Grand Chess Tour

The Grand Chess Tour, abbreviated GCT, is an elite international tournament circuit created in 2015. A circuit links several events through one overall ranking: players earn Tour points from their results, and those points determine the season standings.

A season can include classical, rapid, and blitz chess. Classical games give each player much more thinking time; rapid cuts that time substantially; blitz cuts it further. The exact mix of events, which players contest the full circuit, special invitations, and the method of deciding the champion can change between seasons.

GCT points are neither International Chess Federation (FIDE) rating points, the numbers used to estimate competitive strength, nor the score of an individual game. They are an internal measure for the circuit. The Tour is also not inherently a World Championship stage. That is the key difference from the FIDE Grand Prix, which awarded Candidates places in certain editions. The GCT represents a modern circuit model, while historical events such as Hastings 1895 stood alone.