Candidates Matches 2011 pairings
Pairings change after Grischuk replaces Carlsen
The Candidates Matches 2011, part of the World Chess Championship cycle, are scheduled for March – May in Kazan. With Grischuk replacing Carlsen, some of the pairings are changing, following article 3.1 a1
Pairings
Topalov – Kamsky (no change)
Kramnik – Radjabov
Aronian – Grischuk
Gelfand – Mamedyarov
The previous version of the pairings, with Carlsen participating, was Veselin Topalov – Gata Kamsky, Magnus Carlsen – Teimour Radjabov, Vladimir Kramnik – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Levon Aronian – Boris Gelfand.
Note that the above confirmed pairings are in case Carlsen’s decision is final, and based on the given field.
Excerpt from the Regulations: 3. 1 Matches Format & System
A – First Round of Matches (8 players)
a1 – Matches System: The player who lost the World Championship Match 2010 (V. Anand or V. Topalov) is ranked No.1, the rest are ranked in rating order using the FIDE Rating List of January 2010. The players are paired the following way: 1 vs 8 (match 1), 2 vs 7 (match 2), 3 vs 6 (match 3), 4 vs 5 (match 4). Each match will consist of 4 games.
a2 – The four (4) winners will qualify for the second round of the Candidate Matches.
B – Second Round of Matches (4 players)
b1 – The Second Round of Matches will start 2 days after the end of the First Round. Any qualified player for the second round of the Candidates Matches can only be replaced by the player he defeated in the first round of the Candidate Matches.
b2 – Matches System: The players are ranked according to the results of the first round of the Candidates Matches: winner of match 1 is No.1, winner of match 2 is No.2, winner of match 3 is No.3 and winner of match 4 is No.4. The players are paired the following way: 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3. Each match will consist of 4 games.
b3 – The two (2) winners will qualify for the third round of the Candidate Matches.
C – Third Round of Matches (2 players)
c1 – The Third Round of Matches will start 2 days after the end of the Second Round. Any qualified player for the third round of the Candidates Matches can only be replaced by the player he defeated in the second round of the Candidates Matches.
c2 – Matches System: The match between the two players will consist of 6 games.
c3 – The winner will qualify for the World Championship Match 2011.
Who do you pick to advance in these four matches?
Grischuk will win it all.
Yes I agree….grishuk will win the candidates
Topalov can win this
I’d like Kramnik to win! I’m looking forward to these games.
Magnus must have been afraid of losing to super hot Aronian!
Aronian will running in finish. In Moscow also he will be the best!
This screwed up Aronian preparation :(((( Even if he proceeds to second round, he has totally different opponents.
Yae,right…aronian of course will win..
Regardless who wins none of them can beat Ananad.
there are possibilities of another withdrawals…
This is silly. Nakamura should be allowed to play in a candidates match, as well as Ivanchuk.
There are many more capable players who should also be included, such as Ponomariov, Radjabov, and others. I suggest a series of candidates matches with pairings of the top twenty in the FIDE ranking list.
There is no way that Kamsky should be playing ahead of Nakamura when Nakamura has a much better Elo performance. This is inexplicable.
Gonad will win!
Kamsky or Aronian will be my choice and they also have the best chance to beat Anand.
Carlsen is whinning like Fischer did.
He is supposed to play Aronian in the candidates. Aronian registers some top-notch results, hits 2800 Elo, leads the Tal Memorial tournament and all of a sudden Carlsen refuses to play?? Ha ha. Big coincidence. Talk about being a scaredy cat.
Just to make it clear to Mr. Carlsen:
This is a very big disappointment for all your fans around the world.
They admire you, they support you, they want to see you play.
Don’t withdraw for no reason.
Carlsen is a BIG disappointment. Never again will I think well of him,even if he crosses 3000 elo! Here are guys fighting for a chance to get at the WC and Carlsen runs? Guess a pure lack of courage,as he probably feels he will get whupped by Aronian. Chess fans never were happy with the ‘luckydip’ knockout tournaments,to decide the WC and when Anand won at Mexico (double round robin)in 2007 a full point ahead of Kramnik, people still said that he was not the champ. It had to be a match up,so he uncomplainingly plays Kramnik in 2008 and wins convincingly. In 2010 he won a humdinger vs Topalov despite Eyjafjallajokull. For Carlsen to say that it takes a five year cycle to decide the WC is ridiculous,as Anand has won and twice defended within the last four years. And Carlsen wants to revert back to the tournament format against which everyone railed? Tournaments can be subtly fixed ( ask Bobby). There is nothing like a one on one ( again ask Bobby!)Carlsen is a tiny twerp who has no right to talk about abolishing WC’s privileges etc.
oldsalty
“Don’t withdraw for no reason.”
Sure, there is a reason: Money.
Magnus will not only rule chess but he will own it one day.
When the soul of Kirsan leaves this world, Magnus will rise to become the darkest chess politician in the history of chess!
(Besides Garry Kasparov, of course…)
There is the reason(s). Permament changes in the cycle during the cycle. That tournament should be played in Azerbajian and is moved to Kazan without any procedure, why not to Teheran ?
That tournament looks like it is private business, why Carlsen shall take the part in it ?
Carlsen declines the FIDE invitation for a good reason: He doesnt want his crucial early career trapped in the limbo of Candidates uncertainess.
He has chosen a “learning by doing” approach which means playing a lot of tournaments.
In a recent interview he said he will play more tournaments in 2011, than he did this year.
So, be happy for the games!
A fight for the crown will come later.
I’m going to root for Aronian
Carlsen is scared of facing Aronian.
Most probably Kramnik / Aronian final. I hope Aronian gets through as he truly has a good chance to dethrone Anand & will be a new face in the WC matchup. That said i’m sure Anand as usual will be well prepared and will try very hard indeed to retain his well deserved crown.
Chicken Carlsen will win! – oops! I mean chicken Carlsen would have won! He is a kind hearted fellow. He is very young and now wants to give the old brigade another chance,before it is too late for them.
Since Carlsen refuses to play being at odds with FIDE,he might as well stop playing chess altogether and take up modeling. Also FIDE should impose a one year playing ban on him.
oh, what a disappointment this is…total disappointment for chess fans – Anand-Magnus match was a mouth-watering prospect and so was Magnus-Aronian…now let’s hope its Anand-Aronian – something new…
just when Magnus was actually helping in increasing interest in chess, he does a turnaround…
Kamsky will be the next world champion.
The women s world championships is a knock out format. So be it. The top men are so much stronger ( Judith excepted ) and the knockout system has proven to be unsatisfying. The chess world champ has an aura and the challenger MUST dethrone him in a match of not less than 12 games ( 18 might be even better ). Deciding by rapid tiebreak is also not on ( this is classical chess for heaven’s sake!). If the incumbent champion draws then he should remain champ. Carlsen is looking to cause discord and trouble ( shame on the young pup )and FIDE should not be swayed by his tantrums.
This is heresy!!!
The pairings DO NOT CHANGE! Who wrote this nonsense about changed pairings?
Once the pairings have been announced, they don’t change. FIDE hasn’t said anything about changed pairings. This is some jouirnalist making things up.
Do not believe everything you read.
The pairings are the same as the were, only that Grischuk replaces Carlsen.
Carlsen is the best even if he is not laying this time around
and anand will win not win this time and yes Aronian is the better in this field