Anand on Candidates: "Most likely I won't play"

In a new interview Anand says that he probably won't be playing the Candidates (in that case Caruana would get his spot):

PUNE: Beaten world chess champion V Anand declared on Friday he may not attempt to regain his throne. Asked if he had decided about appearing in the Candidates tournament, the 44-year-old said: "No, not at the moment. I mean, most likely I won't play. Zurich is the only confirmed event for me right now. There are many interesting invitations for the second half of the year. And possibly I will be playing in Ukraine, where I will be playing rapid." 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/chess/Viswanathan-Anand-shows-cold-feet-for-Candidates/articleshow/27695157.cms

He's probably still counting all that money he made with his match with Carlsen. I call that quite reasonable judgement, since he doesn't need to prove himself anymore, he used to be the World Champ already.

Anand? Who's he?

It would be nice to see Caruana in the Candidates. I don't think Anand would have any chance in a tournament on that level nowadays, but Caruana could be dangerous. He wouldn't have much time to prepare though, he is playing both Tata and Zurich in January/February, and then the Candidates start already the first half of March. The question is also how soon Anand will withdraw officially (if he will withdraw). 

@fabelhaft, I understand the spot goes to Caruana if Anand withdraws, but do you agree with me that Nakamura would be a better choice?  If Nakamura were in the Candidates, it would create a great amount of interest in the sleeping giant that is the USA.  In fact, Nakamura is #3 on the live rating list at present, behind only Carlsen and Aronian.

Caruana deserves the spot. Nakamura has to get there by the same process every other candidate has to follow.

That process is not ratings (which fluctuate) but the qualification system for the candidates.

+1

Someone should create a petition. I've always been curious to see how top chess players nowadays would do against Houdini.

Even if Caruana is a few points behind Nakamura on the current live rating list I think he does deserve to be first reserve. He did better than Nakamura in the qualification cycle, and scored some great results last year: He won Dortmund ahead of players like Karjakin and Kramnik, shared first in the Grand Slam final with a +3 score (Aronian had =, Karjakin and Anand -1), losing the tiebreak against Carlsen. In Wijk he shared second with Carlsen in a very strong field, and he was leading Tal Memorial until the last round, ending up second also there. This year he has won Zurich with a clear margin ahead of Anand, Gelfand and Kramnik.

Nakamura is a very entertaining player, and if he just keeps playing like he has the last years he will make it to the Candidates after this one on rating unless FIDE will change the qualification rules.

Wow!

I really want to see Anand in candidates. it is always nice to have a legend an ex world champion on the list. he is still very strong and in top 10 but i understand he may lack motivation and energy to play for WC. i think such a player should not miss a chance to play in a historic tournament.

i dont think caruana has gone through any qualification. he may be picked based on his rating in a certain point. we want candidates to be as strong as possible with best players in the world at the moment to see a fantastic battle. look at Andreikin. he was picked mostly due to his rapid skills and he even lost some rating points in the process to qualify for candidates. something needs to be done with qualification system to make sure best players get a chance to play for WC.

Caruana is first reserve because he was third in the Grand Prix series, where the top two qualified. Caruana had the best overall results in the qualification counting all tournaments, scoring 460 points in all while Topalov had 455 and Mamedyarov 410. The problem for Caruana was that the worst result didn't count, and he slipped down to third (far ahead of fourth place) since his results were a bit too even.

Of course, he would have a chance.  It's a tournament anyone can win.  The winner is chosen not just based on his own games but also based on games he didn't even play.    

But even if the qualifier were a match system Anand would have a good chance IMO.  No doubt he has some pretty nice opening ideas prepared that he never got to use in the match.

For what it's worth, Caruana and Carlsen are at +2, -2, =5, so a World Championship between Caruana and Carlsen would be rather interesting.

Rainuchka, I'm curious, how do you feel about Karjakin?

The last time Anand won a tournament of that level was almost six years ago (he has only won one since the beginning of 2008, and that was when his highest ranked opponent was #13), and since then he has dropped a lot in playing strength. If he plays I doubt he will finish with a plus score, even if the Candidates looks weaker than many top tournaments nowadays, with #9, #10, #11, #12 and #39 on the current rating list. That leaves three players ranked in the top 8, and of them Topalov is notoriously uneven and won't find it all that easy to play in Russia considering how things turned out in his match against Kramnik. Still, I don't think Anand is one of the ten strongest players in the world at the moment, and that it will be difficult for him if he plays.

Rainuchka, does it matter to you personally that Kariakin left the Ukrainian federation?  Do you root for him?

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!

Ivanov VS Carlsen for 2014 world champion!!! Who will win???

Kinda like when Kasparov lost his world championship title...

Strange characteristics, I always thought Carlsen is considered as highly positional and strategical player.