15 December 2018
Hikaru Nakamura and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to Fight in GCT Final in London
Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian to play third place playoff.
Photo: Lennart Ootes
The semi-final matches Nakamura - Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave - Aronian at the Grand Chess Tour final tournament were concluded in London on December 13. The grandmasters played 2 rapid and 4 blitz games.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hikaru Nakamura defeated their rivals with a total score 18-10. It is to be recalled that the scoring is 6 points for a win, 3 points for a draw and 0 points for a loss in classic games; 4 points for a win, 2 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss in rapid games, and 2 point for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss in blitz games.
In the final match, Nakamura and MVL will play two games with a classical time control (December 15-16), and then rapid and blitz will follow on December 17. There will also be a Third Place Playoff between Aronian and Caruana.
A total prize fund is USD 300,000 in GCT prize money. The 2018 GCT champion will take home a 1st prize of USD 120,000.
Grand Chess Tour website
London Chess Classic website
