FIDE Candidates Tournament 2014

Anand wins with one round to spare. He leads by 1.5 points, ahead of five players in equal second place.

FIDE Candidates Tournament 2014

Anand seems on target to win the tournament and face Magnus Carlsen for a World Championship rematch later this year. There are two rounds to go, and Anand has a clear point lead. Aronian will need to outscore him to take the title. In round 12, Anand could afford to draw in a winning position (though admittedly, the computer says he is winning, but it might have been hairy, to say the least).

#	Name		Pts	S-B
1	Viswanathan Anand		7.5	43.75
2	Levon Aronian		6.5	37.75
3	Shakhriyar Mamedyarov		6	35.5
	Sergey Karjakin		6	34.5
5	Vladimir Kramnik		5.5	34.25
	Dmitry Andreikin		5.5	33.5
	Veselin Topalov		5.5	33.25
	Peter Svidler		5.5	32

FIDE Candidates Tournament 2014

After 9 rounds, Vishy Anand has extended his lead. Before today's games, He and Aronian were both on 5 points, but Aronian lost while Anand won. Tomorrow is a rest day, and the games continue on Tuesday. There are 5 rounds to go.

                                                       SB

1	Viswanathan Anand		6	25.75
2	Levon Aronian		5	22
3	Vladimir Kramnik		4.5	20.5
	Sergey Karjakin		4.5	19.5
	Shakhriyar Mamedyarov		4.5	18.75
6	Dmitry Andreikin		4	17.75
	Peter Svidler		4	17
8	Veselin Topalov		3.5	16.75

Chess Puzzle

White to play. Mate in ... wait for it ... 549 moves (I am not kidding. There is a forced mate here in 549 moves!).

The answer can be found here. See entryNo. 393.

FIDE Candidates Tournament 2014

After six rounds, Vishy Anand is still in the lead.

Rank . Name                                 Rtg      FED    Pts   Wins   SB 1 GM   Anand Viswanathan 2770 IND 4 2 11,75 2 GM Aronian Levon 2830 ARM 3½ 2 10,00 3 GM Svidler Peter 2758 RUS 3 2 7,75 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2757 AZE 3 2 7,75 5 GM Topalov Veselin 2785 BUL 3 1 9,50 6 GM Kramnik Vladimir 2787 RUS 3 1 8,75 7 GM Karjakin Sergey 2766 RUS 2½ 0 7,50 8 GM Andreikin Dmitry 2709 RUS 2 0 6,50

Round 7 is on Friday after a rest day. Live coverage is here.

FIDE Candidates Tournament 2014

After three rounds, Vishy Anand is in the lead. Is he planning to fight again for his crown recently relinquished to Magnus Carlsen?

Rank			Name	Rtg	FED	Pts	vict	SB
1		GM	Anand Viswanathan	2770	IND	2½		2  2,75
2		GM	Svidler Peter	2758	RUS	2		1  2,50
		GM	Kramnik Vladimir	2787	RUS	2		1  2,50
4		GM	Aronian Levon	2830	ARM	1½		1  1,25
5		GM	Topalov Veselin	2785	BUL	1½		0  2,25
6		GM	Andreikin Dmitry	2709	RUS	1		0  1,50
		GM	Karjakin Sergey	2766	RUS	1		0  1,50
8		GM	Mamedyarov Shakhriyar	2757	AZE	½		0  0,75

Round 4 is on Monday after a rest day. Live coverage is here.

FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014

The Candidates tournament to decide who will play Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship begins in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, on Thursday. Details can be found here.

The eight players are:

• 

  Viswanathan Anand
  

  IND, former world champion
• 

  Vladimir Kramnik
  

  RUS, world cup 2013 winner
• 

  Dmitry Andreikin
  

  RUS, world cup 2013 finalist
• 

  Veselin Topalov
  

  BUL, grand-prix 2012-13 winner

• 

  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

  AZE, grand-prix 2012-13 runner-up
• 

  Levon Aronian

  ARM, rating list 2012-13
• 

  Sergey Karjakin

  RUS, rating list 2012-13
• 

  Peter Svidler

  RUS, host nominee