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Candidates Tournament Round 3

Candidates Tournament Round 3

SonofPearl
| 51 | Chess Event Coverage

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Game Annotations by GM Sam Shankland

Any lingering doubts that the 2013 London Candidates Tournament would be a draw-fest were surely dispelled completely in a pulsating third round which had three decisive games.

The wheels may have already come off Vassily Ivanchuk's challenge as he lost another game on time, under pressure from Lev Aronian in a hugely complicated fight.

"Today I tried to play something creative. A bad strategy!" said Ivanchuk after the game.  Aronian was annoyed that he had let some of his advantage slip, but he was taking advantage of Ivanchuk's time trouble instead of taking time to find the best moves.

A different vantage point? Ivanchuk checks the view from the audience's perspective...

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...before taking his seat for the game.

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Lev Aronian coped well with another unusual opening choice from Ivanchuk

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Alexander Grischuk played the Gruenfeld defence against Vladimir Kramnik and an interesting game ended in a draw by repetition after 35 moves.

Strained smiles before the start of the game

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Kramnik takes a peek at the electronic boards showing all the games

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Teimour Radjabov stayed true to his style by giving his opponent both barrels with the King's Indian, but Peter Svidler gained the upper hand and brought home his first full point.  A set-back for Radjabov after his win yesterday, but a big boost for Svidler.

Nothing up the sleeves...

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...a last minute adjustment of the pieces...

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...and a fierce look, but the game slipped away from Radjabov

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Last to finish was the game between Boris Gelfand and Magnus Carlsen, where once again the young Norwegian showed his remarkable endgame talent. From a dynamically balanced position, he gradually outplayed his opponent to earn his first win of the tournament.

After two draws, Magnus needed to get his campaign going today...

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...and the man in his way was Boris Gelfand...
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...but a determined Carlsen was not to be denied.
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World Champion Vishy Anand tweeted, "What a brilliant start to the candidates. I am sure the participants can use a rest day now!"

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The standings after three rounds

Name Fed Elo Pts
Levon Aronian ARM 2809
Peter Svidler RUS 2747 2
Magnus Carlsen NOR 2872 2
Vladimir Kramnik RUS 2810
Alexander Grischuk RUS 2764
Teimour Radjabov AZE 2793
Boris Gelfand ISR 2740 ½
Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2757 ½

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The 2013 Candidates Tournament runs from 14 March - 2 April in London, with the winner earning the right to challenge current world champion Vishy Anand for the title.

The tournament is an 8-player double round-robin event and the venue is The IET at 2 Savoy Place on the banks of the river Thames. The total prize fund is €510,000 (approx 665,000 USD). 

All rounds start at 14:00 GMT, and the time control is 2 hours for 40 moves, then an extra hour added for the next 20 moves, then 15 minutes more with a 30 second increment to finish.

The official FIDE website coverage is at london2013.fide.com.

Round-by-Round Pairings

Round 1  15/03/13   
Levon Aronian Magnus Carlsen
Boris Gelfand Teimour Radjabov 
Vassily Ivanchuk  Alexander Grischuk 
Peter Svidler  Vladimir Kramnik
Round 2  16/03/13   
Magnus Carlsen Vladimir Kramnik
Alexander Grischuk  Peter Svidler 
Teimour Radjabov  Vassily Ivanchuk 
Levon Aronian Boris Gelfand
Round 3  17/03/13   
Boris Gelfand Magnus Carlsen
Vassily Ivanchuk  Levon Aronian
Peter Svidler  Teimour Radjabov 
Vladimir Kramnik Alexander Grischuk 
Round 4  19/03/13   
Magnus Carlsen Alexander Grischuk 
Teimour Radjabov  Vladimir Kramnik
Levon Aronian Peter Svidler 
Boris Gelfand Vassily Ivanchuk 
Round 5  20/03/13   
Vassily Ivanchuk  Magnus Carlsen
Peter Svidler  Boris Gelfand
Vladimir Kramnik Levon Aronian
Alexander Grischuk  Teimour Radjabov 
Round 6  21/03/13   
Peter Svidler  Magnus Carlsen
Vladimir Kramnik Vassily Ivanchuk 
Alexander Grischuk  Boris Gelfand
Teimour Radjabov  Levon Aronian
Round 7  23/03/13   
Magnus Carlsen Teimour Radjabov 
Levon Aronian Alexander Grischuk 
Boris Gelfand Vladimir Kramnik
Vassily Ivanchuk  Peter Svidler 
Round 8  24/03/13  
Magnus Carlsen Levon Aronian
Teimour Radjabov  Boris Gelfand
Alexander Grischuk  Vassily Ivanchuk 
Vladimir Kramnik Peter Svidler 
Round 9  25/03/13  
Vladimir Kramnik Magnus Carlsen
Peter Svidler  Alexander Grischuk 
Vassily Ivanchuk  Teimour Radjabov 
Boris Gelfand Levon Aronian
Round 10  27/03/13  
Magnus Carlsen Boris Gelfand
Levon Aronian Vassily Ivanchuk 
Teimour Radjabov  Peter Svidler 
Alexander Grischuk  Vladimir Kramnik
Round 11  28/03/13  
Alexander Grischuk  Magnus Carlsen
Vladimir Kramnik Teimour Radjabov 
Peter Svidler  Levon Aronian
Vassily Ivanchuk  Boris Gelfand
Round 12  29/03/13  
Magnus Carlsen Vassily Ivanchuk 
Boris Gelfand Peter Svidler 
Levon Aronian Vladimir Kramnik
Teimour Radjabov  Alexander Grischuk 
Round 13  31/03/13  
Teimour Radjabov  Magnus Carlsen
Alexander Grischuk  Levon Aronian
Vladimir Kramnik Boris Gelfand
Peter Svidler  Vassily Ivanchuk 
Round 14  01/04/13
Magnus Carlsen Peter Svidler 
Vassily Ivanchuk  Vladimir Kramnik
Boris Gelfand Alexander Grischuk 
Levon Aronian Teimour Radjabov 

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Look out for details of Chess.com TV coverage of the event at this page.

Pictures by Anastasiya Karlovich at the official website, and Ray Morris-Hill (where indicated).

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