World Chess Champion Vishy Anand's Second Peter Heine Nielsen to Assist World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
This chess news is all over the Internet. World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand's team member GM Peter Heine Nielsen has joined World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen team for the upcoming Candidates Chess Matches in March, 2013.
A Chessdom.com update states that Eirik Gullaksen of BergenSjakk pointed to an article on VG.no which announces that the famous Danish Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen will be one of Magnus Carlsen’s seconds in the Candidates Matches in London.
Carlsen’s manager Espen Agdestein says that the two will spend a couple of weeks in the Canary Islands to prepare Carlsen for perhaps the most important tournament so far in his career.
Carlsen and Nielsen have been working together on and off since 2004, but the reigning World Champion Vishy Anand has always been Nielsen’s main employer.
GM Peter Heine Nielsen
Espen Agdestein clarified that if Norwegian wins the Candidates to face Vishy Anand for the title match, they would not be able to have Nielsen in the team: “We could not have Peter. He has worked with Anand for so long, and even if there are no legal problems, it would not be good in moral sense. Peter is therefore not going to be with us on the preparations if we ever have World Championship match” – says Agdestein.
At the same time the status of Ian Nepomniachtchi remains a mystery. For the recent London Chess Classic, the Norwegians insisted that Nepomniachtchi arrives to London because “Magnus got used to preparing with Ian and there is the much needed “chemistry” during the work”.
It was also said that the London Chess Classic should be the final test for Magnus-Ian cooperation before the Candidates Tournament in March. But Agdestein is now reluctant to announce the names of other seconds in the team. He only said that “We want people who are 100 percent motivated and and it is hardly appropriate to compete with the Russian players on the best Russian resources.”
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Labels: Candidates Chess Matches, ian nepomniachtchi, Magnus Carlsen, peter heine nielsen, world chess championship
Will Candidates Chess Matches be held in London?
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hello everyone,
According to PanARMENIAN.Net, Assistant to the FIDE President Berik Balgabaev has tweeted that World Championship Candidates Tournament will be held in London from October 23-November 13.
However, FIDE official website says nothing on the matter yet. Chess Federations of Azerbaijan and Bulgaria have recently expressed readiness to organize the tournament.
On February 2, Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian issued a letter to President of FIDE Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Presidential Council members to notify that he won’t participate in the tournament in case it is held in Baku.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at
Labels: Candidates Chess Matches
Will the next Candidates Chess Matches be held in Bulgaria?
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hello everyone,
We just found this interesting piece of chess news that Bulgaria might be in the running to host the next Candidates Matches! (In the photo: Veselin Topalov beat Gata Kamsky in February 2009 to win the right to face Anand for the world chess title. Photo by EPA/BGNES. As you know, Boris Gelfand of Israel will challenge World Champion Vishy Anand this year!)
Bulgaria has endorsed the town of Panagyurishte to run for host of this year's Candidates Tournament chess clashes, it has been revealed. London and Baku have already entered the race to host the prestigious event, while New York is expected to join them.
Bulgaria recently hosted two key chess battles – the Candidate Match betweenVeselin Topalov and Gata Kamsky in 2009 and Topalov's subsequent World Championship match against Vishwanathan Anand in 2010, which the Bulgarian lost. Both events took place in Sofia.
Panagyurishte's candidacy is seen as Topalov's only chance to get back into the title race.
Bulgarian Chess Federation President Silvio Danailov has pointed out that the country's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov support Panagyurishte's candidacy. The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organised by FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship.
The winner of the Candidates earns the right to a match for the World Championship against the incumbent World Champion.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at
Labels: Bulgaria, Candidates Chess Matches, Panagyurishte
Former world chess champion Kramnik focused on ratings to get into Candidates cycle!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
After his win at the Unive Crown Chess Group in Hoogoveen, former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik gave an interview to the Russian Chess Federation website. He said he was focused on his ratings as the current ratings would determine the places in the next Candidates Tournament. Kramnik was talking to Vladimir Barsky, the new editor of the RCF website.
The guys: Anish, Vladimir and Maxime (Judit was the other participant in the Unive Group)
Q. Vladimir, congratulations on your win! How do you manage to perform “to schedule”: winning with White, drawing with Black?
A. Well, it doesn’t always work out that way. This tournament was actually very similar to the Bilbao I won. There I also started off with two white games and won both of them. The only difference here was that I managed to win once more, but the tournament was weaker than Bilbao. They ended up being some kind of “clones”; it seems I should now play exclusively 6-round tournaments, as they turn out the best!
In general I think that in a short double round-robin tournament it’s less than ideal to start with two white games, as you’re not yet warmed up and you might play too sluggishly and calmly, and then you’re left with only black. I’ve discussed it with other chess players; generally no-one wants to start with two whites. It’s often even better to have two blacks, and only then to play white. But on both occasions I’ve managed to win the two games at the start. Over such a short distance that goes a long way towards winning the tournament, as your mood is immediately improved and you’ve got more desire to play as everything’s gone so successfully.
Q. Were you in the mood to fight? Against Vachier-Lagrave, for example, you rejected a repetition of moves in an unclear position…
A. Well yes, but what of it? At the end of the day, it’s not a matter of life and death! (lit. “we’re not playing for a cow”!) For me the tournament had more of a training character – I wanted to get warmed up a little. I’d already agreed to play in it a long time ago, and to an extent it was training before two major events – in Moscow and London, so that I didn’t have too long a break in play. Therefore I travelled to Holland, above all, in order to play fully-fledged games. Anything can happen. Sometimes you get short draws, but overall the goal was to play, so I tried to take advantage of any opportunity to get a game.
Q. How would you characterise your opponents?
The young guys are very talented. In my view Vachier-Lagrave keeps underscoring a little. I think he plays better than his rating suggests – he’s really at something like 2750. He’s had a bad run, he’s played a little sluggishly and he’s always “swarming around” the 2710-2720 zone, but it’s clear that he’s a strong player: he calculates well and his understanding is pretty good. In my view he’s already a chess player of the “sub-elite” level. For some reason he hasn’t yet managed to fulfil his potential, but he’s a very strong and dangerous opponent.
Giri’s also very talented, but for now he’s weaker than Maxime, despite his higher rating. Anish is making progress, and I like the way he does an awful lot of work, learning new openings. In the second game he amazed me: we were playing some totally “offbeat” variation: 1.c4 e5 2.g3, and quite quickly I was already creating at the board, but it turned out that he’d analysed the position very deeply. Such hard work is a guarantee of future success, because he’s undoubtedly talented. Capable young players often start to shirk work, and that immediately lowers their results. In my view Giri also has a good coach – Volodya Chuchelov. So Anish, I think, will slowly but surely improve.
And Judit Polgar, of course, is of a high class, though in comparison to the young it seems as though she doesn’t quite have the same motivation. That’s why her results are unstable. She plays some tournaments very well – for example, the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, but here things somehow didn’t go for her. You can’t say she played very badly, but things didn’t come together. She missed a win in the game against Vachier-Lagrave and that, of course, affected her mood. The tournament’s short – one failure and you immediately slip down the table. So Hoogoveen didn’t work out for her, although she can play very decently, as she’s proved more than once of late.
Q. After the tournament you reached the 2800-mark. Did you set yourself such a goal before it began?
A. No, of course not. It’s true I’m a little more concerned about ratings just now than before, because it’s necessary to get into the Candidates Tournament, but otherwise I don’t pay much attention to them. Now, to an extent, I’m trying to monitor the situation, but overall… I’ve got two major tournaments ahead of me – in Moscow and London, so you can’t say I’m taking great care of my rating. 2800 is simply a number. If I had 0.2 points less my rating would have turned out to be 2799 and I wouldn’t be in the 2800 club. Of course I didn’t seriously think about that but just played as I played.
You can read the complete interview in English at WhyChess and in Russian at the Russian Chess Website.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at
Labels: Candidates Chess Matches, vladimir kramnik
Special questionnaire sent to top-20 players for opinion on World Chess Championship cycle
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everybody,
 |
| ...And what would Fischer say? |
Here is the letter sent by GM Emil Sutovsky of the World Championship and Olympiads Committee to top chess players for their opinion on the World Championship Cycles. Stay tuned about what updates we receive about the players' answers.
Dear colleagues,
On behalf of the World Championship and Olympiads committee ( WCOC ), I’d like to ask your opinion regarding the format of the future World Championship Cycles.
As we all know, opinions differ, and it is not easy to find a solution that will satisfy all the leading players. However, we shall try to find a system which will be both professional and realistic. In this regard, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts before the topic is discussed on the next WCOC meeting in the beginning of June and important decisions are taken.
As the topic is too complex, I’ve prepared several questions. It would be nice to have your answers, but of course, you are most welcomed to present your vision as a separate letter. The questions:
What is more suitable system for Candidates – matches or double round robin?
If the match system is used, what format would you prefer (4+4+6, like in Kazan, 6+6+6, other…) Do you have positive/negative remarks about the format used in Kazan?
Should the World Champion’s privilege stay intact or should the World Champion join the Candidates in the future cycles?
Do you think FIDE should preserve two-year cycle or consider switching to a yearly Championship?
I would appreciate having your response before May 30, so that it can be presented on the WCOC meeting.
Best regards,
Emil Sutovsky
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com Labels: Candidates Chess Matches, world chess championship cycle
Candidates Chess Matches Kazan 2011 Final - Grischuk-Gelfand first game drawn
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
The Candidates Chess Matches in Kazan to select an opponent for the World Champion Vishy Anand are down to the finals. It's going to be one of either Boris Gelfand or Alexander Grischuk. Today, they drew their first game of the final which you can run in our super gameplayer below. You can access the official website here.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk'swww.chessblog.comAlso see her personal blog atwww.chessqueen.com Labels: Candidates Chess Matches
World chess body releases pairings for Candidates Matches
Chess blog for latest news and trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
FIDE has released the pairing for the Candidates Matches to be held in Kazan, Russia, from May 3rd to 27th. The matches will be four games and six games long, with as many as 15 possible rapid and blitz tiebreak games to decide the winner in the event of a draw. There are two days rest between matches.
------------------------------------------------
First bracketTopalov (BUL) - Kamsky (USA)
Gelfand (ISR) - Mamedyarov (AZE)
Second BracketKramnik (RUS) - Radjabov (AZE)
Aronian (ARM) - Grischuk (RUS)
------------------------------------------------
The drawing of colours for all the rounds will be conducted during the opening ceremony of the event. The winner of the Candidates Matches 2011 will qualify to challenge the World Champion GM Vishy Anand in a 12-game match during the first half of 2012.
www.chessbase.com writes:
The pairings are organized in such a way that Kramnik and Topalov could only meet in the finals in the third match, however, one wonders what will happen in the event that Topalov does qualify to meet either Kramnik or Grischuk, considering that the Bulgarian's manager previously declared that Vesselin would not play against a Russian on Russian soil.
You can read the news website's most comprehensive report here.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Labels: Candidates Chess Matches, Candidates Matches 2011, chess blog, FIDE
World Chess Championship Candidates Matches in Kazan from May 3-27, 2011
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010
Hello Everyone,
Fide has announced that the Candidates Matches to select an opponent for the current World Chess Champion Vishy Anand will be held from May 3-27, 2011 in the beautiful city of Kazan, Russia.
The eight players who are eligible to take part in the event include Veselin Topalov, Magnus Carlsen (withdrawn and replaced by Alexander Grischuk), Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Boris Gelfand, Mamedyarov Mamedyarov, Teimour Radjabov, Gata Kamsky.
Further withdrawals are to be replaced by Dmitry Yakovenko and Wang Yu in that order according to rules.
FIDE has also sent contracts to all the candidates and you can read more about it at the official Fide website.
Kazan (Russian: Каза́нь; Tatar: Казан, Qazan) is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. The sixth largest city of Russia, it lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. The Kazan Kremlin is a World Heritage Site. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the 'Third Capital' of Russia. In 2009 it was chosen as the 'Sports capital of Russia'.
Here is a nice tourism video of Kazan. Enjoy.
And, another nice slideshow video of Kazan.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's www.chessblog.com Also see her personal blog at www.chessqueen.com
Labels: Candidates Chess Matches, Kazan
Candidates Chess Matches: Grischuk to play in place of Carlsen
Chess news and chess trivia blog (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2010
 Alexander Grischuk
Hi Everyone,
The current Russian Chess Champion Alexander Grischuk Grischuk will be playing the Candidates matches in place of Magnus Carlsen. He is known for his blitz and had won the 2006 World Blitz Championship in Rishon Lezion, Israel with 10.5 points out of 15 games.
Meanwhile, here are some details of the Candidates Matches.
The candidates matches are currently scheduled to be held in April 2011. The challenger will be the winner of an eight-player candidates matches. In June 2009, FIDE indicated that the format would be matches. Originally, the intended venue for the candidate matches was Baku, but Levon Aronian announced that he would not play in Azerbaijan and matches involving him were to be held in a different country yet to be determined. This was changed to Kazan, Russia, in July 2010, but with the Azerbaijan nominee, Mamedyarov, remaining in the tournament.
Topalov has announced that he would not play in Russia against a Russian opponent, due to the unpleasant episodes which took place during the 2006 match against Kramnik.
Any player who withdraws is replaced by the next highest place-getter in the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010. Pairings According to FIDE, the loser of the World Chess Championship 2010 (Veselin Topalov) is seeded no: 1 and the rest according to FIDE January 2010 ratings. These regulations were laid down assuming that all the grand prix events were on schedule. That not being the case, it is not clear if the regulations will change. If Topalov refuses to play, he will be replaced by Dmitry Jakovenko. The matches are currently scheduled to be held in April 2011. You can find lot many details at this very nice wikipedia page.
Summary of match formats
Regulations: 3. 1 Matches Format & System A - First Round of Matches (8 players) a1 - Matches System: The player who lost the World Championship Match 2010 (V. Anand or V. Topalov) is ranked No.1, the rest are ranked in rating order using the FIDE Rating List of January 2010. The players are paired the following way: 1 vs 8 (match 1), 2 vs 7 (match 2), 3 vs 6 (match 3), 4 vs 5 (match 4). Each match will consist of 4 games. a2 - The four (4) winners will qualify for the second round of the Candidate Matches. B - Second Round of Matches (4 players) b1 - The Second Round of Matches will start 2 days after the end of the First Round. Any qualified player for the second round of the Candidates Matches can only be replaced by the player he defeated in the first round of the Candidate Matches. b2 - Matches System: The players are ranked according to the results of the first round of the Candidates Matches: winner of match 1 is No.1, winner of match 2 is No.2, winner of match 3 is No.3 and winner of match 4 is No.4. The players are paired the following way: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3. Each match will consist of 4 games. b3 - The two (2) winners will qualify for the third round of the Candidate Matches. C - Third Round of Matches (2 players) c1 - The Third Round of Matches will start 2 days after the end of the Second Round. Any qualified player for the third round of the Candidates Matches can only be replaced by the player he defeated in the second round of the Candidates Matches. c2 - Matches System: The match between the two players will consist of 6 games. c3 - The winner will qualify for the World Championship Match.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's Also see her personal blog at
Labels: Candidates Chess Matches
|
|
