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Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 9:35 am
by David Sedgwick
Chris Rice wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2020 9:11 am
Finally, as I understand it, they are going to have 5 players playing white and only 3 black in all rounds as an experiment to reduce the number of draws.
You should perhaps have mentioned, as the author of the original comment did, that it is a pity that April 1st will be a rest day.
In the 2013 Candidates Tournament in London, the final round took place on 1st April. Tentative plans to mark the occasion were abandoned owing to the tense tournament situation.
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 10:03 am
by Mick Norris
Chris Rice wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2020 9:11 am
I see from the Chess,com
article that the two Chinese players meeting in the first round was deliberate "As the regulations stipulate, players from the same country are facing each other in the early rounds. The two Chinese players meet in rounds 1 and 8, and the three Russians play each other in rounds 1-3 and 8-10."
Yes, same format as the last couple of Candidates tournaments (it has always had at least a couple of Russians, previously had a couple of Americans)
Will be interesting if there's still all to play for in the final round (particularly if anyone has managed 13 draws
):
Caruana - Grischuk
Ding Liren - Nepomniachtchi
Radjabov - Wang Hao
Giri - Alekseenko
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:56 pm
by Paul Cooksey
I imagine Fabi will be pleased to start with white vs Alekseenko. If you are a favourite, a good start puts pressure on everyone else.
There is some speculation that Mickey Adams is on Fabi's team, since he was seen in the background of an online event he was streaming.
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 1:37 pm
by Angus French
Paul Cooksey wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:56 pm
There is some speculation that Mickey Adams is on Fabi's team, since he was seen in the background of an online event he was streaming.
If
this is what was seen I'm not sure it was Mickey Adams.
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 2:28 pm
by Matt Mackenzie
Chris Rice wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2020 9:11 am
Finally, as I understand it, they are going to have 5 players playing white and only 3 black in all rounds as an experiment to reduce the number of draws
An "interesting" idea......
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2020 8:39 pm
by Mick Norris
R 01 (March 17, 2020)
Radjabov – Caruana
Ding Liren - Wang Hao
Giri - Nepomniachtchi
Grischuk - Alekseenko
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Sun Feb 16, 2020 7:48 am
by Paul Cooksey
Paul Cooksey wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2020 12:56 pm
I imagine Fabi will be pleased to start with white vs Alekseenko. If you are a favourite, a good start puts pressure on everyone else.
There is some speculation that Mickey Adams is on Fabi's team, since he was seen in the background of an online event he was streaming.
So other than me getting the first round pairings wrong, and the suggestion that it was not actually Mickey, a pretty solid post...
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2020 10:15 pm
by Leonard Barden
Breaking news that Russia is suspending all Chinese citizens from entry starting 20 February as a temporary anti-virus measure.
The suspension will be for Chinese citizens entering Russia for employment, private, educational and tourist purposes.
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2020 11:29 pm
by Roger de Coverly
Leonard Barden wrote: ↑Tue Feb 18, 2020 10:15 pm
Breaking news that Russia is suspending all Chinese citizens from entry starting 20 February as a temporary anti-virus measure.
Which would set up a test case for how much influence the FIDE president and the major sponsor have with the Russian authorities.
In extremis, perhaps a re-enactment of Fischer's participation in 1965(?) in a tournament in Havana from New York. I would have thought that the delay in transmission could be reduced to seconds with the use of current technology. How, were it needed, you would conduct a Blitz or Agamemnon tie-break remains to be seen.
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2020 11:37 pm
by NickFaulks
Roger de Coverly wrote: ↑Tue Feb 18, 2020 11:29 pm
Which would set up a test case for how much influence the FIDE president and the major sponsor have with the Russian authorities.
My guess is that all Chinese citizens means all Chinese citizens. There is a real foundation for the ban, so the other players might object to a breach.
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:06 am
by Christopher Kreuzer
Have I misunderstood? Surely if the Chinese players are already in the country, then there is no problem. Ah, I see, it is 17 March, not February, that the tournament starts.
Maybe the two Chinese players should try and enter Russia now? But maybe their visas won't cover this. Maybe the whole tournament should be played under quarantine conditions.
What is the liklihood of the venue being changed to a different country?
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:29 am
by Kevin Thurlow
"How, were it needed, you would conduct a Blitz or Agamemnon tie-break remains to be seen."
Did you mean "Armageddon"? The "Agamemnon tie-break" does sound brilliant though!
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:57 am
by Mick Norris
Is that the one where you replace the knights?
I think Wang Hao has been in Tokyo for a while and is not going back to China before going to Russia so surely is safe to travel, although I see he was intending to go back to Beijing briefly
Ding Liren may be more of an issue as he is in Wenzhou
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:28 pm
by Roger de Coverly
NickFaulks wrote: ↑Tue Feb 18, 2020 11:37 pm
My guess is that all Chinese citizens means all Chinese citizens. There is a real foundation for the ban, so the other players might object to a breach.
Statement by FIDE.
https://www.fide.com/news/369
It appears the Russian ban only applied to the wrong kind of visa.
FIDE website wrote:
This ban does NOT affect official, business and humanitarian visas, which for now will continue to be issued. The Chinese delegation for the Candidates tournament has been issued a humanitarian visa, which englobes travels with sport, cultural or scientific purposes.
Re: Candidates Tournament 2020
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:32 pm
by Christopher Kreuzer
Interesting, from the link Roger provided above:
At the present time, it is not expected that the Chinese delegation should undergo a mandatory quarantine, but the situation changes by the hour, and each territory applies different measures. To be on the safe side, we are studying the possibility of offering the Chinese delegation to occupy a country house in the Moscow region upon arrival, with medical assistance at their disposal. This observation period will ensure that they will be able to continue their trip to Yekaterinburg without any issues, even if the security measures in the Sverdlovsk region are tightened in the forthcoming days.
I don't think that the situation will worsen sufficiently in one month that other countries will similarly be affected (though Japan is close enough and the location of a cluster of cases on that cruise ship that Wang Hao would probably be advised to travel sooner rather than later).
If things really get worse, the nationality of the Challenger for later in the year might be relevant (e.g. if Ding Liren or Wang Hao win the Candidates).