Second Stop Leuven
The 2017 GCT tour continued only days later with the second stop at Leuven City Hall for the Your Next Move tournament. Boasting the largest University in the Benelux Union, the city is a rich piece of European history waiting to be discovered. Spectators saw six of the full tour participants and four wildcards compete against each other in 9 rounds of rapid chess and 18 rounds of blitz chess for a total prize fund of $150,000.
Full tour participants Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave were energized by Paris Grand Chess Tour as they placed first through third respectively in Your Next Move Leuven. The World Champion Carlsen dominated the tournament and earned thirteen tour points (one bonus point for winning clear first) and $37,500 for his efforts.