Candidates Matches 3rd - 27th May 2011

[Alex Holowczak]

Aronian is out? Or just lost a game (been at work and just got in)? Also just saw on official site Radjabov's playing the KID, great stuff!

Aronian just lost rapid game 4, and hence lost the rapidplay playoff.

[David Sedgwick]

Why are Kramnik and Radjabov plying blitz at the same time Aronian and Grischuk are still playing 25 + 10? Has to be a big distraction for Aronian and Grischuk with blitz on the next table. Would have thought they'd synchronize the games somehow?

The clocks broke apparently in the Kramnik- Radjabov match.

This is ridiculous. Radjabov should be extremely pissed off imo. How can you break for ten minutes at such a moment?

There was indeed a problem of some sort with the clock after 60 moves of Kramnik - Radjabov. The video stream shows arbiters Leong and Dapiran moving in and some admittedly small degree of commotion. In a scene reminiscent of the British Championship or Hastings, Alex McFarlane, looking after Grischuk v Aronian, can be seen trying to quell the noise. On this occasion he appears to have had only limited success.

[Mick Norris]

I've been out and gather I've missed at least a couple of white wins - what are the scores on the 2 matches now?

Kramnik won to level the match after 10 games, Aronian trying to hold game 8 at 3.5-3.5

Thanks - assume it was 8 draws in the Kramnik match and then Radjabov the first white winner in the event?

[James Byrne]

...

[Simon Ansell]

Why are Kramnik and Radjabov plying blitz at the same time Aronian and Grischuk are still playing 25 + 10? Has to be a big distraction for Aronian and Grischuk with blitz on the next table. Would have thought they'd synchronize the games somehow?

The clocks broke apparently in the Kramnik- Radjabov match.

This is ridiculous. Radjabov should be extremely pissed off imo. How can you break for ten minutes at such a moment?

There was indeed a problem of some sort with the clock after 60 moves of Kramnik - Radjabov. The video stream shows arbiters Leong and Dapiran moving in and some admittedly small degree of commotion. In a scene reminiscent of the British Championship or Hastings, Alex McFarlane, looking after Grischuk v Aronian, can be seen trying to quell the noise. On this occasion he appears to have had only limited success.

Quite. I hope they realise how random the whole format is now, but it's FIDE so...

[LozCooper]

I've been out and gather I've missed at least a couple of white wins - what are the scores on the 2 matches now?

Kramnik won to level the match after 10 games, Aronian trying to hold game 8 at 3.5-3.5

Thanks - assume it was 8 draws in the Kramnik match and then Radjabov the first white winner in the event?

Yes although as Radjabov won in game 9 and Grishuk in round 8 who knows? But Radjabov did finish first

[Mike W. Richardt]

Kramnik just won!!! What is the score now?

[LozCooper]

Kramnik just won!!! What is the score now?

He's 1 up with Radjabov needing to win to force another mini match of 2 games

[Simon Ansell]

When you have a completely drawn position with seconds each on the clock to win a match vs Kramnik and you have an unscheduled break for ten minutes, who's head isn't going to go in that spot??

[Mick Norris]

Thanks - assume it was 8 draws in the Kramnik match and then Radjabov the first white winner in the event?

Yes although as Radjabov won in game 9 and Grishuk in round 8 who knows? But Radjabov did finish first

Amazing either way really, 16 classical games, and 7 rapidplay games without a white win

[Mick Norris]

Kramnik just won!!! What is the score now?

He's 1 up with Radjabov needing to win to force another mini match of 2 games

So he plays e4 and Kramnik doesn't play the Petroff, surprisingly

[Mick Norris]

Kramnik is through to play Grischuk on Thursday

[Matthew Peat]

One can almost sense Malcolm Pein's relief that he had already dropped out of the running for organising the final.............

Anand v any of the 4 semi-finalists does not spark the imagination. At least if either Grischuk or Kramnik gets through it is likely sponsorship will be forthcoming for the final.

One senses that an 8 game match would have produced at least 2 different semi-finalis

[Eoin Devane]

In a quite magnificent piece of chess punditry, then, it appears that I managed to get all four results wrong in my earlier predictions! Disappointed about Radjabov, though. I really thought he had a good chance this time around, and it's a shame to hear that the events seemed to conspire against him as described. (I didn't see any of the games today, so I'm just going off what people said above).

[David Sedgwick]

When you have a completely drawn position with seconds each on the clock to win a match vs Kramnik and you have an unscheduled break for ten minutes, who's head isn't going to go in that spot??

In such a situation a competent arbiter (and all three of them are competent) will try to ensure that both players have refocused before asking them to continue play.

It didn't work out for the unfortunate Radjabov in this instance. He seems to have gone badly wrong immediately after the resumption.