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The 2016 FIDE World Chess Candidates Tournament is a 14-round event, which determines the next Challenger to Magnus Carlsen's title, is taking place in Moscow from March 10–30. Eight players, including six of the World's top-ten rated grandmasters. The time control is 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The guaranteed prize fund is US $420,000.
Daniel King on Round 14: Karjakin vs Caruana
Browse and order your Daniel King Fritztrainers here
Note that ChessBase is doing daily one-hour roundup shows after each round
You can follow the games live with video commentary on the official tournament page
Everyone was looking forward to that one duel – the battle which would decide who the Challenger of Magnus Carlsen would be. Sergey Karjakin and Fabiano Caruana were tied on the same points with 7.5/13. And the best part about the last round was that they were paired against each other. Amruta and I made our way to the Central Telegraph Building, and reached half an hour before the start of the game. Of course, we did not want to miss even a single moment. Around 2.45 p.m. players started to enter the tournament hall. Here's a video that shows the environment of the playing venue ten minutes before the start of the game.
Watch the players enter the playing venue,
and also find out who the volunteers thought would become the next Challenger
It was clear that between Karjakin and Caruana, the one who would win the game would become the champion. However, what exactly would happen in case of a draw? If Anand didn't win his game then Karjakin would be champion based on his greater number of wins (second tiebreak). However, if Vishy won his battle against Svidler and reached 8.0/14, then there would be a three-way tie for first, and in that case Caruana would be the champion, based on a superior head to head result (first tiebreak) against the other two. So you can see that Sergey and Fabiano not only had to focus on their own game but also on Anand vs Svidler. Amidst all the pressure and tension the games finally began at 3 p.m.
Handshake signalling the start of the most important game of the final round. The next handshake between them will decide who the challenger to Magnus Carlsen would be. Note the smile on the faces of both the players. The stakes are high, but camaraderie still exists!
The number of reporters and media coverage is just amazing!
And you can see some amazing equipments!
Sergey Karjakin could have begun the game with the safe 1.Nf3 but he decided to play the opening that he has the most experience in: 1.e4. Fabiano Caruana replied with the Sicilian Defence, a natural choice. If Fabiano had gone for a safer opening and reached an equal position, and realized that Vishy was drawing his game, there would be no way to win the title. By playing the Sicilian he sent out a clear message: he didn't really care what's going on on other boards, he wanted to win this game.
The imbalanced opening position was just what Caruana needed. White's superior development against Black's central pawn mass and the bishop pair. Black's main problem in this position is his king safety. But at this level if you want to play for a win, risk is inevitable.
Karjakin's 20.b3 was quite a double edged decision. On one hand he is securing the c4 square for his bishop, on the other he is weakening his dark squares. An idea like Qe5 followed by Bg7 and f5 would be extremely dangerous. But it takes time and is not so easy to execute. At the same time opening the a-file with a5-a4 is not advisable, as then the b4 pawn becomes weak and the queen is stuck to the c5 square. As you can see this position was extremely unbalanced and difficult to play for both sides. The computer evaluation also doesn't mean much because engines often suggest moves which humans could never think of. In such a situation you need to get the opinion of a strong chess player or trainer. I went outside the press room and found the perfect person to explain the position to me. He was none other than the famous trainer Mark Dvoretsky.
World famous trainer Mark Dvoretsky's opinion on Karjakin-Caruana after 21 moves
By the third hour of play all the other three games had ended – it looked like even the other players wanted to get over with it and focus on this all important game. Anand's game against Svidler had ended in a draw. This meant that Sergey could become the champion with just a draw. However, instead of letting such external factors affect him, Karjakin played the moves that were demanded by his position.
The pawn sacrifice with e4-e5 is not something that a person who requires just a draw would play. All that Karjakin wanted was to open the lines towards the black king. Objectively speaking this position is completely fine for Black. He is not even worse. However, with the impending time pressure, it is much more difficult to play Black's position than White's.
Fabiano's 36...Re5-e4 turned out to be the crucial blunder of the game. Karjakin spotted the tactical opportunity and immediately sacrificed his rook with Rxd5! As Sergey said after the game, "This was not such a difficult move to spot." The black king was just too exposed and on the 42nd move Caruana stretched out his hand in resignation. The entire playing hall erupted: Sergey Karjakin had done it, he had become the World Championship Challenger!
The electric atmosphere in the tournament hall after Karjakin's victory
[Event "Candidates 2016"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.03.28"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B67"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2794"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "83"]
1. e4 {No Nf3 for today! It would be silly to say that 1.e4 is more solid than
1.Nf3, which had been Karjakin's choice in the first half of the event. But
sometimes you want to fall back on the lines which you are most comfortable
with, and for Karjakin that is 1.e4.} c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5.
Nc3 d6 {This is not the first time that Caruana has played the Classical
Sicilian, however the last time he played it was six years ago in 2009.} 6. Bg5
e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 h6 10. Bh4 {Main moves here for Black are g5
and Nxe4. But Caruana goes for the relative sideline with 10...b5.} b5 11. Bxf6
gxf6 12. f5 {A top level game that reached this position was Ivanchuk-Piket
which continued h5. But Caruana is still in his preparation and goes for Qb6.} Qb6
13. fxe6 fxe6 14. Nxc6 {Karjakin tries to play as solidly as possible.} Qxc6 (
14... Bxc6 {was also possible.}) 15. Bd3 h5 16. Kb1 b4 17. Ne2 Qc5 18. Rhf1 Bh6
19. Qe1 a5 $5 {A very interesting pawn sacrifice on f6. Of course White should
be careful in taking it, because after Qe5 and Bg7 his position might just
collapse.} (19... Ke7 20. Qg3 Rag8 (20... h4 21. Qxh4 Bg5 22. Qg3 e5 23. Nf4
exf4) 21. Qf3 Rf8 22. Bxa6) 20. b3 $5 {A very double-edged move. On one hand
it weakens the dark squares and on the other it prepares Bc4. Who benefits the
most from it? The one who plays the best chess from here onwards.} (20. Rxf6 Bg7
21. Rf3 Qe5 22. c3 a4 $13) 20... Rg8 (20... a4 $6 {No matter how natural this
move looks it is a mistake because it weakens the b4 pawn. As the famous
trainer Mark Dvoretsky explains, Black wants his queen on e5, not on c5
defending the b4 pawn. That is the task of the a5 pawn!} 21. Bc4 $1 axb3 22.
Bxb3 $16) 21. g3 Ke7 (21... Qe5 {was a natural move and is met with} 22. Bc4 $1
Qxe4 23. Nd4 $1 Qxe1 24. Rfxe1 $18 {White is just better.}) 22. Bc4 Be3 23. Rf3
(23. Nf4 $5 {was a natural move and maybe better.} Bd4 24. Qd2 Bc3 25. Qd3 $16)
23... Rg4 {Caruana's position looks quite attractive on the surface. His
pieces are actively placed and he has good chances. However, his king is on e7
and that should always be kept in mind.} 24. Qf1 Rf8 25. Nf4 Bxf4 26. Rxf4 a4 (
26... Bc6 {keeping the status quo was also possible.}) 27. bxa4 $5 {A bold
decision by Sergey who is ready to ruin his structure but at the same time
realises that the bishop will sit well on b3.} Bxa4 28. Qd3 Bc6 29. Bb3 Rg5 30.
e5 $5 {The most critical moment of the game. Karjakin finds the right moment
to break through in the center. Although the position is roughly equal
the responsibility on Black's shoulders to make accurate moves has increased
sharply as his king is in the centre.} Rxe5 $1 (30... Qxe5 31. Rxb4 $14) 31.
Rc4 $5 Rd5 32. Qe2 $5 {White has sacrificed a pawn but hopes to get to the
black king in some way or the other.} (32. Qxd5 Qxd5 33. Rxd5 Bxd5 34. Rxb4 {
would result in a drawish endgame.}) 32... Qb6 33. Rh4 Re5 $6 (33... Rxd1+ 34.
Qxd1 Rh8 {Exchanging one rook would have reduced White's attacking chances.
Here Black has lesser dangers.} 35. Rxh5 Rxh5 36. Qxh5 Qg1+ 37. Kb2 Qd4+ 38.
Kb1 Be8 $15) 34. Qd3 Bg2 {Caruana want to play d5 but would like to keep his
bishop actively placed on e4. In some ways this is a highly ambitious move.} 35.
Rd4 d5 36. Qd2 Re4 $2 {Caruana was in terrible time pressure and missed
White's next move. As Karjakin described it, this sacrifice was not
particularly difficult to calculate.} (36... Be4 37. Rxb4 Qc7 {and position is
complicated but Black is not worse.}) 37. Rxd5 exd5 38. Qxd5 Qc7 (38... Rd4 39.
Qxd4 Qxd4 40. Rxd4 $16 {was the best defence, but this pawn down endgame looks
lost.}) 39. Qf5 $1 {Qh7 is an extremely difficult threat to meet.} (39. Qxh5 {
was also very strong.} Re6 40. Bxe6 Kxe6 41. Qe2+ Kf7 42. Qxg2 $18 {White
shouldn't have too many difficulties converting this.}) 39... Rf7 40. Bxf7 Qe5
(40... Kxf7 41. Rd7+ $18) 41. Rd7+ Kf8 42. Rd8+ {What a stunning finale. The
moment Caruana extended his hand, the playing hall erupted in a thunderous
applause for the new Challenger - Sergey Karjakin!} (42. Rd8+ Kxf7 43. Qh7+ Ke6
44. Qd7#) 1-0
Heartbroken. Spare a thought for Fabiano Caruana, who was so near to getting the match in his home country.
The nice thing to see was that Caruana could still maintain his smile at the press conference
"I pass the baton to you" – Vishy Anand congratulates Sergey Karjakin
Russians, Spanish, Indian, Dutch, German, you name it! Media from all over the world was present.
Karjakin spoke about his mental approach to this tourament, what will be his first words
to his wife and son, and who his secret second was (spoiler: he is a strong Azerbaijani grandmaster).
World Cup 2015 and now the Candidates! Can anyone stop him?!!
Vladimir Potkin, Karjakin's second, speaks about his favourite game
and why playing in the Aeroflot Open was the right decision
It is always nice to get the views of the ACP President and strong grandmaster Emil Sutovsky
Daniil Dubov on why Karjakin has good chances in his match against Magnus Carlsen-
"He has lost to Magnus in the past but he doesn't fear him."
Olga Girya - "Sergey's move e5 was just wonderful!"
It is obvious that Karjakin-Caruana was the most important game of the day. For the remaining three games we have notation, pictures, videos and summaries.
This was the second most important game of the day as its result could have had a big impact on Karjakin and Caruana's decisions in their game. Svidler, as usual, began with the English Opening. This time Anand opted for the more solid 6...Re8 rather than 6...e4. Svidler's manoeuvre with Ne1-c2-e3 looked a tad time consuming, and already after the opening Black had equalized. Anand had no real problems to hold the game and thus Vishy fiished third.
[Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.28"] [Round "14"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [PlyCount "69"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bb4 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Re8 7. Ne1 d6 8. Nc2 Bc5 9. Rb1 a5 10. a3 Be6 11. d3 d5 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Ne3 Nce7 14. Ncxd5 Nxd5 15. Nc4 Bd6 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd6 Qxd6 18. Qxd4 Qe7 19. e4 c5 20. Qd1 Nc7 21. Be3 b6 22. f4 Rad8 23. Qc2 Bd5 24. Rbe1 Bxe4 25. Bxc5 Bxc2 26. Bxe7 Rd7 27. Bh4 Rxe1 28. Rxe1 f6 29. g4 Nd5 30. Bg3 f5 31. gxf5 Nf6 32. Bf2 Rd6 33. Re6 Rd1+ 34. Re1 Rd6 35. Re6 1/2-1/2
Vishy Anand on his experience of playing in the Candidates 2016
"Grunfeld is still my main opening, but the Slav worked very well!"
A typical Catalan where White had a tiny pull but Black slowly and steadily equalized. This was perhaps the dullest game of the day. It was the 14th draw in a row for Anish, while Topalov finishes at minus 5.
[Event "Moscow Candidates"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.28"] [Round "13"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E06"] [PlyCount "58"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Ne5 c5 8. dxc5 Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 Bxc5 10. Nc3 Nc6 11. Nxc4 Rd8 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Nxe3 Rb8 14. f4 e5 15. f5 Nd4 16. g4 b6 17. Rc1 Bb7 18. Bxb7 Rxb7 19. Kf2 h6 20. h4 g5 21. fxg6 fxg6 22. Rhg1 Ne6 23. g5 hxg5 24. hxg5 Nh7 25. Ne4 Kg7 26. Rc6 Nd4 27. Rc3 Ne6 28. Rc6 Nd4 29. Rc3 Ne6 1/2-1/2
Anish explains the reason why he ended up with fourteen draws rather than fighting for the top spot
Topalov speaks about why he lacks motivaton and how he feels like Anatoly Karpov right now!
Hikaru Nakamura went for the solid Qa4+ Variation in the Ragozin. The players followed a few of the old games until move 13, although it seemed as if the moves they were making were not prepared at home. Hikaru won a pawn but Levon had sufficient compensation. In the end al the pieces were exchanged and the players agreed to a draw.
[Event "Candidates Moscow"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.03.28"] [Round "14"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [PlyCount "65"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Re8 8. Bd2 a6 9. a3 Bd6 10. h3 h6 11. Rd1 dxc4 12. Bxc4 e5 13. O-O Bd7 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Rxe5 16. f4 Bf5 17. Qb3 Re7 18. Qxb7 Bc2 19. Rc1 Rb8 20. Qxa6 Rxb2 21. Nd1 Rb6 22. Qa5 Bb3 23. Nf2 Qb8 24. Bxb3 Rxb3 25. a4 Qb7 26. Qf5 Bb4 27. Bxb4 Qxb4 28. e4 Nxe4 29. Nxe4 Qxe4 30. Qxe4 Rxe4 31. Rxc7 Rxa4 32. Kh2 Rb2 33. Rf3 1/2-1/2
Hikaru Nakamura on what he learnt from this Candidates
The above cross table is automatically generated on the ChessBase software using the 56 games and their results. However, due to different tiebreak criteria used in the tournament, these are the official standings:
1. Sergey Karjakin
2. Fabiano Caruana
3. Viswanathan Anand
4. Anish Giri
5. Hikaru Nakamura
6. Levon Aronian
7. Peter Svidler
8. Veselin Topalov
Photos by Amruta Mokal of ChessBase India
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ChessBase is doing roundup shows at the end of each round of the Candidates.
Here is the full schedule of future broadcasts – you need to be a premium member to watch
| Date | Day | Round | English | German |
| 28.03.2016 | Monday | Round 14 | Yannick Pelletier | Klaus Bischoff |
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Chess Prodigies Uncovered:
