For Immediate Release
GRAND CHESS TOUR ANNOUNCES FIELD FOR 2016 SEASON
The world’s top-ten rated players confirmed to participate.
Saint Louis, USA - Thursday, 7th April 2016 – The Grand Chess Tour announced today that the world’s top-ten ranked players will compete in the 2016 Tour. Nine of the top-ten will compete in all four tournaments: Rapid and Blitz in Paris and Brussels-Leuven, the Sinquefield Cup and the London Chess Classic. World Champion Magnus Carlsen will compete as a wildcard in both the Paris and Brussels-Leuven stops.
“It's great news that the Grand Chess Tour have expanded with two new tournaments in Paris and Brussels,” said Carlsen. “I'm looking forward to playing both. Unfortunately, due to a very busy schedule, I won't be able to play in Saint Louis or London this year. Hopefully I will get a new chance to fight for the GCT title again next year.”
In addition to the nine players, each tournament will have a wildcard entry. The wildcard for Saint Louis will be Ding Liren and another wildcard in Paris will be Laurent Fressinet. The London wildcard will be determined at a later date. The Grand Chess Tour will feature the world’s top players competing for over one million dollars in a mixture of traditional, rapid and blitz events in four countries.
Players participating in all four tournaments are shown below.
|
2016 Grand Chess Tour Field |
||||
|
Title |
First Name |
Last Name |
FIDE Rating Jan 2016 |
Residence |
|
GM |
Vladimir |
Kramnik |
2801 |
Russia |
|
GM |
Fabiano |
Caruana |
2787 |
USA |
|
GM |
Anish |
Giri |
2798 |
Netherlands |
|
GM |
Hikaru |
Nakamura |
2787 |
USA |
|
GM |
Maxime |
Vachier-Lagrave |
2785 |
France |
|
GM |
Levon |
Aronian |
2792 |
Armenia |
|
GM |
Veselin |
Topalov |
2780 |
Bulgaria |
|
GM |
Wesley |
So |
2773 |
USA |
|
GM |
Viswanathan |
Anand |
2784 |
India |
|
Average Rating |
2787 |
|||
“The class and strength of the field this year is truly remarkable, said Michael Khodarkovsky, Grand Chess Tour spokesperson. Chess fans around the world will be able to see and enjoy the greatest players compete in these four tournaments during the year.”
All four tournaments will be broadcast online and can be seen at grandchesstour.org.
The 2016 Grand Chess Tour season will include rapid and blitz tournaments in Paris and Brussels-Leuven in addition to the Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic.
|
2016 Grand Chess Tour |
Location |
Date |
Prize Fund |
|
GCT Rapid and Blitz |
Paris, France |
June 7th - 13th |
$150,000 |
|
GCT Rapid and Blitz |
Brussels-Leuven |
June 15th – 21st |
$150,000 |
|
Sinquefield Cup |
Saint Louis, USA |
August 4th – 16th |
$300,000 |
|
London Chess Classic |
London, England |
December 8th – 20th |
$300,000 |
|
Bonus Pool |
2016 |
$150,000 |
|
|
Total Prize Funds for Grand Chess Tour |
2016 |
$1,050,000 |
|
Participating tournaments are identified as the gold standard for international event organization, setting the model for player conditions, prize funds and spectator experience. Each of the events will cater to live audiences, as well as offer streaming broadcasts complete with grandmaster commentary.
For more information, visit www.grandchesstour.org.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Grand Chess Tour Spokesperson
Michael Khodarkovsky
201 317 8581
Grand Chess Tour - Europe
Malcolm Pein
+44 207 935 3445