Post Candidates Comments

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 1st April, 2013, 10:47 PM

Re: Post Candidates Comments

Further Comments:

Christopher Kreutzer: It was very tense in that final time scramble, though I was only really able to follow the Carlsen-Svidler game. It was nerve-shredding to see Carlsen's clock ticking down and him clearly not being able to navigate his way through the complexities of the position. Seeing the assessment on the Chess Casting tablets swing in Svidler's favour was another key moment. All the while, it seemed that Ivanchuk was keeping an edge, but that time scramble was less frantic, so I only really looked at that after move 40, and I couldn't tell for sure what was happening. Thankfully the commentary room team made clear that Ivanchuk was clearly winning, so all that was left was to sit there for another 30-40 minutes as both Carlsen and then Kramnik bowed to the inevitable.

It was good to be able to watch the press conferences by Carlsen as well, though as others have said, he was clearly absolutely shattered by the tension and emotion of it all. Overall, the event was excellent in terms of drama, though I'm not sure where it ranks in terms of quality of chess when compared to similar events in the past. I was very impressed by the professionalism shown by the players, especially those other than Carlsen and Kramnik, and the way Svidler and Ivanchuk calmly finished off their games.

Aronian and Svidler, finishing only half a point behind the joint winners (with Carlsen winning on tie-break) must be ruing not taking their opportunities earlier. Who would have thought +3 would be enough to win? Svidler finished third due to beating Aronian over their individual games. Aronian's victories were against the bottom three, and he failed to beat anyone outside those three. Svidler beat both Aronian and Carlsen. Ivanchuk beat Kramnik and Carlsen. Grishuk was very solid with 11 draws, but Gelfand finished above him (more victories). Radjabov, with 7 losses and a solitary win, trailing a long way behind in last place. Radjabov, Ivanchuk and Aronian only drew 6 times, but then Carlsen only drew 7 times. Overall, 25 games were decisive, with 31 games drawn, which is a lot of decisive games at this level.

I liked John Nunn's contributions as well, and I really wish I could have been in the commentary room to see Genna Sosonko's session with Lawrence Trent. I've got a number of Sosonko's books, and seeing him talk live would have been good, but I couldn't tear myself away from the games in that final round!

Looking again at the results as a whole, who could have predicted after round nine that the leading two (Aronian and Carlsen) would finish with 2.5/5 with two losses, two wins and a draw?

The organisation of the event was excellent, no complaints there.

Matthew Turner:
I think it was an extremely interesting event and I think the best two players came out on top. Aronian played very well and for me was certainly the best of the rest, but when it came to the later rounds I don't think he was as psychologically strong as the top two. I don't really see why Carlsen deserved to win over Kramnik and I think the tiebreak had a big influence on the final round. Whilst the last round was exciting for the spectator I don't think it is that great finish for the event that both Kramnik and Carlsen lost and Carlsen wins the event by virtue of having lost more games. I am sure that Kramnik will look back and say that playing the Pirc was a big mistake and I find that tough to understand. I wondered if Ivanchuk and Carlsen are friends and Kramnik needed to play an opening that prevented White forcing a draw (but that seems unlikely?)

A number of observations/recollections from the event (in no particular order)

1. Carlsen just seemed to intimidate players, an amazingly forceful presence at the board
2. Chukky was Chukky
3. Radjabov wasn't able to cut it at this level
4. History will probably see Kramnik as just a decent world champion between the greats of Kasparov and Carlsen, but he really is pretty special too.
5. What fantastic entertainment Peter Svidler is - I hope we see more of him in England
6. I enjoyed the coverage with Nigel Short and Lawrence Trent. I thought they worked very well together, better than other combinations

Finally, I really don't fancy Anand's chances of holding on to the World Championship.

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 2nd April, 2013, 12:01 AM

Re: Post Candidates Comments

From Stephen Moss’s Column in The Guardian
April 1, 2013

The auditorium at the Institute of Engineering and Technology in central London was packed for the final day's play, and the tension in the hall was unbearable, with the players pacing round like expectant fathers while waiting for their opponents to make their move.

Ivanchuk, who bears a resemblance to the late Frankie Howerd and wears a permanently quizzical expression, sat slumped in his chair; the tall and dignified Kramnik looked as unruffled as ever, despite a dodgy mauve shirt, though even he began to look a little agitated as the game slipped away from him; meanwhile, Carlsen, the weight of the chess world's expectations on his young shoulders, sat hunched over the board looking uncharacteristically tense.

An estimated half a million enthusiasts were following the games on a variety of websites carrying the moves in real time, and as Carlsen's position against Svidler fell apart, Norway's biggest news sites collapsed in sympathy.

The three-week event has been a feast of fighting chess. "It's been the most amazing tournament ever seen in Britain," said John Saunders, the associate editor of Chess magazine, "and will go down among the top half-dozen tournaments of all time. Chess is now ready for a generational shift, and potentially we are looking at the first champion who learned his chess in the 21st century. A page has turned in the history of the game."

Carlsen will play Anand for the world title in a match over at least 12 games. Anand's native India has long been mooted as the probable location, but officials from tournament organisers Agon said New York was also a possibility.

A confrontation between Anand and Carlsen is a saleable commodity, and Agon realises it's now or never to get chess back on the map. The game might not yet command Madison Square Garden, but after a long period in the doldrums, it seems at least to have escaped the Siberian wilderness.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013...rld-number-one

**Gary Ruben** · Tuesday, 2nd April, 2013, 01:30 PM

Re: Post Candidates Comments

Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post

4. History will probably see Kramnik as just a decent world champion between the greats of Kasparov and Carlsen, but he really is pretty special too.

What a bunch of bull sh*t!!!

Kramnik was as good a champion as the others. Looks to me like he revived the Berlin Defence in top play against the Spanish amongst other accomplishments.

Last time I looked Carlsen was never world champion. He lost 2 of the last three games in the Candidates which looked to me like a decent CHOKE.

However, in chess you're only as good as your last event and Kasparov retired before his skills declined to the point where he became an "opponent'.

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 2nd April, 2013, 10:46 PM

Re: Post Candidates Comments

There is a rising feeling that we have seen one of the great tournaments of all time in the Candidates 2013. Also, people are missing their daily fix of super-grandmaster chess.

(John Saunders): One of the greatest chess tournaments ever staged ended on 1 April - and I am missing it already. This is my last blog specifically addressing a round of the tournament but I will be returning to the subject of the FIDE Candidates' Tournament, London 2013, for a further few more observations yet, partly because there is more to be said, but partly because I can't bear to let it recede into history. It was with a heavy heart that I walked out of the venue for the last time, wishing that it had been a four-cycle tournament like the Candidates of old (though, if it had been 28 rounds, I expect that the players would have been going home in ambulances at the end).
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(Dana Mackenzie): Ordinarily, if you asked me which I would enjoy more, playing in a chess tournament or staying at home and watching a chess tournament on the Internet, I would say, “Playing in a chess tournament.” It’s a complete no-brainer. I’d rather be a participant than a spectator any day.

But this time I actually think I did the wrong thing. By going to the Reno tournament this weekend, and driving back home today (the last day of the Candidates Tournament), I missed perhaps the most exciting and pressure-packed finish of any grandmaster tournament in history. I already mentioned how Vladimir Kramnik stunningly and unexpectedly took the lead two rounds before the end. Then Magnus Carlsen pulled out a typical Carlsen win in round 13, grinding out an 80-plus move victory over last-place Teimour Radjabov to move into a tie for first with Kramnik. It’s worth noting that Carlsen had better tiebreaks than Kramnik (number of games won).

Absolutely no one could have predicted what would happen next. Remember, up to this point Kramnik had not lost a single game, and Carlsen had only lost one, his upset at the hands of Ivanchuk in round 12. So who would have thought that, with the tournament on the line, both of them would lose? But that’s what happened, as Ivanchuk beat Kramnik and Peter Svidler defeated Carlsen. Ivanchuk completed the greatest tournament ever for a second-to-last place finisher. Although he finished in seventh place with 6 points of 14, those included upsets over both of the tournament winners! And Svidler, who was completely dominated by Carlsen in their first game, managed to win as Black, riddling Carlsen’s kingside position with holes.
Both Kramnik and Carlsen were clearly influenced by the tournament standings, playing riskier moves because of the need to keep the possibility of winning alive. According to Daniel King’s commentary on ChessBase, Carlsen seemed to be clearly fatigued in the last-round game, starting to drink his Coke after one hour instead of after four hours as planned. Definitely his two losses as White against Ivanchuk and Svidler made him look human again, after appearing invincible in his last few tournaments.

The upshot of the double upset is that nothing changed: Carlsen and Kramnik remained tied for first, and Carlsen won on tiebreaks, thanks to winning more games (+5 -2 = 7, compared to Kramnik’s +4 -1 =9). He will challenge Anand for the world championship later this year, probably in November. (snip)

All in all, it was an AMAZING last three rounds, as good or better than anything in the NCAA basketball tournament (ordinarily my favorite sporting event of the year). And I couldn’t watch any of it live. I had to settle for reading about it between rounds and after I got back home.

At least I’m glad to know that I’m not the only player who sometimes gets tired. If even the great Magnus Carlsen can have an off day, then so can I!
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(GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov): (on his Facebook page)
Fantastic tournament, congratulations to all the chess lovers ...

Congratulations to Carlsen. He deserved... Today, not everyone knows who the second player of the world is but everyone knows who is the first!

Congratulations to Kramnik .. he had no luck. but honestly Carlsen deserved first place more .. He was the leader of the tournament.. Kramnik proved once again who he is...

Aronian played well. but not as a champion ..
Svidler surprised everyone... I guess he was best prepared for the tournament .. Grischuk, Gelfand, Radjabov played certainly worse than their level ... and most of all thank you Ivanchuk .. he played very interestingly .. he made fun tournament - beat Carlsen and Kramnik.

Thanks to all participants for such a wonderful event .. all 8 participants are Super chess players. All deserved to play in London!
Thanks SOCAR!! Without a sponsor, we would not have seen this tournament.

http://chess-news.ru/en/node/11561