Monday 31 March 2014

Carlsen v Anand II

Just when almost everyone (including myself) thought Anand was passed his prime, he confounded the pundits with a convincing win in the 2014 Candidates Tournament. He finished a full point ahead of Sergey Karjakin, and was the only player to go through the event undefeated. His win sets up a rematch with current World Champion Magnus Carlsen later this year, and gives him a chance to regain the title he lost last year.
Anand's win in the tournament was based on getting away to a good start, and then keeping his head while his closest rivals took points of each other. Both Karmnik and Aronian fell away in the second half of the tournament, with Aronian finishing with 2 losses. Karjakin found form at the right time to take clear second, while Topalov had flashes of brilliance, but ended up at the tail of the field.

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