FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15
Chess tournament series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15 was a series of four chess tournaments that formed part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship 2016. Fabiano Caruana finished first, and Hikaru Nakamura second in the overall standings. Both therefore qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2016.
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Baku
Tashkent
Tbilisi
Khanty-Mansiysk26 May 2015
FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15 winner Fabiano Caruana | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Chess |
| Location | Baku Tashkent Tbilisi Khanty-Mansiysk |
| Dates | 1 October 2014– 26 May 2015 |
| Administrator | FIDE |
Tournament format | Series of round-robin tournaments |
| Venues |
|
| Final positions | |
| Champion |  Fabiano Caruana |
| Runner-up |  Hikaru Nakamura |
| Tournament 1 | |
| Location | Baku |
| Dates | 1–15 October 2014 |
| Champion | Fabiano Caruana Boris Gelfand |
| Tournament 2 | |
| Location | Tashkent |
| Dates | 20 October – 3 November 2014 |
| Champion | Dmitry Andreikin |
| Runner-up | Shakriyar Mamedyarov Hikaru Nakamura |
| Tournament 3 | |
| Location | Tbilisi |
| Dates | 14–28 February 2015 |
| Champion | Evgeny Tomashevsky |
| Runner-up | Dmitry Jakovenko |
| Tournament 4 | |
| Location | Khanty-Mansiysk |
| Dates | 14–26 May 2015 |
| Champion | Hikaru Nakamura Fabiano Caruana Dmitry Jakovenko |
Format
In contrast to the two previous Grand Prix cycles, the number of tournaments was decreased from six to four, and players played three tournaments instead of four. As a result, no results were discarded, but each tournament result counted toward the total points. Sixteen players were selected to compete in the tournaments.[5]
Each tournament was a 12-player, single round-robin tournament. In each round players scored 1 point for a win, ½ point for a draw and 0 for a loss. Grand Prix points were then allocated according to each player's standing in the tournament: 170 Grand Prix points for first place, 140 for second place, 110 for third place, and then 90 down to 10 points by steps of 10. In case of a tie in points the Grand Prix points were shared evenly by the tied players.
Players
The Grand Prix consisted of 16 players. FIDE announced 11 qualifiers as per regulations, plus one nominee from each of the four organisers, and one FIDE President nominee.
Five original invitees declined to participate: Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. The first four of these had also declined to participate in the FIDE Grand Prix 2012–13. In a later interview, Aronian said "I found it quite insulting to compete in a tournament with the first prize half as large as my participation fee [for] almost any other tournament [at] that time."[6] Moreover, there was no prize money for overall standings, as there had been in previous editions.[7]
All five Grand Prix replacements were determined by the rating list as per regulations.
The final list of players was announced on 9 September 2014.[8] Iranian player Ehsan Ghaem-Maghami was replaced by Georgian Baadur Jobava after the third stop was moved from Tehran to Tbilisi.[9]
| Invitee | Country | Qualifying method |
|---|---|---|
| Dmitry Andreikin | Russia |
Chess World Cup 2013 |
| Evgeny Tomashevsky | Russia | |
| Maxime Vachier-Lagrave |  France | |
| Fabiano Caruana | Italy |
FIDE rating list (from May 2013 to April 2014) |
| Alexander Grischuk | Russia | |
| Hikaru Nakamura |  United States | |
| Sergey Karjakin | Russia | |
| Leinier Domínguez |  Cuba | |
| Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | Azerbaijan | |
| Boris Gelfand | Israel | |
| Peter Svidler | Russia | |
| Dmitry Jakovenko | Russia |
organiser's nominees |
| Teimour Radjabov | Azerbaijan | |
| Rustam Kasimdzhanov | Uzbekistan | |
| Baadur Jobava | Georgia | |
| Anish Giri |  Netherlands | FIDE President's nominee |
Prize money and Grand Prix points
The prize money was €120,000 per single Grand Prix (down from €170,000) and there was no financial bonus for the overall standings (€420,000 last in 2012–13).[7]
| Place | Single Grand Prix event | Grand Prix points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | €20,000 | 170 |
| 2 | €15,000 | 140 |
| 3 | €13,000 | 110 |
| 4 | €11,000 | 90 |
| 5 | €10,000 | 80 |
| 6 | €9,500 | 70 |
| 7 | €9,000 | 60 |
| 8 | €8,500 | 50 |
| 9 | €7,500 | 40 |
| 10 | €6,500 | 30 |
| 11 | €5,500 | 20 |
| 12 | €4,500 | 10 |
Tie breaks
With the objective of determining qualifiers to play in the Candidates Tournament 2016, and in the case that two or more players had equal cumulative points at the top, the following criteria were utilized to decide the overall Series winner and other overall placings:[7]
- Number of actual game result points scored in the three tournaments entered.
- Number of games played with black.
- Number of wins.
- Number of black wins.
- Drawing of lots.
Schedule
The third stop was initially to be played in Tehran, Iran but a move was announced in October.[9] The fourth stop moved from Moscow to Khanty-Mansiysk.
| No. | Host city | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baku, Azerbaijan | 1–15 October 2014 |
| 2 | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | 20 October – 3 November 2014 |
| 3 | Tbilisi, Georgia | 14–28 February 2015 |
| 4 | Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia | 14–26 May 2015 |
Events crosstables
Baku 2014
1st stage, Baku, Azerbaijan, 1–15 October 2014[10] Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total SB TPR GP 1 
Boris Gelfand (ISR)2748 * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 6½ 35.25 2816 155 2 
Fabiano Caruana (ITA)2844 ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 6½ 34.50 2808 155 3 
Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)2701 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 6 32.25 2788 82 4 
Hikaru Nakamura (USA)2764 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 6 31.75 2782 82 5 Alexander Grischuk (RUS)2797 0 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 6 31.25 2780 82 6 Sergey Karjakin (RUS)2767 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6 31.25 2782 82 7 Peter Svidler (RUS)2732 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 6 30.75 2785 82 8 
Teimour Radjabov (AZE)2726 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 5½ 2754 50 9 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)2764 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 5 27.50 2720 35 10 
Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB)2706 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ 5 26.75 2724 35 11 Dmitry Andreikin (RUS)2722 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * 1 4½ 2691 20 12 
Leinier Domínguez (CUB)2751 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * 3 2582 10
Tashkent 2014
2nd stage, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 20 October – 3 November 2014[11] Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total SB TPR GP 1 Dmitry Andreikin (RUS)2722 * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 7 2852 170 2 Hikaru Nakamura (USA)2764 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6½ 34.50 2815 125 3 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)2764 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 6½ 32.00 2815 125 4 
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)2757 ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 6 32.50 2783 75 5 Fabiano Caruana (ITA)2844 ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 6 31.00 2776 75 6 Sergey Karjakin (RUS)2767 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 6 30.00 2782 75 7 
Baadur Jobava (GEO)2717 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 6 29.75 2787 75 8 Teimour Radjabov (AZE)2726 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 5½ 2754 50 9 
Anish Giri (NED)2768 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 5 2720 40 10 Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)2747 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 4½ 2690 30 11 Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB)2706 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 3½ 19.00 2625 15 12 Boris Gelfand (ISR)2748 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 3½ 18.75 2621 15
Tbilisi 2015
3rd stage, Tbilisi, Georgia, 14–28 February 2015[12][13] Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total SB TPR GP 1 Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)2716 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 8 2916 170 2 Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)2733 ½ * ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 6½ 2808 140 3 Teimour Radjabov (AZE)2731 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 2776 110 4 Leinier Domínguez (CUB)2726 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 5½ 29.75 2745 75 5 Anish Giri (NED)2797 ½ 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 5½ 29.25 2739 75 6 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)2759 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 0 1 0 1 ½ 1 5½ 28.75 2747 75 7 Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB)2705 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 * 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 5½ 28.00 2743 75 8 Alexander Grischuk (RUS)2810 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 1 * 1 ½ ½ ½ 5 26.25 2710 40 9 Baadur Jobava (GEO)2696 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 * 0 1 ½ 5 26.00 2706 40 10 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)2775 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 * ½ ½ 5 26.00 2716 40 11 Peter Svidler (RUS)2739 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ * 1 4½ 2681 20 12 Dmitry Andreikin (RUS)2737 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 * 4 2648 10
Khanty-Mansiysk 2015
4th stage, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, 14–26 May 2015[14] Player Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total SB TPR GP 1 Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)2738 * ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 6½ 140 2 Hikaru Nakamura (USA)2799 ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 6½ 140 3 Fabiano Caruana (ITA)2803 0 ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 6½ 140 4 Leinier Domínguez (CUB)2734 1 ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 6 85 5 Boris Gelfand (ISR)2744 ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 85 6 Peter Svidler (RUS)2734 1 ½ ½ 0 0 * ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 5½ 55 7 Alexander Grischuk (RUS)2780 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 5½ 55 8 Anish Giri (NED)2776 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ 5½ 55 9 Sergey Karjakin (RUS)2753 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * 1 ½ 1 5½ 55 10 Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)2749 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 0 * 1 ½ 5 30 11 Baadur Jobava (GEO)2699 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 * ½ 4 20 12 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)2754 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 3½ 10
Grand Prix standings
Grand Prix points in bold indicate a tournament win. Green indicates qualifiers of the 2016 Candidates Tournament
| Player | FIDE rating May 2015 | Baku | Tashkent | Tbilisi | Khanty- Mansiysk | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabiano Caruana (ITA) | 2803 | 155 | 75 | 140 | 370 | |
| 2 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | 2799 | 82 | 125 | 140 | 347 | |
| 3 | Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) | 2738 | 30 | 140 | 140 | 310 | |
| 4 | Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS) | 2749 | 82 | 170 | 30 | 282 | |
| 5 | Boris Gelfand (ISR) | 2744 | 155 | 15 | 85 | 255 | |
| 6 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) | 2735 | 35 | 125 | 75 | 235 | |
| 7 | Sergey Karjakin (RUS) | 2753 | 82 | 75 | 55 | 212 | |
| 8 | Teimour Radjabov (AZE) | 2738 | 50 | 50 | 110 | 210 | |
| 9 | Dmitry Andreikin (RUS) | 2723 | 20 | 170 | 10 | 200 | |
| 10 | Alexander Grischuk (RUS) | 2780 | 82 | 40 | 55 | 177 | |
| 11 | Leinier Domínguez (CUB) | 2734 | 10 | 75 | 85 | 170 | |
| 12 | Anish Giri (NED) | 2776 | 40 | 75 | 55 | 170 | |
| 13 | Peter Svidler (RUS) | 2734 | 82 | 20 | 55 | 157 | |
| 14 | Baadur Jobava (GEO) | 2699 | 75 | 40 | 20 | 135 | |
| 15 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) | 2754 | 75 | 40 | 10 | 125 | |
| 16 | Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB) | 2715 | 35 | 15 | 75 | 125 | |