Blog - 2025 Grand Trix Chess Olympiad

Welcome to the official handbook of the 2025 Grand Trix Chess Olympiad, your comprehensive guide to all rules and information! Refer to this resource for clarity on tournament regulations, game formats, and more before starting any discussions.

Game Types and Sections

The Grand Trix Olympiad features two main chess formats: Rapid Matches and Classical Matches. Both formats are conducted over-the-board and online via Chess.com, which serves as the host for online games. Over-the-board matches will be held by contestants who opt to host and are approved by the organizing committee.

The tournament will commence with all Rapid Matches, followed by the Classical Matches.

Rapid Matches

• Format: Two games are played between two randomly paired contestants.
• Time Control: 10 minutes per player, no bonus time.
• Rules: Follows FIDE guidelines as outlined on their website.
• Point System:
  • Win (by resignation or checkmate): 1 Olympiad Point.
  • Draw (by agreement, stalemate, insufficient material, or insufficient captures): 0.5 Olympiad Points per player.

Both contestants will play two games, the first game having black and white chose randomly, then game two will reverse colors. The same time control, rules, and point allocation apply to both games.

Classical Matches

• Format: Two games are played between two randomly paired contestants.
• Time Control: 90 minutes (1 hour and 30 minutes) per player, with a 20-second bonus per move.
• Rules: Follows FIDE guidelines as outlined on their website.
• Point System:
  • Win (by resignation or checkmate): 2 Olympiad Points.
  • Draw (by agreement, stalemate, insufficient material, or insufficient captures): 1 Olympiad Points per player.

Both contestants will play two games, the first game having black and white chose randomly, then game two will reverse colors. The same time control, rules, and point allocation apply to both games.

Match Bracket System

Matches progress as follows:

1. Rapid Matches are played first.
2. Players advance to the next round based on their points.
3. In the event of a draw in the initial games, additional games are played until a winner emerges. However, only half or one Olympiad Point will be awarded for these additionaly matches, depending on the format (Rapid or Classical).

For example, if three players are in the tournament:

• Two players are randomly selected to compete.
• If there is a winner, the third player competes against the loser, and the winner of that match then faces the original winner.
• If the initial game ends in a draw, the two players continue competing until a winner is decided.

Player Qualifications

To participate in the 2025 Grand Trix Chess Olympiad, players must meet the following criteria:

THE CRITERIA HAS NOT YET BEEN MADE… soooooo… someone suggest something please, thank you!

Tournament Prizes

The winner of the 2025 Grand Trix Chess Olympiad will recieve:

THE PRIZE HAS NOT YET BEEN MADE… buuuuuuut… it’s probably going to be nothing except bragging rights because what would we actually give?

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Sponsors of 2025GRTRIX

The Grand Trix Olympiad is made possible through the support of our sponsors.

To become a sponsor, contact us at yay@yaycompany.com before the tournament begins. We are looking forward to an exciting and competitive tournament. Best of luck to all participants!