Articles
Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix

Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix

CHESScom
| 22 | Other

The Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix (SCC GP) was a weekly blitz tournament for titled players, played on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Pacific time / 19:00 Central Europe. It was a direct path to qualify for the 2020 Speed Chess Championship.

The SCC GP was presented by Gambit, where you can in classic games like Reversi, Backgammon, and Oh Ship by playing with players from around the world.

You can find quick links to important event information below:

Results and standings

  1. The June 2 SCC GP was won by GM Vladislav Artemiev.
  2. The June 9 SCC GP was won by GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
  3. The June 16 SCC GP was won by GM Vladimir Fedoseev.
  4. The June 23 SCC GP was won by GM Dmitry Andreikin.
  5. The June 30 SCC GP was won by GM Gigoriy Oparin.
  6. The July 7 SCC GP was won by GM Hikaru Nakamura.
  7. The July 14 SCC GP was won by GM Hikaru Nakamura.
  8. The July 21 SCC GP was won by GM Haik Martirosyan.
  9. The July 28 SCC GP was canceled due to server issues.
  10. The August 4 SCC GPs were won by GMs David Anton and Parham Maghsoodloo.
  11. The August 11 SCC GP was won by GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
  12. The August 18 SCC GP was won by GM Vladislav Artemiev.
  13. The August 25 SCC GP was won by GM Oleksandr Bortnyk.
  14. The September 1 SCC GP was won by GM Hikaru Nakamura.
  15. The September 8 SCC GP was won by GM Hikaru Nakamura.
  16. The September 15 SCC GP was won by GM Baadur Jobava.
  17. The September 22 SCC GP was won by GM Vladimir Fedoseev.
  18. The September 29 SCC GP was won by GM Ian Nepomniachtchi.
  19. The October 6 SCC GP was won by GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
  20. The October 13 SCC GP was won by GM Hikaru Nakamura.

Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix | Final Standings (Top 20)

# Fed Title Name Username Swiss
Points
Bonus
Points
Overall
Points
1 GM Hikaru Nakamura @Hikaru 69.5 68 137.5
2 GM Vladislav Artemiev @Sibelephant 67 38 105
3 GM Vladimir Fedoseev @Bigfish1995 67 32 99
4 GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov @ChessWarrior7197 68.5 28 96.5
5 GM Parham Maghsoodloo @Parhamov 68 28 96
6 GM Haik Martirosyan @Micki-taryan 59.5 28 87.5
7 GM Dmitry Andreikin @FairChess_on_YouTube 66 18 84
8 GM Maksim Chigaev @Fandorine 65.5 14 79.5
9 GM Alireza Firouzja @Firouzja2003 65 14 79
10 GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave @LyonBeast 49 28 77
11 IM Tuan Minh Le @wonderfultime 66.5 10 76.5
12 GM Sergey Karjakin @SergeyKarjakin 65 10 75
13 GM Vladislav Kovalev @vladislavkovalev 66 8 74
14 GM Aleksandar Indjic @Beca95 65.5 8 73.5
15 GM Grigoriy Oparin @OparinGrigoriy 50.5 20 70.5
16 GM Raunak Sadhwani @RaunakSadhwani2005 63.5 4 67.5
17 GM Boris Grachev @Guenplen 55.5 12 67.5
18 GM Rasmus Svane @rasmussvane 63 4 67
19 GM Giga Kuparadze @GigaQuparadze 64 2 66
20 GM Peter Svidler @PSvidler 50 14 64

General format

Formerly known as Titled Tuesdays, the SCC GP tournaments have a $50,000 prize fund spanning 20 weeks, from June till October, 2020. As an enhancement to the existing Titled Tuesday format, the 10-round Swiss tournament are now followed by an eight-player bracket to award bonus points and cash prizes.

With $2,500 in cash prizes available every week, players will look to improve their season score, as their eight best individual performances and all bonus points will count towards the Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix standings. At the end of the season, the players with the four best grand prix scores will advance to the Speed Chess Championship to be hosted later this year.

Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix Points
Points will accumulate throughout the 20 events.

Tournament details

  • Tuesdays at 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 19:00 CEST
  • 3+1 time control
  • 10-round Swiss tournament, top eight players advance to the post-tournament bracket
  • Tiebreaks: 1. Sonneborn-Berger, 2. Rating of player after the 10-round Swiss.
  • Live broadcast on Chess.com/tv

Chess.com reserves the right to shift an event's start time should it conflict with another event. Titled players will be informed via site message and social media of a time change.

Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix points

Post-tournament bracket:

  • Tuesdays, 10 minutes after the conclusion of the 10-round Swiss
  • Eight-player knockout bracket
  • Quarterfinals: Single 3+1 game where higher seed plays White. 1+0 sudden death bullet tiebreaks, colors will alternate in sudden death with the higher seed playing White in the first 1+0 game.
  • Semifinals and final: Two 3+1 games, 1+0 sudden death bullet tiebreaks. Higher seed picks color in the first 3+1 game and plays White in the first 1+0 game. Colors will alternate in sudden death if extra games are needed.
  • Live broadcast on Twitch.tv/chess

An example of the KO bracket format can be found below:


Tournament information and details regarding the special qualification event will be released later this summer as the end of the Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix approaches.

This qualifier will see one top Grand Prix performer qualify directly into the Speed Chess Championship due to their clutch performance finishing first in one of the 20 Grand Prix events.

Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix format

How to Play

If you're a titled player, participating is as easy as going here on Tuesday—within one hour before the start—and clicking on "tournaments" in the top-right corner and then "join." That's all!

How To Play Titled Tuesday
You'll find this in Chess.com/Live one hour before the start each Tuesday.

Cash Prizes

All players must identify themselves in their Chess.com profile to win prizes. This must be done before the first round starts. See the further requirements below.

Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix prizes
For tips on how to stream your games and the best ways to get more viewers, see these articles:

Leaderboard Points

Points will be awarded to the top finishers each week. All players who finish in the top 20 during each Grand Prix (including players tied for 20th place) will earn points based on their score out of 10 rounds. With each win being worth one point, and each draw being worth half a point, this means a player cannot earn more than 10 points in any given SCC GP.

The top eight players that advance to the post-tournament bracket can earn additional points on top of what they earned in the Swiss segment. Players earn two points for reaching the quarterfinals, four points for reaching the semifinals, eight points for finishing second place, and 12 points for winning the event.

Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix leaderboard points

Throughout the season, a player's SCC GP score is comprised of a combination of select SCC GP performances and post-tournament bracket points. Each player's eight best SCC GP performances will be added together for their Swiss grand prix score. All additional points earned during the post-tournament bracket will be added to each player's grand prix score to determine their total amount of grand prix points.

Identification Requirements and Fair Play

  • Titled players who still need to verify their title on Chess.com are requested to fill out the form here.
  • Per our standard identification rules for all cash-prize events, we require all players in any Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix events to identify themselves with their full legal name on their Chess.com profile. This must be done before registering for the event. 
  • Anonymous players cannot earn prizes in the Speed Chess Championship Grand Prix or enter the post-tournament bracket.
  • Players must have access to a webcam in order to participate in the post-tournament bracket. Players that are not on the official ZOOM call are not eligible to win prizes or earn grand prix points.
  • Participants should be prepared to join a ZOOM call for proctoring at the arbiter's discretion.
  • All players are to abide by all rules and site policies found at Chess.com/agreement and cooperate fully with Chess.com's fair play detection team.

If your account is further convicted of fair-play violations, your account will be closed and you will be subject to Chess.com's private proceedings. You can find here more information on Chess.com's Fair Play and Cheat Detection methods.

The SCC GP is presented by Gambit, where you can in classic games like Reversi, Backgammon, and Oh Ship by playing with players from around the world.

More from CHESScom
How Your Own Chess Games Can Be Your Best Learning Tool

How Your Own Chess Games Can Be Your Best Learning Tool

Celebrate International Chess Day By Playing In Chess.com's 24-Hour Arena

Celebrate International Chess Day By Playing In Chess.com's 24-Hour Arena