Candidates Tournament 2020

[JustinHorton]

If I have it right - and I trust that forumites already know that I don't actually check these pronouncements - no one has started the candidates with 2/2. (The modern versions, that is, though in fact no one won in the first round in Montpellier 1985 either). Same with the world championships, if that is what they were, in 2005 and 2007.

Just while we're on this subject - who was the last player to win a Candidates Tournament after losing their first game?

[Jonathan Rogers]

Tal in '59 ?

[JustinHorton]

Tal in '59 ?

Indeed so.

I also have one player who won the Candidates series after losing the first game of his first match. (I've not gone through all the stuff in the schism years though, since the formats are such that it's hard even to say what what the question means.)

[Jonathan Rogers]

I suppose it must be Spassky or Korchnoi, because they won four of the six candidates cycles played by matches; Fischer, as is well known, took a bit longer to lose his first game (!) and Karpov was undefeated v Polugaevsky, though he did his lose first game in the semis v Spassky.

[JustinHorton]

Three and a bit hours in and:

Ding only need a to hold himseld and his clock together to beat Caruana b

Nepo, after one dicky moment, seems to be beating off Alekseenko's exchange sacrifice (EDIT and they have in fact drawn) ;

Grischuk is trying to nurse an edge against Wang, much as Wang tried to yesterday against Giri ;

Giri and MVL drew.

I suppose it must be Spassky or Korchnoi, because they won four of the six candidates cycles played by matches; Fischer, as is well known, took a bit longer to lose his first game (!) and Karpov was undefeated v Polugaevsky, though he did his lose first game in the semis v Spassky.

Anybody fancy pinning it down?

[Kevin Thurlow]

From the early clock times, Caruana was obviously playing his preparation and Ding was thinking hard - so something seemed to go seriously wrong.

[Andy Stoker]

Spassky lost the first game of his quarter final against Keres in 1965 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=80065 - this link also includes reference to Spassky's interview with Barden, in which he says "he regarded the 1st game, a loss, as the most satisfying of the match: "I made a very good sacrifice, but made a mistake and was crushed. Instead of (23.Ra-a3, 23.d4-d5) would have been strong." (2) Spassky recovered from this loss to lead 3.5 - 1.5 after five games, but Keres fought back to trail by just a point with one game to go. Spassky said he was "surprised to find ... that he was already tired after ... eight games." Despite this fatigue, he managed to win the final game "in a maze of complications."" - thank you Chessgames.com

[JustinHorton]

That's the one

[Matt Mackenzie]

Why hasn't Caruana resigned yet?

[LawrenceCooper]

Why hasn't Caruana resigned yet?

He has now.

[Nick Ivell]

Normally I understand a game of chess.

Ding v Caruana? Don't get it at all, from Kf2 onwards.

[Daniel Gormally]

I predicted Ding would win today on my twitter.

I really don't like Caruana's chances of qualifying at all. Just don't see it. Ding however, I think has got some momentum now. his game against Giri becomes an important game. A chance for Anish to get back into it or Ding to perhaps being confirmed as the favourite.

A lot of people (like some of the commentators) are saying Caruana is still the favourite, but I don't buy this at all. Besides, I think the general public is suffering enough at the moment, without having to endure Carlsen vs Caruana part II.

[NickFaulks]

Just while we're on this subject - who was the last player to win a Candidates Tournament after losing their first game?

Their first two?

[JustinHorton]

Normally I understand a game of chess.

Ding v Caruana? Don't get it at all, from Kf2 onwards.

It's pretty strange but I recognise some of the themes from looking at 5 a4 Bg4, which I expected somebody to play against me in a game last year (they didn't). There were a lot more weird Slavs about in the Eighties and Nineties than more recently, I think.

Just while we're on this subject - who was the last player to win a Candidates Tournament after losing their first game?

Their first two?

Nobody - yet.

[JustinHorton]

In a way it's Grischuk who's impressed me most so far - he doesn't seem to have been in trouble at all.