Candidates – players in London, opening ceremony

From March 14 to April 1, 2013, FIDE and AGON – the World Chess Federation’s commercial partner – are staging the 2013 Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship 2013. It will be the strongest tournament of its kind in history. The venue is The IET, 2 Savoy Place, London. The Prize Fund to be shared by the players totals €510,000. The winner of the Candidates will become the Challenger to Viswanathan Anand who has reigned as World Champion since 2007.

The main sponsor for the Candidates is State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic SOCAR, which has sponsored elite events chess in the past.

Socar is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.

The Opening Ceremony

The FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2013 was officially opened on Thursday night by FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov at IET London, Savoy Palace. The tournament’s opening ceremony was attended by chess officials, sponsors, and international chess media.

The invitation we all received

The Opening Ceremony was a brief affair and the players did not stay long after the tournament was declared open. The following pictures were provided by Ray Morris-Hill.

Guests at the reception at the Institution of Engineering & Technology

AGON chief organiser Andrew Paulson and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
stand for the National Anthem. In the background FIDE CEO Geoffrey Borg

Andrew Paulson opens the proceedings with a brief speech

Paulson pointed out the new design of the playing hall and the ChessCasting software that will be used to transmit the games live to the world. "It's a new design to make more aesthetic the experience of watching or being a spectator at a tournament," said Paulson. One novelty is that small interactive tablets will be handed out to spectators in the playing hall which will allow the audience to have a personal experience in the hall while watching the players – something that's unique for any sport. Andrew Paulson also mentioned the special security measures with unique technology prepared by the organizers that will be used for the first time on this event.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov declares the tournament officially open

Ilyumzhinov reminded the guests of the long chess tradition in London, where 19th-century players like Howard Staunton, Wilhelm Steinitz and Emanuel Lasker achieved successes. "Over the next three weeks London will be the main chess centre in the world. Attention of millions of chess lovers will turn to London. It's here the challenger for the title of World Champion will be determined. The Candidates Tournament is the main and most expected tournament of the year in the chess world," said Ilyumzhinov.

The world's highest ranked player, Magnus Carlsen, Elo 2872

Second seed Vladimir Kramnik, rated 2810

Third seed Levon Aronian, rated a single point below Kramnik

Fourth seed and fourth in the world, Teimour Radjabov, with his wife

In good spirits: Aronian, Kramnik and vice-Champion of the world Boris Gelfand

Magnus leaves early to prepare for his Friday match against Aronian

The event posters (click to enlarge) designed by the renowned illustrator Andrzej Klimowski

Players

• Full information on the players here

Schedule and results

The games start at 14:00h = 2 p.m. London time = 15:00h European time, 17:00h Moscow, 8 a.m. New York. You can find your regional starting time here. Note that Britain and Europe switch to Summer time on March 31, so that the last two rounds will start an hour earlier for places that do not swich or have already done so (e.g. USA).

The commentary on Playchess begins one hour after the start of the games and is free for premium members.

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.