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]

Grand Chess Tour
2018
2018 Grand Chess Tour winner Hikaru Nakamura.
Tournament information
Dates10 June–21 December 2019
Host(s)Leuven
Paris
St. Louis
London
Final positions
ChampionUnited States Hikaru Nakamura
Runner-upFrance Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
3rd placeUnited States Fabiano Caruana
Tournament statistics
Most tournament titlesUnited States Hikaru Nakamura (3)
Prize money leaderUnited States Hikaru Nakamura ($225,000)
Points leaderUnited States Hikaru Nakamura (34.5)
← 2017
2019 →

Format

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The 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 6
  6th 6 5
  7th 4 4
8th 3 3
  9th 2 2
10th 1 1

Lineup

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The 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

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Dates 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

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Your Next Move Rapid and Blitz

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First 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 20½ 6 $12,500
6   Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 8 17½ 5 $10,000
7   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 9 8 17 4 $7,500
8   Viswanathan Anand (IND) 5 14½ 3 $7,500
9   Fabiano Caruana (USA) 7 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 Does not appear 1 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 14
2   Levon Aronian (ARM) 2795 1 Does not appear 1 2 0 1 1 2 1 2 11
3   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2777 1 1 Does not appear 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 11
4   Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2813 0 0 1 Does not appear 1 2 2 0 2 2 10
5   Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2743 1 2 1 1 Does not appear 1 2 0 1 1 10
6   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2766 0 1 1 0 1 Does not appear 1 2 2 1 9
7   Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2783 0 1 1 0 0 1 Does not appear 2 2 1 8
8   Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2753 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 Does not appear 0 2 7
9   Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2822 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 Does not appear 0 5
10   Anish Giri (NED) 2779 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½
5   Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2817 0 0 1 0 1 1 ½ 0 Does not appear 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1
6   Levon Aronian (ARM) 2809 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ Does not appear 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 1
7   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2757 0 1 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear ½ ½
10   Anish Giri (NED) 2799 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ Does not appear 6

Paris Rapid and Blitz

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Paris 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 15½ 3 $7,500
9   Fabiano Caruana (USA) 8 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 Does not appear 1 1 2 1 1 2 0 2 2 12
2   Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2743 1 Does not appear 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 11
3   Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2813 1 1 Does not appear 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 11
4   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2777 0 1 1 Does not appear 2 1 1 2 1 0 9
5   Levon Aronian (ARM) 2795 1 1 1 0 Does not appear 1 0 2 1 2 9
6   Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2822 1 1 0 1 1 Does not appear 1 1 2 1 9
7   Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2753 0 1 0 1 2 1 Does not appear 1 2 0 8
8   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2766 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 Does not appear 0 2 7
9   Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 2775 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 Does not appear 2 7
10   Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2783 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear ½ ½ 0 1 0 1
8   Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2817 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz

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2018 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 15½ 3 $7,500
9   Wesley So (USA) 8 7 15 2 $7,500
10   Viswanathan Anand (IND) 6 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 Does not appear 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 12
2   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2782 1 Does not appear 1 2 0 1 2 2 1 2 12
3   Levon Aronian (ARM) 2794 0 1 Does not appear 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 11
4   Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2791 1 0 1 Does not appear 1 2 1 1 1 1 9
5   Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2785 1 2 0 1 Does not appear 0 1 1 2 1 9
6   Leinier Domínguez (CUB) 2754 0 1 1 0 2 Does not appear 1 2 1 1 9
7   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2796 0 0 0 1 1 1 Does not appear 1 2 2 8
8   Wesley So (USA) 2794 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 Does not appear 2 2 8
9   Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2782 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 Does not appear 1 6
10   Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2771 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0
4   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2795 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear 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 Does not appear ½ ½ ½ 1
9   Leinier Domínguez (CUB) 2687 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ Does not appear 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 Does not appear 7

Sinquefield Cup

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The 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 1 2 0 2861 WC (15)
  Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2822 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 2 0 2864 15
  Levon Aronian (ARM) 2767 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 2 0 2870 15
4   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2801 ½ ½ ½ Does not appear ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 1 0 2829 10
5   Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2766 ½ ½ 0 ½ Does not appear ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 2790 6
6–7   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2779 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ Does not appear ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 2788 6
6–7   Viswanathan Anand (IND) 2768 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ Does not appear ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 2790 6
8   Wesley So (USA) 2780 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ Does not appear ½ ½ 4 0 0 2745 3
9–10   Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2777 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ Does not appear ½ 3 ½ 0 0 2664 1.5
9–10   Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 2773 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ Does not appear 3 ½ 0 0 2664 1.5

Tour finals

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In 2018, the London Chess Classic served as the semifinals and finals for the top 4 players from the 2018 Grand Chess Tour.

The players played 2 classical games, 2 rapid games, and 4 blitz games. 6 points were awarded for a win, 3 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss in classical play. In the Rapid games, 4 points were awarded for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 0 points for a loss. In the Blitz games, 2 points were awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 point for a loss.

After seven consecutive draws that opened his final match with Vachier-Lagrave, Nakamura clinched an event victory by defeating Vachier-Lagrave in the fourth and final blitz game.

Semifinals 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

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Player 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 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

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  1. ^ "Nakamura Wins 2018 Grand Chess Tour". December 18, 2018.
  2. ^ "New format for Grand Chess Tour 2018". December 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "2018 Grand Chess Tour Participants, Event Dates, and Tour Point Regulations". January 29, 2018.
  4. ^ "2018 Your Next Move".
  5. ^ "Wesley So Wins Your Next Move Grand Chess Tour". June 18, 2018.
  6. ^ "Leuven Grand Chess Tour: Viswanathan Anand's improved show helps him finish fifth; Wesley So wins tournament". Firstpost. June 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 Paris Grand Chess Tour".
  8. ^ "Paris GCT Rapid and Blitz 2018". The Week in Chess. June 19, 2018.
  9. ^ Saravanan, Venkatachalam (28 August 2018). "Sinquefield Cup: Three winners (one playoff)!". ChessBase.