The 2021 Grand Chess Tour is a series of elite tournaments in which the participating players are eligible to earn Grand Chess Tour Points in accordance with their final rank in each event. At the end of the regular 2021 GCT Season, bonus payments totaling $175,000 will be paid out to the top 3 finishers based on the accumulated GCT Tour Points over the season.
The 2021 GCT will consist of two 10-player Round Robin Tournaments played at Classical time controls and three 10-player Round Robin Tournaments played at both Rapid & Blitz time controls. A total of ten full tour participants will be selected for the 2021 GCT season with each full tour participant required to participate in both classical chess tournaments as well as in two of the available three Rapid & Blitz events. Players will earn GCT points in all events and the results of every event will count towards the final GCT standings at the end of the regular season.
Tour Points
Tour Points shall be awarded based on the final ranking of each full tour player in each event as set out below. The same point allocations shall apply to both the classical and rapid and blitz events. Tour Points shall be shared equally between tied players and shall not be impacted by the result of any playoff or tiebreaks that may take place.
| Place |
GCT Tour Points |
| 1st |
12 / 13* |
| 2nd |
10 |
| 3rd |
8 |
| 4th |
7 |
| 5th |
6 |
| 6th |
5 |
| 7th |
4 |
| 8th |
3 |
| 9th |
2 |
| 10th |
1 |
Scoring:
In the Classical Events, the standings shall be determined by the allocation of:
• 1 point for a win, ½ point for a draw and 0 points for a loss in all games.
In the Rapid & Blitz Events the standings shall be determined by the allocation of:
• 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss in a Rapid game; and
• 1 point for a win, ½ point for a draw and 0 points for a loss in a Blitz game.
Laws of Chess
Unless otherwise specified, all Events shall be governed by the FIDE Laws of Chess.
Rating of games played
All games except Armageddon games shall be submitted for the appropriate category of FIDE rating and will also be submitted for rating within the Universal Rating System (URS™). The GCT shall seek any necessary permission from FIDE to ensure that all games played are rated (except Armageddon games).
Competitive Play
To promote competitive play during all GCT events, it will not be permitted for players to offer or agree to a draw in any game of a 2021 GCT event, including playoff games. In the event of a claim for a draw under Article 9.2 of the Laws (three-fold repetition) or under Article 9.3 of the Laws (50 move rule), one of the Event Arbiters must be asked by the players to verify the claim.
