Anyone There? Candidates Starts Tomorrow
The world around us is shutting down - not counting the fools who think this what's happening now is a flu that'll kill off a few superfluous old people. Stupidly, one of the few things that hasn't been put on hold is the 2020 Candidates tournament. Teimour Radjabov showed good sense, worrying about the safety and propriety of the event; for his troubles he was faced with an ultimatum and withdrew. What Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's considerable skill and questionable nerves couldn't achieve, COVID-19 did. At last, he is in the Candidates.
Its opening ceremony took place today - why, I don't know, since the pairings have been out for weeks (I guess any opportunity to spread the disease should be taken, right? /sarc) - and they will do battle starting tomorrow. Of course, all of this could have been done online - just have arbiters there to supervise the players - but as the number of infected people in Russia is still low, the dream of normalcy continues there.
As far as I know, I don't (yet) have the disease, but am able to self-quarantine for the time being. (To the extent that all of you can do so, please, please, please do so as well.) To help avoid going stir crazy, and to help some of you avoid it as well - and maybe to encourage you stay inside more - I'll do some sort of blogging during the Candidates. The games start at 7 a.m. ET (ugh, says the night owl), and here's what we have to look forward to in the morning:
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (2767) - Fabiano Caruana (2842)
- Ding Liren (2805) - Wang Hao (2762)
- Anish Giri (2763) - Ian Nepomniachtchi (2774)
- Alexander Grischuk (2777) - Kiril Alekseenko (2698)
The favorites are, of course, the two 2800s, but it's also important to get off to a good start. MVL's late participation will make his life harder, but it won't help his opponents either, taken individually. It will be important for Caruana to survive his first round game, and with Grischuk getting to start with white against the weakest player in the field, he may get a critical confidence boost coming out of the gate.
Predictions? I'll say Caruana, provided he doesn't lose in round 1. Meanwhile, stay safe - and keep others safe, too. Let's all get through this together.
Reader Comments (7)
Dennis,
thank you for this post. Good thing I click in to check occasionally. I'll try to distract myself with the Candidates. One can only wonder what added stresses these GMs are facing. I'll pick Caruana.
Allen
[DM: A good pick - or at least I hope so!]
I am here too. Thank you for writing this! It feels so good to read your post again! Ding Liren for me.
Lukasz
[DM: You're welcome, and thank you for the comment - it's good for me to see that I'm not alone, either.]
I would like to apologize to Ding Liren. My excellent prediction job might have just doomed his candidacy. I am shutting up for sake of the other seven.
I looked earlier yesterday. The next post on the GLL blog weighs between what you say in the first two paragraphs and the third and comes out for the latter. Am composing the HTML now.
Wow great to see you back Dennis! Thanks for accompanying us in these frankly stressful times : ) and may you and all those close to you escape this horror
[DM: Amen to that - for everyone!]
As a long-time reader (albeit one who rarely commented), it's good to see you blogging again Dennis -- one of the few positive things to happen in recent months, it seems. Hope that you continue to stay well.
Three rounds in it now seems a bit late for predictions -- but before the tournament began I was hoping for Ding Liren to win.
[DM: Thanks for the comment. As for Ding, things are pretty bunchy, so it's not too late for predictions - especially if you're picking someone who's tied for last. (Then again, you didn't exactly "predict" him - rooting isn't the same thing. Sneaky.)]
Ha! My favourite chess site blogging about the Candidates! That's a real pick-me-up. Glad I accidentally visited an old favourite this morning.
[DM: Doing my bit to help keep spirits up and avoiding stir-craziness as we try to flatten the curve. Spread the news!]