Aronian top seed in Candidates’ Matches

By Suren Musayelyan
ArmeniaNow Deputy Editor

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 on 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.

Source: http://armenianow.com