21 January 2022

Groups for First Leg of FIDE Grand Prix 2022 Determined

The event will take place in Berlin on 3-17 February.


The first leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022 will be held in Berlin from 3 till 17 February. The drawing of lots ceremony, held over Zoom, determined the pools for the first leg of the Series. 

Pool A: Alexander Grischuk (2764, Russia), Hikaru Nakamura (2736, USA), Dmitry Andreikin (2724, Russia), and Etienne Bacrot (2642, France);

Pool B: Ding Liren (2799, China), Richard Rapport (2763, Hungary), Vladimir Fedoseev (2704, Russia), and Grigoriy Oparin (2681, Russia);

Pool С: Levon Aronian (2772, USA), Santosh Vidit Gujrathi (2727, India), Daniil Dubov (2720, Russia), and Vincent Keymer (2664, Germany);

Pool D: Wesley So (2772, USA), Leinier Dominguez (2752, USA), Harikrishna Pentala (2717, India), and Alexei Shirov (2704, Spain).  

At the group stage, the participants will compete in four double-round-robin tournaments, with only the winners of each pool advancing. Both the semi-finals and final will consist of two regular time limit games, plus tie-breaks if needed.  

In total, there will be three legs of the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022: two in Berlin and one in Belgrade. Two winners of the Series will qualify for the Candidates Tournament that will take place later in 2022.

Information on Fide.com