The Candidates Tournament
: Created:10 Mar 2014 , byThe first round takes place this Wednesday and the event concludes on 30th March. Who of the eight competitors will win?
It's a double round event with players qualifying in different ways. Therefore Dimitry Andreikin who was second in the world cup is in the line-up whereas Nakamura and Caruana are absent. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov gets a place but world number six Grischuk is sidelined.
At the age of forty-four Viswanathan Anand is the veteran of the tournament and it would be surprising if he recovered from his crushing defeat versus Carlsen to challenge again. Peter Svidler is a many time Russian champion but perhaps his best days are over.
So in my opinion it will be a contest between two, three and four in the world rankings - Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. Aronian against Carlsen for the title would be a titanic contest but we are getting ahead of ourselves because the Armenian has to conquer his nerves if he is to win this tournament. He will start as favourite.
Kramnik who has been a world star since the age of sixteen and his feat in toppling the mighty Gary Kasparov in 2000 surpasses Max Euwe's surprise victory over Alexander Alekhine in 1935 in the shock of the past two hundred years awards.
Topalov played thrilling chess at San Luis in 2005 to lift the FIDE version of the world championship. He is a driven man, exceptionally well-prepared and cannot be dismissed.