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CHESS: FIDE CONFIRMS ARONIAN'S TOP STATUS BEFORE CANDIDATES' MATCHES
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow
02.05.11
Aronyan is ranked third in the list of Top 100 Chess Players.
Armenia's top grandmaster Levon Aronian remains one of only three
current chess players with a FIDE rating of above the 2800 mark,
confirming his highest status at Candidates' Matches beginning in
Russia later this week.
According to the latest statistics released by the sport's
international governing body on May 1, the 28-year-old Armenian chess
ace is ranked third in the list of Top 100 Players with a rating of
2808 - next to current world champion Viswanathan Anand from India
and Norway's Magnus Carlsen, who, respectively, boast of ratings as
high as 2817 and 2815.
In the absence of Carlsen at the World Candidates' Tournament due in
Kazan, Russia, on May 4-26, Aronian is thus considered a favorite to
win the right to challenge Anand in the 2012 World Chess Championship.
Aronian's immediate rival in Kazan is Russian grandmaster Alexander
Grischuk (ranked 12th on the FIDE May 1 list), against whom the
Armenian has a favorable record in 28 career games - nine victories
against the Russian's five.
The best-of-four quarterfinal match is scheduled to start on May 5
and will include tiebreak options of rapid, blitz and even Armageddon
games. The winner of the Aronian-Grischuk match will progresses to
the semifinal to meet the winner of the Vladimir Kramnik (Russian)
v Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) quarterfinal match. The other two
quarterfinal pairs are Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) v Gata Kamsky (USA)
and Boris Gelfand (Israel) v Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan). This
second pool of four players will produce the second finalist for the
best-of-four decisive match. The tournament's total prize fund is
420,000 euros (more than $620,000), according to organizers (check
here for other details http://russiachess.org).
Remarkably, Aronian's seconds at the Kazan matches will be Sergei
Movsesian and Gabriel Sargissian, who are, respectively, 35th and 79th
on the current FIDE Top 100 Player list that also includes 71st-ranked
Vladimir Akopian. (Traditionally in chess, like in old-fashioned
duels or in modern-day boxing matches, seconds are aides in charge
of ensuring fair play).
Aronian is approaching this major competition in his career in the
capacity of the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion after winning
the title in a highly competitive tournament in Moscow, Russia,
last November. So far this year Aronian has won only one tournament
(the 20th and final edition of Melody Amber blindfold/rapid chess in
Monaco in March).
The Armenian grandmaster's previous attempt to become a challenger
to the holder of the world chess crown in 2007 ended in a failure
as he finished only seventh out of eight players in the candidates'
tournament.
(Check FIDE's official website www.fide.com for the latest news and
announcements relating to the Candidates' Matches as well as its
ratings section for Armenia-related statistics, including on female
players, and chess-playing nations' current rankings).
From: A. Papazian
By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow
02.05.11
Aronyan is ranked third in the list of Top 100 Chess Players.
Armenia's top grandmaster Levon Aronian remains one of only three
current chess players with a FIDE rating of above the 2800 mark,
confirming his highest status at Candidates' Matches beginning in
Russia later this week.
According to the latest statistics released by the sport's
international governing body on May 1, the 28-year-old Armenian chess
ace is ranked third in the list of Top 100 Players with a rating of
2808 - next to current world champion Viswanathan Anand from India
and Norway's Magnus Carlsen, who, respectively, boast of ratings as
high as 2817 and 2815.
In the absence of Carlsen at the World Candidates' Tournament due in
Kazan, Russia, on May 4-26, Aronian is thus considered a favorite to
win the right to challenge Anand in the 2012 World Chess Championship.
Aronian's immediate rival in Kazan is Russian grandmaster Alexander
Grischuk (ranked 12th on the FIDE May 1 list), against whom the
Armenian has a favorable record in 28 career games - nine victories
against the Russian's five.
The best-of-four quarterfinal match is scheduled to start on May 5
and will include tiebreak options of rapid, blitz and even Armageddon
games. The winner of the Aronian-Grischuk match will progresses to
the semifinal to meet the winner of the Vladimir Kramnik (Russian)
v Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) quarterfinal match. The other two
quarterfinal pairs are Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) v Gata Kamsky (USA)
and Boris Gelfand (Israel) v Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan). This
second pool of four players will produce the second finalist for the
best-of-four decisive match. The tournament's total prize fund is
420,000 euros (more than $620,000), according to organizers (check
here for other details http://russiachess.org).
Remarkably, Aronian's seconds at the Kazan matches will be Sergei
Movsesian and Gabriel Sargissian, who are, respectively, 35th and 79th
on the current FIDE Top 100 Player list that also includes 71st-ranked
Vladimir Akopian. (Traditionally in chess, like in old-fashioned
duels or in modern-day boxing matches, seconds are aides in charge
of ensuring fair play).
Aronian is approaching this major competition in his career in the
capacity of the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion after winning
the title in a highly competitive tournament in Moscow, Russia,
last November. So far this year Aronian has won only one tournament
(the 20th and final edition of Melody Amber blindfold/rapid chess in
Monaco in March).
The Armenian grandmaster's previous attempt to become a challenger
to the holder of the world chess crown in 2007 ended in a failure
as he finished only seventh out of eight players in the candidates'
tournament.
(Check FIDE's official website www.fide.com for the latest news and
announcements relating to the Candidates' Matches as well as its
ratings section for Armenia-related statistics, including on female
players, and chess-playing nations' current rankings).
From: A. Papazian