Three players tied for first in the 14-player FIDE Grand Prix tournament held 20 April through 6 May at Baku, Azerbaijan. Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan finished first on tiebreak ahead of Wang Yue and Magnus Carlsen. The event was the first in the series of six 2008-2009 FIDE Grand Prix tournaments designed to identify a challenger for the 2010 World Championship.

Each of the 14 players goes on to play three other Grand Prix events. They will be joined by seven more players who did not compete in Baku and still have four tournaments to play. The math works : six events with 14 players each and 21 players with four events each.

The scoring system also requires a little math. In addition to the prize money for each event, the players receive Grand Prix Points based on their final standing. First place earns 140 points, second place 130 points, and so on through 14th place with 10 points. The first three places also earn bonus points : 40 for first place, 20 for second, and 10 for third. In the case of ties, the prize money and Grand Prix Points are split equally.

The cumulative score for the series of events is calculated using the best three results for each player. The big prize will be a shot at the World Championship, but the first ten players overall will receive cash prizes.

The 21 players came to the Grand Prix by several routes. Some qualified from previous FIDE events, some were chosen based on their world ranking, and some were nominated by the FIDE President. Six were chosen by the organizers of the six events. The winner at Baku, Vugar Gashimov, was the nominee of the Baku organizers.

The next Grand Prix event will take place during the first two weeks in August 2008, at Sochi (Soci), Russia. The four other events will be held at four month intervals through December 2009. • Official sites: Grand Prix, Baku 2008 and Grand Prix 2008-2009. • For more about the Grand Prix and an explanation of how it fits into the World Championship cycle, see our ChessChrono 2008-2009 FIDE Grand Prix. • Image: Official logo of the 2008 FIDE Grand Prix, Baku.