Candidates Tournament 2013

[JustinHorton]

I'm sure this page was giving live commentary yesterday. (I know I can get it elsewhere, but the picture is set up differently here and I wanted the version with the larger view of Lawrence and Nigel.)

[Christopher Kreuzer]

A rapid draw from Ivanchuk and Gelfand (not too surprising). Kramnik appears to have a big advantage against Radjabov (move 20, it seems 20...Ne5 may not have been best). Svidler pressing against Aronian (22.c5). If White breaks through in both those games, it will depend whether Carlsen can navigate safely through his game with Grischuk (16...Qa5). Kramnik would then be only half a point behind Carlsen with one less win.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Massive blunder by Radjabov (28...Qxa2). Looks like Kramnik and Aronian will swap places with Carlsen still just in front.

[Clive Blackburn]

It looks as though Aronian might be going to lose to Svidler now (move 36)

[Clive Blackburn]

Yes, Aronian did lose

Alexander Grischuk ½-½ Magnus Carlsen
Peter Svidler 1-0 Levon Aronian
Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½ Boris Gelfand
Vladimir Kramnik 1-0 Teimour Radjabov

[Mick Norris]

Aronian needs to beat Kramnik tomorrow, which may give chances to Vlad, but still hard to see past Magnus winning it

[Matt Mackenzie]

Well, Radjabov is paying one hell of a price for blowing his chance of glory against Carlsen. There really is nowhere to hide at this level......

[Clive Blackburn]

Standings after Round 11:-

• 1 Magnus Carlsen 7.5
  2 Vladimir Kramnik 7
  3 Levon Aronian 6.5
  4 Peter Svidler 5.5
  5= Alexander Grischuk 5
  5= Boris Gelfand 5
  7 Vassily Ivanchuk 4
  8 Teimour Radjabov 3.5

[Christopher Kreuzer]

So I'm slightly delayed attending to spectate for round 12. Will probably arrive around 15:30. Anyone want to lay odds that one, possibly two, of the games will be drawn before I arrive!

[Andrew Bak]

It's fantastic to see so many fireworks in such a key game in Aronian-Kramnik, you've picked a good day to go Christopher!

[JustinHorton]

It's fantastic to see so many fireworks in such a key game in Aronian-Kramnik, you've picked a good day to go Christopher!

Shame Kramnik missed ...Qf4 though. But as Trent and Short are currently observing, there is a chance of an Arkell Ending occurring (not that they used that term).

[Mick Norris]

Back from Gigg Lane and I seemed to have missed some fun

[Jonathan Bryant]

Watching super GMs play rook endings is like watching paint dry.

Still think that Chris?


(In return: feel free to point out that I had long since written off Kramnik's chances)

[Matt Mackenzie]

Watching super GMs play rook endings is like watching paint dry.

Still think that Chris


(In return: feel free to point out that I had long since written off Kramnik's chances)

I think VK had written off his own chances after Carlsen held him with Black, tbh

"Chess, bloody hell" as SAF might have said if he hadn't been talking about football

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Watching super GMs play rook endings is like watching paint dry.

Still think that Chris

This one was rather more exciting (the Radjabov-Grischuk one less so).

Actually, the Carlsen-Ivanchuk ending wasn't exciting, so much as agonising. I almost didn't want to be there for the inevitable denouement. But it was instructive watching Carlsen coming very, very close to drawing. In the press conference immediately afterwards, he seemed to think he had missed a draw with a more rapid c6 push immediately after Black plays Rxa4.

(In return: feel free to point out that I had long since written off Kramnik's chances)

I hadn't written off Kramnik, but I hadn't expected Carlsen to lose (with the White pieces as well!), though as Colin pointed out you could have predicted it based on his play so far. It seems overall Kramnik's play has been better (though the commentators were absolutely shocked that Aronian blundered at the end). The pressure is really now on both Kramnik and Carlsen - Kramnik may still need a win, and Carlsen must try and win without losing again. In some ways, I pity their opponents: Radjabov and Svidler (for Carlsen) and Gelfand and Ivanchuk (for Kramnik).

Looking more closely at the opponents for Carlsen and Kramnik, I think Carlsen will definitely have chances in his games. Kramnik is playing the two oldest players in the tournament, but Ivanchuk has already defeated the two youngest players in the tournament, so it seems age counts for little!

This article is interesting in hindsight:

http://www.chessbase.com/Home/TabId/211 ... 90313.aspx

"But we are still trying to understand why Kramnik's chances are not higher, despite being only half a point behind Carlsen with still three rounds left. Obviously Kramnik can pass Carlsen and finish in first outright - but there is barely a 5% chance of this, given Carlsen's strength and extra remaining game with White."

Not the best assumption to start with, it turns out... There is more:

"The real problem from Kramnik's perspective is that if he and Carlsen share first place, they probably are both undefeated at that point..."

"The only feasible way to make a shared first acceptable to Kramnik is if he has defeated Aronian" (!)

An interesting conclusion:

"...all 12 remaining games have a very real impact on the tournament outcome!"

Now eight games, but Sunday and Monday could be even more tense than today.