Candidates Tournament 2014

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

Candidates 2014

Khanty-Mansiysk
Round Five
Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Fifth Round Results

Andreikin, Dmitry - Anand, Viswanathan 0.5-0.5
Svidler, Peter – Topalov, Veselin 1-0
Karjakin, Sergey - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 0.5-0.5
Kramnik, Vladimir – Aronian, Levon 0.5-0.5


Candidates 2014
Round Five
March 18, 2014
Karjakin, Sergey - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5 Bd7 4. Bxd7 Qxd7 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 g6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bg7 9. O-O O-O 10. b3 Nc6 11. Bb2 a6 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. exd5 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Bxd4 15. Qxd4 b5 16. Rfe1 Rfc8 17. h4 bxc4 18. bxc4 h5 19. Re4 Rc7 20. Rae1 Rac8 21. Qb6 a5 22. Qxa5 Rxc4 23. Rxe7 Qf5 24. Qd2 Qf4 25. Qxf4 Rxf4 26. g3 Rf5 27. a4 Rxd5 28. Re8 Rxe8 29. Rxe8 Kg7 30. Ra8 Rd3 31. a5 0.5-0.5

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov gave an interview to chessdom at the opening of the Candidates. Two excerpts from it:

- We have several proposals to organize the FIDE World Chess Championship 2014. I cannot announce where the interest is from, I can only say one of them is a beautiful big city in Europe. But it also depends who the winner of the Candidates tournament is, maybe the country of the challenger will organize the match.

- (FIDE has 181 member countries), and by the end of the year ten more members will join. I visit and talk to the future members. For example Saudi Arabia, Oman, also some African countries like the Central African Republic. Step by step. I also rely on my Vice Presidents Geoffrey Borg, Ali Nihat Yazici, Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos to help with increasing the members. I think this year we will reach 192 or 193 federations.

Candidates 2014
Round Five
March 18, 2014
Andreikin, Dmitry - Anand, Viswanathan
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Be3 Bxe3 7. fxe3 Qe7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qe1 Ne8 10. Qc3 f6 11. b4 Nd6 12. a4 Bd7 13. Nbd2 b6 14. a5 Kh8 15. Ra2 Rab8 16. axb6 axb6 17. Qa1 Nb7 18. Qc3 c5 19. bxc5 Nxc5 20. Ra7 Rfc8 21. Rfa1 b5 22. d4 exd4 23. exd4 Nxe4 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. Rxc7 Bf5 26. Raa7 h6 27. Qd2 Rxc7 28. Rxc7 Bg4 29. Rc3 b4 30. Re3 Qd5 31. h3 Bf5 32. Rb3 Qc4 33. Rb2 Be4 34. Kf2 Bxf3 35. Kxf3 Rb5 36. Qd3 Qxd3 37. cxd3 Kg8 38. d5 Kf7 39. Ke4 Ke7 40. Kd4 Kd6 41. Kc4 Rc5 42. Kd4 Rxd5 43. Ke4 0.5-0.5

At the press conference there were a couple of unusual questions for Anand. “According to the dress code you were wearing suit and tie previously but now you are not so smartly dressed, do you find that helps you?” Anand was a bit amazed at this and asked when was the last time he wore a tie for regular rounds? He does dress up for the opening and for the closing ceremonies but otherwise he dresses casually.

He was also asked how he felt to be in the group of elder players in this tournament? Poor Vishy – old and poorly dressed! It was funny to me. He said that he didn’t feel that there were different generations. He and Vlad and Vassily all came in about the same time – one tends to forget a few years age difference.

“In the world you are called The Tiger of Madras, but tigers don’t live so long”.

Eteri (see below) interprets this as meaning that Anand still looks good, what is his secret? Someone from the audience shouts in English “You are still alive”. Vishy laughs and says that after four hours of a hard game, how do you answer such questions?

Candidates 2014
Round Five
March 18, 2014
Svidler, Peter – Topalov, Veselin
C78 Ruy Lopez, Moeller Defence

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 b5 7. Bc2 d5 8. d4 dxe4 9. dxe5 Qxd1 10. Rxd1 exf3 11. exf6 gxf6 12. Be4 Bd7 13. a4 O-O-O 14. axb5 Ne5 15. Bf4 Bxb5 16. Na3 Rxd1 17. Rxd1 Be2 18. Rd5 Rg8 19. g3 Bxa3 20. bxa3 Ng6 21. Be3 Re8 22. Bf5 Kb7 23. Rd4 Re5 24. g4 a5 25. h3 h5 26. Be4 Ka6 27. gxh5 Rxh5 28. Rd8 Ne5 29. a4 c6 30. Rb8 Nc4 31. Bd4 c5 32. Bxf6 Nb6 33. Bd8 Nd5 34. Ra8 Kb7 35. Rxa5 Re5 36. Rxc5 Rxe4 37. Rxd5 Rxa4 38. Rf5 Kc8 39. Bg5 Rc4 40. Bd2 Rc7 41. h4 Kd8 42. Bg5 Ke8 43. Rd5 f5 44. h5 Rc4 45. Rd4 Rxc3 46. h6 Rc8 47. h7 Kf7 48. Bd8 1-0

At yesterday’s press conference with Svidler and Aronian, Svidler was asked, rather impudently I thought, about parallels to last year’s Candidates. Then, in Round Five, Peter had good game against Gelfand and then faltered and drew. Staggered, in Round Six, he lost to Carlsen.

Having had a good game against Aronian yesterday, then eschewing a draw, Svidler lost. How would he do today?

At the press conference he said that he was very, very lucky. Veselin is known for his opening preparation. He entered a line, which Peter thought he refuted against Stefanova in 2009. Veselin was confident and so something should go quite badly against Peter. Still, he went for it, naively and felt early on (move 14) that he was basically lost. He finally got to a point when he didn’t have a forced loss. Something had gone wrong from Veselin.

There were mistakes on both sides. Then a couple of imprecise moves by black, namely 26…Ka6 and 28…Ne5 were enough to get him in trouble. The combined force of rook and two bishops harassed the stranded black king until white was able to trade down to the winning endgame with the passed h-pawn.

Peter said that he played a little better than Veselin and won, but did not deserve the whole point.

Mark Crowther tweets “Svidler's going to be not very happy with his analysis following 28...Rxh3 which does lead to a win for him even if he didn't see it”

The interpreter for this conference is Eteri Kublashivilli, Russian WFM, born in 1989.

Candidates 2014
Round Five
March 18, 2014
Kramnik, Vladimir – Aronian, Levon
E10 Queen’s Pawn Game

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 b6 5. Nc3 Bb7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bb5 c6 8. Bd3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. b3 Nbd7 11. Bb2 Re8 12. Ne5 Bd6 13. f4 c5 14. Qf3 cxd4 15. exd4 Bb4 16. Ne2 Ne4 17. a3 Bf8 18. Rad1 a6 19. a4 Rc8 20. Qh5 g6 21. Qh3 Ndf6 22. f5 g5 23. Ng3 b5 24. axb5 Qb6 25. Kh1 axb5 26. Bxe4 dxe4 27. d5 e3 28. Ng4 Nxg4 29. Qxg4 h6 30. Ne4 Rc2 31. Nf6 Qxf6 32. Bxf6 e2 33. Bxg5 Bxd5 34. Bxh6 Kh7 35. Bxf8 exf1=Q 36. Rxf1 Rxg2 37. Qxg2 Bxg2 38. Kxg2 Rxf8 39. Kf3 Kg7 40. Ke4 Rh8 41. Kd4 Rc8 42. Rf4 Kf6 43. h4 Re8 44. Kc5 Re5 45. Kd6 Re3 46. Rb4 Kxf5 47. Rxb5 Kg4 48. h5 f5 49. h6 Rh3 50. Ke5 Rxh6 51. Rb4 Kf3 52. Kxf5 Ke3 53. Ke5 Kd3 54. Rb8 Kc3 55. b4 Kc4 56. Rb7 Rh5 57. Kd6 Rh6 58. Kd7 Rh7 59. Kc6 Rxb7 60. Kxb7 Kxb4 0.5-0.5

(from the official site):

The start of the game between Vladimir Kramnik and Levon Aronian was quiet as it can get, but it didn’t take long before white started piling his pieces towards the black king.
Kramnik already has the experience of blasting the opponents off the board after a seemingly modest setup (for example against Van Wely). Aronian responded with counterplay in the center.
White forced the opening of the long diagonal, which looked immensely dangerous for black. Luckily for him, Aronian had a strong trump in the advanced e-pawn.
With the help of the temporary queen sacrifice black succeeded in simplifying the position down to an equal rook endgame.
Kramnik pressed on but to no avail as Aronian played precisely to hold a draw.
_________

It was mentioned that it is Vassily Ivanchuk’s birthday – 45 today.
_________

Standings after Round Five

Anand 3.5
Svidler 3
Kramnik 3
Aronian 3
Topalov 2
Karjakin 2
Mamedyarov 2
Andreikin 1.5

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

Who predicted that after 5 rounds the leader would be the rising star, Vishy Anand?

[Andy Shaw]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

Who predicted that after 5 rounds the leader would be the rising star, Vishy Anand?

Who knows... he may meet Carlsen again! Now THAT would be very interesting!

All the best to Anand!

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

To my amateur eye, V.Anand learned some tricks from M.Carslen.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

Candidates 2014

Khanty-Mansiysk
Round Six
Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Sixth Round Results

Aronian, Levon – Andreikin, Dmitry 0.5-0.5
Anand, Viswanathan – Karjakin, Sergey 0.5-0.5
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Svidler, Peter 1-0
Topalov, Veselin – Kramnik, Vladimir 1-0

Candidates 2014
Round Six
March 19, 2014
Anand, Viswanathan – Karjakin, Sergey
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8 Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Rfe1 Bb4 15. g4 hxg4 16. hxg4 Ne7 17. Nxe6 Rxe6 18. Kg2 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Rd8 20. Rxd8 Kxd8 21. Rh1 Nd5 22. Bg3 g5 23. c4 Nc3 24. Kf3 Rg6 25. a3 Na4 26. Ke4 Nc5 27. Kf5 Ne6 28. Rh8 Kd7 29. c3 Ng7 30. Ke4 Ne6 31. f3 c5 32. Bf2 a6 33. Be3 b6 0.5-0.5

There is an excellent photo gallery on the official site:

http://candidates2014.fide.com/when-fortune-smiles/

Some of the pics – Nikita Matinian, Dmitry Andreikin’s second, Peter Svidler with his second Maxim Matlakov, Hal Bond taking a few pictures, Vassily Ivanchuk’s signature from 2011 and yesterday's press conferences.

Candidates 2014
Round Six
March 19, 2014
Topalov, Veselin – Kramnik, Vladimir
D37 QGD, Hastings Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Nh5 8. Be5 c6 9. Bd3 g6 10. h4 f5 11. Bh2 b6 12. b4 f4 13. O-O a5 14. b5 bxc5 15. bxc6 Nb8 16. Bb5 Ba6 17. a4 Qc8 18. dxc5 Nxc6 19. Nxd5 exd5 20. Qxd5 Kh8 21. Qxc6 Qxc6 22. Bxc6 Rac8 23. Bb5 Bxb5 24. axb5 Bxc5 25. Rxa5 fxe3 26. fxe3 Bxe3 27. Kh1 Rc2 28. Rb1 Rfc8 29. Raa1 Bb6 30. Be5 Kg8 31. Ra6 Be3 32. b6 Rc1 33. Rxc1 Rxc1 34. Kh2 Rb1 35. g4 Bf4 36. Kg2 Bxe5 37. Nxe5 Nf4 38. Kf3 Ne6 39. b7 Rb3 40. Kf2 Rb2 41. Ke3 1-0

There are still bad feelings about Toiletgate. There was no handshake between the players to begin. To resign, Kramnik stopped the clock and signed the scoresheet with Topalov away from the table.

Kramnik didn’t come to the press conference. Topalov said the position was too deep for Kramnik!

After Topalov’s analysis, they cut off the press conference and there were no questions.
________

Candidates 2014
Round Six
March 19, 2014
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Svidler, Peter
A87 Dutch, Leningrad, Modern Main Line (7..Qe8)

1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 d6 7. Nc3 Qe8 8. b4 e5 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Ba3 e4 11. Nd4 Rf7 12. Qb3 Nc6 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. b5 Qe8 15. f3 Be6 16. Rad1 a6 17. bxa6 Rxa6 18. fxe4 fxe4 19. Nxe4 Nxe4 20. Bxe4 Rxf1 21. Rxf1 b5 22. Qe3 bxc4 23. Bc5 Qc8 24. h4 h6 25. Bxg6 Bd5 26. h5 Qd7 27. Bd4 Re6 28. Bf7 Qxf7 29. Rxf7 Rxe3 30. Rxg7 Kf8 31. Rg5 1-0

Svidler took over the press conference from the first. He had planned to play a line some time in this tournament. Mamedyarov gave an interesting reply but Peter had a good position after move 10.

He said that he developed a brain freeze for twenty minutes and played three inexplicable moves which lost the game for him. These were 22…bxc4, 23…Qc8 and 24…h6?? “I have no idea what this is. I would very much like to unsee this, make me unsee this.” (Svidler). After a long commentary he said to Mamedyarov, “Over to you”.

Candidates 2014
Round Six
March 19, 2014
Aronian, Levon - Andreikin, Dmitry
A11 English, Caro-Kann Defensive System

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 dxc4 4. Bg2 Nd7 5. O-O Ngf6 6. Qc2 Nb6 7. Na3 Be6 8. Ne5 Qd4 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bxc6 Kd8 11. Nb5 Qc5 12. Bxa8 Qxb5 13. Bg2 Bd7 14. b3 e5 15. Rb1 cxb3 16. Rxb3 Qxe2 17. Ba3 Bxa3 18. Rxa3 Qc4 19. Qb1 Ke7 20. Rxa7 Qd4 21. Rb7 Na4 22. Rc1 Rd8 23. h3 Kf8 24. Qb3 e4 25. Rc4 Qd5 26. Qb4 Kg8 27. Rd4 Qc6 28. Rbxd7 Nxd7 29. Qxa4 Qxa4 30. Rxa4 Nf8 31. Rxe4 Rxd2 32. a4 Ra2 33. Bf3 g6 34. Kg2 Ne6 35. Rc4 Kg7 36. Bd5 Kf6 37. Re4 Ra3 38. Bxe6 fxe6 39. Rf4 Ke7 40. h4 h5 41. Re4 Kf7 42. Kf1 Ra2 43. Ke1 Kf6 44. Kd1 Ke7 45. f4 Ra3 46. Kc2 Rxg3 47. Rd4 Re3 48. Kb2 e5 0.5-0.5

The two agreed to a draw and signed their scoresheets and handed them over to Hal Bond and then discussed the game at their table since they would disturb nobody. Aronian had plenty of opportunities to win this game and missed all of them.
________

Kramnik thought that if you lost your game, you didn’t have to attend the press conference. Someone told him there was a hefty fine so he came in and gave the last conference of the day solo.

He said that he looked at all the lines of the opening and felt that Topalov would have some sharp lines ready. During the game he deviated hoping to take him out of his preparation.

“My position was unpleasant and my opponent played by the first line of the computer analysis for the whole game so I didn’t really have chances.

I know the Queen’s Gambit and was prepared to play at the board but still ran into computer preparation. I think I played OK, things just didn’t go my way.”
_______

Above we have mentioned that the seconds of Svidler and Andreikin are Maxim Matiakov and Nikita Matinian, respectively. Peter and Viktorija were asked some questions about the other seconds and came up with Anand – Chanda Sandipan, Topalov- Romain Edouard (France), Danailov; Kramnik- Zahar Efimenko (Ukraine); Mamedyarov – Alexander Khalifman and Rauf Mamedov; Karjakin- Rustam Kasimdzhanov in Khanty-Mansiysk and remote help from Yuri Dokhoyan and Alexander Motylev. The latter just won the European Individual Chess Championship in March in Yerevan.

Standings after the Sixth Round

Anand 4, Aronian 3.5, Svidler 3, Kramnik 3, Topalov 3, Mamedyarov 3, Karjakin 2.5, Andreikin 2

Seventh Round Pairings, Friday, March 21

Karjakin-Aronian, Svidler-Anand, Kramnik-Mamedyarov and Andreikin-Topalov
____________________________________________

Viewers’ Comments

(Silvio Danailov) – Beautiful☺ Who said revenge is a dish best served cold? He was right.

(Jonathan Rowson) – Topalov very impressive today, Anand flat, Svidler unrecognizable, Aronian winning

- The difference between Magnus and the rest of the crew is right there, one more time, in front of our eyes ! Incredible that Aronian didn't win this position.

- There's something to that. It's all about consistency. The Kramnik game is just another example. He was toast out of the opening. Not sure what exactly went wrong, but if Kramnik of all people loses the opening in that way, how can he be a serious threat to Carlsen (and I am something like a Kramnik fan)??

- Aronian's trainers must have mentioned that passed pawns should march when he was about six and that knights are bad against a- and h-pawns when he was eight. 
Incredible

- I thought Aronian and Kramnik could really become something like Carlsen challengers, but after round 6 I get serious doubts if ANY of these players has a serious chance to beat Carlsen in a match.
From my view, none of those leading the field down to 3 points is a convincing challenger for Carlsen in November, with Aronian showing the most impressive chess IMO, but still not stable enough to lead the candidates. I really had hoped for an Aronian in the form of his life.

It is a fantastic tournament with great games and players, but it nearly looks like it is becoming somewhat irrelevant who of them will challenge Carlsen, with minimal survival chances, as long as their overall performance is as it is now.

- The position was too deep for Kramnik. Topalov dixit

- Anand may have been outside preparation today, rushing to a balanced position, no risk. 
I was not too impressed by Topalov out of the opening, but somehow he easily pushed Kramnik back and converted to a won ending. 
Aronian well yes... that is very disappointing he should buy some Averbakh books.

- Vishy should be careful in the next 3 games. Unfortunately he will face all tough players: Svidler, Aronian and Topalov. In the first 2 games, Vishy will play black.

- "I don't want to lose against some computer preparation..."

Really? Making excuses again? If Kramnik loses it is because he cannot play against "computers" or because his opponent was "lucky" etc etc...
It is never his fault.

Topa came out swinging and crushed him. End of story.

- Topalov is a strong player playing the preparation game excessively. I don't like this kind of chess, based on memorized opening advantages, at all, even if it may look impressive at times.

And I even less like the man behind it, including Danailov and his silly twitter comments. Kramnik is completely right IMO not to shake hands with this guy, or share press conferences with him.

- "I don't like this kind of chess, based on memorized opening advantages, at all, even if it may look impressive at times"

Kramnik's win was all home prep, against Karjakin, while Topalov just outplayed Kramnik.

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

There are still bad feelings about Toiletgate. There was no handshake between the players to begin. To resign, Kramnik stopped the clock and signed the scoresheet with Topalov away from the table.

Kramnik didn’t come to the press conference. Topalov said the position was too deep for Kramnik!

After Topalov’s analysis, they cut off the press conference and there were no questions.

Topalov seems like quite the little toad. I know some younger children read this site, so I won't say what I would usually say.

[Nigel Hanrahan]

well, I'm just glad that's "behind" us now ...

Topalov seems like quite the little toad. I know some younger children read this site, so I won't say what I would usually say.

Some commentators expressed the view that it was Topalov's Manager Silvio Danailov (who, admittedly, is supposed to represent his views) who was the impetus behind Toiletgate.

At least that's one good flush behind us. If it's a shared bathroom now, would Vlad leave a floater just to make a point? And what if someone else used the bathroom next? The possibilities are endless.

And beside, what's a major chess event without a little controversy?

[Hal Bond]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

Topalov and Kramnik are both very personable guys and they both get on very well with everyone else in the tournament. It is a shame that there is such bad blood, but it happens. They minimized their interaction without making a scene. The Chief Arbiter was quite relieved after they had finished. I have not seen any player with better board side manner than Topalov. Kramnik's exit was not the best. He brings his own thermos and snacks to the hall (as does Aronian), and was a little noisy when gathering up his things.

Regarding the washrooms, their are 2 of them side by side, each able to accommodate 6 players.

[Nigel Hanrahan]

Magnus Carlsen on the tourney so far ...

Magnus Carlsen comments on the play so far. He is accompanied by his Manager Espen Agdestein, whom he introduces.

[Hans Jung]

Re: Magnus Carlsen on the tourney so far ...

I am really impressed with what Magnus is doing - communicating with his fans!! (and actually anyone who wants to see it) on youtube in a friendly interesting fashion. Far more than any other top player is doing.

[Adam Cormier]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

Topalov and Kramnik are both very personable guys and they both get on very well with everyone else in the tournament. It is a shame that there is such bad blood, but it happens. They minimized their interaction without making a scene. The Chief Arbiter was quite relieved after they had finished. I have not seen any player with better board side manner than Topalov. Kramnik's exit was not the best. He brings his own thermos and snacks to the hall (as does Aronian), and was a little noisy when gathering up his things.

Regarding the washrooms, their are 2 of them side by side, each able to accommodate 6 players.

I'm a big fan of both players and they both seem like really nice guys to me (Topalov perhaps a bit more misunderstood).

I really enjoyed the unknown (to each other at least) banter between the two, with Topalov saying the position was too deep for Kramnik. While Kramnik chalked up Topalov's win to playing the computer best move 100% of the time (though Topalov admitted his 'novelty' was objectively not the best move, just the most interesting).

I wonder if they'll ever recover from the bad blood of their WCC match.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

Candidates 2014

Khanty-Mansiysk
Round Seven
Friday, March 21, 2014

From the official website, an interview with the English-speaking commentators - Victoria Cmilyte and Peter-Heine Nielsen:

– Do you know, how many viewers you have? From how many countries?

– I heard there were about 12,000 viewers yesterday, but this number grows every day. I think a record will be set by the end of the tournament. As for the countries, most of our viewers are from Germany. I don’t know how many countries total, but the interest is quite wide.

– Which game impressed you most as a professional player?

Victoria: I was very impressed by Svidler-Kramnik. Svidler played very well, outplayed his opponent, but then Kramnik found that fantastic defense that we could spot only with the computer. Finding it at the board is almost unreal, and I could hardly believe it when Vladimir found the solution. Very impressive! All in all, there were many exciting games in the first six rounds. Each round produces at least one outstanding game, which is kind of strange for such an important tournament.

Peter-Heine: I think Svidler-Kramnik and Kramnik-Aronian stand out, these games were very exciting, and not only for chess professionals.

– Peter, you are a friend (and a second!) of Magnus Carlsen, and you probably stay in touch with each other. Does he follow the tournament closely? What does he tell you about it?

– Yes, of course, we talk a lot on Skype, discuss things… He watches it very closely – not doing so would be just irresponsible. In an interview with a Norwegian newspaper he said he liked Anand’s first game – a victory against Aronian.

– Victoria, what is your next tournament?

– It starts rather soon, actually. I am planning to go to Loo for the Russian Club Championship. Then I’ll take a break, because my two sons are waiting at home, and I shouldn’t be on the road all the time. These are my short-term plans, and I haven’t planned beyond that.

– Where does your family live, bearing in mind that you and your husband represent different countries?

– We live in Lithuania, in a small town of Siauliai, where I was born. My sons go to school there. My husband and I travel most of the time anyway, so comfort of our children is the main priority. There should also be a nice and quiet place for us to relax after chess travels. And we like our solution so far.

Seventh Round Results

Karjakin, Sergey – Aronian, Levon 0-1
Svidler, Peter – Anand, Viswanathan 0.5-0.5
Kramnik, Vladimir – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 1-0
Andreikin, Dmitry – Topalov, Veselin 1-0

Candidates 2014
Round Seven
March 21, 2014
Andreikin, Dmitry – Topalov, Veselin 1-0
D30 QGD, Capablanca-Duras Variation

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. Qc2 O-O 8. e3 c5 9. dxc5 Nd7 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Nb3 a5 12. a4 b6 13. c6 Bb4 14. Kd1 Nc5 15. Nbd4 Ne4 16. Bb5 g5 17. h3 h5 18. Kc1 Bc5 19. Kb1 Re8 20. Ka2 Ra7 21. Rad1 Kf8 22. Rhf1 Kg7 23. Ka1 Bf8 24. Ne2 Rd8 25. h4 g4 26. Nf4 Kg8 27. Nxd5 1-0

Topalov had a good game from the opening and then played 15..Ne4 and 16..g5 and Andreikin with an extra pawn and a better position is winning.

Andreikin at the press conference said that the opening was following his game with Kramnik at Dortmund.

Against Topalov he moves his king five times.

Chessbomb comments:

- a very instructive game to learn from when you fight against an unsound attack

- Lesson learned: Sometime running away (Kc1-b1-a2) is smarter than direct fighting

- that was too deep for Topa

Candidates 2014
Round Seven
March 21, 2014
Svidler, Peter – Anand, Viswanathan
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. Re1 c6 9. Ba4 Bb6 10. d4 Ng6 11. h3 exd4 12. cxd4 d5 13. e5 Nh5 14. Nf1 Nhf4 15. Bc2 f6 16. Ng3 fxe5 17. Bxg6 Nxg6 18. Bg5 Qc7 19. Nxe5 Nxe5 20. Rxe5 h6 21. Bh4 Qf7 22. Nh5 Be6 23. Re3 Bd8 24. Rf3 Qxf3 25. gxf3 Bxh4 26. Kg2 Rf7 27. Rc1 Raf8 28. Rc3 Bg5 29. Ng3 Re7 30. b4 a6 31. a4 Bd7 32. Qb3 Kh8 33. b5 cxb5 34. axb5 Bxb5 35. Qxd5 Rd7 36. Qe4 Bc6 37. Rxc6 bxc6 38. Qxc6 Rxd4 0.5-0.5

Anand employed a novel idea in the Berlin 11..exd4 with d5 and Nh5, which worked exceptionally well in combination with the strike against the white centre.

Peter spent 40 minutes thinking before making 15.Bc2 (a personal record in this millennium!) and his position looked depressing, but then suddenly Anand allowed white to stabilize his game. Anand started over again by giving the queen for rook, bishop and better pawn structure. But Svidler found a plan to eliminate all pawns on the queenside, after which Anand agreed to a draw.

Svidler and Anand talking a mile-a-minute in English at the press conference with Burtasova doing a good job of keeping up in Russian. But it is hard to concentrate with two language streams going on what is being said.

Candidates 2014
Round Seven
March 21, 2014
Kramnik, Vladimir – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
D38 QGD, Ragozin Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qc2 c5 8. e3 Qa5 9. Bd3 c4 10. Bf5 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Nd2 g6 13. Bxd7 Nxd7 14. h4 b5 15. a4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 b4 17. cxb4 Qxb4 18. Nb1 Qd6 19. Nc3 Qc6 20. Rfb1 Ba6 21. Qd1 f6 22. Bf4 Rad8 23. Qf3 Nf8 24. Bh6 Kf7 25. Rb2 Ne6 26. Rab1 Ng7 27. g4 Kg8 28. Qf4 Kf7 29. e4 Ne6 30. exd5 Nxf4 31. dxc6 g5 32. hxg5 fxg5 33. c7 Rd6 34. Bxg5 Nh3 35. Kg2 Nxg5 36. d5 Bc8 37. Rb8 Rf6 38. Ra8 Rf4 39. f3 Rxf3 40. d6 Bxg4 41. Rxe8 Kxe8 42. Rb8 Kf7 43. Rd8 Bh3 44. Kh2 Rxc3 45. d7 Rc2 46. Kg3 Rg2 47. Kh4 Be6 48. Rf8 Kxf8 49. c8=Q Kg7 50. Qb7 Nf3 51. Qxf3 Rh2 52. Kg5 h6 53. Kf4 Rh4 54. Ke5 1-0

Mamedyarov attempted to surprise the opponent with unknown 14…b5, but Vladimir Kramnik navigated quickly through the opening, most likely thanks to the home analysis. White emerged with a small but healthy advantage and Kramnik proceeded to perform his traditional positional squeeze.

At some point Kramnik rushed with the central break e3-e4 and Mamedyarov got the chance to unbalance the position by grabbing a piece and allowing two advanced pawns. White pawns were looming near promotion but somehow he just couldn’t find the way to queen them.

Nevertheless, the position was immensely complicated and black had to find a sequence of computer-like moves to reach a better rook endgame. Mamedyarov’s hand slipped in the decisive moment when he allowed promotion with check instead of creating checkmating net around white king.

Mamedyarov goes from a winning game to a lost one in two moves. His two bad moves are 48..Kxf8 and Kg7.

Candidates 2014
Round Seven
March 21, 2014
Karjakin, Sergey – Aronian, Levon
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O Re8 7. Nbd2 a6 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. Nc4 Nd7 10. b4 Bd6 11. Qb3 Nf8 12. Bg5 Qd7 13. Be3 Ng6 14. Nfd2 Bf8 15. d4 Qe7 16. dxe5 Be6 17. Qc2 Bxc4 18. Nxc4 Nxe5 19. Nd2 a5 20. a3 axb4 21. axb4 Qe6 22. f3 Nc4 23. Bf4 c5 24. b5 Nd6 25. Rxa8 Rxa8 26. Rb1 b6 27. e5 Nc4 28. Qe4 Ra4 29. Rc1 h6 30. h4 Nb2 31. c4 Qd7 32. Rb1 Ra2 33. Be3 Na4 34. Rb3 Rxd2 35. Bxd2 Qxd2 36. Rd3 Qc1 37. Kh2 Nb2 38. Rd8 Qxc4 39. Qa8 Qxh4 40. Kg1 Qe1 41. Kh2 Qxe5 42. g3 Qe2 43. Kh3 Nd3 44. Rxf8 Kh7 45. Re8 Nf2 46. Kh4 Qxb5 47. g4 Qc4 48. Qc8 Qf4 49. Qf5 Qxf5 50. gxf5 c4 51. Re7 c5 52. Rxf7 c3 53. f6 Kg6 0-1

White had difficulties in getting his pawn majority going, while black slowly probed opponent’s structure on the other flank. Despite the apparent simplicity on the board, Karjakin was spending lots of time and his position slowly deteriorated.

A few moves before the time control white conceded two pieces for a rook and some pressure on the back rank. He did win the bishop back, but then black captured a handful of pawns while constantly threatening the white king.

Karjakin tried to seek the escape by exchanging the queens but black pawns were too fast and the game was concluded in Aronian’s favor on move 53.

Standings

Anand 4.5;Aronian 4.5;Kramnik 4;Svidler 3.5;
Mamedyarov 3;Andreikin 3;Topalov 3;Karjakin 2.5

Viewers’ Comments

- Great tournament so far and this round was brilliant. Every game was interesting and complex.
Andreikin's jujutsu win and Kramnik's turnaround win were lovely.

- Mamedyarov fell for a psychological trick at the end. Shipov noticed that in the commentary immediately and Mamedyarov confirmed it in the press conference later, that he was thinking that the opponent just played the moves quickly at the end to show he is willing to resign, so he didn´t pay enough attention. Clever play by Kramnik.

- Shakhriyar Mamedyarov reminds me of Jack Black....

(Pelletier Yannick) - Wow, what a round in Khanty! Exciting chess, great games, blunders...! Looking forward to Aronian-Anand tomorrow!

(Anish Giri) Impressive press conference! Listening to Kramnik I get the feeling he was the one who is unlucky today. :)

(Peter Warne) - Can someone please take Mamedyarov's shoelaces away from him? thanks

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

– Victoria, what is your next tournament?

...Then I’ll take a break, because my two sons are waiting at home, and I shouldn’t be on the road all the time....

The Cmilyte's family is quite chessy - the dad, (an ~A-class player) supported her since she started to play (~5 or 6 years old), the brother joined later. Sons follow their parents' path too. The biological farther is g A.Shirov - might be a good genes' combination :)
If I recall well, she 'studied' English in Riga University (Latvia).

[Gordon Ritchie]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

Fantastic fighting chess. Tomorrow, Aronian gets his chance for revenge on Anand. This could be the game that decides.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Candidates Tournament 2014

I'd expect Aronian to open with 1. c4 and Anand to try to find a drawing line, unless he has something prepared.