FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010

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The FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010 was a series of six chess tournaments held between April 2008 and May 2010. The two best players in the tournament series qualified for the Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship 2012 . The tournaments were organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE in cooperation with its marketing company Global Chess. His mode was based on that of the Chess World Cup in 1988/89 .

History and planning

After experimenting with different World Cup formats in the recent past, the unification of the 2006 World Cup gave the opportunity to establish a new World Cup system. At the same time, however, there was also the need to do so, as the knockout system , which had been used at the FIDE World Championships from 1999 to 2004 and as a qualification for the 2007 World Cup , was less and less accepted by the top players.

Initially, a modified World Cup in group mode was planned, which would ensure the participation of the top players and avoid criticism of the co-system. The idea was to play in 16 groups of 8, the winners of which would then play the finalists in two groups of 8.

In June 2007, however, FIDE announced a different qualification mode, in which the winner of the World Cup should play off the challenger of the world champion against the winner of the new Grand Prix series in eight games.

The planning included six round-robin tournaments in "leading cities in the world" over two years . For the years 2008 and 2009 a tournament was planned in America, Asia and Europe, namely in April, August and December, in order to avoid conflicts with other major chess tournaments. The plan was for 21 players to take part in the Grand Prix, each playing four tournaments. The Grand Prix was intended to be an integral part of future cycles. Applicants wishing to host a tournament in each of the next three cycles were preferred.

With regard to the interest of potential organizers, FIDE's plans turned out to be too optimistic. Obviously it was not possible to find an American prospect. After the application deadline, Baku , Krasnoyarsk , Doha , Montreux , Elista and Karlsbad, which were not exactly leading cities, were presented as organizers. Istanbul and Tehran were intended as reserve cities. Krasnoyarsk was replaced by Sochi after a short time .

qualification

Seven players were set for the Grand Prix, in addition to world champion Viswanathan Anand , his predecessors Wladimir Kramnik and Wesselin Topalow as well as the semi-finalists of the 2007 World Cup , Gata Kamsky , Alexei Schirow , Magnus Carlsen and Sergei Karjakin .

Seven other players qualified via their Elo rating from January 2007 and October 2007: Vasyl Ivanchuk , Shakriyar Mamedyarov , Péter Lékó , Alexander Morosewitsch , Levon Aronjan , Teimour Radjabov and Boris Gelfand .

The reserve list consisted of Michael Adams , Pjotr ​​Swidler , Judit Polgár , Alexander Grishchuk , Ruslan Ponomarjow , Vladimir Akopjan , Etienne Bacrot , Evgeni Alexejew , Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Pavel Eljanow .

Each organizer had the right to nominate a player of their choice with an Elo of at least 2550. The FIDE President was also entitled to nominate a player who was in the top 40 of the October rankings. Further players from different countries should be selected by him, if seeded players would forego their participation.

FIDE was also apparently too optimistic in its planning when it came to the interest of the top players. Of the seeded players, Anand, Kramnik, Topalow and Schirow decided against participating. Morosewitsch, who justified his rejection in an interview with the fact that the entire planning was flawed, since the cycle extends over a total of four years, with 18 months between the announcement of the candidate finalists and the World Cup.

Pyotr Swidler, Ivan Tscheparinow , Étienne Bacrot and Wang Yue were nominated by the President . Michael Adams and Alexander Grishchuk moved up from the reserve list. Judit Polgár, who would have had priority over Grishchuk, also declined to participate.

The field was completed by the nominations of the tournament organizers:

regulate

FIDE devised a new system to calculate the Grand Prix ranking list. The tournament rules were based on the rules tried and tested at the tournament in Sofia .

Rating

For the calculation of the placements within the Grand Prix series, FIDE decided on a complicated system: The winner of each tournament should receive 180 points, the second 150 and the third 130. For 4th to 14th place 110 to 10 points are awarded, 10 points less for each poorer place. If players were to have the same number of board points, the total points would be shared. B. in the case of a shared first place for both players 165 points are provided.

The order in the ranking was based on the following priority:

  • The sum of the three highest Grand Prix points
  • The lowest Grand Prix rating (deletion result)
  • The total board points achieved
  • The number of tournament victories
  • The number of 2nd places
  • The total number of games won

In the same way as the Grand Prix points, the number of tournament victories and 2nd places were also divided, in the above. For example, both players would have 0.5 tournament wins.

Tournament rules

For the first 40 moves, each player was given 120 minutes to think about, for the next 20 moves an additional 60 minutes. For the rest of the game there were 15 minutes to think about plus an increment of 30 seconds from move 61.

Draw agreements could not be made directly, but had to be requested from the referee. Analogous to the Sofia rule , such a request was only permissible if the position was repeated three times , perpetual check , according to the 50-move rule or in the case of a theoretical draw.

Difficulties in the course of the series

After the selection of the venues and the participating players had already proved difficult, further problems arose during the series:

Almost three weeks before the third Grand Prix it was announced that this tournament would not take place in Doha, but in Elista, which was actually intended to be the organizer for the fifth tournament. The tournament planned for April 2009 in Montreux has also been canceled.

Only three days later it became known that the FIDE General Assembly in Dresden had devised a comprehensive change to the World Cup cycle. Accordingly, instead of a candidate final, a tournament with eight players should be played. The first two winners in the Grand Prix series should qualify for this.

The decision to change its rules in the middle of the cycle caused some indignation, especially since the General Assembly was not formally authorized to make changes to the World Cup regulations. As a result, on December 4, Magnus Carlsen decided to leave the Grand Prix. A few days later, Michael Adams followed suit. Levon Aronjan also found sharp words in an open letter, but continued to play the Grand Prix.

Due to this development, the organizers from Karlovy Vary also decided not to host their tournament either. All events planned for 2009 were therefore vacant.

Muhammad al-Mudiyahki, Yannick Pelletier and David Navara, nominated by the organizers from Doha, Montreux and Karlsbad, were removed from the tournament series by FIDE. The remaining players on the rating list moved up into the field of participants. However, the arithmetic problem arose that not all players could complete their four tournaments.

The fourth Grand Prix was finally awarded to Nalchik , the fifth first to Yerevan and finally to Jermuk . For a long time no organizer was found for the sixth tournament; At the end of 2009 the Grand Prix in Astrakhan was announced. The two reserve organizers Istanbul and Tehran were apparently no longer available. Contrary to the original plan to play on different continents, all six tournaments were now held in the Caucasus region, which is why the Grand Prix is ​​sometimes referred to as the Caucasus Cup .

Tournaments

The tournament series was only concluded in May 2010. The first five tournaments belonged to category 19 , which corresponds to an Elo average between 2700 and 2725. The last tournament in the series reached category 20.

Baku April / May 2008

The Grand Prix series kicked off from April 21 to May 5, 2008 in Baku. The leadership at this first tournament changed frequently. Alexander Gritschtschuk got off to a good start, but was then replaced by Vugar Gashimov as the front runner. Last but not least, Gashimov shared the tournament victory with Wang Yue and Magnus Carlsen, who initially got off to a bad start.

1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 12 13 14th Pt. GP pts.
1. Vugar Gashimov ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 8th 153⅓
2. Wang Yue ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 8th 153⅓
3. Magnus Carlsen ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8th 153⅓
4th Shakriyar Mamedyarov ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 0 105
5. Alexander Grishchuk 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 105
6th Michael Adams ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 0 1 1 ½ ½ 85
7th Pyotr Swidler 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 85
8th. Teimour Radjabov ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 6th 60
9. Gata Kamsky 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6th 60
10. Sergei Karjakin ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 6th 60
11. Ivan Cheparinov ½ 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 0 1 35
12. David Navara ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 35
13. Etienne Bacrot ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 5 15th
14th Ernesto Inarkiev ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 5 15th

Sochi July / August 2008

The Grand Prix tournament in Sochi took place from July 31 to August 14. Here one of the top favorites appeared for the first time with Wassyl Iwantschuk, but experienced a classic false start, which he could only soften with a victory over Aronjan in the fourth game. In contrast, outsider Ivan Tscheparinow led the field. In the end, however, Lewon Aronjan passed the field and secured the sole tournament victory.

1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 12 13 14th Pt. GP pts.
1. Levon Aronjan ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 180
2. Teimour Radjabov ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 8th 150
3. Wang Yue ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 120
4th Gata Kamsky ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 120
5. Pyotr Swidler ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 7th 90
6th Dmitri Yakovenko ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 7th 90
7th Sergei Karjakin ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 7th 90
8th. Vasyl Ivanchuk 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 65
9. Vugar Gashimov ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 65
10. Alexander Grishchuk 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 6th 45
11. Ivan Cheparinov 0 0 ½ 1 1 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 6th 45
12. Boris Gelfand 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 30th
13. David Navara 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 4th 15th
14th Muhammad al-Mudiyahki 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 4th 15th

Elista December 2008

The tournament in Elista took place between December 14th and 28th, 2008. The lead changed often in the first two tournaments, but the third tournament in the series was more even. The three shared winners, Radjabov, Jakowenko and Grishchuk, proved the greatest consistency in the tournament.

1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 12 13 13 Pt. GP pts.
1. Teimour Radjabov ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 0 8th 153⅓
2. Dmitri Yakovenko ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 8th 153⅓
3. Alexander Grishchuk ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 8th 153⅓
4th Vugar Gashimov ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 110
5. Péter Lékó ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 80
6th Étienne Bacrot 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 80
7th Shakriyar Mamedyarov ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 80
8th. Wang Yue ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 80
9. Rustam Kasimdzhanov 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 80
10. Ivan Cheparinov ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 1 1 6th 50
11. Yevgeny Alexeyev 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 ½ 35
12. Pavel Elyanov 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 35
13. Vladimir Akopyan ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 5 15th
14th Ernesto Inarkiev 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 5 15th

Nalchik April 2009

The fourth Grand Prix took place in the middle of the crisis region of Kabardino-Balkaria from April 14th to 29th, 2009. In his second appearance, Lewon Aronjan again got the full number of points. In the last lap he beat Péter Lékó, who was tied, and relegated him to 2nd place.

1 2 3 4th 5 6th 6th 8th 9 9 11 12 13 14th Pt. GP pts.
1. Levon Aronjan 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 180
2. Péter Lékó 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 140
3. Vladimir Akopyan 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 140
4th Alexander Grishchuk ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ 7th 105
5. Étienne Bacrot ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 7th 105
6th Yevgeny Alexeyev ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 85
6th Boris Gelfand ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 85
8th. Gata Kamsky ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 6th 55
9. Sergei Karjakin 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 6th 55
9. Pyotr Swidler ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ 1 6th 55
11. Shakriyar Mamedyarov 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 6th 55
12. Vasyl Ivanchuk 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 20th
13. Rustam Kasimdzhanov ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 20th
14th Pavel Elyanov 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 20th

Jermuk August 2009

The fifth Grand Prix took place from August 8 to 23, 2009 in Jermuk, Armenia. This tournament was very close, at times four players were tied at the top. In the end, Vasyl Ivanchuk won alone and kept the chances of the candidates tournament. Levon Aronjan achieved this with his 2nd place in the tournament. Péter Lékó, on the other hand, missed the tournament victory, as in Nalchik, by losing in the last round.

1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 12 13 14th Pt. GP pts.
1. Vasyl Ivanchuk ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 180
2. Levon Aronjan ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 8th 140
3. Boris Gelfand 0 0 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 8th 140
4th Rustam Kasimdzhanov ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 100
5. Péter Lékó ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 100
6th Yevgeny Alexeyev 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 100
7th Sergei Karjakin ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 7th 80
8th. Pavel Elyanov ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 70
9. Étienne Bacrot ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 6th 55
10. Gata Kamsky ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 6th 55
11. Dmitri Yakovenko ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 5 35
12. Vladimir Akopyan 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 5 35
13. Ernesto Inarkiev ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 20th
14th Ivan Cheparinov 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 4th 10

Astrakhan May 2010

The sixth and final tournament took place from May 9th to May 25th 2010 in Astrakhan , Russia . The tournament was postponed for five months. The Ukrainian Pavel Eljanow won, but he could no longer hope to qualify for the candidates' tournament. Teimour Radjabov secured this for himself.

1 2 3 4th 5 6th 7th 8th 9 10 11 12 13 14th Pt. GP pts.
1. Pavel Elyanov 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 8th 180
2. Ruslan Ponomarev 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 7th 116
2. Dmitri Yakovenko ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 7th 116
2. Shakriyar Mamedyarov ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 7th 116
2. Yevgeny Alexeyev 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 7th 116
2. Teimour Radjabov 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 7th 116
7th Peter Leko 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 70
7th Vugar Gashimov ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 70
7th Wang Yue 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 70
10. Boris Gelfand ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 6th 45
10. Pyotr Swidler ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 6th 45
12. Vasyl Ivanchuk ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 20th
12. Ernesto Inarkiev 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 0 20th
12. Vladimir Akopyan 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 20th

Total status

Levon Aronjan and Teimour Radjabov have regularly qualified for the Candidates Tournament, as have Grishchuk due to Magnus Carlsen's withdrawal.

Pl. player country 1 2 3 4th 5 6th Turn. Pt. ZW BP 1st pl. 2nd pl. Victories
1. Levon Aronjan ArmeniaArmenia Armenia - 180 - 180 140 - 3 500 0 25th 2 ½ 15th
2. Teimour Radjabov AzerbaijanAzerbaijan Azerbaijan 60 150 153⅓ - - 116 4th 419⅓ 60 29 1.2 13
3. Alexander Grishchuk RussiaRussia Russia 105 45 153⅓ 105 - - 4th 363⅓ 45 28½ ½ 12
4th Dmitri Yakovenko RussiaRussia Russia - 90 153⅓ - 35 116 4th 359⅓ 35 27 0.2 7th
5. Wang Yue China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China 153⅓ 120 80 - - 70 4th 353⅓ 70 28½ 0 8th
6th Vugar Gashimov AzerbaijanAzerbaijan Azerbaijan 153⅓ 65 110 - - 70 4th 335⅓ 65 28½ 0 10
7th Péter Lékó HungaryHungary Hungary - - 80 140 100 70 4th 320 70 28 0 ½ 10
8th. Yevgeny Alexeyev RussiaRussia Russia 35 95 100 116 4th 311 35 26½ 0 0.2 11
9. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AzerbaijanAzerbaijan Azerbaijan 105 - 80 55 - 116 4th 301 55 27 0 0.2 10
10. Pavel Elyanov UkraineUkraine Ukraine 35 20th 70 180 4th 285 20th 25½ 1 0 12
11. Boris Gelfand IsraelIsrael Israel - 30th - 95 140 45 3 280 30th 26th 0 ½ 10
12. Vasyl Ivanchuk UkraineUkraine Ukraine - 65 - 20th 180 20th 4th 265 20th 26th 1 0 8th
13. Étienne Bacrot FranceFrance France 15th - 80 105 55 - 4th 240 15th 24½ 0 0 6th
14th Gata Kamsky United StatesUnited States United States 60 120 - 55 55 - 4th 235 55 25½ 0 0 9
15th Sergei Karjakin UkraineUkraine Ukraine 60 90 - 55 80 - 4th 230 55 26th 0 0 10
16. Pyotr Swidler RussiaRussia Russia 85 90 - 55 - 45 4th 230 45 25½ 0 0 10
17th Rustam Kasimdzhanov UzbekistanUzbekistan Uzbekistan 80 20th 100 - 3 200 0 19½ 0 0 7th
18th Vladimir Akopyan ArmeniaArmenia Armenia 15th 140 35 20th 4th 195 15th 23 0 ½ 6th
19th Ivan Cheparinov BulgariaBulgaria Bulgaria 35 45 50 - 10 - 4th 130 10 21½ 0 0 10
20th Ruslan Ponomarev UkraineUkraine Ukraine 116 1 116 0 7th 0 0.2 3
21st Ernesto Inarkiev RussiaRussia Russia 15th - 15th - 20th 20th 4th 55 15th 20th 0 0 9
- Magnus Carlsen NorwayNorway Norway 153⅓ - 1 153⅓ 0 8th ? 0 4th
- Michael Adams EnglandEngland England 85 - 1 85 0 0 0 3
- David Navara Czech RepublicCzech Republic Czech Republic 35 15th 2 50 0 0 0 2
- Muhammad al-Mudiyahki QatarQatar Qatar - 15th 1 15th 0 4th 0 0 1
- Yannick Pelletier SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Players marked in green are qualified for the Candidates Tournament.

Legend:

  • Pl . : place
  • 1, ..., 6 Result of a player in the respective tournament
  • Turn. : Number of tournaments played
  • Pts. : Total points
  • ZW : second ranking
  • BP : board points
  • 1st place : Number of first places achieved
  • 2nd place : Number of second places achieved

Future of the Grand Prix

The Grand Prix had apparently failed to meet FIDE's expectations regarding attractiveness for players, organizers and sponsors. In addition to the last tournament in the current series, a new edition was also at risk. The FIDE Presidium initially decided that no more Grand Prix series would be held in future unless the contracts with all organizers were concluded by October 2009. By the end of the series, there was no knowledge of the new edition or a new qualification mode. But with the FIDE Grand Prix 2012-2013 there was a sequel.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Proposal to change the World Cup (English; PDF; 10 kB) on: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  2. Official announcement of the World Cup qualification (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  3. Explanation of the Grand Prix plans (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  4. Announcement of the venues and dates (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  5. Qualifiers for the Grand Prix (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  6. Excel table of the best rated players (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  7. Qualifiers for the Grand Prix (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  8. Interview with Alexander Morosewitsch (English) on: chessbase.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  9. ↑ List of participants (English; PDF; 101 kB) on: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  10. Rules of the Grand Prix (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  11. Press release on the move to Elista (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  12. ^ Resolutions of the FIDE Congress in Dresden (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  13. FIDE Handbook on Grand Prix Rules 1.4 (English)
  14. E-mail exchange between the Carlsen family and FIDE (English) On: chessbase.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  15. Open letter from Michael Adams (English) On: chessbase.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  16. ^ An open letter from Levon Aronjan (English) On: chessbase.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  17. Press release of the organizers from Karlsbad (English) on: chessbase.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  18. Report on Chessbase.de , accessed on May 12, 2010
  19. Results of the Grand Prix in Baku (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  20. Results of the Grand Prix in Sochi (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  21. Results of the Grand Prix in Elista (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  22. Results of the Grand Prix in Nalchik (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  23. Results of the Grand Prix in Jermuk (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2009
  24. Article from February 5, 2010 on: fide.com, accessed April 29, 2010
  25. ^ FIDE Grand Prix Astrakhan 2010 - website of the event at fide.com
  26. ↑ Decision of the executive committee of Fide (English) On: fide.com, accessed on August 25, 2008