FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15
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 2016 Candidates Tournament.
| .jpg.webp) 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(s) | Series of Round-robin tournaments | 
| Final positions | |
| Champion |  Fabiano Caruana | 
| Runner-up |  Hikaru Nakamura | 
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.[1]
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 are shared evenly by the tied players.
Players
    
The Grand Prix consists 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."[2] Moreover, there was no prize money for overall standings, as there had been in previous Grand Prixes.[3]
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.[4] Iranian player Ehsan Ghaem-Maghami was replaced by Georgian Baadur Jobava after the third stop was moved from Tehran to Tbilisi.[5]
| 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 is €120,000 per single Grand Prix (down from €170,000) and there is no financial bonus for the overall standings (€420,000 last in 2012–13).[6]
| 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 2016, and in the case that two or more players have equal cumulative points at the top, the following criteria were utilized to decide the overall Series winner and other overall placings:[6]
- 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.[5] The fourth stop moved from Moscow to Khanty-Mansiysk.
| No. | Host city | Date | Winners | Points (win/draw/loss) | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baku, Azerbaijan | 1 – 15 October 2014 |  Fabiano Caruana (ITA)  Boris Gelfand (ISR) | 6.5/11 (+4=5–2), 6.5/11 (+3=7–1) | 
| 2 | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | 20 October – 3 November 2014 |  Dmitry Andreikin (RUS) | 7/11 (+3=8–0) | 
| 3 | Tbilisi, Georgia | 14 – 28 February 2015 |  Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS) | 8/11 (+5=6–0) | 
| 4 | Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia | 14 – 26 May 2015 |  Hikaru Nakamura (USA)  Fabiano Caruana (ITA)  Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) | 6½/11 (+2=9–0) 6½/11 (+3=7–1) 6½/11 (+4=5–2) | 
Events crosstables
    
    Baku 2014
    
- 1st stage, Baku, Azerbaijan, 1–15 October 2014[7] - Player - Rating - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - Total - SB - TPR - GP - 1  Fabiano Caruana (ITA) Fabiano Caruana (ITA)- 2844 - * - ½ - 1 - 0 - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - 0 - 1 - 6½ - 155 - 2  Boris Gelfand (ISR) Boris Gelfand (ISR)- 2748 - ½ - * - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - 0 - ½ - 1 - ½ - 6½ - 155 - 3  Sergey Karjakin (RUS) Sergey Karjakin (RUS)- 2767 - 0 - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - 6 - 82 - 4  Alexander Grischuk (RUS) Alexander Grischuk (RUS)- 2797 - 1 - 0 - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - 1 - ½ - 1 - 6 - 82 - 5  Peter Svidler (RUS) Peter Svidler (RUS)- 2732 - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - 1 - 6 - 82 - 6  Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS) Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)- 2701 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - 6 - 82 - 7  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) Hikaru Nakamura (USA)- 2764 - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - 1 - 1 - ½ - 6 - 82 - 8  Teimour Radjabov (AZE) Teimour Radjabov (AZE)- 2726 - ½ - 0 - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 5½ - 50 - 9  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)- 2764 - 0 - 1 - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - 5 - 35 - 10  Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB) Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB)- 2706 - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - * - 1 - ½ - 5 - 35 - 11  Dmitry Andreikin (RUS) Dmitry Andreikin (RUS)- 2722 - 1 - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - 0 - ½ - ½ - 0 - * - 1 - 4½ - 20 - 12  Leinier Domínguez (CUB) Leinier Domínguez (CUB)- 2751 - 0 - ½ - 0 - 0 - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - * - 3 - 10 
Tashkent 2014
    
- 2nd stage, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 20 October – 3 November 2014[8] - Player - Rating - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - Total - SB - TPR - GP - 1  Dmitry Andreikin (RUS) Dmitry Andreikin (RUS)- 2722 - * - 1 - ½ - 1 - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 7 - 170 - 2  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)- 2764 - 0 - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - 1 - 1 - 6½ - 125 - 3  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) Hikaru Nakamura (USA)- 2764 - ½ - ½ - * - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - 6½ - 125 - 4  Baadur Jobava (GEO) Baadur Jobava (GEO)- 2717 - 0 - ½ - 0 - * - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - 1 - 6 - 75 - 5  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)- 2757 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - 0 - 1 - ½ - 6 - 75 - 6  Sergey Karjakin (RUS) Sergey Karjakin (RUS)- 2767 - 0 - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - 1 - 1 - 1 - ½ - 6 - 75 - 7  Fabiano Caruana (ITA) Fabiano Caruana (ITA)- 2844 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - 1 - 6 - 75 - 8  Teimour Radjabov (AZE) Teimour Radjabov (AZE)- 2726 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 5½ - 50 - 9  Anish Giri (NED) Anish Giri (NED)- 2768 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - 5 - 40 - 10  Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)- 2747 - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - 1 - 0 - 0 - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - 4½ - 30 - 11  Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB) Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB)- 2706 - ½ - 0 - ½ - 0 - 0 - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - 3½ - 15 - 12  Boris Gelfand (ISR) Boris Gelfand (ISR)- 2748 - ½ - 0 - 0 - 0 - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - 3½ - 15 
Tbilisi 2015
    
- 3rd stage, Tbilisi, Georgia, 14–28 February 2015[9] - Player - Rating - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - Total - SB - TPR - GP - 1  Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS) Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)- 2716 - * - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - ½ - ½ - 8 - 170 - 2  Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)- 2733 - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - 6½ - 140 - 3  Teimour Radjabov (AZE) Teimour Radjabov (AZE)- 2731 - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 6 - 110 - 4  Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB) Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB)- 2705 - 0 - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - 1 - 0 - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - 5½ - 75 - 5  Leinier Domínguez (CUB) Leinier Domínguez (CUB)- 2726 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - 1 - 5½ - 75 - 6  Anish Giri (NED) Anish Giri (NED)- 2797 - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - 5½ - 75 - 7  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)- 2759 - 0 - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - * - 1 - 1 - 0 - ½ - 1 - 5½ - 75 - 8  Alexander Grischuk (RUS) Alexander Grischuk (RUS)- 2810 - 0 - ½ - 0 - 1 - ½ - ½ - 0 - * - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - 5 - 40 - 9  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)- 2775 - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - * - 1 - ½ - ½ - 5 - 40 - 10  Baadur Jobava (GEO) Baadur Jobava (GEO)- 2696 - 0 - 0 - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - 1 - 0 - 0 - * - 1 - ½ - 5 - 40 - 11  Peter Svidler (RUS) Peter Svidler (RUS)- 2739 - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - * - 1 - 4½ - 20 - 12  Dmitry Andreikin (RUS) Dmitry Andreikin (RUS)- 2737 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - * - 4 - 10 
Khanty-Mansiysk 2015
    
- 4th stage, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, 14–26 May 2015[10] - Player - Rating - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - Total - SB - TPR - GP - 1  Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)- 2738 - * - ½ - 1 - 0 - ½ - 0 - ½ - 1 - 1 - ½ - ½ - 1 - 6½ - 140 - 2  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) Hikaru Nakamura (USA)- 2799 - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - 1 - 6½ - 140 - 3  Fabiano Caruana (ITA) Fabiano Caruana (ITA)- 2803 - 0 - ½ - * - ½ - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - 1 - 6½ - 140 - 4  Leinier Domínguez (CUB) Leinier Domínguez (CUB)- 2734 - 1 - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - 6 - 85 - 5  Boris Gelfand (ISR) Boris Gelfand (ISR)- 2744 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 6 - 85 - 6  Peter Svidler (RUS) Peter Svidler (RUS)- 2734 - 1 - ½ - ½ - 0 - 0 - * - ½ - 1 - ½ - 0 - 1 - ½ - 5½ - 55 - 7  Alexander Grischuk (RUS) Alexander Grischuk (RUS)- 2780 - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - * - ½ - 1 - ½ - ½ - ½ - 5½ - 55 - 8  Anish Giri (NED) Anish Giri (NED)- 2776 - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - * - ½ - 1 - 1 - ½ - 5½ - 55 - 9  Sergey Karjakin (RUS) Sergey Karjakin (RUS)- 2753 - 0 - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - * - 1 - ½ - 1 - 5½ - 55 - 10  Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS) Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)- 2749 - ½ - ½ - 0 - ½ - ½ - 1 - ½ - 0 - 0 - * - 1 - ½ - 5 - 30 - 11  Baadur Jobava (GEO) Baadur Jobava (GEO)- 2699 - ½ - 0 - ½ - 1 - ½ - 0 - ½ - 0 - ½ - 0 - * - ½ - 4 - 20 - 12  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 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 | |
References
    
- "FIDE Grand-Prix 2014-2015 Announcement". FIDE. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- Levon Aronian: "I'm Friendly in Everyday Life and a Fighter Over the Board" (interview)
- FIDE GP Regulations 2014-15
- "International Chess Federation – FIDE".
- "Grand Prix Announcement". FIDE. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- "Regulations for the Grand Prix" (PDF). FIDE. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- Baku Grand Prix: Official site
- Tashkent Grand Prix: Official site
- Tbilisi Grand Prix: Official site
- Khanty-Mansiysk Grand Prix: Official site

