The first two Grand Prix consisted of six tournaments, but the 2014-2015 edition had only four. Often there were problems finding sponsors and many announced host cities were changed eventually (to date, 8 of the 16 locations have been changed). The 2014-15 edition was announced late, with only 4 events instead of 6, reduced the prizes per event by about 1/3, and had no money for overall placings (as in the earlier editions). . In 2014-2015, four top 10 players (Carlsen, Anand, Topalov and Aronian) didn't participate, with the small prize funds and organizational uncertainty being the usual reasons given.[2][3][4]
The winner of the men's Grand Prix (and sometimes lower finishers) gets entry to the Candidates Tournament. The winner of the women's cycle is directly qualified to a championship match. The women's edition has been dominated by Chinese GM Hou Yifan, who won all editions so far.
The format will change for the 2016-2017 Grand Prix with 24 players taking part in the cycle. Four events will take place with 18 players in competing in each nine-round Swiss tournament.[5] The events will take place on Oct. 12 to 23, 2016; Feb. 10 to 21, 2017; May 11 to 22, 2017; and July 5 to 16, 2017. Venues are yet to be announced. The top two finishers will qualify for the next Candidates.[6]
Women's competitions
In the first three editions the two rating favorites Hou Yifan and Koneru Humpy always shared the top two places in the overall standings.