2021 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz: All The Information
The 2021 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz is the final rapid and blitz tournament of the 2021 Grand Chess Tour. Games will start on August 11 at 1 p.m. PT/22:00 CEST, with 10 elite players competing for their share of the $150,000 prize fund in rapid and blitz matches.
Broadcast
Chess.com will broadcast the games of the event live on ChessTV, as well as our Twitch and YouTube channels. During the broadcast, GMs Robert Hess, Ben Finegold, Aman Hambleton, and IM Danny Rensch will provide expert commentary. Fans can also keep up with the event by going to our Events page.
Schedule
The event will run from August 11 through August 15, according to the schedule below:
- August 11, 1 p.m. PT/22:00 CEST: Rapid Day 1;
- August 12, 1 p.m. PT/22:00 CEST: Rapid Day 2;
- August 13, 1 p.m. PT/22:00 CEST: Rapid Day 3;
- August 14, 1 p.m. PT/22:00 CEST: Blitz Day 1;
- August 15, 1 p.m. PT/22:00 CEST: Blitz Day 2;
Format
- Ten-player round-robin for rapid, double round-robin for blitz;
- Rapid games will be on the 25|10 time control;
- Blitz games will be on the 5|2 time control;
- Players are not allowed to offer a draw;
- Players can claim a draw by repetition or the 50-move rule, which will have to be verified by an arbiter.
Event Scoring
- Rapid: 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss;
- Blitz: 1 point for a win, 0.5 points for a draw, and 0 points for a loss.
Tiebreaks
- If only two players are tied after the scheduled play in standings, a tiebreak begins:
- Rapid double round-robin (mini-match of two games) in the 10|5 time control;
- If the tie persists, a single armageddon game will determine the winner. White gets 5 minutes, Black gets 4 minutes and draw odds. A coin-toss determines colors.
- If more than two players are tied, the ensuing tiebreak begins:
- Blitz round-robin in the 5|2 time control;
- If the tie persists, an armageddon game or games on a knockout basis will determine the winner. White gets 5 minutes, Black gets 4 minutes and draw odds. A coin-toss determines colors.
Players
The Grand Chess Tour announced the field on August 9. It will be:
- GM Wesley So
- GM Fabiano Caruana
- GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
- GM Richard Rapport
- GM Hikaru Nakamura*
- GM Peter Svidler*
- GM Leinier Dominguez*
- GM Le Quang Liem*
- GM Sam Shankland*
- GM Jeffery Xiong*
Four players are full members of the Grand Chess Tour and the other six, marked with an asterisk (*), are wild cards.
Prizes
The event counts with a prize fund of $150,000 which will be divided as follows:
- 1st: $37,000
- 2nd: $25,000
- 3rd: $20,000
- 4th: $15,000
- 5th: $12,500
- 6th: $10,000
- 7th: $9,000
- 8th: $8,000
- 9th: $7,000
- 10th: $6,000
Players' final standings also determine how many tour points they will receive for the 2021 Grand Chess Tour.
Regulations
You can find the official regulations for the 2021 Grand Chess Tour here and for the 2021 Saint Luis Rapid & Blitz here.
