London 2013 Candidates Tournament
The 2013 Candidates brought the round-robin back to the challenger cycle for the first time in half a century, and it produced one of the most dramatic finishes the event has ever seen. Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik both finished on 8½/14, and both lost their final-round games — the title going to the 22-year-old Carlsen on the tie-break for most wins.
Return of the round-robin
For the first time in fifty-one years FIDE decided its Candidates as a single all-play-all rather than a series of knockout matches. Eight players contested a double round-robin of fourteen rounds at Savoy Place in London: Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and Levon Aronian as the top-rated qualifiers; Peter Svidler, Alexander Grischuk and Vassily Ivanchuk from the 2011 World Cup; Teimour Radjabov as the organizers' wild card; and Boris Gelfand, the 2012 title match runner-up.
Carlsen and Kramnik pulled clear of the field and arrived at the final round tied for first, each needing only to match the other to take the prize outright.
Both leaders fall
In the last round both of the co-leaders lost. Carlsen, with White, drifted into serious time trouble and went down to Svidler; Kramnik, needing to outscore him, gambled with the Pirc against Ivanchuk and was ground down. The two finished level on 8½ points with an equal head-to-head, so the title was settled on the next tie-break — total wins. Carlsen had won five games to Kramnik's four, a margin that could not be overturned, and so he was assured of first place even as he lost his own game.
Aronian and Svidler shared third on 8, a half-point behind, in a tournament decided by the finest of margins.
A challenger at last
Winning London gave Carlsen the right to challenge the reigning champion, Viswanathan Anand. Later that year, in Chennai, he took the crown to become the sixteenth undisputed World Champion. The 2013 Candidates is remembered both for restoring the round-robin that has been used ever since and for the extraordinary tension of its final day.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Carlsen, Magnus | 8½/14 | +5 -2 =7 | games |
| =1 | Kramnik, Vladimir | 8½/14 | +4 -1 =9 | games |
| =3 | Aronian, Levon | 8/14 | +5 -3 =6 | games |
| =3 | Svidler, Peter | 8/14 | +4 -2 =8 | games |
| =5 | Gelfand, Boris | 6½/14 | +2 -3 =9 | games |
| =5 | Grischuk, Alexander | 6½/14 | +1 -2 =11 | games |
| 7 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | 6/14 | +3 -5 =6 | games |
| 8 | Radjabov, Teimour | 4/14 | +1 -7 =6 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlsen, Magnus | ½½ | ½½ | 10 | 11 | 1½ | ½0 | ½1 | |
| 2 | Kramnik, Vladimir | ½½ | ½1 | ½1 | ½½ | ½1 | ½0 | ½1 | |
| 3 | Aronian, Levon | ½½ | ½0 | ½0 | 10 | ½½ | 11 | 11 | |
| 4 | Svidler, Peter | 01 | ½0 | ½1 | ½½ | ½½ | ½1 | 1½ | |
| 5 | Gelfand, Boris | 00 | ½½ | 01 | ½½ | ½½ | ½½ | ½1 | |
| 6 | Grischuk, Alexander | 0½ | ½0 | ½½ | ½½ | ½½ | ½1 | ½½ | |
| 7 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | ½1 | ½1 | 00 | ½0 | ½½ | ½0 | 01 | |
| 8 | Radjabov, Teimour | ½0 | ½0 | 00 | 0½ | ½0 | ½½ | 10 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.