6. Carlsen – Ivanchuk (Candidates 2013) 0-1
Oh Vassily, if you could only keep track of your time during the candidates who knows what would have happened? Ivanchuk is the kind of player that I’d love to sit down with and talk about chess; he is one of the few remaining players who doesn’t use a computer for analysis instead relying on his own preparation and intuition. Of the three games Vassily managed to win one was against Carlsen (the tournament leader which allowed Kramnik to catch him in points) and the third game he won was in the final round, which allowed Carlsen to beat Kramnik on tiebreaks. So perhaps it could be said that the most important player in the Candidates tournament (most likely his last candidates tournament) was Vassily Ivanchuk. I recall during the tournament itself there was some grumblings about possible collusion between the former Soviet block players; Ivanchuk put all that to rest by demolishing Kramnik which allowed Carlsen to advance. Here is a really fascinating interview that was conducted by GM Stuart Conquest with him in Gibraltar:
Runner(‘s) Up:
- Mamedyarov – Giri (FIDE Grand Prix Beijing; D90) 1-0 – Mamedyarov sacrifices his queen for an irresistible attack.
- Kamsky – Mamedyarov (World Cup; B47) 1-0 – Kamsky whips up an absolutely wild attack against Mamedyarov’s King.
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