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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
General Guidelines
---- Nous avons besoin d'un traduction français!
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FIDE announces that the deadline for player's participation in the Candidates Tournament is 11 January 2016. The event will be held in Moscow, Russia from 10 March (arrivals/opening ceremony) to 30 March 2016 (departures) and the qualifiers are:
1. Vishy Anand (IND, world championship 2014 finalist)
2. Sergey Karjakin (RUS, world cup 2015 winner)
3. Peter Svidler (RUS, world cup 2015 finalist)
4. Fabiano Caruana (USA, grand-prix 2014-15 winner)
5. Hikaru Nakamura (USA, grand-prix 2014-15 runner-up)
6. Veselin Topalov (BUL, rating lists 2015)
7. Anish Giri (NED, rating lists 2015)
8. Levon Aronian (ARM, organiser's nominee)
First reserve from the FIDE Grand-Prix standings is Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS).
The winner of the Candidates Tournament will challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world championship title in the last quarter of 2016.
(ChessVibes) – The deadline was today: FiDE has confirmed to chess.com that all eight candidates have signed, including Topalov!
__________
P.S. FIDE announces that ECU President Mr Zurab Azmaiparashvili has been appointed as FIDE Supervisor for the Candidates Tournament, 10-30 March 2016, who will guide and instruct the Organising Committee in all issues involving:
a) fairness concerning treatment of all players in respect of organisational issues,
b) equal playing conditions,
c) anti-cheating measures,
d) fair publicity of all players through the event's Press Office.
During the Candidates Tournament, an official timekeeper will also be activated in a visible spot within the playing hall, in co-operation with a well-known international watch brand.
The Central Telegraph, an historic building on Tverskaya Street in the heart of Moscow, will be the site of the 2016 Candidates tournament to select a challenger for the World Championship. The 14-round tournament will take place from March 11 to 29.
DI Telegraph, a large multifunctional space within the building, will be the actual venue for the tournament.
The Candidates tournament, which features eight of the top players in the world, is organized by Agon Limited, the commercial partner of the World Chess Federation (FIDE). Agon has the rights to organize the entire World Championship cycle and related events. (Agon is also the owner of this site.)
Tashir Group, a large real estate developer in Russia, is one of the principal sponsors of the Candidates. The company is run by Samvel Karapetyan, an Armenian-born businessman whose net worth is about $4.8 billion according to Forbes magazine.
The Russian Chess Federation, which is headed by Andrey Filatov, is also involved in running the event.
The prize fund for the Candidates is 420,000 euros, or about $458,000 at the current exchange rate.
The Central Telegraph, which is named for the Russian telecommunications company, is the digital hub of Moscow and is home to many of Russia’s high-tech companies.
The building was built in 1927 and designed by Ivan Rerberg, who also designed several other iconic Moscow buildings, including the Kiyevsky railway terminal and the Kremlin Presidium. The building has both modernist and constructivist features and unusual geometrical elements.
The DI Telegraph space was originally designed to house equipment to send and receive wire telegrams and to provide other analog telecommunication services. As the equipment generated a lot of heat, the room had to be well ventilated and the ceilings had to be very high — seven meters — to house the cooling fans.
The space had fallen into disrepair but was recently renovated and restored to its original state by the architecture firm Archiproba.
The photos at the link show the layout of DI Telegraph.
On the 11th of February the Chairman of the FIDE Arbiters' Commission IA Takis Nikolopoulos and the FIDE Executive Director Nigel Freeman conducted the procedure of drawing of lots for the Candidates’ Tournament, to be held next month in Moscow, Russia. In the first round, the following games will be played: Karjakin-Svidler, Nakamura-Caruana, Giri-Aronian, Anand-Topalov.
The pairings have been made today in FIDE office in Athens following the Rules and Regulations for the Candidates Tournament of the FIDE World Championship cycle 2014-2016:
1. Players coming from the same federation will play each other in rounds 1 and 8
2. Rounds 6 and 7 have been exchanged to avoid the same colour for three consecutive rounds.
The winner of the Candidates will have the right to challenge World Champion Magnus Carlsen in a World Championship Match, which is scheduled to take place later on in 2016.
FIDE Candidates Tournament 2016
Round 1 on 2016/03/11 at 14:00
Karjakin, Sergey – Svidler, Peter
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
Giri, Anish – Aronian, Levon
Anand, Vishy – Topalov, Veselin
Round 2 on 2016/03/12 at 14:00
Svidler, Peter – Topalov, Veselin
Aronian, Levon – Anand, Vishy
Caruana, Fabiano – Giri, Anish
Karjakin, Sergey – Nakamura, Hikaru
Round 3 on 2016/03/13 at 14:00
Nakamura, Hikaru – Svidler, Peter
Giri, Anish – Karjakin, Sergey
Anand, Vishy – Caruana, Fabiano
Topalov, Veselin – Aronian, Levon
Rest Day
Round 4 on 2016/03/15 at 14:00
Svidler, Peter – Aronian, Levon
Caruana, Fabiano – Topalov, Veselin
Karjakin, Sergey – Anand, Vishy
Nakamura, Hikaru – Giri, Anish
Round 5 on 2016/03/16 at 14:00
Giri, Anish – Svidler, Peter
Anand, Vishy – Nakamura, Hikaru
Topalov, Veselin – Karjakin, Sergey
Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
Round 6 on 2016/03/17 at 14:00
Anand, Vishy – Svidler, Peter
Topalov, Veselin – Giri, Anish
Aronian, Levon – Nakamura, Hikaru
Caruana, Fabiano – Karjakin, Sergey
Rest Day
Round 7 on 2016/03/19 at 14:00
Svidler, Peter – Caruana, Fabiano
Karjakin, Sergey – Aronian, Levon
Nakamura, Hikaru – Topalov, Veselin
Giri, Anish – Anand, Vishy
Round 8 on 2016/03/20 at 14:00
Svidler, Peter – Karjakin, Sergey
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
Aronian, Levon, Giri, Anish
Topalov, Veselin – Anand, Vishy
Round 9 on 2016/03/21 at 14:00
Topalov, Veselin – Svidler, Peter
Anand, Vishy – Aronian, Levon
Giri, Anish – Caruana, Fabiano
Nakamura, Hikaru – Karjakin, Sergey
Rest Day
Round 10 on 2016/03/23 at 14:00
Svidler, Peter – Nakamura, Hikaru
Karjakin, Sergey – Giri, Anish
Caruana, Fabiano – Anand, Vishy
Aronian, Levon – Topalov, Veselin
Round 11 on 2016/03/24 at 14:00
Aronian, Levon – Svidler, Peter
Topalov, Veselin – Caruana, Fabiano
Anand, Vishy – Karjakin, Sergey
Giri, Anish – Nakamura, Hikaru
Round 12 on 2016/03/25 at 14:00
Svidler, Peter – Giri, Anish
Nakamura, Hikaru – Anand, Vishy
Karjakin, Sergey – Topalov, Veselin
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
Rest Day
Round 13 on 2016/03/27 at 14:00
Caruana, Fabiano – Svidler, Peter
Aronian, Levon – Karjakin, Sergey
Topalov, Veselin – Nakamura, Hikaru
Anand, Vishy – Giri, Anish
Round 14 on 2016/03/28 at 14:00
Svidler, Peter – Anand, Vishy
Giri, Anish – Topalov, Veselin
Nakamura, Hikaru – Aronian, Levon
Karjakin, Sergey – Caruana, Fabiano
14:00 Moscow time is 6:00 a.m. Toronto/Montreal time
Last edited by Wayne Komer; Thursday, 17th March, 2016, 02:12 PM.
Confession booths to be used in Candidates Tournament
February 18, 2016
After the successful test at the World Rapid & Blitz Championship in Berlin, the “confession booths” will be used again during the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2016 in Moscow.
Director of FIDE Moscow office Berik Balgabaev stated for R-Sport that the organizers are already experienced in holding the events on the highest level, but they are also looking at including certain innovations.
In the playing area there will be closed booths with cameras and players will come in during the games to share their opinions about the position.
The FIDE World Chess Candidates Tournament 2016 will take place in Moscow’s digital hub, the DI Telegraph space in the historic Central Telegraph building from March 11 to 29, 2016.
Eight of the world’s top grandmasters will compete for a chance to face the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen later this year. The €420,000 prize fund is also at stake. Tashir Group is the general partner of the Tournament.
3. 5. 1 The time control for each game shall be: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.
3. 6 Conditions of Victory
3. 6. 1 The player with the most points (1 point for each win, half a point for each draw, 0 for each loss) will be the winner of the tournament and qualifies for the World Championship Match 2016. A tie shall be broken according to article 3.7 below.
3. 7 Tie-breaks
If the top two or more players score the same points, the tie will be decided by the following criteria, in order of priority: a) The results of the games between the players involved in the tie.
If they are still tied:
b) The total number of wins in the tournament of every player involved in the tie.
If they are still tied:
c) Sonneborn - Berger System.
3.7.1.a If there is no clear winner with the above 3 criteria, there will be a special competition between the players who still remain tied after using the 3rd criteria (Sonneborn - Berger): after a new drawing of colors, each tied player will play two (2) tie-break games with the other tied opponent(s). The games shall be played using the electronic clock starting with 25 minutes for each player with an increment of 10 seconds after each move.
3.7.1.b All tie-break games shall be played according to the following:
1. Play is governed by the World Championship Technical Regulations (annex 1), which apply with the exceptions mentioned below in (2), (3) and (4).
2. The players do not need to record the moves. An arbiter shall record the moves.
3. The player who has the move may stop the clocks and consult the Arbiter’s score sheet and if his next move will produce a threefold repetition of position (according to Article 9.2a of the Technical Regulations), or the 50 moves rule (according to Article 9.3a of the Technical Regulations), he himself must write the intended move on the score sheet and claim the draw if he wants. A player can also claim a draw according to Articles 9.2b and 9.3b of the Technical Regulations. If the claim is found to be correct, the game is immediately ended as a draw. If the claim is found to be incorrect, the Arbiter shall add three (3) minutes to the opponent’s remaining time and the game continues with the intended move in accordance with Article 4 of the Technical Regulations. A maximum of two (2) incorrect claims for a draw can be made by each player. If a player makes a third (3rd) incorrect claim, the arbiter shall declare the game lost for this player.
4. If a game has ended by resignation, checkmate, time loss, stalemate, triple repetition or any other of the ways described in Article 5 of the Technical Regulations, no claim for irregularities shall be accepted (irregularities include clock settings and all other described in Article 7 of the Technical Regulations).
3.7.2 If after the games in Article 3.7.1a there are still players tied for 1st place then, after a new drawing of colours, these players will play blitz games. Each tied player will play two games with the other opponent(s). Each player will receive 5 minutes on his clock + 3 seconds for each move starting from move 1. If there is a tie again, this process will be repeated for the tied players, for a maximum of two (2) more times.
3.7.3.a After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have only two players still tied, sudden death games will be played. The player who wins the drawing of lots, may choose the colour. White shall receive 5 minutes on the clock and Black shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds starting from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.
3.7.3.b After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have three players still tied, sudden death games will be played too. The three players will be initially ranked according to their average FIDE rating described in article 2.4 above. The players initially ranked No.2 and No.3 will play first and the winner will face the player initially ranked No.1. The sudden death games will be played as described
in article 3.7.3.a above. The winner of this procedure is No.1 in the final standings and the loser of the final match is No.2 in the final standings.
3.7.3.c After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have four players still tied, sudden death games will be played too. The four players will be initially ranked according to their average FIDE rating described in article 2.4 above. Then No.1 plays No.4 and No.2 plays No.3 and the two winners play the final match. All the sudden death games will be played as described in article 3.7.3.a above. The winner of this procedure is No.1 in the final standings and the loser of the final match is No.2 in the final standings.
3.7.3.d After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have five players still tied, sudden death games will be played too. The five players will be initially ranked according to their average FIDE rating described in article 2.4 above. The players initially ranked No.4 and No.5 will play first and the winner will face the three remaining players as in 3.7.3.c above. All the sudden death games will be played as described in article 3.7.3.a above. The winner of this procedure is No.1 in the final standings and the loser of the final match is No.2 in the final standings.
3.7.3.e After the games in paragraph 3.7.2, and if we have 6 players or more still tied, sudden death games will also be played in accordance with the spirit of articles 3.7.3.b, 3.7.3.c, 3.7.3.d and 3.7.3.e above. Further details will be announced by the Chief Arbiter.
3.7.4 If tie-breaks are needed to determine any other possible qualification spots for the next World Championship cycle, then the procedure described in article 3.7 will be applied as well, including 3.7.1.a, 3.7.1.b, 3.7.2, 3.7.3.a, 3.7.3.b, 3.7.3.c, 3.7.3.d and 3.7.3.e.
There shall be a pause of 10 minutes between all tie-break games, unless the Chief Arbiter decides otherwise.
3. 8 Prizes for the Candidates Tournament
3. 8. 1 The total minimum prize fund of the Candidates Tournament amounts to 420,000 euros. The amount is net and cleared of any local taxes. The money prizes shall be allocated as follows (minimum in euros):
1st place 95,000
2nd place 88,000
3rd place 75,000
4th place 55,000
5th place 40,000
6th place 28,000
7th place 22,000
8th place 17,000
All prize money will be divided equally where players have the same score in the tournament (after 14 rounds).
_______
At the present rate of exchange (March 1) 10,000 euros is/are roughly $14,575 Canadian.
The venue is not ready yet - preparations are quite intensive so we could only walk through the front door and see where the elevator is (play will be on the 5th floor). Apparently everyone is staying at the same hotel. I have spotted Nakamura and Giri so far. Rumour has it that Topalov will miss the technical meeting tomorrow at 1pm and even the opening ceremony tomorrow night. I would not be surprised if he found somewhere else to stay.
I enjoyed Peter's interview very much - thanks for the link Gordon!
Some thoughts online on the fact that the Candidates is being broadcast by Agon from two sources only – Norwegian Television and Worldchess.com:
(Dylan Loeb McClain) - Agon’s lawyers have looked into the issue and concluded that Agon does have the right to impose the ban. The reason is not because Agon is trying to copyright the moves, as some arguing against the ban have said. Indeed, it is well-established case law that chess moves cannot be copyrighted.
But the broadcast and the Candidates are the property of Agon, and no site or entity can use or reuse or retransmit them without permission, and that is also legally quite clear.
Think of football matches in Europe. As the legal disclaimer on the broadcasts of those matches says, and this has been well-established by international courts, anyone who retransmits, causes to retransmit or uses those broadcasts without permission is violating copyright and has broken the law.
- So only their site will be broadcasting the event. I am afraid that with everyone in the same site the server will just collapse. And in the end no one will see it.
- It's a horrible idea to block the web sites. The Agon web site will crash then no one will be able to watch the games. A lot of chess players will be pissed off. And chess wonders why it is having trouble being taken seriously? Get a clue.
- Just a question or two: Have the candidate players consented to this? (It might be a contractual condition to participating in the tournament, for example.) If not, how does Agon get to control news about their moves?
- Argon is paying for the rights, why should others get a free ride?
- Agon, the safest way avoid any leak is to let only the players and the referees inside, lock the premises and ban all electronics of any form (cameras included). Just reopen the whole thing a few days later after the smoke cleared out. Please note that since you are reading this line, you already owe me 15M$ for a copyrighted idea, brother.
- I will gladly watch it with a two-hour delay. And as Moscow is three hours ahead of me, it will only be a more convenient hour to watch.
- Brace yourselves, loads of advertisements coming to worldchess.com!
- While Agon has invested "a lot" in the overall venture, they have invested comparatively little in the specific venture of live move relays (essentially just the onetime cost of DGT boards/software, and continuing costs of an Internet feed), which is the only relevant item - no one argues that Agon can't restrict others from using its video feeds or interviews, but the game moves themselves are in a different class.
Moreover, while Agon has the right to reap the rewards to much of the material they produce, this does not extend to ancillary aspects (for instance, in NFL vs Delaware, the courts noted that the NFL was essentially making a claim along the lines that the profits of bus companies who brought spectators to the game must be shared with the NFL - "While courts have recognized that one has a right to one's own harvest, this proposition has not been construed to preclude others from profiting from demands for collateral services generated by the success of one's business venture", or similarly the symbiosis between hot dog producers and the bakers of hot dog rolls).
Agon is essentially trying to control who reports what and when on their events, which the Barclays vs Theflyonwall.com court rejected saying the "ability to make news ... does not give rise to a right ... to control who breaks that news and when."
- If they successfully pull this off, be ready to pony up your $25-$50
- I'm all for it. Commercializing chess will only help chess players in the future. I'll be watching on WorldChess.com.
- back in December 2015 I tried to ring an alarm when the Agon and FIDE partnership inked a 7 figure (that's multi-million $) deal with Norway's NRK granting NRK exclusive broadcasting rights for "all world championship events" through the year 2020.
at that time I referred to it as the "unholy alliance" and was surprised that there was 'not a word' written or reported about it here at chess.com
the "all world championship events" is to include the 2016, 2018, and 2020 world championship matches, the candidates tournaments to select the challengers, AND the annual world blitz and rapid championships.
fasten your seatbelts... it's gonna be a long bumpy ride thanks to the newly added 'norwegian member' formulating this terrible triumvirate
"all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)
"the people never give up their liberties but under some delusion." (Edmund Burke)
It is not clear as to whether we will be watching the tournament on worldchess.com in real time or whether we will be watching a broadcast that has been delayed by two hours.
At the moment, the opening ceremonies are supposed to be televised. One viewer wrote this note:
It would make sense for this site to have a lot of things; a countdown clock, the schedule of play, a list of commentators, links to view the standings once the tournament begins, etc. I see all of that on Chessdom, I see none of that here. I'm guessing their coverage is going to be as bad as their preparation. Just a hunch, but I'm betting on commentators who can barely speak English and zero analysis by chess engines. If you're going to try and block everyone else from broadcasting the matches, wouldn't it make sense to do a decent job on your coverage?
7 p.m. Moscow time is 11 a.m. Toronto/Montreal time
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