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FIDE-CiS FSM Magazine 072s FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014

FIDE Cess in S!ools


There is no easy way to get to the World
Chess Championship! One has to pass a lot
of obstacles and climb the highest peaks
on the way. Only the strongest have the
power to achieve the best.

The qualification for the ultimate match
has several stages and its last one is the
F!" World Candidates Tournament. t has
finished recently in #hanty$%ansiysk&
'ussia.

(iswanthan )nand *pictured below+ went
through the event undefeated and won
the first place and the right to play World
champion %agnus Carlsen in ,ovember
-./0.






n this issue1
- Where is #hanty$%ansiysk2
3 'eindeer sleigh ride for the happy
winner!
0$4 Who are the rivals2
5 6u77les
by F8T #evin O9Connell

t will be their second match& the first one
was held in )nand9s native Chennai in
,ovember -./3 and there the ndian lost
his champion9s title.

Would he win it back& we9d know in half a
year& and now we dedicate this whole
issue to the Candidates tournament for it
was an outstanding event.

The pu77les are not from the Candidates
but show those players in some of their
earliest efforts.

#irsan lyum7hinov
F!" 6resident


)li ,ihat :a7ici
Chairman& F!"$Ci8
"ens #na Sumus
*We are one family+

"ens #na Sumus
*We are one family+


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FIDE-CiS FSM Magazine 072s FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014
FIDE Cess in S!ools

FIDE World Candidates Tournament by Anna Burtasova

!o you know where #hanty$%ansiysk is2 This rather small city *;ust 5..... inhabitants+ sits
in the heart of 'ussia where the two great rivers rtysh and Ob9 meet.


*picture <oogle maps+

bet it is quite far from where you live! The weather there is probably also quite different to
what you9re used to = most of the year there it is winter with lots of snow and summer lasts
for a mere two months.

>owever& this is the region where not only winter sports are cultivated *like biathlon+ but
also chess! The ?gra Chess )cademy has been home to several World Cups& the World
Women9s Championship& and most recently World @lit7 and 'apid Championships. There
was no better place for the Candidates tournament to happen = the eAperienced organi7ers
are proud to have everything running smoothly. @ut let9s ask the most southern participant
(ishy )nand& wasn9t he uncomfortable in the snows2 )ctually not at all1 B en;oyed my stay
very much. The organi7ation was eAcellent. "verything was close by = the hotel& the playing
hall. (ery self$contained!C

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FIDE-CiS FSM Magazine 072s FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014
FIDE Cess in S!ools

The happy winner also had a chance to meet with real reindeer! That was on the last day
before the closing ceremony& when the heat of the battle was behind and one could en;oy
oneself.


>e also had a chance to try himself as a biathlete! We assume& he started his preparation for
the match with %agnus Carlsen *his native ,orway is one of the biathlon hallmarks!+.



:ou can check the whole video on http1DDwww.youtube.comDwatch2vEhTaF8kr(86o
@ut first he had chess work to doG Who were his rivals for the last two weeks before this
remarkable day2
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FIDE-CiS FSM Magazine 072s FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014
FIDE Cess in S!ools

Dmitry Andreikin (Russia)
!mitry )ndreikin was born in /HH.& a vintage year for chess talent.
>is contemporaries were very strong = %agnus Carlsen& 8ergey
#ar;akin& an ,epomniachtchi& ldar #hairullin& van 6opov.
,evertheless& !mitry eAcelled in this company of stars. >is ;unior
career peaked when be became World ?nder$-. Champion in -./..
n -./- !mitry was virtually unbeatable1 he was victorious in the >igher Ieague of the
'ussian championship and later in the 8uperfinal& where on a tie$break he was ahead of
8ergey #ar;akin and 6eter 8vidler. n the same year he won a J%atch of the championsK
against an ,epomniachtchi& and took several first places in rapid events.
Throughout the summer of -./3& )ndreikin tested himself in super tournaments. >e
progessed through the JTal %emorialK with flying colours& was the best among the 'ussians
and shared third place. >owever& in !ortmund he could not avoid 7eros. ,everthless
)ndreikin was gearing up for the most significant success of his career = qualification for the
World Cup final where he lost to #ramnik. )s a finalist he qualified to the F!" Candidates
Tournament.
Levon Aronian (Armenia)
Ievon )ronian started to play chess at H& and already by the age of
/- he was a World Lunior Champion. >e achieved numerous
victories in ;unior tournaments& and the most significant was success
in <oa -..- when Ievon became World ?nder$-. Champion.
@y the mid$-...s )ronian had begun harvesting his first big
successes in the international arena. The first phase of this part of his career culminated
with a win at the World Cup in #hanty$%ansiysk in -..M. >e was soon among the chess elite.
>is track record boasts first places in the strongest tournaments of our time. n -..H& Ievon
presaged his greatness by winning the F!" <rand 6riA series.
)s of the /
st
of %arch -./0& )ronian9s rating climbed to a personal record of -53.. For many
years this grandmaster has held the number - spot in the world rankings& and thus qualified
for the Candidates tournament by rating.

Peter Svidler (Russia)
6eter 8vidler was born on the /4
th
of Lune /H4N in 8aint 6etersburg
where he still lives. >e started playing chess in /H53 and it wasn9t long
before he had some significant successes. n /HH/ he shared a win at
the ?88' ;unior championship. n /HH0 he became under /5 World
Champion and gained a grandmaster title. n the same year he
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FIDE-CiS FSM Magazine 072s FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014
FIDE Cess in S!ools

became 'ussian champion for the first time. >e has claimed this title on a further N
occassions = an absolute record!
6eter quickly entered the peloton of 'ussian players& and subsequently the world elite. For
many years& this grandmaster from 8aint 6etersburg played for the 'ussian national team&
and was usually very successful. 6eter was chosen by the organi7ers as a Bwild cardC to play
in the Candidates& meaning he got a right to play without special qualification.

Sergey Karakin (Russia)
Iike many other chess stars& 8ergey #ar;akin was born in the
bountiful /HH.s. When he was five& his father showed him how the
pieces move. Two months later #ar;akin visited the chess club of the
6ioneers 6alace in his native 8imferopol.
8ergey9s talent became evident early on& and to develop his
eAtraordinary talent& he moved to #ramatorsk to study at a famous chess school known for
nurturing stars.
n -..-& 'uslan 6onomariev included #ar;akin in his team when preparing for the F!" World
championship final match with vanchuk. This invaluable eAperience helped #ar;akin become
the youngest grandmaster in the world = he earned this lofty title at the tender age of /-.
n -..H the young chess player changed his citi7enship from ?krainian to 'ussian. >e firmly
established himself in the 'ussian national team. >is biggest success so far was in %ay -./3
in 8tavanger where he headed the likes of Carlsen& )ronian& and )nand. #ar;akin qualified to
#hanty$%ansiysk by rating& and probably now he has the new biggest success = second place
at the Candidates!

S!ak!riyar "amedyarov (A#er$aian)
8hakhriyar %amedyarov was born on the /-
th
of )pril /H5M in
8umgayit. >e was taught to play chess by his father in /HH3. n the
same year he started to attend lessons in a chess school. The young
player en;oyed repeated successes in youth tournaments and became
the only player in the world to become under -. World Champion
twice. This is not the only record that distinguishes the %amedyarov family1 8hakhriyar9s
elder sister& Oeinab& and his younger sister& Turkan& also hold grandmaster titles.
-./3 was an especially successful year for him. n Lune& he won the 'apid world
championship. @eing one of the winners of the tournament in Iondon and victorious at the
%
FIDE-CiS FSM Magazine 072s FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014
FIDE Cess in S!ools

stage in @ei;ing& %amedyarov took overall second place in the F!" <rand 6riA -./-$-./3.
This way the fighting$style grandmaster qualified to the Candidates tournament.

&eselin 'o(alov ()ulgaria)
The leading @ulgarian grandmaster was born on the /M
th
of %arch
/H4M in 'ousse. (eselin learned to play chess at the age of 5 and very
quickly proved to be one of the most promising players of his
generation. n /H5H he became ?nder /0 World Champion& and in the
runner$up in the /HH. ?nder /N World Championships.
n /HH- Topalov gained his grandmaster title and entered the chess world9s elite. From the
mid$H.s& this ultra$talented @ulgarian won tournament after tournament and soon became a
candidate for the championPs title.
n -..M Topalov proved his strength and superiority by winning the F!" World
Championship tournament in 8an$Iuis. n -..N in "lista& Topalov lost a controversial
reunification match with #ramnik on a tie$break and so lost the crown. ,evertheless& he
qualified for another match which he lost to )nand in -./..
#nown for his uncompromising robust style& Topalov came back again& winning the F!"
<rand 6riA -./-D/3 series and thus qualifying for the Candidates!

&is*anat!an Anand (+ndia)
>e learned to play chess when he was N& and by the time he was /0
(ishy was already champion of ndia. )t /M he was an international
master& and at /4 a world ;unior champion.
From a young age& )nand played with great strength and speed.
ncredible intuition is the strongest part of his universal talent. )lready at the beginning of
the H.s& (ishy was among the best players in the world.
(ishy )nand is the only chess player in the world who has won world championships in three
different formats. The first one was a win at a knock$out championship& the second in the
%eAico championship tournament -..4 and then several matches. (eselin TopalovPs
attempt to wrest the title from the ndian grandmaster in -./. was unsuccessful and two
years later the champion held his crown in a hard struggle against @oris <elfand.
,
FIDE-CiS FSM Magazine 072s FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014
FIDE Cess in S!ools

)nand held the title for N years = until ,ovember -./3 when in his native Chennai he finally
succumbed to the leader of modern chess& %agnus Carlsen. >e qualified to the Candidates
tournament as loser from the World Championship match.

&ladimir Kramnik (Russia)
(ladimir #ramnik was born in Tuapse into a family of painters. >is
father taught him to play chess. #ramnik progressed rapidly& won
under /N and under /5 world ;unior crowns& and in /HH/ became an
international grandmaster.
The great talent beat #asparov in the last match of the /3
th
World Champion9s career
*Iondon -...+ and became the /Hth World Chess Champion when he defeated Topalov.
!uring his outstanding career& (ladimir #ramnik has won more than M. tournaments >e
holds a special and distinguished record = #ramnik has won the !ortmund super tournament
// times. n -./3 in Tromso& #ramnik climbed his last uneAplored peak = he won the World
Cup and proved his strength in a knock$out competition. >e qualified to the Candidates as
the winner in Tromso. >e had only narrowly failed to win the last Candidates in Iondon&
%agnus Carlsen going through on tie$break to the championship match against )nand.

'-.R/A"0/' 'A)L0

The tournament was incredibly full of battles& mistakes& blunders and twists. We will show
you some chess eAamples in the neAt issues. @ut ;ust imagine& that before the last round M
participants shared -
nd
place! t did not matter for )nand though& who went through the
tournament with flying colours& undefeated and won with one round to spare.
:ou can check more pictures and information on the tournament at the official website
http1DDcandidates-./0.fide.comD
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FIDE-CiS FSM Magazine 072s FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014
FIDE Cess in S!ools

Pu##les selected by 2S' 3 2" Kevin -45onnell *www.kochess.com+
1 @lack to play. 8imple technique.

,.'. 8'!>)' = (iswanathan ),),!
Tamil ,adu Lunior Championship /H5-

2 Ievel on material. White to play.

(ladimir #')%,# $ OT8)'"(
Training& @aku /H54

3 White9s move. Watch the back rank2

Ievon )'O,), = 8lobodan %?,O)@)
World :outh Ch u/- Open& @ratislava /HH3

4 @lack to move. What9s best2

:uri; <I?O, = 8hakhriyar %)%"!:)'O(
"uropean Championship u/-& Tallinn /HH4

S-L.'+-/S '- P.66L0S