Tour Regulations
- Invitations: The organizers of the Grand Chess Tour started with the January 2015 FIDE Rating List and sought players that demonstrate the highest levels of sportsmanship and professionalism. We invited the top-10 players in the world, eight of whom have confirmed their participation.
- Player Event Commitment: The nine players have agreed to participate in all three 2015 Grand Chess Tour Events. A tenth player will be selected as a wildcard to each individual event by the organizing committee.
- Tour Points: Players will earn Tour Points based on their final standing in each event. Players with the most Tour Points at the end of the Grand Chess Tour earn extra prize money for their overall performance across all three events.
| Place | Points | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 13/12* | 6th | 5 |
| 2nd | 10 | 7th | 4 |
| 3rd | 8 | 8th | 3 |
| 4th | 7 | 9th | 2 |
| 5th | 6 | 10th | 1 |
* Any player who wins an event outright shall be awarded 13 Tour Points. If 1st place is determined by playoff, they earn 12 points.
- Prize Fund: At the conclusion of the Grand Chess Tour, the top-three players (by Tour Points) will take home an additional $150, 000, as follows:
- Drawing of Lots: Drawing of lots will be determined by a blitz tournament at Norway Chess 2015. Pairing numbers will be drawn randomly at the Sinquefield Cup. Pairings for the London Chess Classic will be determined prior to the event. The colors will be reversed from Saint Louis with Michael Adams playing the opposite colors to Sinquefield Cup wild card Wesley So. The players will be placed in two groups of five. Viswanathan Anand, Fabiano Caruana, Alexander Grischuk, Veselin Topalov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave will play five games with the white pieces in London and will be randomly allocated numbers 1-5. Michael Adams, Levon Aronian, Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri and Hikaru Nakamura will play five games with the black pieces in London and will be randomly allocated numbers 6-10.
- Arbitration: Should any GCT regulations require interpretation or clarification, arbitration shall be performed by the Arbitration Committee, comprised of one representative from each event.
- 2016 Qualification: The top-three players from the 2015 Grand Chess Tour qualify automatically for the 2016 Grand Chess Tour. The next six players by rating shall also be invited to participate in the 2016 Grand Chess Tour. Ratings 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.
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st | $75, 000 |
| 2nd | $50, 000 |
| 3rd | $25, 000 |
| Place | Prize | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | $75, 000 | 5th | $20, 000 |
| 2nd | $50, 000 | 7th | $15, 000 |
| 3rd | $40, 000 | 8th | $15, 000 |
| 4th | $30, 000 | 9th | $15, 000 |
| 5th | $25, 000 | 10th | $15, 000 |
Event Regulations
Where not otherwise specified, each event shall follow the FIDE Laws of Chess.
- Time Control: 40 moves in 2 hours, followed by the rest of the game in 1 hour with a 30-second increment from move 41.
- Prize Fund: Players are competing for an overall prize fund of $300, 000 in each event, as follows:
- Conditions: Each organizer shall provide travel and lodging accommodations to all participants.