FIDE Grand Prix Berlin 2022 is the final leg of the Grand Prix series that will determine the participants in the Candidates Chess 2022. With Richard Rapport practically qualified after winning the Belgrade Grand Prix, just one spot is available for grabs.
FIDE Grand Prix Berlin 2022 is going to take place March 21 – April 4. The tournament will be divided in two stages. In the first stage, the players are divided into four pools of four, and the players in each pool play a double round-robin mini-tournament. The four winners of the pools progress to the second stage. In the second stage, the four pool winners play a knock-out tournament, consisting of semi-finals and a final. Both the semi-finals and final will consist of 2 regular time limit games, plus tiebreaks if required.
Follow the FIDE Grand Prix Berlin 2022 live games / Live video / More about the Grand Prix / Official website
Pool A: Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian, Andrey Esipenko, Grigoriy Oparin
Pool B: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Vincent Keymer, Daniil Dubov, Leinier Dominguez Perez
Pool C: Alexandr Predke, Wesley So, Sam Shankland, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Pool D: Amin M. Tabatabaei, Yangyi Yu, Nikita Vitiugov, Anish Giri
Round 1 live: Vitiugov – Tabatabaei / Anish Giri – Yu Yangyi / Sam Shankland – Wesley So / Predke – Vachier-Lagrave / Dubov – Dominguez / Vincent Keymer – Mamedyarov / Esipenko – Oparin / Aronian – Nakamura Next: America Chess Cup 2022
FIDE Grand Prix Berlin schedule
| DATE | TIME (CET) | EVENT |
| March 21 | Opening Ceremony | |
| March 22 | 15:00 | Groups: Round 1 |
| March 23 | 15:00 | Groups: Round 2 |
| March 24 | 15:00 | Groups: Round 3 |
| March 25 | 15:00 | Groups: Round 4 |
| March 26 | — | Free day |
| March 27 | 16:00 | Groups: Round 5 |
| March 28 | 16:00 | Groups: Round 6 |
| March 29 | 16:00 | Tie-breaks |
| March 30 | 16:00 | Semifinals: Game 1 |
| March 31 | 16:00 | Semifinals: Game 2 |
| April 1 | 16:00 | Tie-breaks |
| April 2 | 16:00 | Final: Game 1 |
| April 3 | 16:00 | Final: Game 2 |
| April 4 | 16:00 | Tie-breaks and closing ceremony |
Last minute: GM Andrey Esipenko is entering the Berlin FIDE Grand Prix 2022. GM Dmitry Andreikin withdrew from the third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix due to personal reasons. GM Esipenko enters the Berlin Grand Prix as the highest rated eligible player in the December 2021 list. Recent article about GM Esipenko and how the young chess talents are advancing here
Qualification odds by Chess by the Numbers
Chess by the Numbers is following closely the qualification odds for the Candidates Chess 2022. With Rapport securing 96,6% qualification possibility, only one spot remains. Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian have the highest odds to qualify for the Candidates Tournament, but a total of 12 players have theoretical chances.
