Candidates Tournament - The Result!
The 2013 Candidates Tournament will live long in the memory, and its conclusion was as unexpected as it was amazing! The two remaining contenders, Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik both had to keep one eye on each other's games, with Vladimir Kramnik needing to score a better result than his Norwegian rival to win the tournament.
Today is April Fool's day, but this is no joke: Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik both lost their final round games! Incredibly, Vassily Ivanchuk gradually outplayed Vladimir Kramnik, and Magnus Carlsen went astray in rare (for him) time trouble to turn an equal position into a loss.
Carlsen was first to resign, but relatively safe in the knowledge that Kramnik was probably losing as well. What a finale!
Two rounds ago, it seemed that Vassily Ivanchuk had cost Magnus Carlsen victory in the tournament, but by beating Vladimir Kramnik in the final round, he ended up saving his skin! Try to fit a conspiracy story around that...
Magnus Carlsen at the start of his final round game
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Peter Svidler's win gave him 3rd place in the tournament
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Vladimir Kramnik came so close to winning the tournament
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Vassily Ivanchuk is the toast of Norway after beating Kramnik!
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2013 Candidates Tournament Final Standings
| Name | Fed | Elo | Pts |
| Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2872 | 8½ |
| Vladimir Kramnik | RUS | 2810 | 8½ |
| Peter Svidler | RUS | 2747 | 8 |
| Levon Aronian | ARM | 2809 | 8 |
| Boris Gelfand | ISR | 2740 | 6½ |
| Alexander Grischuk | RUS | 2764 | 6½ |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | UKR | 2757 | 6 |
| Teimour Radjabov | AZE | 2793 | 4 |
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Lev Aronian completed Teimour Radjabov's miserable tournament by beating him after the Azerbaijani blundered in the endgame.
Lev Aronian ended the tournament with another win
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Boris Gelfand and Alexander Grischuk finished their campaigns with a draw
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The complete results of the 2013 Candidates
| Round 1 | 15/03/13 | |
| Levon Aronian | ½ - ½ | Magnus Carlsen |
| Boris Gelfand | ½ - ½ | Teimour Radjabov |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | ½ - ½ | Alexander Grischuk |
| Peter Svidler | ½ - ½ | Vladimir Kramnik |
| Round 2 | 16/03/13 | |
| Magnus Carlsen | ½ - ½ | Vladimir Kramnik |
| Alexander Grischuk | ½ - ½ | Peter Svidler |
| Teimour Radjabov | 1 - 0 | Vassily Ivanchuk |
| Levon Aronian | 1 - 0 | Boris Gelfand |
| Round 3 | 17/03/13 | |
| Boris Gelfand | 0 - 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | 0 - 1 | Levon Aronian |
| Peter Svidler | 1 - 0 | Teimour Radjabov |
| Vladimir Kramnik | ½ - ½ | Alexander Grischuk |
| Round 4 | 19/03/13 | |
| Magnus Carlsen | 1 - 0 | Alexander Grischuk |
| Teimour Radjabov | ½ - ½ | Vladimir Kramnik |
| Levon Aronian | ½ - ½ | Peter Svidler |
| Boris Gelfand | ½ - ½ | Vassily Ivanchuk |
| Round 5 | 20/03/13 | |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | ½ - ½ | Magnus Carlsen |
| Peter Svidler | ½ - ½ | Boris Gelfand |
| Vladimir Kramnik | ½ - ½ | Levon Aronian |
| Alexander Grischuk | ½ - ½ | Teimour Radjabov |
| Round 6 | 21/03/13 | |
| Peter Svidler | 0 - 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
| Vladimir Kramnik | ½ - ½ | Vassily Ivanchuk |
| Alexander Grischuk | ½ - ½ | Boris Gelfand |
| Teimour Radjabov | 0 - 1 | Levon Aronian |
| Round 7 | 23/03/13 | |
| Magnus Carlsen | ½ - ½ | Teimour Radjabov |
| Levon Aronian | ½ - ½ | Alexander Grischuk |
| Boris Gelfand | ½ - ½ | Vladimir Kramnik |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | ½ - ½ | Peter Svidler |
| Round 8 | 24/03/13 | |
| Magnus Carlsen | ½ - ½ | Levon Aronian |
| Teimour Radjabov | 0 - 1 | Boris Gelfand |
| Alexander Grischuk | 1 - 0 | Vassily Ivanchuk |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 1 - 0 | Peter Svidler |
| Round 9 | 25/03/13 | |
| Vladimir Kramnik | ½ - ½ | Magnus Carlsen |
| Peter Svidler | ½ - ½ | Alexander Grischuk |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | 1 - 0 | Teimour Radjabov |
| Boris Gelfand | 1 - 0 | Levon Aronian |
| Round 10 | 27/03/13 | |
| Magnus Carlsen | 1 - 0 | Boris Gelfand |
| Levon Aronian | 1 - 0 | Vassily Ivanchuk |
| Teimour Radjabov | ½ - ½ | Peter Svidler |
| Alexander Grischuk | 0 - 1 | Vladimir Kramnik |
| Round 11 | 28/03/13 | |
| Alexander Grischuk | ½ - ½ | Magnus Carlsen |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 1 - 0 | Teimour Radjabov |
| Peter Svidler | 1 - 0 | Levon Aronian |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | ½ - ½ | Boris Gelfand |
| Round 12 | 29/03/13 | |
| Magnus Carlsen | 0 - 1 | Vassily Ivanchuk |
| Boris Gelfand | ½ - ½ | Peter Svidler |
| Levon Aronian | 0 - 1 | Vladimir Kramnik |
| Teimour Radjabov | ½ - ½ | Alexander Grischuk |
| Round 13 | 31/03/13 | |
| Teimour Radjabov | 0 - 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
| Alexander Grischuk | ½ - ½ | Levon Aronian |
| Vladimir Kramnik | ½ - ½ | Boris Gelfand |
| Peter Svidler | 1 - 0 | Vassily Ivanchuk |
| Round 14 | 01/04/13 | |
| Magnus Carlsen | 0 - 1 | Peter Svidler |
| Vassily Ivanchuk | 1 - 0 | Vladimir Kramnik |
| Boris Gelfand | ½ - ½ | Alexander Grischuk |
| Levon Aronian | 1 - 0 | Teimour Radjabov |
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See you for the world championship in October/November: Magnus Carlsen versus Vishy Anand!
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The winner, and world championship challenger, Magnus Carlsen
Photos by Ray Morris-Hill.
