The Chess World Cup 2017 was a 128-player single-elimination chess tournament, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 2 to 27 September 2017. It was won by Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian. This was the second time he had won the Chess World Cup, 12 years after his first win in 2005. It was the 7th edition of the Chess World Cup.

FIDE Chess World Cup 2017
2017 FIDE World Cup winner Levon Aronian.
Tournament information
SportChess
LocationTbilisi, Georgia
Dates2 September 2017–27 September 2017
AdministratorFIDE
Tournament
format(s)
Single elimination tournament
Host(s)Chess Federation of Georgia
Final positions
ChampionArmenia Levon Aronian
Runner-upChina Ding Liren
← 2015
2019 →

The top two finishers in the tournament, Aronian and Ding Liren, qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2018 for the World Chess Championship 2018.[1]

Bidding process

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At the 85th FIDE Congress held during the 41st Chess Olympiad, FIDE received bids to host the World Cup 2017 and 2018 Olympiad from the national federations of Georgia and South Africa.[2] South Africa proposed Sun City and Durban as venues, while Georgia proposed Tbilisi and Batumi respectively.[3] Although Garry Kasparov expressed support for the South African bid during his FIDE presidential campaign,[4] Georgia's bid won, receiving 93 votes to South Africa's 58.[5]

Format

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The tournament was a knock-out format, with the exception that there was a provision for the two semi-final losers to play off for third place if necessary (see #Candidates qualification).

Matches consist of two regular time limit games (except for the final, and playoff for third if required, which consist of four regular time limit games). For these two games, players have 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move from the start of the game.

If a match is tied after the regular games, tie breaks will be played the next day. The format for the tie breaks is as follows:

  • Two rapid games (25 minutes plus 10 seconds increment).
  • If the score is tied after two rapid games, further two rapid games (10 minutes plus 10 seconds increment) are played.
  • If the score is tied after four rapid games, the opponents play two blitz games (five minutes plus three seconds increment).
  • If the score is tied after a pair of blitz games, an armageddon game (in which a draw counts as a win for Black) is played. White has 5 minutes and Black has 4 minutes, with an increment of 3 seconds/move starting from move 61.

Candidates qualification

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The tournament qualified two players for the 2018 Candidates Tournament.

However Magnus Carlsen (world champion) and Sergey Karjakin (already seeded to the Candidates) had no need for qualification, and both participated in the tournament (even though it is highly unusual for the defending champion to do so). So the rules were actually that the top two finishers other than Carlsen and Karjakin would qualify for the Candidates. This meant there was provision for a match for third place, between the two semi-final losers, if necessary.[6]

As it turned out, both Carlsen and Karjakin were eliminated in the first three rounds, so the two Candidates qualifiers were simply the two finalists: Armenia's Levon Aronian and China's Ding Liren.

Schedule

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Each of the first six rounds takes three days: one day each for the two regular time limit games, then a third day for tie breaks, if required. The final round has four days of regular time limit games, then a fifth day for tie breaks, if required.

  • Round 1: September 3–5
  • Round 2: September 6–8
  • Round 3: September 9–11
  • Round 4: September 12–14
  • Round 5: September 15–17
  • Rest day: September 18
  • Round 6: September 19–21
  • Rest day: September 22
  • Final (and play-off for third place if required): September 23–27

All rounds begin at 15:00 local time (11:00 UTC).

Prize money

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Round Prize Total
Round 1 64 × US $6,000 US $384,000
Round 2 32 × US $10,000 US $320,000
Round 3 16 × US $16,000 US $256,000
Round 4 8 × US $25,000 US $200,000
Round 5 4 × US $35,000 US $140,000
Round 6 2 × US $50,000 US $100,000
Runner-up US $80,000 US $80,000
Winner US $120,000 US $120,000
Total US $1,600,000

According to the regulations, all players have to pay their own expenses for travel, and 20% of each player's prize money goes to FIDE.[7]

Participants

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The participants[8] are seeded by their FIDE rating of August 2017. All players are grandmasters unless indicated otherwise.

  1.   Magnus Carlsen (NOR), 2822 (World Champion)
  2.   Wesley So (USA), 2810 (R)
  3.   Fabiano Caruana (USA), 2807 (R)
  4.   Vladimir Kramnik (RUS), 2803 (R)
  5.   Levon Aronian (ARM), 2799 (R)
  6.   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE), 2797 (R)
  7.   Hikaru Nakamura (USA), 2792 (R)
  8.   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), 2789 (R)
  9.   Alexander Grischuk (RUS), 2783 (R)
  10.   Viswanathan Anand (IND), 2783 (R)
  11.   Ding Liren (CHN), 2777 (R)
  12.   Sergey Karjakin (RUS), 2773 (WC)
  13.   Anish Giri (NED), 2772 (WC)
  14.   Wei Yi (CHN), 2753 (AS16)
  15.   Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS), 2751 (R)
  16.   Peter Svidler (RUS), 2751 (WC)
  17.   Radosław Wojtaszek (POL), 2745 (E16)
  18.   Yu Yangyi (CHN), 2744 (R)
  19.   Li Chao (CHN), 2744 (R)
  20.   Pentala Harikrishna (IND), 2743 (R)
  21.   Teimour Radjabov (AZE), 2742 (ON)
  22.   Lê Quang Liêm (VIE), 2739 (AS16)
  23.   Michael Adams (ENG), 2738 (R)
  24.   David Navara (CZE), 2737 (E16)
  25.   Pavel Eljanov (UKR), 2734 (WC)
  26.   Vladimir Fedoseev (RUS), 2731 (E17)
  27.   Boris Gelfand (ISR), 2729 (R)
  28.   Maxim Matlakov (RUS), 2728 (E17)
  29.   Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR), 2728 (ACP)
  30.   Nikita Vitiugov (RUS), 2724 (E16)
  31.   Francisco Vallejo Pons (ESP), 2717 (E16)
  32.   Étienne Bacrot (FRA), 2715 (E17)
  33.   Bu Xiangzhi (CHN), 2710 (AS17)
  34.   Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS), 2710 (R)
  35.   Evgeniy Najer (RUS), 2707 (E16)
  36.   Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL), 2707 (E17)
  37.   Dmitry Andreikin (RUS), 2706 (R)
  38.   Wang Hao (CHN), 2702 (AS17)
  39.   Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS), 2702 (E16)
  40.   David Howell (ENG), 2702 (E17)
  41.   Ivan Cheparinov (BUL), 2696 (E16)
  42.   Maxim Rodshtein (ISR), 2695 (E17)
  43.   Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (IND), 2693 (AS17)
  44.   Vladislav Artemiev (RUS), 2692 (E17)
  45.   Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR), 2692 (PN)
  46.   Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (GER), 2687 (E16)
  47.   Baadur Jobava (GEO), 2687 (E16)
  48.   Alexander Onischuk (USA), 2682 (Z2.1)
  49.   Bassem Amin (EGY), 2680 (AF)
  50.   Baskaran Adhiban (IND), 2677 (PN)
  51.   Richárd Rapport (HUN), 2675 (R)
  52.   Alexander Motylev (RUS), 2675 (E17)
  53.   Daniil Dubov (RUS), 2666 (E16)
  54.   Martyn Kravtsiv (UKR), 2665 (E17)
  55.   Varuzhan Akobian (USA), 2662 (Z2.1)
  56.   Gawain Jones (ENG), 2660 (E17)
  57.   Boris Grachev (RUS), 2654 (E17)
  58.   David Antón Guijarro (ESP), 2654 (E16)
  59.   Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR), 2652 (E17)
  60.   Hou Yifan (CHN), 2652 (PN)
  61.   Alexander Areshchenko (UKR), 2652 (E17)
  62.   Laurent Fressinet (FRA), 2650 (E16)
  63.   Sandro Mareco (ARG), 2650 (Z2.5)
  64.   Aleksey Dreev (RUS), 2648 (E16)
  65.   Axel Bachmann (PAR), 2648 (AM17)
  66.   Matthias Blübaum (GER), 2646 (E17)
  67.   Luka Lenič (SLO), 2646 (E17)
  68.   Anton Demchenko (RUS), 2645 (E16)
  69.   Kacper Piorun (POL), 2644 (E16)
  70.   Sergei Zhigalko (BLR), 2644 (E16)
  71.   Lázaro Bruzón (CUB), 2643 (AM17)
  72.   Hrant Melkumyan (ARM), 2642 (E17)
  73.   Jorge Cori (PER), 2641 (Z2.4)
  74.   Anton Kovalyov (CAN), 2641 (AM16)
  75.   Igor Kovalenko (LAT), 2640 (E16)
  76.   Daniel Fridman (GER), 2640 (E17)
  77.   Jeffery Xiong (USA), 2633 (J16)
  78.   Emilio Córdova (PER), 2629 (AM16)
  79.   Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn (VIE), 2629 (Z3.3)
  80.   Viktor Erdős (HUN), 2628 (E17)
  81.   Yaroslav Zherebukh (USA), 2627 (Z2.1)
  82.   Iván Salgado López (ESP), 2627 (E16)
  83.   Samuel Sevian (USA), 2620 (AM17)
  84.   S. P. Sethuraman (IND), 2618 (AS16)
  85.   Benjamin Bok (NED), 2615 (E17)
  86.   Neuris Delgado Ramírez (PAR), 2614 (AM17)
  87.   Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM), 2606 (E16)
  88.   Dimitrios Mastrovasilis (GRE), 2596 (E17)
  89.   Aryan Tari (NOR), 2591 (E16)
  90.   Mikheil Mchedlishvili (GEO), 2590 (ON)
  91.   Deep Sengupta (IND), 2589 (AS16)
  92.   Aleksey Goganov (RUS), 2586 (E16)
  93.   Levan Pantsulaia (GEO), 2585 (ON)
  94.   Aleksej Aleksandrov (BLR), 2580 (E17)
  95.   Mikhail Antipov (RUS), 2580 (J15)
  96.   Diego Flores (ARG), 2580 (AM16)
  97.   Alexandr Fier (BRA), 2579 (AM17)
  98.   Karthikeyan Murali (IND), 2579 (Z3.7)
  99.   Kaido Külaots (EST), 2577 (PN)
  100.   Murtas Kazhgaleyev (KAZ), 2576 (AS16)
  101.   Julio Sadorra (PHI), 2575 (AS17)
  102.   Kirill Stupak (BLR), 2573 (E16)
  103.   Yusnel Bacallao Alonso (CUB), 2573 (AM17)
  104.   Aleksandr Lenderman (USA), 2565 (AM16)
  105.   Jóhann Hjartarson (ISL), 2556 (N)
  106.   Tsegmed Batchuluun (MGL), 2555 (AS17)
  107.   Vitaly Kunin (GER), 2551 (E17)
  108.   Helgi Dam Ziska (FRO), 2545 (PN)
  109.   Yuri Gonzalez Vidal (CUB), 2543 (Z2.3)
  110.   Leandro Krysa (ARG), 2537 (Z2.5)
  111.   Amirreza Pourramezanali (IRI), 2533 (Z3.1)
  112.   Felipe El Debs (BRA), 2531 (Z2.4)
  113.   Jahongir Vakhidov (UZB), 2529 (Z3.4)
  114.   Mladen Palac (CRO), 2525 (E16)
  115.   Bator Sambuev (CAN), 2522 (Z2.2)
  116.   Nana Dzagnidze (GEO), 2519 (ON)
  117.   Anton Smirnov, IM (AUS), 2508 (Z3.6)
  118.   Mohamed Haddouche (ALG), 2487 (Z4.1)
  119.   Yeoh Li Tian, IM (MAS), 2478 (Z3.3)
  120.   Essam El-Gindy (EGY), 2455 (Z4.2)
  121.   Muhammad Khusenkhojaev, IM (TJK), 2455 (Z3.4)
  122.   Abdullah Al Rakib (BAN), 2454 (Z3.2)
  123.   Liu Guanchu, IM (CHN), 2451 (Z3.5)
  124.   Daniel Cawdery, IM (RSA), 2449 (AF)
  125.   Dai Changren, no title (CHN), 2427 (Z3.5)
  126.   Kenny Solomon (RSA), 2398 (Z4.3)
  127.   Joshua Daniel Ruiz Castillo, IM (COL), 2377 (Z2.3)
  128.   Oluwafemi Balogun, FM (NGR), 2255 (Z4.4)

Qualification paths

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Results, rounds 1–4

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Section 1

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First round Second Round Third round Fourth round
            
1   Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2
128   Oluwafemi Balogun (NGR) 0
1   Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2
64   Aleksey Dreev (RUS) 0
64   Aleksey Dreev (RUS) 2
65   Axel Bachmann (PAR) 0
1   Magnus Carlsen (NOR) ½
33   Bu Xiangzhi (CHN)
32   Étienne Bacrot (FRA)
97   Alexandr Fier (BRA)
32   Étienne Bacrot (FRA)
33   Bu Xiangzhi (CHN)
33   Bu Xiangzhi (CHN) 2
96   Diego Flores (ARG) 0
33   Bu Xiangzhi (CHN) 1
16   Peter Svidler (RUS) 3
16   Peter Svidler (RUS) 2
113   Jahongir Vakhidov (UZB) 0
16   Peter Svidler (RUS)
80   Viktor Erdős (HUN)
49   Bassem Amin (EGY)
80   Viktor Erdős (HUN)
16   Peter Svidler (RUS)
48   Alexander Onischuk (USA) ½
17   Radosław Wojtaszek (POL)
112   Felipe El Debs (BRA) ½
17   Radosław Wojtaszek (POL)
48   Alexander Onischuk (USA)
48   Alexander Onischuk (USA) w/o
81   Yaroslav Zherebukh (USA) [note 3]

Section 2

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First round Second Round Third round Fourth round
            
8   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)
121   Muhammad Khusenkhojaev (TJK) ½
8   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)
57   Boris Grachev (RUS) ½
57   Boris Grachev (RUS)
72   Hrant Melkumyan (ARM)
8   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)
104   Aleksandr Lenderman (USA)
25   Pavel Eljanov (UKR) 0
104   Aleksandr Lenderman (USA) 2
104   Aleksandr Lenderman (USA)
89   Aryan Tari (NOR) ½
40   David Howell (ENG)
89   Aryan Tari (NOR)
8   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)
9   Alexander Grischuk (RUS)
9   Alexander Grischuk (RUS) 2
120   Essam El-Gindy (EGY) 0
9   Alexander Grischuk (RUS)
73   Jorge Cori (PER)
56   Gawain Jones (ENG) ½
73   Jorge Cori (PER)
9   Alexander Grischuk (RUS)
24   David Navara (CZE)
24   David Navara (CZE) 2
105   Jóhann Hjartarson (ISL) 0
24   David Navara (CZE) 3
41   Ivan Cheparinov (BUL) 1
41   Ivan Cheparinov (BUL)
88   Dimitrios Mastrovasilis (GRE) ½

Section 3

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First round Second Round Third round Fourth round
            
4   Vladimir Kramnik (RUS)
125   Dai Changren (CHN) ½
4   Vladimir Kramnik (RUS)
68   Anton Demchenko (RUS) ½
61   Alexander Areshchenko (UKR) 2
68   Anton Demchenko (RUS) 4
4   Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) ½
29   Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR)
29   Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR) 3
100   Murtas Kazhgaleyev (KAZ) 1
29   Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR)
36   Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL)
36   Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 2
93   Levan Pantsulaia (GEO) 0
29   Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR)
13   Anish Giri (NED) ½
13   Anish Giri (NED)
116   Nana Dzagnidze (GEO) ½
13   Anish Giri (NED) 4
52   Alexander Motylev (RUS) 2
52   Alexander Motylev (RUS)
77   Jeffery Xiong (USA) ½
13   Anish Giri (NED) 4
84   S. P. Sethuraman (IND) 2
20   Pentala Harikrishna (IND)
109   Yuri González Vidal (CUB)
20   Pentala Harikrishna (IND)
84   S. P. Sethuraman (IND)
45   Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) ½
84   S. P. Sethuraman (IND)

Section 4

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First round Second Round Third round Fourth round
            
5   Levon Aronian (ARM) 2
124   Daniel Cawdery (RSA) 0
5   Levon Aronian (ARM) 4
60   Hou Yifan (CHN) 2
60   Hou Yifan (CHN)
69   Kacper Piorun (POL) ½
5   Levon Aronian (ARM)
28   Maxim Matlakov (RUS)
28   Maxim Matlakov (RUS)
101   Julio Sadorra (PHI) ½
28   Maxim Matlakov (RUS) 5
37   Dmitry Andreikin (RUS) 3
37   Dmitry Andreikin (RUS) 3
92   Aleksey Goganov (RUS) 1
5   Levon Aronian (ARM)
53   Daniil Dubov (RUS) ½
12   Sergey Karjakin (RUS) 3
117   Anton Smirnov (AUS) 1
12   Sergey Karjakin (RUS) ½
53   Daniil Dubov (RUS)
53   Daniil Dubov (RUS)
76   Daniel Fridman (GER)
53   Daniil Dubov (RUS)
44   Vladislav Artemiev (RUS) ½
21   Teimour Radjabov (AZE)
108   Helgi Dam Ziska (FRO) ½
21   Teimour Radjabov (AZE)
44   Vladislav Artemiev (RUS)
44   Vladislav Artemiev (RUS) 2
85   Benjamin Bok (NED) 0

Section 5

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First round Second Round Third round Fourth round
            
2   Wesley So (USA)
127   Joshua Daniel Ruiz Castillo (COL) ½
2   Wesley So (USA) 4
66   Matthias Blübaum (GER) 2
63   Sandro Mareco (ARG) ½
66   Matthias Blübaum (GER)
2   Wesley So (USA)
31   Francisco Vallejo Pons (ESP) ½
31   Francisco Vallejo Pons (ESP)
98   Karthikeyan Murali (IND)
31   Francisco Vallejo Pons (ESP)
34   Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS) ½
34   Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)
95   Mikhail Antipov (RUS)
2   Wesley So (USA)
47   Baadur Jobava (GEO)
15   Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS)
114   Mladen Palac (CRO)
15   Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS)
50   Baskaran Adhiban (IND)
50   Baskaran Adhiban (IND)
79   Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn (VIE)
15   Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS)
47   Baadur Jobava (GEO)
18   Yu Yangyi (CHN) 3
111   Amirreza Pourramezanali (IRI) 1
18   Yu Yangyi (CHN) 2
47   Baadur Jobava (GEO) 4
47   Baadur Jobava (GEO)
82   Iván Salgado López (ESP)

Section 6

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First round Second Round Third round Fourth round
            
7   Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2
122   Abdullah Al Rakib (BAN) 0
7   Hikaru Nakamura (USA)
71   Lázaro Bruzón (CUB)
58   David Anton Guijarro (ESP) ½
71   Lázaro Bruzón (CUB)
7   Hikaru Nakamura (USA) ½
26   Vladimir Fedoseev (RUS)
26   Vladimir Fedoseev (RUS) 3
103   Yusnel Bacallao Alonso (CUB) 1
26   Vladimir Fedoseev (RUS)
39   Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS) ½
39   Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS)
90   Mikheil Mchedlishvili (GEO) ½
26   Vladimir Fedoseev (RUS) 3
42   Maxim Rodshtein (ISR) 1
10   Viswanathan Anand (IND)
119   Yeoh Li Tian (MAS) ½
10   Viswanathan Anand (IND) ½
74   Anton Kovalyov (CAN)
55   Varuzhan Akobian (USA) ½
74   Anton Kovalyov (CAN)
74   Anton Kovalyov (CAN) [note 4]
42   Maxim Rodshtein (ISR) w/o
23   Michael Adams (ENG)
106   Tsegmed Batchuluun (MGL)
23   Michael Adams (ENG) ½
42   Maxim Rodshtein (ISR)
42   Maxim Rodshtein (ISR)
87   Robert Hovhannisyan (ARM)

Section 7

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First round Second Round Third round Fourth round
            
3   Fabiano Caruana (USA) 2
126   Kenny Solomon (RSA) 0
3   Fabiano Caruana (USA) 4
67   Luka Lenič (SLO) 2
62   Laurent Fressinet (FRA) 2
67   Luka Lenič (SLO) 4
3   Fabiano Caruana (USA)
35   Evgeniy Najer (RUS)
30   Nikita Vitiugov (RUS)
99   Kaido Kulaots (EST) ½
30   Nikita Vitiugov (RUS) 1
35   Evgeniy Najer (RUS) 3
35   Evgeniy Najer (RUS)
94   Aleksej Aleksandrov (BLR) ½
35   Evgeniy Najer (RUS)
51   Richárd Rapport (HUN)
14   Wei Yi (CHN)
115   Bator Sambuev (CAN)
14   Wei Yi (CHN)
51   Richárd Rapport (HUN)
51   Richárd Rapport (HUN) 2
78   Emilio Córdova (PER) 0
51   Richárd Rapport (HUN)
19   Li Chao (CHN)
19   Li Chao (CHN)
110   Leandro Krysa (ARG) ½
19   Li Chao (CHN)
83   Samuel Sevian (USA)
46   Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu (GER)
83   Samuel Sevian (USA)

Section 8

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First round Second Round Third round Fourth round
            
6   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)
123   Liu Guanchu (CHN) ½
6   Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 1
59   Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR) 3
59   Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR)
70   Sergei Zhigalko (BLR) ½
59   Yuriy Kuzubov (UKR) ½
38   Wang Hao (CHN)
27   Boris Gelfand (ISR)
102   Kirill Stupak (BLR) ½
27   Boris Gelfand (ISR)
38   Wang Hao (CHN)
38   Wang Hao (CHN)
91   Deep Sengupta (IND) ½
38   Wang Hao (CHN) ½
11   Ding Liren (CHN)
11   Ding Liren (CHN)
118   Mohamed Haddouche (ALG) ½
11   Ding Liren (CHN)
54   Martyn Kravtsiv (UKR)
54   Martyn Kravtsiv (UKR)
75   Igor Kovalenko (LAT) ½
11   Ding Liren (CHN)
43   Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (IND)
22   Lê Quang Liêm (VIE)
107   Vitaly Kunin (GER) ½
22   Lê Quang Liêm (VIE) ½
43   Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (IND)
43   Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (IND)
86   Neuris Delgado Ramírez (PAR) ½

Results, rounds 5–7

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Final (best of 4)
         
16   Peter Svidler (RUS)
8   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)
8   Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 4
5   Levon Aronian (ARM) 5
29   Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR) ½
5   Levon Aronian (ARM)
5   Levon Aronian (ARM) 4
11   Ding Liren (CHN) 2
2   Wesley So (USA)
26   Vladimir Fedoseev (RUS) ½
2   Wesley So (USA)
11   Ding Liren (CHN)
51   Richárd Rapport (HUN) ½
11   Ding Liren (CHN)

Finals

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Seed Name Aug 2017 rating 1 2 3 4 R1 R2 Total
5   Levon Aronian (ARM) 2799 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 4
11   Ding Liren (CHN) 2777 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 2

Dress code controversy

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Shortly before the third-round game between Anton Kovalyov and Maxim Rodshtein was due to start, Kovalyov was questioned by the arbiter about the knee-length Bermuda shorts he was wearing, the same pair he wore in the first two rounds. Tournament organizer Zurab Azmaiparashvili then approached Kovalyov, stating that his attire violated the FIDE dress code and that he would be punished financially if he did not change what he was wearing.[10][11] Kovalyov explained that he also wore shorts in the 2015 World Cup without incident, but Azmaiparashvili objected and said that Kovalyov's clothing made him "look like a gypsy."[10] Kovalyov interpreted this as a racial slur.[12] Kovalyov then left the tournament hall and did not return, thus forfeiting the game. He also checked out of his hotel and booked a flight for Dallas, where he was studying for a master's degree in Computer Science technology at the University of Texas.[10] The Chess Federation of Canada filed a formal complaint about the incident.[11][13] FIDE issued a report on the incident on October 1.[14]

Notes

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  1. ^ The Women's World Champion, Tan Zhongyi, renounced her participation and, in accordance with the regulations, she was replaced from the average rating list.
  2. ^ a b In the 2017 US Zonal, which normally awards five spots for the World Cup, only three players, other than those who already qualified with the previous criteria, attained the required score of 50% or better. In accordance with the World Cup regulations, the two unused positions at the US Zonal Championship passed on to the American Continental Championship.
  3. ^ Zherebukh did not travel to the event because he was concerned that he would not be re-admitted to the USA afterwards. (FIDE World Cup 2017: 35 decisive games, Chessbase, 9/4/2017)
  4. ^ Kovalyov forfeited after a dispute over the dress code and alleged racial slurs. See #Dress code controversy.

References

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  1. ^ Rules & regulations for the Candidates Tournament of the FIDE World Championship cycle 2016-2018, FIDE
  2. ^ "85th FIDE Congress: General Assembly Minutes and Annexes". FIDE. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  3. ^ "FIDE Congress Tromso, Norway General Assembly 11- 14 August 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  4. ^ "Kasparov Replies: "Whom Will You Support?"". 8 June 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Batumi to Host Olympiad-2018". Chess-News.ru. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  6. ^ Video of players' meeting, Chessbase India, YouTube, September 2, 2017
  7. ^ "Regulations for the FIDE World Chess Cup 2017" (PDF). FIDE.
  8. ^ "Participants of the World Cup 2017" (PDF). FIDE.
  9. ^ a b Guadalupe, Franc (2017-06-19). "GM Samuel Sevian wins Continental Championship". US Chess.
  10. ^ a b c "Dress Code Incident At World Cup: Kovalyov Forfeits". Chess.com. 2017-09-09.
  11. ^ a b "Chess federation fuming over treatment of Canadian grandmaster who was berated over wearing shorts at tournament". TheStar.com. 2017-09-11.
  12. ^ Shah, Sagar (2017-09-09). "The shorts episode at the FIDE World Cup 2017". Chess News. ChessBase.
  13. ^ "Letter from Chess Federation of Canada" Archived 2017-09-29 at the Wayback Machine. FIDE. 2017-09-15.
  14. ^ The Kovalyov Report, Chessbase, October 1, 2017
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