# Sinquefield Cup

The Sinquefield Cup is an annual, closed chess tournament hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
It was first held in 2012 as a four-player round-robin tournament. In 2015, it became part of the Grand Chess Tour. In 2016, it was the Tour's third leg and the first slow time control event of the tour.
The tournament was started by billionaire Rex Sinquefield as part of his efforts to boost U.S. chess and turn St. Louis into an international chess center.

## Winners

    #YearWinner(s) 12013 Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 22014 Fabiano Caruana (Italy) 32015 Levon Aronian (Armenia) 42016 Wesley So (United States) 52017 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) 62018 Magnus Carlsen (Norway) Fabiano Caruana (United States) Levon Aronian (Armenia) 72019 Ding Liren (China) 82021 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) 92022 Alireza Firouzja (France) 102023 Fabiano Caruana (United States) 112024 Alireza Firouzja (France)

## 2013

The first edition, in double round-robin format, (working title: 2013 Saint Louis International) was held from 9 to 15 September 2013 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. The four grandmasters played the classic time control: 40 moves in 90 minutes with a 30-second increment as of move one, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game. The total prize fund was $170,000, with $70,000 going to the winner, $50,000 to runner-up, $30,000 to third place and $20,000 to fourth place. The average FIDE rating for the field was 2797, the highest-rated tournament at the time. The opening ceremony took place on 8 September 2013, and round 1 was held the next day. This was the last tournament for Magnus Carlsen before he became world champion at the World Chess Championship 2013.
    1st Sinquefield Cup, 9–15 September 2013, St. Louis, USA, Cat. XXII (2797) PlayerRating1234PointsTPR 1 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)2862 ½ ½½ 11 14½2968 2 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)2772 ½ ½Does not appear1 01 ½3½2862 3 Levon Aronian (Armenia)2813 ½ 00 1Does not appear½ ½2½2735 4 Gata Kamsky (United States)2741 0 00 ½½ ½Does not appear1½2623

## 2014

The second edition was held from August 27 to September 7, at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. It is by rating the strongest tournament in the history of chess, as measured by the six participants' average Elo rating of 2802. All were in the top ten of FIDE's Elo rating list: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and 9 in the world.
The double round-robin tournament again used the time control of 40 moves in 90 minutes with a 30-second increment for every move, followed by an additional 30 minutes plus the per-move-increment for the rest of the game.
The total prize fund was increased to $315,000, with $100,000 going to the winner.
    2nd Sinquefield Cup, 27 August – 7 September 2014, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXIII (2801.7) PlayerRating123456PointsWinsH2HTPR 1 Fabiano Caruana (Italy)2801 1 ½1 11 11 ½1 ½8½3098 2 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)2877 0 ½Does not appear½ ½½ ½1 ½½ 15½2823 3 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)2772 0 0½ ½Does not appear1 ½0 ½1 152808 4 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2768 0 0½ ½0 ½Does not appear1 ½½ ½411½2736 5 Levon Aronian (Armenia)2805 0 ½0 ½1 ½0 ½Does not appear½ ½41½2729 6 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)2787 0 ½½ 00 0½ ½½ ½Does not appear32656
After round 7, Caruana had a score of 7/7, which Levon Aronian called a "historical achievement". Caruana drew his remaining games to finish with 8½/10 and a performance rating of 3098, the highest performance rating in a single tournament, besting Carlsen's performance in the 2009 Nanjing Pearl Spring tournament and Anatoly Karpov in the 1994 Linares chess tournament. It was compared to Bobby Fischer's 20-game winning streak in 1970–1971.
Vachier-Lagrave finished fourth, ahead of Aronian on tie-break (direct encounter).

## 2015

The third edition was held from August 22 to September 3, at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis as the second leg in the 2015 Grand Chess Tour. The tournament featured the seven top players in the world, a feat only surpassed by the AVRO 1938 chess tournament. The Sinquefield Cup was also the strongest tournament featured in the 2015 Grand Chess Tour with an average FIDE Rating of 2795.
The 2015 Sinquefield Cup was a single round-robin event held with a time control of 40 moves in 2 hours, followed by the rest of the game in 1 hour with a 30-second increment from move 41. Wesley So was selected as the tournament invite and joined the nine other players already participating in the Grand Chess Tour.
    3rd Sinquefield Cup, 22 August – 3 September 2015, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXII (2794.6) PlayerRating12345678910PointsWinsH2HSBTPRTour Points 1 Levon Aronian (Armenia)2765½1½½½½1½16292313 2 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)2853½Does not appear½1½001½153½21.25283110 3 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)28140½Does not appear½½10½1153½20.2528358 4 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2731½0½Does not appear½½1½½15228457 5 Anish Giri (Netherlands)2793½½½½Does not appear1½½½½5128386 6 Alexander Grischuk (Russia)2771½10½0Does not appear½1104½327975 7 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)2816½110½½Does not appear0½½4½227924 8 Fabiano Caruana (United States)280800½½½01Does not appear½½3½127133 9 Viswanathan Anand (India)2816½½0½½0½½Does not appear½3½027122 10 Wesley So (United States)27790000½1½½½Does not appear326711

## 2016

The 4th Sinquefield Cup was played between August 4 and 16, 2016. It was rescheduled due to a clash with the 2016 Baku Chess Olympiad. This Sinquefield Cup is one of the tournaments of the 2nd Grand Chess Tour. Ding Liren was selected as the Wild Card for the Sinquefield Cup. Vladimir Kramnik withdrew from Sinquefield Cup for health reasons. Fellow Russian player Peter Svidler replaced him.
The prize fund was US$300,000, with $75,000 for 1st place, and points toward the overall 2016 Grand Chess Tour. Players received 120 minutes for 40 moves then 60 minutes for the rest of the game with an additional 30 seconds added per move starting from move 41. In case of a 2-way tie, a 2-game Rapid Match (10 minutes + 5 seconds increment starting from Move #1) followed by a 2-game Blitz Match (5 minutes + 2 seconds increment starting from Move #1) if tied again was to be played. If a tie after the Blitz match, an Armageddon game would decide the winner. All ratings listed below are from the August 2016 rating list.
On August 14, 2016, Wesley So won the tournament, with 5½ points out of 9 (+2−0=7), ahead of former World Champions Veselin Topalov and Viswanathan Anand, and former winners Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana.
    4th Sinquefield Cup, 4–16 August 2016, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXII (2778.6) PlayerRating12345678910PointsWinsSBTPRTour Points 1 Wesley So (United States)2771½1½½1½½½½5½285913 2 Levon Aronian (Armenia)2792½Does not appear½½½10½1½5221.7528207.75 3 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)27610½Does not appear½½½½11½5221.0028237.75 4 Viswanathan Anand (India)2770½½½Does not appear½½1½½½5122.2528227.75 5 Fabiano Caruana (United States)2807½½½½Does not appear½½½½15121.5028187.75 6 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)279100½½½Does not appear½1½14½227774.5 7 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2819½1½0½½Does not appear½½½4½127744.5 8 Ding Liren (China)2755½½0½½0½Does not appear1½427383 9 Peter Svidler (Russia)2751½00½½½½0Does not appear13½27012 10 Anish Giri (Netherlands)2769½½½½00½½0Does not appear326541

## 2017

The 5th Sinquefield Cup was played from August 2 to August 11, 2017, and was the third leg of the 2017 Grand Chess Tour. It was won by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, with 6 points out of 9 (+3−0=6).
    5th Sinquefield Cup, 2–11 August 2017, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXII (2787.7) PlayerRating12345678910PointsWinsH2HTPRTour Points 1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)27891½½½½½½116290713 2 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)28220Does not appear½11½½½1½5½328629 3 Viswanathan Anand (India)2783½½Does not appear½½½1½½15½228669 4 Levon Aronian (Armenia)2799½0½Does not appear½½01115328256.5 5 Sergey Karjakin (Russia)2773½0½½Does not appear1½½1½5228286.5 6 Peter Svidler (Russia)2751½½½½0Does not appear1½½½4½27925 7 Fabiano Caruana (United States)2807½½01½0Does not appear½½½427474 8 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)2792½½½0½½½Does not appear½03½27093 9 Wesley So (United States)281000½00½½½Does not appear131126651.5 10 Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)27510½00½½½10Does not appear31026721.5

## 2018

The 6th Sinquefield Cup was the fourth leg on the Grand Chess Tour 2018; Carlsen, Caruana and Aronian tied for first, all with 5½ points out of 9 (+2−0=7). The deciding tiebreaker involved the drawing of lots to decide which two players would participate in the playoff for the title. Carlsen objected to this random chance tiebreaker and proposed a three-way playoff. Caruana did not agree to the three-way playoff as he had a playoff with Wesley So for a place at the 2018 London Chess Classic scheduled on the same day (Caruana would qualify to London after beating So in a playoff 1.5–0.5). The trio reached a compromise and agreed to share the title.
    6th Sinquefield Cup, 18–28 August 2018, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXII (2787.5) PlayerRating12345678910PointsH2HWinsBlackTPRTour Points 1–3 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)2842½½½½½½½115½120286115  Fabiano Caruana (United States)2822½½½½½½½115½120286415  Levon Aronian (Armenia)2767½½½1½½½½15½120287015 4 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)2801½½½Does not appear½½½1½½510282910 5 Alexander Grischuk (Russia)2766½½0½Does not appear½½½1½4½11127906 6–7 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2779½½½½½Does not appear½½½½4½10027886 6–7 Viswanathan Anand (India)2768½½½½½½Does not appear½½½4½10027906 8 Wesley So (United States)2780½½½0½½½Does not appear½½40027453 9–10 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)277700½½0½½½Does not appear½3½0026641.5 9–10 Sergey Karjakin (Russia)2773000½½½½½½Does not appear3½0026641.5

## 2019

The 7th Sinquefield Cup was played from August 17 to August 29, 2019, and was the fifth leg of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour. It was won by Ding Liren on tiebreaks, 3–1. Ding Liren and Magnus Carlsen were tied with 6½ points out of 11 (+2−0=9). The prize fund was US$325,000, with $82,500 for 1st place.
    7th Sinquefield Cup, 17–29 August 2019, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXII (2782.5) PlayerRating123456789101112PointsTBPlaceTPRGCT Points 1 Ding Liren (China)2805½½½11½½½½½½6½31284516½ 2 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)2882½Does not appear½½½½½½1½1½6½12283816½ 3 Viswanathan Anand (India)2756½½Does not appear½½½1½½½½½63–4282011 4 Sergey Karjakin (Russia)2750½½½Does not appear½½½½1½½½63–4282111 5 Fabiano Caruana (United States)28180½½½Does not appear½½½½½½15½5–827796½ 6 Anish Giri (Netherlands)27790½½½½Does not appear1½½½½½5½5–827826½ 7 Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia)2774½½0½½0Does not appear½01115½5–827836½ 8 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)2764½½½½½½½Does not appear½½½½5½5–827846½ 9 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2778½0½0½½1½Does not appear½½½59–1027463½ 10 Hikaru Nakamura (United States)2743½½½½½½0½½Does not appear½½59–1027503½ 11 Wesley So (United States)2776½0½½½½0½½½Does not appear½4½11–1227181½ 12 Levon Aronian (Armenia)2765½½½½0½0½½½½Does not appear4½11–1227191½
    First place playoff, 29 August 2019, St. Louis, Missouri, United States PlacePlayerRapid ratingBlitz ratingRapidBlitzScore 1 Ding Liren (China) 27862779 ½ ½ 1 1 3 2 Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 28952920 ½ ½ 0 0 1

## 2021

The 8th Sinquefield Cup was played from August 16 to August 28, 2021, after a break in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament was the fifth leg of Grand Chess Tour 2021. It was won by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, with 6 points out of 9 (+4−1=4).
    8th Sinquefield Cup, 16–28 August 2021, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XX (2742.0) PlayerRating12345678910PointsH2HWinsSBKoyaTPRTour Points 1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2751Does not appear½0½½11½1164291913 2 Fabiano Caruana (United States)2806½Does not appear½½½101½15½1328248.3 3 Leinier Domínguez (United States)27581½Does not appear½½½½½½15½1224.0028298.3 4 Wesley So (United States)2772½½½Does not appear½½½½115½1222.7528288.3 5 Richárd Rapport (Hungary)2763½½½½Does not appear½½01½4½27406 6 Sam Shankland (United States)270900½½½Does not appear½1½½41½27014 7 Jeffery Xiong (United States)271001½½½½Does not appear½½04127014 8 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)2782½0½½10½Does not appear½½4½26934 9 Peter Svidler (Russia)27140½½00½½½Does not appear13½26562 10 Dariusz Świercz (United States)26550000½½1½0Does not appear2½25741

## 2022

The 9th Sinquefield Cup was played from September 1 to September 13, 2022, and was the fifth leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2022. Before the start of the fourth round, Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the tournament during the Carlsen-Niemann controversy. Subsequently, the three games he had already played were annulled for the standings of the Sinquefield Cup, but they were still included for rating points. Alireza Firouzja won the tournament after beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in a two game playoff.
In the table, games with Magnus Carlsen are not counted towards the total of each player's points or wins.
    9th Sinquefield Cup, 2–11 September 2022, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXI (2766.6) PlayerRating12345678910PointsTBH2HWinsSBKoyaTPRTour Points 1 Alireza Firouzja (France)2778Does not appear01½½½1½1–51½284411 2 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)27921Does not appear½½½½1½½05½280411 3 Wesley So (United States)27710½Does not appear1½1½½½–4½127997.5 4 Fabiano Caruana (United States)2758½½0Does not appear½1½1½–4½028017.5 5 Leinier Domínguez (United States)2745½½½½Does not appear½½½½–427586 6 Hans Niemann (United States)2678½½00½Does not appear½½113½½113.5027754.5 7 Levon Aronian (United States)275900½½½½Does not appear1½½3½½112.7527274.5 8 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2757½½½0½½0Does not appear½–3½012.5026652.5 9 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)27570½½½½0½½Does not appear–3½012.2526652.5 10 Magnus Carlsen (Norway)2861–1–––0½––Does not appear—2746–
    First place playoff Place Player Rapid rating Rapid Score 1 Alireza Firouzja (FRA) 2732 ½ 1 1½ 2 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) 2779 ½ 0 ½

## 2023

The 10th Sinquefield Cup was played from 21 November to 30 November, 2023, and was the fifth and final leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2023. Jan-Krzysztof Duda withdrew from the event prior to the second round for health reasons. As a result, all players other than Anish Giri (who played Duda in the first round) played eight games with one bye round. Fabiano Caruana won the tournament, scoring 5.5 out of a possible 8 points.
In the table, games with Jan-Krzysztof Duda are not counted towards the total of each player's points or wins.
    10th Sinquefield Cup, 21–30 November 2023, Saint Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXI (2753.2) PlayerRating12345678910PointsTBWinsSBKoyaTour Points 1 Fabiano Caruana (United States)2795Does not appear½1½½½½11–5½313 2 Leinier Domínguez (United States)2745½Does not appear½½½½1½1–5210 3 Wesley So (United States)27520½Does not appear½½1½½1–4½28 4 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)2771½½½Does not appear½½½½½–46 5 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2734½½½½Does not appear½½½½–46 6 Levon Aronian (United States)2727½½0½½Does not appear½1½–416 7 Anish Giri (Netherlands)2752½0½½½½Does not appear½½½3½4 8 Alireza Firouzja (France)27770½½½½0½Does not appear½–33 9 Richárd Rapport (Romania)2748000½½½½½Does not appear–2½2 10 Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland)2731––––––½––Does not appear—–

## 2024

The 11th Sinquefield Cup was played from 19 August to 29 August, 2024, and was the fifth and final leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2024. 2022 Champion Alireza Firouzja won the event for a second time with an undefeated score (+3-0=6). Firouzja opened the event with a win as Black over eventual second place finisher Fabiano Caruana, and was in the sole lead from the 5th round onward.
    11th Sinquefield Cup, August 19–29 2024, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, Category XXI (2755.1) RankPlayerRating12345678910PointsTour PointsPrize moneyCircuit 1 Alireza Firouzja (France)2751Does not appear1½½½½½1½1613$100,00028.67 2 Fabiano Caruana (United States)27930Does not appear½1½½½½115½10$65,00020.85 T–3 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)2721½½Does not appear½½½½1½½57.5$40,0009.12 T–3 Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan)2762½0½Does not appear½½1½1½57.5$40,0009.12 T–5 Gukesh Dommaraju (India)2766½½½½Does not appear½½½½½4½5$21,833 T–5 R Praggnanandhaa (India)2749½½½½½Does not appear½½½½4½5$21,833 T–5 Wesley So (United States)2751½½½0½½Does not appear½1½4½5$21,833 T–8 Ding Liren (China)27450½0½½½½Does not appear½½3½WC (2.5)$14,500 T–8 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)2767½0½0½½0½Does not appear13½2.5$14,500 10 Anish Giri (Netherlands)274600½½½½½½0Does not appear31$10,500