London Candidates Start Today
The 2013 Candidates Tournament starts today 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, with 22-year old world #1 Magnus Carlsen the firm favourite to win. The venue is The IET at 2 Savoy Place, on the banks on London's river Thames, and 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 1 hour for the next 20 moves, then 15 minutes with a 30 second increment to finish.
The official FIDE website coverage is at london2013.fide.com.
The opening ceremony was held last night at the venue, and some photos are below.
Andrew Paulson, head of AGON
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FIDE President Kirsan Illyumzhinov
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Tournament favourite Magnus Carlsen
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(l to r): Lev Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand are in good spirits
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Teimour Radjabov attended with his wife
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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.
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Photos by Ray Morris-Hill.
