FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022
FIDE Grand Prix 2022 winner Hikaru Nakamura
Tournament information
SportChess
LocationGermany Berlin
Serbia Belgrade[1]
DatesFebruary 2022–
April 2022
AdministratorFIDE
Tournament
format(s)
Series of hybrid tournaments with pool stage and knockout stage
Venue(s)
Final positions
ChampionUnited States Hikaru Nakamura
Runner-upHungary Richárd Rapport
Tournament 1
Location Berlin
Dates4–17 February 2022
Champion Hikaru Nakamura
Runner-up Levon Aronian
Tournament 2
Location Belgrade
Dates1–14 March 2022
Champion Richárd Rapport
Runner-up Dmitry Andreikin
Tournament 3
Location Berlin
Dates22 March–4 April 2022
Champion Wesley So
Runner-up Hikaru Nakamura

The FIDE Grand Prix 2022 was a series of three chess tournaments played between 4 February and 4 April 2022.[1] The top two finishers – Hikaru Nakamura (winner) and Richárd Rapport (runner-up) – qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2022,[2] which was the final qualification stage for the World Chess Championship 2023.

The first and last tournament took place in Berlin, Germany, and the second one in Belgrade, Serbia. Each player was scheduled to participate in two of three tournaments. Before the tie-break stage of the last tournament was concluded, Nakamura had already gained the score to win the series, and it was already clear that no other semi-finalist could overtake Rapport for the runner-up position.

Organization

Due to the travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, all three tournaments were initially to be played in a single city instead of playing in various cities as in previous editions.

The series was organized by World Chess. The company chose Berlin to host most of the series following a popular vote.[3][4] Later it was announced that two of the three tournaments would be in Berlin, with one in Belgrade, Serbia.[1]

Players

Twenty-four players were originally invited to the Grand Prix:[5]

  • The players who placed third to eighth at the Chess World Cup 2021 who were not World Champion or already qualified for the Candidates. Five out of a possible six players qualified in this way, because World Champion Magnus Carlsen placed third in the World Cup.
  • The players who placed third to eighth in the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2021 who were not World Champion or already qualified for the Candidates or Grand Prix. Six players qualified in this way.
  • Hikaru Nakamura, nominee of the FIDE president.[6]
  • Daniil Dubov, organizer's nominee.[7]
  • The remaining eleven places were filled by the top players in the December 2021 rating list[8] so long as they had participated in the FIDE World Cup 2021 or played at least nine games which counted in the FIDE rating lists from February to December 2021. This meant Viswanathan Anand, Wang Hao, and Veselin Topalov were not eligible because of inactivity. The list originally went down to #23 in the world,[1] though after Wei Yi withdrew, world #25 Pentala Harikrishna also qualified this way.

Ding Liren and Dmitry Andreikin were unable to compete in the first tournament due to health and visa issues respectively, and were replaced in the first tournament by Andrey Esipenko and Radosław Wojtaszek.[9] Ding was also unable to play in the second tournament, and Andreikin took his place.[10] Due to personal reasons, Andreikin also withdrew from the third tournament, and was replaced by Esipenko.[11] The replacements Esipenko and Wojtaszek were eligible to qualify for the Candidates.[5]

The table below shows the players who qualified for the Grand Prix:

Seeding Name Qualifying method Rating
(December 2021)
World rank
(December 2021)
1China Ding LirenRating list (3rd)2799 3
2United States Levon AronianRating list (6th)2772 6
3Netherlands Anish GiriRating list (7th)2772 7
4United States Wesley SoRating list (8th)2772 8
5Azerbaijan Shakhriyar MamedyarovRating list (9th)2767 9
6Russia Alexander GrischukRating list (10th)2764 10
7Hungary Richárd RapportRating list (11th)2763 11
8France Maxime Vachier-LagraveGrand Swiss (6th)2761 12
9United States Leinier DomínguezRating list (15th)2752 15
10United States Hikaru NakamuraPresidential nominee2736
11Russia Nikita VitiugovRating list (19th)2731 19
12India Vidit GujrathiWorld Cup (5th-8th)2727 22
13Russia Dmitry AndreikinRating list (23rd)2724 23
14Russia Daniil DubovOrganizer's nominee2720 24
15India Pentala HarikrishnaRating list (25th)2717 25
Russia Andrey EsipenkoPresidential nominee[lower-alpha 1]2714 26
16China Yu YangyiGrand Swiss (4th)2713 27
17United States Sam ShanklandWorld Cup (5th-8th)2708 29
18Spain Alexei ShirovGrand Swiss (8th)2704 31
19Russia Vladimir FedoseevWorld Cup (4th)2704 32
Poland Radosław WojtaszekPresidential nominee[lower-alpha 2]2686 45
20Russia Alexandr PredkeGrand Swiss (7th)2682 52
21Russia Grigoriy OparinGrand Swiss (3rd)2681 55
22Germany Vincent KeymerGrand Swiss (5th)2664 74
23Iran Amin TabatabaeiWorld Cup (5th-8th)2643 108
24France Étienne BacrotWorld Cup (5th-8th)2642 111

Format

Each player will play in two out of three of the tournaments. Each tournament will have 16 players, and have a two-stage format.[5]

  • In the first stage, the players are divided into four pools of four, and the players in each pool play a double round-robin mini-tournament. The four winners of the pools progress to the second stage.
  • In the second stage, the four pool winners play a knock-out tournament, consisting of semi-finals and a final. Both the semi-finals and final will consist of 2 classical time limit games, plus tie-breaks if required.

Players receive Grand Prix points according to their finishing position in each tournament. The two players with the most Grand Prix points qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2022.[5]

Time controls and tie-breaks

The time control for classical games is 90 minutes for 40 moves, plus an extra 30 minutes after move 40. There is also an increment of 30 seconds per move from move 1.[5]

In the pool stage, if there is a tie for first, the tied players play tie-breaks. In the knockout stage, tie-breaks are played if the match is tied after the 2 regular time limit games. In both stages, two-way or three-way tie-breaks take the following format:[5]

  • Players play two rapid chess games at 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. In the case of a three-way tie, a single round-robin is played.
  • If players are still tied, they play two blitz chess games at 3 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. In the case of a three-way tie, a single round-robin is played.
  • If players are still tied, a single armageddon chess game is played to decide the winner, in which black is declared the winner if the game is drawn. The time limit is 5 minutes for white, 4 minutes for black, and a 2 second per move increment from move 61. In the case of a three-way tie, lots are drawn to determine the players, and the loser of the lot shares second place with the loser of the Armageddon game.

In the case of a four-way tie, the players are randomly divided into pairs by drawing of lots and each pair plays a two-player tie-break by the above method. The two tie-break winners then play a tie-break by the above method, while the losers share third and fourth place in the pool.[5]

Grand Prix points

Grand Prix points were awarded as follows:[5]

RoundGrand Prix points
Winner13
Runner-Up10
Semi-final loser7
2nd in pool4
3rd in pool2
4th in pool0

In other words, the top three players in each pool earn 7, 4, and 2 points, respectively, and 3 additional points are awarded for winning a semifinal or final.

The Grand Prix points for pool placings take into account tie-breaks played to determine first place. Players tied for other places, including players who are still tied after tie-breaks have decided first place, share Grand Prix points.

If players finish tied on Grand Prix points, then the following tie-breaks are applied, in order:[5]

  • number of tournament first-place finishes;
  • number of tournament second-place finishes;
  • number of points scored in regular time limit games;
  • number of wins in regular time limit games;
  • drawing of lots.

Prize money

The prize money for each event is €150,000 which will be awarded as follows:[5]

RoundPrize money
Winner€24,000
Runner-Up€18,000
Semi-finalist€12,000
2nd in pools€9,000
3rd in pools€7,000
4th in pools€5,000

In other words, each player receives €5,000, Grand Prix points earned in the pool are worth an additional €1,000, and Grand Prix points earned in a semi-final or final are worth an additional €2,000.

Tournament 1 - Berlin, Germany

The first tournament was held in Berlin, Germany from 4 February to 17.[12] Due to health and visa issues, Dmitry Andreikin and Ding Liren were replaced with Andrey Esipenko and Radoslaw Wojtaszek, respectively.[9] Hikaru Nakamura won the first leg with Levon Aronian as the runner-up.

Round-robin stage

The double round-robin stage had the six rounds of standard time control games on 4–7, 9, and 10 February with tie-breaks on 11 February. Players in bold advanced to the knockout stage.

Pool A

Rank Player Rating
December 2021
NAK ESI GRI BAC Total Points
1 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2736 1½ 1½ ½½ 4
2 Andrey Esipenko (RUS) 2714 ½0 ½½ 11 3.5
3 Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2764 ½0 ½½ 1½ 3
4 Étienne Bacrot (FRA) 2642 ½½ 00 ½0 1.5

Pool B

Rank Player Rating
December 2021
RAP WOJ FED OPA Total Points R1 R2 Tiebreak Points
1 Richárd Rapport (HUN) 2763 ½0 11 ½½ 3.5 1 ½ 1.5
2 Radosław Wojtaszek (POL) 2686 1½ ½½ ½½ 3.5 0 ½ 0.5
3 Vladimir Fedoseev (RUS) 2704 00 ½½ 11 3 - -
4 Grigoriy Oparin (RUS) 2681 ½½ ½½ 00 2 - -

Pool C

Rank Player Rating
December 2021
ARO GUJ DUB KEY Total Points
1 Levon Aronian (USA) 2772 1½ ½½ 11 4.5
=2 Vidit Gujrathi (IND) 2727 ½0 1½ ½½ 3
=2 Daniil Dubov (RUS) 2720 ½½ ½0 1½ 3
4 Vincent Keymer (GER) 2664 00 ½½ ½0 1.5

Pool D

Rank Player Rating
December 2021
DOM WSO HAR SHI Total Points R1 R2 Tiebreak Points
1 Leinier Domínguez (USA) 2752 0½ ½1 11 4 ½ 1 1.5
2 Wesley So (USA) 2772 ½1 ½½ 1½ 4 ½ 0 0.5
3 Pentala Harikrishna (IND) 2717 0½ ½½ ½½ 2.5 - -
4 Alexei Shirov (ESP) 2704 00 ½0 ½½ 1.5 - -

Knockout stage

Semi-finals (February 12–13) Final (February 15–17)
      
10  Hikaru Nakamura (USA)
7  Richárd Rapport (HUN) ½
10  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 3
2  Levon Aronian (USA) 1
2  Levon Aronian (USA)
9  Leinier Domínguez (USA) ½

Semi-final 1

SeedNameDecember 2021 rating12Total Points
10  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2736 1 ½ 1.5
7  Richárd Rapport (HUN) 2763 0 ½ 0.5

Semi-final 2

SeedNameDecember 2021 rating12Total Points
2  Levon Aronian (USA) 2772 1 ½ 1.5
9  Leinier Domínguez (USA) 2752 0 ½ 0.5

Final

SeedNameDecember 2021 rating12R1R2Total Points
10  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2736 ½ ½ 1 1 3
2  Levon Aronian (USA) 2772 ½ ½ 0 0 1

Tournament 2 - Belgrade, Serbia

The second tournament was held in Belgrade, Serbia from 1 to 14 March.[13] Russian players' flags are displayed as the FIDE flag due to FIDE's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian flags from being displayed at FIDE-rated events in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[14] Richárd Rapport won the second leg of the 2022 Grand Prix with Dmitry Andreikin as the runner-up.

Round-robin stage

The double round-robin stage had six rounds of standard time control games on 1–4, 6, and 7 March with tie-breaks on 8 March. Players in bold advanced to the knockout stage.

Pool A

Rank Player Rating
March 2022
AND SHA BAC GRI Total Points
1 Dmitry Andreikin (FIDE) 2724 ½½ 1½ ½1 4
2 Sam Shankland (USA) 2704 ½½ ½½ 1½ 3.5
3 Étienne Bacrot (FRA) 2635 ½0 ½½ ½½ 2.5
4 Alexander Grischuk (FIDE) 2758 0½ ½0 ½½ 2

Pool B

Rank Player Rating
March 2022
GIR VIT TAB HAR Total Points
1 Anish Giri (NED) 2771 1½ 1½ ½½ 4
=2 Nikita Vitiugov (FIDE) 2726 ½0 ½½ ½1 3
=2 Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) 2623 ½0 ½½ ½1 3
4 Pentala Harikrishna (IND) 2716 ½½ 0½ 0½ 2

Pool C

Rank Player Rating
March 2022
RAP GUJ SHI FED Total Points
1 Richárd Rapport (HUN) 2762 11 ½½ ½½ 4
2 Vidit Gujrathi (IND) 2723 00 1½ 1½ 3
=3 Alexei Shirov (ESP) 2691 ½½ ½0 10 2.5
=3 Vladimir Fedoseev (FIDE) 2704 ½½ ½0 10 2.5

Pool D

Rank Player Rating
March 2022
MVL MAM PRE YAN Total Points
1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2761 ½½ ½1 ½½ 3.5
=2 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2776 ½½ ½½ ½½ 3
=2 Alexandr Predke (FIDE) 2682 0½ ½½ ½1 3
4 Yu Yangyi (CHN) 2713 ½½ ½½ 0½ 2.5

Knockout stage

Semi-finals (March 9–11) Final (March 12–14)
      
13  Dmitry Andreikin (FIDE)
3  Anish Giri (NED)
13  Dmitry Andreikin (FIDE) ½
7  Richárd Rapport (HUN)
7  Richárd Rapport (HUN)
8  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) ½

Semi-final 1

SeedNameMarch 2022 rating12 R1 R2Total Points
13  Dmitry Andreikin (FIDE) 2724 ½ ½ ½ 1 2.5
3  Anish Giri (NED) 2771 ½ ½ ½ 0 1.5

Semi-final 2

SeedNameMarch 2022 rating12 Total Points
7  Richárd Rapport (HUN) 2762 1 ½ 1.5
8  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2761 0 ½ 0.5

Final

SeedNameMarch 2022 rating12Total Points
13  Dmitry Andreikin (FIDE) 2724 ½ 0 0.5
7  Richárd Rapport (HUN) 2762 ½ 1 1.5

Tournament 3 - Berlin, Germany

The third tournament was held in Berlin, Germany from 22 March to 4 April.[15] Due to personal reasons, Dmitry Andreikin withdrew from the third leg and was replaced by Andrey Esipenko. Wesley So won the third leg with Hikaru Nakamura as the runner-up.

Round-robin stage

The double round-robin stage had six rounds of standard time control games on 22–25, 27, and 28 March with tie-breaks on 29 March. Winners advanced to the knockout stage between March 30–April 4, 2022.

Pool A

Rank Player Rating
March 2022
NAK OPA ARO ESI Total Points
1 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2750 1½ 10 ½1 4
2 Grigoriy Oparin (FIDE) 2674 ½0 1½ 1½ 3.5
3 Levon Aronian (USA) 2785 10 ½0 1½ 3
4 Andrey Esipenko (FIDE) 2723 0½ ½0 ½0 1.5

Pool B

Rank Player Rating
March 2022
MAM KEY DOM DUB Total Points R1 R2 B1 B2 Tiebreak Points
1 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2776 1½ ½½ ½½ 3.5 1 0 1 1 3
2 Vincent Keymer (GER) 2655 ½0 1½ 1½ 3.5 0 1 0 0 1
3 Leinier Domínguez (USA) 2756 ½½ ½0 ½1 3 - -
4 Daniil Dubov (FIDE) 2711 ½½ ½0 0½ 2 - -

Pool C

Rank Player Rating
March 2022
WSO SHA PRE MVL Total Points R1 R2 Tiebreak Points
1 Wesley So (USA) 2778 ½½ ½½ ½1 3.5 1 ½ 1.5
2 Sam Shankland (USA) 2704 ½½ ½1 ½½ 3.5 0 ½ 0.5
=3 Alexandr Predke (FIDE) 2682 ½½ 0½ 10 2.5 - -
=3 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2761 0½ ½½ 10 2.5 - -

Pool D

Rank Player Rating
March 2022
TAB VIT YAN GIR Total Points
1 Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) 2623 10 ½½ ½1 3.5
=2 Nikita Vitiugov (FIDE) 2726 10 ½½ ½½ 3
=2 Yu Yangyi (CHN) 2713 ½½ ½½ ½½ 3
4 Anish Giri (NED) 2771 0½ ½½ ½½ 2.5

Knockout stage

Semi-finals (March 30–April 1) Final (April 2–4)
      
10  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 3
5  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 1
10  Hikaru Nakamura (USA)
4  Wesley So (USA)
4  Wesley So (USA) 3
23  Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) 1

Semi-final 1

SeedNameMarch 2022 rating12 R1 R2Total Points
10  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2750 ½ ½ 1 1 3
5  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2776 ½ ½ 0 0 1

Semi-final 2

SeedNameMarch 2022 rating12 R1 R2Total Points
4  Wesley So (USA) 2778 1 0 1 1 3
23  Amin Tabatabaei (IRI) 2623 0 1 0 0 1

Final

SeedNameMarch 2022 rating12 R1 R2Total Points
10  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2750 ½ ½ ½ 0 1.5
4  Wesley So (USA) 2778 ½ ½ ½ 1 2.5

Grand Prix standings

The following table shows the overall Grand Prix standings.[16][17] The top two players qualified for the Candidates Tournament. Tie-breaks, in order, are as follows: tournament first places (TF), tournament second places (TS), game points in standard time control games (GP), and game wins in standard time control games (GW). If a tie persists, the final tiebreaker is drawing of lots.[5]

After the round-robin stage of the third tournament, the top two were confirmed to be Richárd Rapport and Hikaru Nakamura[18] as no other player could score 20 or more Grand Prix points. During the semi-final stage, Nakamura overtook Rapport's score, securing the overall victory.[19]

Seed RankPlayerBerlinBelgradeBerlinTotal
GP points
TFTSGPGWPrize
money
10 1  Hikaru Nakamura (USA)1310231112.56€42,000
7 2  Richárd Rapport (HUN)7132010116€36,000
4 3  Wesley So (USA)41317109.54€33,000
2 4  Levon Aronian (USA)1021201106€25,000
13 5  Dmitry Andreikin (FIDE)1010015.52€18,000
23 6  Amin Tabatabaei (IRI)3710007.54€20,000
5 7  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)3710007.51€20,000
9 8  Leinier Domínguez (USA)729007.54€19,000
17 9  Sam Shankland (USA)4480072€18,000
8 10  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)718006.52€18,000
3 11  Anish Giri (NED)707007.52€17,000
12 12  Vidit Gujrathi (IND)3470063€17,000
11 13  Nikita Vitiugov (FIDE)3360062€16,000
20 =14  Alexandr Predke (FIDE)314005.52€14,000
21  Grigoriy Oparin (FIDE)044005.52€14,000
=16  Andrey Esipenko (FIDE)4040052€14,000
22  Vincent Keymer (GER)0440052€14,000
18  Radosław Wojtaszek (POL)44003.51€9,000
19 19  Vladimir Fedoseev (FIDE)213005.53€13,000
16 20  Yu Yangyi (CHN)033005.50€13,000
14 21  Daniil Dubov (FIDE)3030051€13,000
6 22  Alexander Grischuk (FIDE)2020051€12,000
15 23  Pentala Harikrishna (IND)202004.50€12,000
24 24  Étienne Bacrot (FRA)0220040€12,000
18 25  Alexei Shirov (ESP)0110041€11,000
1 26  Ding Liren (CHN)00000€0
Standings table legend
Players Results
Qualified for the Candidates
via the Grand Prix
Qualified for the Candidates
via another path
Did not qualify
for the Candidates
Did not participate Eliminated in group stage Lost in the semi-finals Runner-Up Winner

Notes

  1. Replacement for Dmitry Andreikin for the first and third tournament
  2. Replacement for Ding Liren for the first tournament

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (20 December 2021). "2022 FIDE Grand Prix To Start February 3". Chess.com.
  2. 2022 FIDE Grand Prix Series Announced, FIDE, 17 June 2021
  3. "Berlin Wins Popular Vote; Will Host the Next Grand Prix Series and Other Events in 2022". worldchess.com. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  4. Berlin wins popular vote; will host the Grand Prix Series and other events in 2022, FIDE, 12 August 2021
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Regulations for the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022, FIDE, June 2021
  6. Hikaru Nakamura is granted wild card to FIDE Grand Prix, FIDE, 20 December 2021
  7. World Chess Nominates Daniil Dubov to the Grand Prix Series; Fears Mild Outrage from Nepo’s Fans, World Chess
  8. Top 100 Players December 2021 - Archive, FIDE, 1 December 2021
  9. 1 2 FIDE Grand Prix 2022: Ding and Andreikin replaced by Esipenko and Wojtaszek, FIDE, 1 February 2022
  10. "Andreikin replaces Ding in Belgrade". www.fide.com. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
  11. "FIDE Grand Prix: Esipenko replaces Andreikin in Berlin".
  12. Groups for First Leg of FIDE Grand Prix 2022 announced, FIDE, 21 January 2022
  13. Groups for Second Leg of FIDE Grand Prix 2022 announced, FIDE, 15 February 2022
  14. FIDE Condemns Military Action; Takes Measures Against Russia, Belarus, chess.com, 28 February 2022.
  15. Pools for third leg of FIDE Grand Prix 2022 announced, FIDE, 10 March 2022
  16. Hikaru Nakamura wins first leg of FIDE Grand Prix 2022, FIDE, 18 February 2022
  17. FIDE Grand Prix: Richard Rapport triumphs in Belgrade, FIDE, 14 March 2022
  18. BREAKING: Nakamura, Rapport Qualify For FIDE Candidates, chess.com, March 28, 2022
  19. McGourty, Colin (March 31, 2022). "Nakamura wins Grand Prix | Both semis go to tiebreaks". Chess24. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
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