ WC (1) $6,000
2021 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz – Rapid, 12–14 August 2021, St. Louis, Missouri, United States! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points
1 2829 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 12
2 2724 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 0 1 11
3 2758 0 0 2 1 0 2 2 2 2 11
4 2774 1 1 0 1 2 1 1 1 1 9
5 2745 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 2 2 9
6 2609 1 0 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 9
7 2756 1 1 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 8
8 2730 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 2 8
9 2786 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 7
10 2744 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 6
2021 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz – Blitz, 15–16 August 2021, St. Louis, Missouri, United States! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points
1 2900 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 12
2 2690 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11½
3 2654 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 0 0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 10
4 2734 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 0 1 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 1 1 10
5 2861 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 9½
6 2755 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 0 1 0 9
7 2776 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 8½
8 2724 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 7
9 2743 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ 0 1 1 0 0 ½ ½ 1 7
10 2704 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 0 5½

Sinquefield Cup

2021 Sinquefield Cup, 16–28 August St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XX (2742.0)! !! Player !! Rating !! 1 !! 2 !! 3 !! 4 !! 5 !! 6 !! 7 !! 8 !! 9 !! 10 !! Points !! TPR !! Tour Points !! Prize money
1 2751 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 6 2919 13 $90,000
2 2806 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 5½ 2824 8.3 $45,000
3 2758 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 5½ 2829 WC (8.3) $45,000
4 2772 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 5½ 2828 8.3 $45,000
5 2763 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 4½ 2740 6 $25,000
6 2709 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 4 2701 WC (4) $17,500
7 2710 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 4 2701 WC (4) $17,500
8 2782 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 4 2693 4 $17,500
9 2714 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½1 3½ 2656 WC (2) $12,500
10 2655 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 2½ 2574 WC (1) $10,000

Tour Standings

The wildcards (in italics) are not counted in overall standings.

PlayerROUPARCROSTLSINTotal
points 		Prize
money
1 8.3 13 7 8.3 36.6 $242,500
2 1.5 7.5 13 13 35 $206,250
3 13 5 4.5 4 26.5 $152,000
4 3.5 3 10 8.3 24.8 $94,250
5 5.5 8 6 19.5 $42,500
6 8.3 5.5 13.8 $56,250
7 5.5 8 13.5 $42,500
8 8.3 4 12.3 $54,000
9 5.5 1 6.5 $28,500
10 6.5 16.5 $36,750
13 13 $37,500
4.5 8.3 12.8 $54,500
10 10 $25,000
4 3 2 9 $29,000
7.5 7.5 $17,500
6.5 6.5 $11,250
6 6 $12,500
2 4 6 $24,500
1 4 5 $23,500
3.5 3.5 $16,250
3 3 $8,000

2 2 $7,000

2 2 $7,000
1.5 1.5 $11,250
1 1 $6,000
1 1 $10,000

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2021 Grand Chess Tour.
  2. Web site: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Wins 2021 Sinquefield Cup; So Bags Tour. 30 August 2021 .
  3. Web site: Full Tour Participants confirmed for the 2021 Grand Chess Tour. January 13, 2021.
  4. Web site: Grand Chess Tour: Carlsen, Nakamura Only As Wildcards. January 14, 2021.
  5. Web site: Grand Chess Tour 2021. January 14, 2021.
  6. Web site: 2021 Grand Chess Tour Is Ready To Kick Off With The First Two Legs In Bucharest And Paris. June 11, 2021.
  7. Web site: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov wins Superbet Classic.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Grand Chess Tour 2021".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.