Candidates Tournament 2014
: Created:14 Mar 2014 , byAnand, Kramnik and Svidler lead with 1.5 from their two games.
The tournament favourite Aronian lost in round one against former champion Anand. His delayed Marshall Gambit against Anand's Ruy Lopez was insufficent on this occasion although I much doubt that this game will be the death-knell of the Marshall. Aronian struck back in round two with a knight sacrifice soon after the opening that won Mamedyarov's queen. The position where Aronian gave up his knight was most likely on his computer before the game.
Computers play a major part in the preparation of modern players and many would argue that it is for good of the game. Capablanca believed in the 1920s that chess was played out. Thank goodness he was wrong and allow me to take a sideswipe at matches when defence is paramount rather than tournaments when attack pays.
I am much in favour of arguments in my own club for wins to count as three points in a tournament and tie-breakers to be in favour of wins. Returning to computers how else do you explain Karjakin's eighth move versus Kramnik today? It looks like a beginners move but the Stockfish engine favours 8...f5. Imaginative chess must be praised.