Candidates Tournament Round 2
Game Annotations by GM Sam Shankland
After a tentative opening round at the 2013 London Candidates Tournament, Lev Aronian became the first man to win a game by beating Boris Gelfand in round two.
In a balanced position Aronian set a trap and sure enough, Boris Gelfand blundered with 25...Rc8??, allowing Aronian the nice tactical shot 26.Bh6+ and there was no way back for the former world championship challenger.
A day to forget for Boris Gelfand
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Lev Aronian took full advantage of his opponent's mistake
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Teimour Radjabov also opened his account by defeating Vassily Ivanchuk in a one-sided encounter. Ivanchuk never looked comfortable in a Leningrad Dutch and his uncoordinated pieces were no match for his opponent's army.
Teimour Radjabov was a convincing winner
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Ivanchuk - down, but not out
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The headline game of the day between Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik was also the first to finish, and it was a disappointing day for the world number one. Kramnik was well prepared for Carlsen's opening choice and had no problems at all in achieving a draw. A moral victory for the former world champion with the black pieces.
Vladimir Kramnik kept everything under control
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Alexander Grischuk and Peter Svidler had an evenly balanced fight in a Ruy Lopez which ended drawn. Svidler was asked how he had achieved his newly svelte shape at the post-match press conference. He replied simply, "eating less junk!", before adding wryly, "there are books on the subject".
Healthy body = healthy mind. Svidler is in good shape!
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The all-Russian pairing ended with points shared
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The standings after two rounds
| Name | Fed | Elo | Pts |
| Levon Aronian | ARM | 2809 | 1½ |
| Teimour Radjabov | AZE | 2793 | 1½ |
| Peter Svidler | RUS | 2747 | 1 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | RUS | 2810 | 1 |
| Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2872 | 1 |
| Alexander Grischuk | RUS | 2764 | 1 |
| 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.
