Candidates Tournament 2020

[David Sedgwick]

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.

[Mick Norris]

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

[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.

[Angus French]

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.

[Matt Mackenzie]

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......

[Mick Norris]

R 01 (March 17, 2020)

Radjabov – Caruana
Ding Liren - Wang Hao
Giri - Nepomniachtchi
Grischuk - Alekseenko

[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.

So other than me getting the first round pairings wrong, and the suggestion that it was not actually Mickey, a pretty solid post...

[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.

[Roger de Coverly]

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.

[NickFaulks]

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.

[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?

[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!

[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

[Roger de Coverly]

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.

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.

[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).