2021 GCT Field

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Tɪᴛʟᴇ: GM
Rᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 2799
Aɢᴇ: 30
Cᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ: France

2017 Sinquefield Cup winner

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

2017 Sinquefield Cup winner

Often referred to as MVL, he came to prominence in 2009 after winning the title of World Junior Chess Champion. He is currently the No. 1 ranked player in France as well as a three-time French champion (2007, 2011, shared in 2012). He is also a four-time winner of the Biel Grandmaster Tournament (2009, 2013, 2014, 2015) and a former World Junior Champion (2009). His biggest tournament victory to date has been the 2017 Sinquefield Cup, where he finished first ahead of Magnus Carlsen. He won Sharjah Grand Prix in the same year and the 2018 Shenzhen Masters. MVL has been part of the Grand Chess Tour since 2015 and finished second in the 2018 edition after losing in the finals to Hikaru Nakamura. 


Wesley So

Tɪᴛʟᴇ: GM
Rᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 2793
Aɢᴇ: 27
Cᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ: USA

2016 Grand Chess Tour Winner

Wesley So

2016 Grand Chess Tour Winner

So is a former chess prodigy who became the youngest player to pass the 2600 threshold in October 2008, breaking the record previously held by Magnus Carlsen. In February 2015 he entered the world top-10 after tying for second place at the 2015 Tata Steel Chess Tournament. The following year he returned and tied for second place, just a half-point behind Magnus. 2016 saw the American GM earn first place in the Grand Chess Tour by winning the Sinquefield Cup and the London Chess Classic. He represented the US in the 2016 Olympiad, winning team gold and individual gold on board three. In 2017, Wesley won the Tata Steel Masters tournament and became the eleventh player in history to surpass 2800 FIDE. He was crowned the 2017 US Champion after defeating Alexander Onischuk in the playoffs.


Alexander Grischuk

Tɪᴛʟᴇ: GM
Rᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 2785
Aɢᴇ: 31
Cᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ: Russia

Three Time World Blitz Chess Champion

Alexander Grischuk

Three Time World Blitz Chess Champion

2009 Russian Chess Champion

Grischuk is a Russian chess player, he was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2000. Grischuk was the Russian champion in 2009. He is also a three-time world blitz chess champion (2006, 2012, 2015). He has competed in four Candidates' Tournaments: in 2007, 2011, 2013, and 2018. He has also qualified to play in the 2020 Candidates Tournament. Grischuk has won two team gold-medals, three team silvers, one team bronze, and one individual bronze medal at Chess Olympiads. He also holds three team gold medals, one team silver and individual gold, two silver and one bronze from the World Team Chess Championship.


Levon Aronian

Tɪᴛʟᴇ: GM
Rᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 2784
Aɢᴇ: 38
Cᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ: Armenia

2017 World Cup Winner

Levon Aronian

2017 World Cup Winner

Aronian has been the leading Armenian chess player since the early 2000’s. He has also led the Armenian national team to three gold medals in Chess Olympiads (Turin 2006, Dresden 2008, Istanbul 2012) as well as to gold at the World Team Chess Championship in 2011. His peak rating of 2830 is the fourth highest in history and put him in the number two spot in the world behind Magnus Carlsen. He won the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010. He was also World Rapid Chess Champion in 2009 and World Blitz Chess Champion in 2010. Aronian was the winner of the Chess World Cup in 2005 and then again in 2017, the only player to have won it twice. He is the 2015 Sinquefield Cup winner and tied for first with Carlsen and Caruana in 2018. He is also the winner of the inaugural Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz. Aronian is one of the most well liked chess players in the world and is considered a hero and a celebrity in his home country. A 2006 CNN article referred to him as the David Beckham of chess.


Fabiano Caruana

Tɪᴛʟᴇ: GM
Rᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 2784
Aɢᴇ: 28
Cᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ: USA

2018 World Championship Challenger

Fabiano Caruana

2018 World Championship Challenger

The No. 2 ranked player in the world, Caruana became a grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 20 days. He was the youngest grandmaster in the history of the United States until his record was beaten in 2009 by Ray Robson. After winning the 2014 Sinquefield Cup with a score of 8.5/10 and a performance of over 3000, he achieved a FIDE rating of 2844, becoming the third highest-rated player in history. Caruana has represented the United States in two Olympiads, winning team gold in 2016 and team bronze as well as individual bronze in 2018. He had a phenomenal showing in 2018 winning the Grenke Chess Classic, Norway Chess, and tying for first in the Sinquefield Cup with Carlsen and Aronian. Caruana won the 2018 Candidates tournament thus becoming the first American to challenge the World Champion in a unified match in 46 years. After drawing all classical games, Caruana lost the match in rapid tiebreaks.


Teimour Radjabov

Tɪᴛʟᴇ: GM
Rᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 2770
Aɢᴇ: 33
Cᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ: Azerbaijan

2019 FIDE World Cup Winner

Teimour Radjabov

2019 FIDE World Cup Winner

2021 Airthings Masters Winner

Radjabov is a former child chess prodigy. He earned the title of Grandmaster in March, 2001 at the age of 14. In 2003, Radjabov gained international attention after beating the then world No. 1 Garry Kasparov in the Linares tournament, followed by victories over former world champions Viswanathan Anand and Ruslan Ponomariov all in the same year. He has twice competed at the Candidates Tournament, in 2011 and 2013, and qualified for the 2020 edition. He won the European Team Chess Championship with Azerbaijan in 2009, 2013 and 2017. His major individual achievements include joint first place in the 2007 Corus tournament, winning the 2008 Elista Grand Prix, 2017 Geneva Grand Prix, 2019 FIDE World Cup and 2021 Airthings Masters.


Anish Giri

Tɪᴛʟᴇ: GM
Rᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 2769
Aɢᴇ: 26
Cᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ: Netherlands

4 Time Dutch Chess Champion

Anish Giri

4 Time Dutch Chess Champion

2017 Reykjavik Open Winner

The Russian-born Dutch Grandmaster achieved the grandmaster title at the age of 14 years and 7 months, which made him the youngest grandmaster in the world at the time. Giri is a four-time Dutch Chess Champion (2009, 2011, 2012, and 2015). He won the Corus Chess B Group in 2010, thus qualifying to Tata Steel in 2011, where he defeated Magnus Carlsen in 22 moves. Giri has also represented the Netherlands at five Chess Olympiads, winning three individual bronze medals (2010, 2014, 2018). He was one of the members of Anand’s team during the World Championship Match against Topalov, which Anand won. In 2018 he tied for first with Magnus Carlsen in Tata Steel and finished second behind the World Champion in 2019 in the same tournament.


Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

Tɪᴛʟᴇ: GM
Rᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 2767
Aɢᴇ: 35
Cᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ: Azerbaijan

2013 World Rapid Chess Champion

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

2013 World Rapid Chess Champion

Mamedyarov is the No.1 player in Azerbaijan and was the third highest rated player in the world in September 2018. He is a two-time World Junior Champion (2003 and 2005) and a three-time European Team Champion (2009, 2013, 2017) with Azerbaijan. Mamedyarov was World Rapid Chess Champion in 2013, scoring 11.5/15. He represented his country at the 2012 Chess Olympiad and received a gold medal on the third board. GM Mamedyarov is also a two-time winner of the Tal Memorial (2010 and 2014) and Shamkir Chess (2016 and 2017) tournaments. In 2018, he won the Biel Chess Festival after defeating Magnus Carlsen and tied for second place in the Candidates Tournament. His peak rating of 2820 is the sixth highest in chess history.


Richard Rapport

Tɪᴛʟᴇ: GM
Rᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 2742
Aɢᴇ: 25
Cᴏᴜɴᴛʀʏ: Hungary

Former world #1 ranked junior

Richard Rapport

Former world #1 ranked junior

2019 Saint Louis Rapid...

Richard Rapport is a Hungarian chess grandmaster who earned his title at the tender age of 13 years, 11 months and 6 days. He is currently the top rated player in Hungary and was rated as the number 1 junior in the world before he graduated to the senior ranks in December 2016. He is widely recognised as one of the most original and creative players in the world and often surprises with unusual opening ideas and experiments. He will be returning to Saint Louis for the second time this year after an impressive performance against GM Sam Shankland in their match as part of the 2019 Saint Louis Champions Showdown.