Carlsen Wins Grand Chess Tour Leuven
After winning the rapid rounds with an impressive 4/4 performance on Day 2 of the tournament, World Champion Magnus Carlsen even cemented his dominance with an 11/18 performance in the blitz rounds.
Thus, making him the runaway winner of the combined rapid and blitz games that comprise the whole of the Grand Chess Tour 2016 — Your Next Move — Leuven, Belgium. Final combined results follow:
Wesley So makes it to the 2nd place at the conclusion of this Leuven leg. He is followed, this time closely behind, by Levon Aronian and Viswanathan Anand, by half a point each.
Remembering the Grand Chess Tour Paris
Remember that Hikaru Nakamura was the king of the Grand Chess Tour Paris 2016, and thus, he earned 13 GCT points in that tour. But he finished 7th place in Leuven, making him earn 4 GCT points only this time, or a total of 17 points so far.
Wesley So earned 7 GCT points for placing 4th in Paris, but he earned 10 GCT points in Leuven (second place), for a total of 17 points as well.
Magnus Carlsen, on the other hand, was 2nd place in Paris (10 GCT points) and 1st in Leuven (13 GCT points), earning him a total of 23 GCT points so far — a clear first in the Grand Chess Tour 2016 race. However, he was just a wildcard for the Paris and Leuven stops of the whole tour — thus, making him ineligible for the entire tour’s title and the corresponding grand prizes, unless he plays in the last wildcard slot of the London Chess Classic. (One needs to play at least 3 tournaments in order to qualify for the overall title. See Grand Chess Tour website for more info.)
Grand Chess Tour 2016 Standings — after Paris and Leuven
Thus, the overall standings — so far — after Paris and Leuven, are as follows:
With Carlsen being just a wildcard player in both Paris and Leuven, that leaves Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So leading the race so far and should be battling it out for the first place in the next two stops at Sinquefield Cup and the London Chess Classic.
Details of the next two stops follow:
- Sinquefield Cup: August 1-16, 2016 • Saint Louis, USA • Classical
- London Chess Classic: December 8-19, 2016 • London, England • Classical
Replay all the games:
- Your Next Move — Grand Chess Tour 2016 Rapid Games
- Your Next Move — Grand Chess Tour 2016 Blitz Games
- Grand Chess Tour Paris 2016 – Rapid Round
- Grand Chess Tour Paris 2016 – Blitz Round
Photo credits:
- Grand Chess Tour
- Chessbase for the crosstable
Jeofrey Mongcal Sagario
Go Wesley!! !!
Xtian BP
Laban GM So!
Felipe Nieves
Go idol supra GM Wesley So!
Arnold Delacruz
Ramon Espanol…Ito laruin mo
Chris Canales Deramayo Kuizon
Cheers for GM Wesley So….
Jessan S Aquino
Yah So be it…
Job Arago
Mas maganda sana kung bansang Pilipinas ang dinadala nya,kaso bansang America..Eugene Torre still the best Filipino ever.Hindi iniwan ang bansang Pilipinas #PUSO
Ricx De Sekan
gago kasi bansa natin. walang funds para supportahan siya… puro korakot lang alam ng gobyerno natin.
Jason Gamboa
oo kurakot ang bansa ntin. hindi sinusuporthn ang chess player. kya pumunta sa US c wesley.
Ti Gran
Kung hindi lumipat ng US si Wesley,hindi sya lalakas ng ganyan.Kawawa chess players dito,walang suporta.Hopefully mabago sa termino ni Digong.
Jerry Paul Lamorin
Kawawa c wesley kng di xa kinuha ng usa.. hanggang asia lang xa..
J.t. Retes
Tama…Torre pa rin ang da great sa pinas at boung asya ha,.
Job Arago
Ngayon malakas na sya puede n syang bumalik sa Pilipinas kung talagang mahal nya ang Pilipinas para i-represent sa international competition.
Arnold Avellano Patropez
psalamat tau lumipat c wesley ng federation. kng hindi. d natin sya makikita sa elite group.
Dexter Tonog
Lahat naman ng sports angat talaga ang Pinoy…kaso nga lang kulang daw ng pondo…pero d ako naniniwala kung wala lang sanang buwaya…mas lalong aangat ang Pinas d lang sa sport kundi sa lahat ng aspeto.
Nicaso Amarila
keep a good work wesllry.
Paulino IV Dantes Pingol
wesley so maybe carrying the us flag, for so many sad philippine reasons, but to me, and maybe for other filpino chess enthusiasts, he still makes us pinoy proud
Dennis Guevarra
Go Idol Wesley Go for Final Round