FIDE Grand Prix to kick off in Moscow
The first leg of the 2019 FIDE Grand Prix series will be officially opened on Thursday in Moscow and the first round is on Friday. 16 players will face off in the first knockout tournament. Giri-Dubov, Radjabov-Nakamura, Duda-So, Karjakin-Grischuk, Nepomniachtchi-Aronian, Wei Yi-Jakovenko, Vitiugov-Svidler and Wojtaszek-Mamedyarov are the match-ups as the players begin the battle for two spots in the 2020 Candidates Tournament.
The 2019 FIDE Grand Prix series consists of four tournaments, with 16 players each. A total of 22 players will compete, and the top two finishers in the overall standings will qualify for the 2020 Candidates' Tournament. The winner of that tournament will be the new challenger of Magnus Carlsen in a title match scheduled for November 2020.