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2020 Clutch Chess: International

This event has already taken place. All information below is for reference only.

Event Details

Jun 6, 2020 - Jun 14, 2020

In this second installment of Clutch Chess, the tournament will expand internationally. Eight of the world’s top chess players will battle online from Saturday, June 6 – Sunday, June 14, 2020 for an extraordinary $265K in prize money – the largest prize fund ever offered for an online chess event. As players compete, it becomes clear that Clutch Chess tests a player’s ability to perform under pressure in the most critical phases of a match. This allows drama until the very end; a player who is trailing significantly still has a chance to come back until the very end.

Players will be seeded and paired for individual quarterfinal matches based on their FIDE rapid rating. Since Clutch Chess is a knockout tournament, players who fail to win their match are eliminated from the competition, while players who win their match advance to the next stage of competition.

Games	Win	Draw	Loss
Games 1 – 4	1	½	0
Games 5 – 6	2	1	0
Games 7 – 10	1	½	0
Games 11 – 12	3	1½	0
Total Match Points Possible		18

Pairings & Results

DAY 1 – QUARTERFINALS
	GAME 1	GAME 2	GAME 3	GAME 4	GAME 5 ^†	GAME 6 ^†	TOTAL SCORE
1 M. Carlsen	1	1	1	1/2	0	1	4.5
8 J. Xiong	0	0	0	1/2	2	1	3.5

2 M. Vachier Lagrave	1/2	1/2	1/2	0	0	1	2.5
7 W. So	1/2	1/2	1/2	1	2	1	5.5
DAY 2 – QUARTERFINALS
	GAME 1	GAME 2	GAME 3	GAME 4	GAME 5^†	GAME 6^†	TOTAL SCORE
3 L. Dominguez	1	1/2	0	0	0	1	2.5
6 F. Caruana	0	1/2	1	1	2	1	5.5

4 A. Grischuk	1	1/2	0	1/2	1	0	3
5 L. Aronian	0	1/2	1	1/2	1	2	5

† Clutch games 5 and 6 are worth 2 points each and an additional $2,000 bonus for a decisive result.

DAY 3 – QUARTERFINALS
	GAME 7	GAME 8	GAME 9	GAME 10	GAME 11^†	GAME 12^†	TOTAL SCORE
1 M. Carlsen	0	1/2	1	1	1.5	3	11.5
8 J. Xiong	1	1/2	0	0	1.5	0	6.5

2 M. Vachier Lagrave	1/2	1/2	1	1/2	0	0	5
7 W. So	1/2	1/2	0	1/2	3	3	13
DAY 4 – QUARTERFINALS
	GAME 7	GAME 8	GAME 9	GAME 10	GAME 11^†	GAME 12^†	TOTAL SCORE
3 L. Dominguez	1	0	1	0	1.5	1.5	7.5
6 F. Caruana	0	1	0	1	1.5	1.5	10.5

4 A. Grischuk	1/2	1	0	1/2	3	0	8
5 L. Aronian	1/2	0	1	1/2	0	3	10

† Clutch games 11 and 12 are worth 3 points each and an additional $3,000 bonus for a decisive result.

DAY 5 – Semifinals
	GAME 1	GAME 2	GAME 3	GAME 4	GAME 5^†	GAME 6^†	TOTAL SCORE
1 M. Carlsen	1	1	1/2	1/2	2	1	6
5 L. Aronian	0	0	1/2	1/2	0	1	2

6 F. Caruana	0	0	1/2	1/2	0	1	2
7 W. So	1	1	1/2	1/2	2	1	6

† Clutch games 5 and 6 are worth 2 points each and an additional $2,000 bonus for a decisive result.

DAY 6 – Semifinals
	GAME 7	GAME 8	GAME 9	GAME 10	GAME 11^†	GAME 12^†	TOTAL SCORE
1 M. Carlsen	1	1	1/2	1/2	1.5	1.5	12
5 L. Aronian	0	0	1/2	1/2	1.5	1.5	6

6 F. Caruana	1	1	0	1	3	1.5	9.5
7 W. So	0	0	1	0	0	1.5	8.5

† Clutch games 11 and 12 are worth 3 points each and an additional $3,000 bonus for a decisive result.

DAY 7 – Finals
	GAME 1	GAME 2	GAME 3	GAME 4	GAME 5^†	GAME 6^†	TOTAL SCORE
1 M. Carlsen	1/2	1/2	1	0	2	0	4
6 F. Caruana	1/2	1/2	0	1	0	2	4

† Clutch games 5 and 6 are worth 2 points each and an additional $2,000 bonus for a decisive result.

DAY 8 – Finals
	GAME 7	GAME 8	GAME 9	GAME 10	GAME 11^†	GAME 12^†	TOTAL SCORE
1 M. Carlsen	1	1/2	0	1	0	3	9.5
6 F. Caruana	0	1/2	1	0	3	0	8.5

† Clutch games 11 and 12 are worth 3 points each and an additional $3,000 bonus for a decisive result.

The Players

Additional Info

Jeffery Xiong

Invitational Rating: 2730

Alexander Grischuk

Invitational Rating: 2784

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Invitational Rating: 2860

Magnus Carlsen

Invitational Rating: 2881

Levon Aronian

Invitational Rating: 2778

Leinier Dominquez

Invitational Rating: 2786

Wesley So

Invitational Rating: 2741

Fabiano Caruana

Invitational Rating: 2773

Schedule

Date	Start Times	Event
	QuarterFinals	Match A 1 vs 8	Match B 2 vs 7
June 6	1:00 PM CT	Game 1	—
	1:30 PM CT	Game 2	—
	2:00 PM CT	Game 3	Game 1
	2:30 PM CT	Game 4	Game 2
	3:00 PM CT	Game 5	Game 3
	3:30 PM CT	Game 6	Game 4
	4:00 PM CT	Interviews	Game 5
	4:30 PM CT	—	Game 6
	5:00 PM CT	—	Interviews
	QuarterFinals	Match C 3 vs 6	Match D 4 vs 5
June 7	1:00 PM CT	Game 1	—
	1:30 PM CT	Game 2	—
	2:00 PM CT	Game 3	Game 1
	2:30 PM CT	Game 4	Game 2
	3:00 PM CT	Game 5	Game 3
	3:30 PM CT	Game 6	Game 4
	4:00 PM CT	Interviews	Game 5
	4:30 PM CT	—	Game 6
	5:00 PM CT	—	Interviews
	Quarterfinals	Match A 1 vs 8	Match B 2 vs 7
June 8	1:00 PM CT	—	Game 7
	1:30 PM CT	—	Game 8
	2:00 PM CT	Game 7	Game 9
	2:30 PM CT	Game 8	Game 10
	3:00 PM CT	Game 9	Game 11
	3:30 PM CT	Game 10	Game 12
	4:00 PM CT	Game 11	Interviews
	4:30 PM CT	Game 12	—
	5:00 PM CT	Interviews	—
	Quarterfinals	Match C 3 vs 6	Match D 4 vs 5
June 9	1:00 PM CT	—	Game 7
	1:30 PM CT	—	Game 8
	2:00 PM CT	Game 7	Game 9
	2:30 PM CT	Game 8	Game 10
	3:00 PM CT	Game 9	Game 11
	3:30 PM CT	Game 10	Game 12
	4:00 PM CT	Game 11	Interviews
	4:30 PM CT	Game 12	—
	5:00 PM CT	Interviews	—
June 10	Rest Day
	Semifinals	Match E	Match F
June 11	1:00 PM CT	Game 1	—
	1:30 PM CT	Game 2	—
	2:00 PM CT	Game 3	Game 1
	2:30 PM CT	Game 4	Game 2
	3:00 PM CT	Game 5	Game 3
	3:30 PM CT	Game 6	Game 4
	4:00 PM CT	Interviews	Game 5
	4:30 PM CT	—	Game 6
	5:00 PM CT	—	Interviews
	Semifinals	Match E	Match F
June 12	1:00 PM CT	Game 7	—
	1:30 PM CT	Game 8	—
	2:00 PM CT	Game 9	Game 7
	2:30 PM CT	Game 10	Game 8
	3:00 PM CT	Game 11	Game 9
	3:30 PM CT	Game 12	Game 10
	4:00 PM CT	Interviews	Game 11
	4:30 PM CT	—	Game 12
	5:00 PM CT	—	Interviews
	Finals	Match G
June 13	1:00 PM CT (with each subsequent game to begin 5 minutes after the the prior game)	Games 1 – 6
June 14	1:00 PM CT (with each subsequent game to begin 5 minutes after the the prior game)	Games 7 – 12

Prize Fund

Stage	1st Place	2nd Place	Clutch Games 5&6	Clutch Games 11&12
Quarterfinals	Advance to Semifinals	$15,000	$2,000/game	$3,000/game
Semifinals	Advance to Finals	$25,000	$2,000/game	$3,000/game
Finals	$50,000	$35,000	$2,000/game	$3,000/game

Regulations

Format: Clutch Chess is a knock-out tournament played at rapid time controls. Game points are weighted at critical phases of each match and are worth additional prize money, as discussed in further detail in Sections 3 and 5 below.
Venue: Clutch Chess is an online event. Players will compete from their homes under the supervision of a Chief Arbiter. The Chief Arbiter shall be Chris Bird, IA.
Pairings & Scoring:
1. Players will be paired for individual matches consisting of twelve (12) rapid games.
2. Players will be seeded into the quarterfinals based on their current FIDE Rapid Rating.
3. Pairings for the quarterfinal matches shall be seeds: 1 vs 8 (Match A), 2 vs 7 (Match B), 3 vs 6 (Match C), 4 vs 5 (Match D).
4. Pairings for the semifinal matches shall be as follows: the winner of 1 vs 8 against the winner of 4 vs 5 (Match E) and the winner of 3 vs 6 against the winner of 2 vs 7 (Match F).
5. Players who fail to win their match are eliminated from the competition. Players who win their match advance to the next stage of competition.
6. Colors for game 1 in each match shall be determined by coin toss. Players will then continually alternate colors for games 2 – 6 in each match. Players will start with the opposite color on day two (2).
7. Games will not be rated.
8. Draw offers are not allowed to be made before move sixty (60) in any match.
9. Players must complete every game of the match, even if the match is decided before the final game.
Time Control: The time control shall be ten (10) minutes per game, with a five (5)-second increment from move one (G/10+5).
Prizes: The total prize fund shall be $265,000. Each match shall have a prize fund commensurate with the stage of the event. Furthermore, games 5, 6, 11 and 12 in each of the Matches (the “Clutch Games”) shall also have bonus prize money available (“Clutch Prize”).
1. A player must win their Clutch Game to earn the Clutch Prize.
2. If Clutch Games 5 or 6 end in a draw, the Clutch Prize for that game shall be divided evenly and added to the Clutch Prize for games 11 and 12.
3. If the result of Clutch Game 11 is a draw, any accumulated Clutch Prize for that game shall be added to the Clutch Prize for Clutch Game 12.
4. If the result of either semifinal Clutch Game 12 is a draw, any accumulated Clutch Prize money from that game shall be divided evenly and added to the Clutch Prize for Finals Games 11 and 12.
5. If the Finals Clutch Game 12 result is a draw, any accumulated Clutch Prize money for that game shall not be paid out in prizes.
Playoff & Tiebreak
1. In the event of a tie for first place in any match, the following tiebreaks shall be used:
  1. The player with the most points from Clutch Games shall advance.
  2. If both players have the same amount of points from Clutch Games, then a two (2)-game blitz match with a time control of game in five (5) minutes plus two (2) seconds increment (G/5+2) shall be played by the players. Colors shall be determined by a coin toss.
  3. If the two (2) game blitz match ends in a tie, then the players shall compete in an Armageddon Game. White shall have five (5) minutes and Black shall have four (4) minutes. Black shall be declared the winner if the result is a draw. Colors shall be determined by a coin toss.
Arbitration
1. The tournament shall be played according to the rules set by lichess.org.
2. The tournament shall be supervised by the Chief Arbiter (the “CA”).
  1. The CA shall be responsible for ensuring fair play and implementing any anti-cheating measures.
  2. If a player wishes to appeal a decision of the CA, they must do so immediately after the game by notifying the CA.
  3. The Chief Organizer (the “CO”) shall appoint a three (3)-person appeals committee consisting of at least two (2) arbiters (the “Appeals Committee”). The Appeals Committee shall be decided prior to the start of the event and players shall be made aware of its members. The CO shall be Tony Rich, IA, IO.
  4. Decisions of the Appeals Committee are final.
3. Each two (2)-player match shall have its own Zoom conference room, allowing the CA to communicate directly with the players without disturbing other players.
4. If a player disconnects from lichess.org, that player shall lose all time for which they are disconnected.
5. If a player disconnects from the Zoom screen sharing, they must immediately reconnect.
6. In the event of an unexpected occurrence, the CA reserves the right to make all decisions in conjunction with or on behalf of the CO.
Anti-Cheating Measures
1. Players are required to allow the CA to inspect the playing area and computer on which the player will compete at any time throughout the competition upon request.
2. Players are not allowed to leave the computer while their game is in progress.
3. Players are required to share their computer screen with the CA via Zoom conference for the entirety of play.
4. Players shall not run any software other than a web browser with one tab open to lichess.org, Zoom and Skype unless expressly allowed by the CA and CO.
5. Players shall not use any other electronic devices while playing, including headphones, mobile phones, etc.
6. Games may be submitted for anti-cheating analysis.