Tashkent 2012 FIDE Grand Prix
The second Grand Prix of the 2012/13 series runs from 21 November - 5 December in Tashkent.
The overall winner and runner-up of the 2012/13 Grand Prix series qualify for the March 2014 Candidates Tournament.
The first contest in London was won jointly by Boris Gelfand, Veselin Topalov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. After the Tashkent Grand Prix the series will move on to Lisbon next April, followed by Madrid, Berlin and Paris.
The winners in London (l to r): Boris Gelfand, Veselin Topalov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
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Each tournament is a single round-robin featuring 12 out of the 18 players in the Grand Prix, and each player competes in four of the six events. Details of dates and participants are here.
Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand have declined to participate in the Grand Prix as they are likely to qualify for the Candidates by virtue of their high ratings (or status as World Champion).
The line-up for the Tashkent Grand Prix
| Name | Fed | Elo |
| Karjakin, Sergey | RUS | 2780 |
| Caruana, Fabiano | ITA | 2772 |
| Morozevich, Alexander | RUS | 2758 |
| Kamsky, Gata | USA | 2755 |
| Wang, Hao | CHN | 2748 |
| Mamedyarov, Shakriyar | AZE | 2748 |
| Svidler, Peter | RUS | 2747 |
| Gelfand, Boris | ISR | 2736 |
| Ponomariov, Ruslan | UKR | 2735 |
| Leko, Peter | HUN | 2734 |
| Dominguez Perez, Leinier | CUB | 2734 |
| Kasimdzhanov, Rustam | UZB | 2690 |
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Gata Kamsky replaces Vugar Gashimov who is unable to play (in this tournament only).
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The Tashkent Grand Prix Schedule
| 21/11/2012 | Arrival & Opening |
| 22/11/2012 | Round 1 |
| 23/11/2012 | Round 2 |
| 24/11/2012 | Round 3 |
| 25/11/2012 | Round 4 |
| 26/11/2012 | Free Day |
| 27/11/2012 | Round 5 |
| 28/11/2012 | Round 6 |
| 29/11/2012 | Round 7 |
| 30/11/2012 | Round 8 |
| 01/12/2012 | Free Day |
| 02/12/2012 | Round 9 |
| 03/12/2012 | Round 10 |
| 04/12/2012 | Round 11 & Closing |
| 05/12/2012 | Departure |
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The overall winner and runner-up of the 2012/13 FIDE Grand Prix will qualify for the March 2014 Candidates Tournament. Before then, we are due to have the 2013 Candidates in March 2013 in London, with the winner challenging Vishy Anand for the title in October/November 2013.
The eight players in the 2013 London candidates tournament are:
- Boris Gelfand (loser of the 2012 World Championship)
- The top 3 in the 2011 World Cup (Peter Svidler, Alexander Grischuk, Vassily Ivanchuk)
- The top 3 rated players not otherwise qualified (Magnus Carlsen, Lev Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik)
- A wildcard nominee from the original hosts Azerbaijan (Teimour Radjabov)
The official regulations for the 2012/13 FIDE Grand Prix can be found here.
Information from the Tashkent Grand Prix website. Photo by Ray Morris-Hill.
