Grand Chess Tour
The Grand Chess Tour (GCT) was a 2015 circuit of chess tournaments where players compete for multiple prize pools. The three tournaments featured in the Grand Chess tour were Norway Chess, the Sinquefield Cup, and the London Chess Classic.
On January 6, 2016, the Altibox Norway Chess event announced it would not be part of the Grand Chess Tour in 2016, mostly due to differences in how much of a priority getting commercial sponsorship should be. Other plans for 2016 are thus up in the air. Malcolm Pein insists that there will still be 3 tournaments, with player invitations issued by the end of January. Even with this move, Altibox Norway Chess expects to lose money in 2016, and the other GCT events are significantly dependent upon large monetary infusions from private patrons.
On February 11, 2016, the GCT announced it was adding two rapid/blitz tourneys for 2016, sponsored by Colliers International France (Paris), and Your Next Move (Brussels-Leuven).
History
The Grand Chess Tour was announced on April 24, 2015 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis in St. Louis, Missouri prior to the Battle of the Legends: Garry Kasparov vs Nigel Short match. The tour was designed to promote competitive chess by including all of the top players and the World Champion Magnus Carlsen in a single circuit. With the combination of several established tournaments, the Grand Chess Tour aimed to create a large prize pool which would be attractive to the players and media alike.