We are pleased to announce the results of the Chessable ECF Grand Prix for 2022/2023, which has been based on events from from 1st July 2022 to the end of June 2023. We are very grateful to Chessable, providers of the MoveTrainer® software, for their generous support for this year’s Grand Prix, which is being relaunched following a gap of three years owing to the pandemic.
All ECF rated open congresses or open sections played in England at standard or rapid time controls are included in the Grand Prix point calculations.
While scoring is via data from the rating system, organisers have also been sending congress reports/results to the ECF – webmaster@englishchess.org.uk – for publication on the website and/or in ChessMoves.
The winners for 2023 are as below across the various categories —
Chessable Grand Prix Winners 2022/23
| Open | Prize | Points | Female | Prize | Points | |
| Open/2050+ | ||||||
| 1st | Brandon GI Clarke | Trophy plus £1,200 | 706 | Nina P. Pert | Trophy plus £800 | 482 |
| 2nd | Mark L. Hebden | Medal plus £500 | 624 | Anusha Subramanian | Medal plus £300 | 404 |
| 3rd | Peter G. Large | Medal plus £300 | 612 | Jane Richmond | Medal plus £200 | 372 |
| Major 1900-2049 | Sheng Liang Bernard Chan | Medal plus £250 | 495 | Nina P. Pert | Medal plus £150 | 482 |
| Intermediate 1750-1899 | Stanley Badacsonyi | Medal plus £250 | 545 | Alaa Gamal | Medal plus £150 | 222 |
| Minor 1600-1749 | Supratit Banerjee | Medal plus £250 | 416 | Anusha Subramanian | Medal plus £150 | 404 |
| Improvers U1600 | Kai Hanache | Medal plus £250 | 303 | Bodhana Sivanandan | Medal plus £150 | 287 |
| Junior U18 | Yichen Han | Trophy plus £250 | 583 | Nina P. Pert | Trophy plus £150 | 482 |
The final 2022/ 2023 leaderboards can be found at the link below with details of top 20 places and points scored for players in each of the Grand Prix categories.
| Leaderboards – click here |
The last Grand Prix before this years event was in 2018/2019 with the previous Grand Prix leaderboards here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/GrandPrixfinal1819.pdf
Grand Prix Rules
1. Nature of the Event
The Grand Prix is a year-long individual competition based on rated standardplay and rapid congresses played in England and restricted to Direct Members of the Federation at Silver, Gold & Platinum levels (Junior included). All open congresses rated by the ECF are included, provided their rating results reach the ECF within one month of the last day of the congress (and in any case no later than 20th July). Leagues, knockouts, invitational events, team competitions, internal club competitions and matches are not included. The Grand Prix begins on 1st July and ends on the following 30th June. A congress which begins in June and finishes in July will be deemed, for this purpose, to have taken place entirely in July.
2. Grand Prix Sections
The Grand Prix is divided into seven sections —
- Open Prix: open to all members (Silver & above) rated at 2050 or above (OTB standardplay rating)
- Major 1900 – 2049
- Intermediate 1750 – 1899
- Minor 1600 – 1749
- Improvers U1600
- Women’s Prix: open to all female members (Silver & above)
- Junior Prix: open to all members (Silver & above) aged under 18 on 31st August of the year in which the Grand Prix begins
Current published ratings will be used based on the 1st July 2022 lists for allocation to categories – Standard Play where available, otherwise Rapid Play. Unrated players may only compete in the Women’s Prix and Junior Prix. The member will retain all points scored so far (see Grand Prix Scoring below)
3. Grand Prix Scoring
Grand Prix points may be scored in any number of events. To score, the player must be an ECF member (Silver or above) at the time of the event.
(a) Scoring Grand Prix points in an event
(i) The member must play at least four games in the event. Byes and wins by default will not be counted.
(ii) In a Standard Play event the member’s Grand Prix points are calculated as – percentage score in the event, with any fraction of a percent ignored; plus the number of games played in that event (up to a maximum of 11).
(iii) In a Rapid Play event the points are calculated as above, then halved, and truncated, if necessary, to produce a whole number.
(b) Calculating overall Grand Prix scores
Grand Prix scores will be calculated on the member’s best performances in —
• up to 7 Standard Play events, or
• up to 6 Standard Play events + 2 Rapid Play events, or
• up to 5 Standard Play events + 4 Rapid Play events
—whichever gives the highest score.
In the case of a tie, the next highest Standard Play result or two next highest Rapid Play results (whichever gives the higher score) will act as a tiebreak. This process will be continued, if necessary, until the tie is resolved.
The leading scores will be published from time to time, and the final scores will be published in early August.
4. Prizes
| Category | Open | Female | |
| Open/2050 + | 1st | £1,200 | £800 |
| 2nd | £500 | £300 | |
| 3rd | £300 | £200 | |
| Major 1900 – 2049 | £250 | £150 | |
| Intermediate 1750 – 1899 | £250 | £150 | |
| Minor 1600 – 1749 | £250 | £150 | |
| Improvers U1600 | £250 | £150 | |
| Junior U18 | £250 | £150 |
Trophies / medals for the winners of each section
5. Application of Rules
The application of these rules, and any decisions relating to them, rests solely with the English Chess Federation. An appeal against a decision may be made within seven days. An appeal against the calculation of a Grand Prix score may be made within seven days of its publication. Any appeal must be sent to the ECF Office accompanied by a fee of £25.00, which will be returned if the appeal is upheld. Appeals will be referred to the ECF Home Director (or a person or persons appointed by him), whose decision will be final.
History of the Grand Prix
The Grand Prix was first established in 1974 by Stewart Reuben and Leonard Barden with sponsorship from Cutty Sark. The Grand Prix continued in its initial format for several years until Leigh Interests/Onyx took up the sponsorship in 1981, which they continued through to 1999. The series was then sponsored by the Terence Chapman Group and in 2003 became the BCF Grand Prix and subsequently the ECF Grand Prix including sponsortship from Tradewise.
The initial 1974 Grand Prix was won by Grandmaster Tony Miles and Gerald Bennett, who tied on the same number of points. You can find a full list of previous winners from 1974 – 2019 at the link here – https://www.ecfresource.co.uk/titles-bccgrand-prix/4/
Sponsorship
We are very pleased to announce that this year’s ECF Grand Prix is being sponsored by Chessable as a primary learning partner of the Federation. Chessable are part of the PlayMagnus group and providers of the MoveTrainer® software. For further details see the Chessable website here –
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