Topalov Wins 2013 Zug Grand Prix
Veselin Topalov finished the FIDE Zug Grand Prix in style by winning his final round game against Sergey Karjakin.
That victory, the only decisive game of the final round, ensured that Topalov scored the maximum 170 Grand Prix ranking points for sole first place. He now leads the overall standings by 70 clear points (see below).
The overall winner and runner-up of the 2012/13 Grand Prix series will qualify for the next Candidates Tournament, expected to be held in March 2014.
All other games in the final round were drawn.
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The final standings in the Zug Grand Prix
| # | Name | Elo | Fed | Pts |
| 1 | Topalov Veselin | 2771 | BUL | 8 |
| 2 | Nakamura Hikaru | 2767 | USA | 6½ |
| 3 | Ponomariov Ruslan | 2733 | UKR | 6 |
| 4 | Caruana Fabiano | 2772 | ITA | 6 |
| 5 | Kamsky Gata | 2741 | USA | 5½ |
| 6 | Morozevich Alexander | 2758 | RUS | 5½ |
| 7 | Karjakin Sergey | 2786 | RUS | 5 |
| 8 | Giri Anish | 2727 | NED | 5 |
| 9 | Leko Peter | 2744 | HUN | 5 |
| 10 | Radjabov Teimour | 2793 | AZE | 4½ |
| 11 | Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2709 | UZB | 4½ |
| 12 | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2766 | AZE | 4½ |
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Veselin Topalov won the tournament by an impressive 1½ point margin
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Each tournament is a single round-robin featuring 12 out of the 18 players in the Grand Prix, and each player competes in four of the six events. The best 3 scores of each player count towards their overall score. The official regulations for the 2012/13 FIDE Grand Prix can be found here.
Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand declined to participate in the Grand Prix as they are likely to qualify for the 2014 Candidates by virtue of their high ratings (or status as World Champion).
The latest Grand Prix standings after 3 of 6 competitions
| # | Player | Elo | London | Tashkent | Zug | Pts |
| 1 | Veselin Topalov (BUL) | 2752 | 140 | – | 170 | 310 |
| 2 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) | 2729 | 140 | 80 | 20 | 240 |
| 3 | Alexander Morozevich (RUS) | 2770 | – | 140 | 75 | 215 |
| 4 | Wang Hao (CHN) | 2726 | 70 | 140 | – | 210 |
| 5 | Sergey Karjakin (RUS) | 2785 | – | 140 | 50 | 190 |
| 6 | Fabiano Caruana (ITA) | 2773 | – | 80 | 100 | 180 |
| 7 | Peter Leko (HUN) | 2737 | 80 | 50 | 50 | 180 |
| 8 | Boris Gelfand (ISR) | 2738 | 140 | 30 | – | 170 |
| 9 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | 2778 | 15 | – | 140 | 155 |
| 10 | Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) | 2734 | – | 50 | 100 | 150 |
| 11 | Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB) | 2684 | 35 | 80 | 20 | 135 |
| 12 | Alexander Grischuk (RUS) | 2763 | 90 | – | – | 90 |
| 13 | Gata Kamsky (USA) | 2746 | – | 10 | 75 | 85 |
| 14 | Anish Giri (NED) | 2711 | 15 | – | 50 | 65 |
| 15 | Michael Adams (ENG) | 2722 | 55 | – | – | 55 |
| 16 | Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR) | 2769 | 55 | – | – | 55 |
| 17 | Leinier Domínguez (CUB) | 2725 | 35 | 20 | – | 55 |
| 18 | Peter Svidler (RUS) | 2749 | – | 50 | – | 50 |
| 19 | Teimour Radjabov (AZE) | 2788 | – | – | 20 | 20 |
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Photos by Anastasiya Karlovich. Games via TWIC. Overall standings table via Wikipedia.
