If I read the computers correctly, Mamedyarov should still have a decisive advantage.
I like Anand, but I wouldn't mind seeing any of the other guys winning here. Looking at Karjakin, I feel he will be the challenger sooner or later. Kramnik getting another chance would also be nice.

vndestiny

Singapore3473 Posts

March 23 2014 13:24 GMT

#403

Looks like we're about to have 4 decisive games today. Very exciting to watch.

marvellosity

United Kingdom36161 Posts

March 23 2014 13:27 GMT

#404

other than the one that already finished a draw you mean? :p

vndestiny

Singapore3473 Posts

March 23 2014 13:32 GMT

#405

On March 23 2014 22:27 marvellosity wrote:
other than the one that already finished a draw you mean? :p

Oops caught up on the exciting games I completely forgot about that one

. Let's pretend the dull game didnt happend today.

Orome

Switzerland11984 Posts

March 23 2014 14:50 GMT

#406

I don't want another Carlsen-Anand either, but this is ridiculously impressive from Vishy. He would've been my last prediction to win the candidates and now he's a full point ahead of the field.

Before the tournament started, Yermolinsky wrote up an article about the chances he thought the different players had. Some excerpts:

I don’t even mention Anand in this context, because Anand will not win in Khanty. Vishy is finished and done for, stick a fork into him. It’s not the fear of Magnus – it’s the fear of playing chess that did Anand in, and it happened some 3-4 years ago.

Now, off to the fun part where I promise to eat my hat. I’ll give two numbers to each player. The first one represents his chances of winning the Candidates, and the second one rates his chances to beat Magnus.

Anand 0% n/a

xM(Z

Romania5299 Posts

March 23 2014 16:25 GMT

#407

age based xenophobia should just die.
go Anand!

mikeymoo

Canada7170 Posts

March 23 2014 16:55 GMT

#408

Anand now 3rd in live ratings.

Maenander

Germany4927 Posts

March 23 2014 17:16 GMT

#409

Anand looks pretty relaxed in his post game interviews, way less troubled than during the world championship. Maybe the loss of the title gave him new motivation.

urboss

Austria1223 Posts

March 23 2014 17:30 GMT

#410

Behold! The Tiger of Madras has awakened!

[image loading]

marvellosity

United Kingdom36161 Posts

March 23 2014 17:36 GMT

#411

Not to downplay Anand, but he has benefitted largely from his main rivals imploding for no real reason. It feels like Anand has played a very Carlsen-style tournament actually - he has made very few mistakes compared to other players, and he has capitalised on his opponent's mistakes when given the chance. Just solid, strong play which has been easily good enough so far.

JazVM

Germany1196 Posts

March 23 2014 18:38 GMT

#412

I can actually see doing Anand well vs. Carlsen this year, or at least better than last time around. Assuming they won't play in India again, Anand will not have the pressure to deliver to his home crowd and holding the title. The only thing that is curious, is that he performed rather poorly in the tournaments right after the WC but seems to be totally on form just a few weeks later. Whatever is the reason, it's nice to see him doing well.

wingpawn

Poland1342 Posts

March 23 2014 18:41 GMT

#413

Yeah, it's true. From the distance, it looks like a tournament not really about producing the results, but more about getting messy, unbalanced positions and testing them. Aronian and Svidler do that like every single game and had Peter had more luck and Levon less, those guy could just as well swap their positions in the table compared to what's going on now. On the other hand, there are also no obvious punching bags there and with Karjakin and Mamedyarov bouncing back from early setbacks, everything is possible. On this field of chess kamikazes, Anand's play looks almost Kramnik-esque.

Plexa

Aotearoa39261 Posts

March 23 2014 20:25 GMT

#414

On March 24 2014 02:36 marvellosity wrote:
Not to downplay Anand, but he has benefitted largely from his main rivals imploding for no real reason. It feels like Anand has played a very Carlsen-style tournament actually - he has made very few mistakes compared to other players, and he has capitalised on his opponent's mistakes when given the chance. Just solid, strong play which has been easily good enough so far.

I think a lot of this might juts come down to pressure. From Anand's viewpoint, he's regarded as one of the best that's played the game and has already been World Champ. If he didn't place first in this tournament no one would think any less of him and his legacy. The others have a lot more to prove, and with a scary young generation coming through, perhaps it might be some of their last real chances to become World Champ. That different in perspective arguably adds a lot of pressure that Anand isn't experiencing. Thus, implosions.

Orome

Switzerland11984 Posts

March 23 2014 21:24 GMT

#415

You could make the exact same argument for big Vlad though and he's imploding like a champ. Pressure does matter a lot, it's not uncommon to see a player's game look rejuvenated after losing the pressure that comes with being world champion (just look at Kramnik's games after he lost to Anand), but I think there are many more factors at play here. For one thing, people were too quick to write him off entirely. Yes, his play has looked desperately dull and uninspired for years, but it never actually fell off significantly. He didn't win tournaments, but he was always good enough to put up decent results in super GM events. His preparation for the candidates is really impressive, it almost feels like he's better prepared here than he was for Magnus (obviously the openings Carlsen played have a lot to do with that). And no matter how much we want to create a coherent storyline, there's also a lot of luck at play. Vishy's backed his good fortune up with really solid play, but it can't be argued that he's gotten fortunate with the way the event's going as a whole.

urboss

Austria1223 Posts

March 24 2014 09:36 GMT

#416

Standings:

[image loading]

There are 5 more rounds to go.
Anand is on +3, Aronian is on +1.
If Anand draws all remaining games, Aronian would need to win 3 games to win the tournament!

Anand still has to play Black against Kramnik which will be tough.
He also still has to play against Mamedyarov who seems to be the kamikaze guy in this tournament.

Round 10:
Aronian – Topalov
Anand – Mamedyarov

Round 11:
Svidler – Aronian
Kramnik – Anand

Round 12:
Anand – Andreikin
Aronian – Kramnik

Round 13:
Andreikin – Aronian
Karjakin – Anand

Round 14:
Aronian – Karjakin
Anand – Svidler

urboss

Austria1223 Posts

March 25 2014 07:17 GMT

#417