Candidates: Eight Lead Changes in Eleven Rounds

So far, the Candidates Tournament has been full of fight and excitement. Over the course of eleven rounds, there have been eight lead changes. With just three rounds to go, let's take a look at the updated leader board.

The Leaders

Photo courtesy of World Chess

Fabiano Caruana

Current Score: 6.5 / 11
Performance Rating: 2841

With a victory over co-leader Anand, Caruana has sprung himself into a tie for 1st. Because of this head-to-head win, he now has stronger tiebreaks over Anand.

With two games with White out of the remaining three games, will he be able to maintain his lead to the finish line?

Vishy Anand

Current Score: 6.5 / 11
Performance Rating: 2843

Vishy Anand has been the most inconsistent player of the tournament. He's lost two critical games to his closest competitors: Caruana and Karjakin. Yet, he's managed to win double the games of any other player. While most other players in the tournament have aimed to avoid losses, Anand has thrived on decisive results. Every time he suffers a tough loss, he comes back and proves he's still a force to be reckoned with. Could we be in store for a third Carlsen-Anand match? Here is Anand's most recent victory against Sergey Karjakin.

[pgn][Result "1-0"] [White "Viswanathan Anand"] [Black "Sergey Karjakin"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "139"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.h3 Ne7 8.d4 Bb6 9.Bd3 d5 10.Nxe5 Nxe4 11.Nd2 Nd6 12.Nb3 c6 13.Nc5 Ng6 14.Qh5 Bxc5 15.dxc5 Ne4 16.Bxe4 dxe4 17.Rd1 Qe7 18.Nxg6 hxg6 19.Qg5 Qxg5 20.Bxg5 f6 21.Be3 g5 22.Rd6 Re8 23.Rad1 Be6 24.b3 Kf7 25.R1d4 Bf5 26.a4 Re7 27.g4 Bh7 28.b4 Bg8 29.b5 Rc8 30.Rd7 Re8 31.b6 a6 32.Rc7 Kf8 33.c4 Be6 34.Rxe4 Kf7 35.f4 Rxc7 36.bxc7 Rc8 37.f5 Bd7 38.h4 g6 39.Rd4 Rxc7 40.hxg5 fxg5 41.Bxg5 Be8 42.f6 Kf8 43.Bf4 Rh7 44.Kg2 Bd7 45.Bg5 Be6 46.Rd8+ Kf7 47.Rb8 Bxc4 48.Rxb7+ Kg8 49.Rb8+ Kf7 50.Kg3 Ke6 51.Re8+ Kf7 52.Rc8 Bd5 53.Kf4 Ke6 54.Re8+ Kd7 55.Ra8 Ke6 56.Re8+ Kd7 57.Re3 a5 58.Kg3 Rf7 59.Kf4 Rh7 60.Re1 Kc8 61.Kg3 Rf7 62.Re8+ Kd7 63.Ra8 Kc7 64.Kf4 Rd7 65.Bh4 Kb7 66.Re8 Bf7 67.Re4 Bd5 68.Re3 Bf7 69.Kg5 Ka6 70.Re7 1-0[/pgn]

The Chaser

Photo courtesy of World Chess

Sergey Karjakin

Current Score: 6 / 11
Performance Rating: 2810

Sergey Karjakin, initially considered an underdog, has beaten the odds so far. Although he just suffered a tough defeat at the hands of Anand, Karjakin was one of the leaders for a majority of the event. Since joining the leaders in the 4th round, Karjakin has played it very safe, accepting many draws. Now, just a half point short of the leaders, will he recover from his loss today and play energetically for the full point? He'll have his chance to battle for a top score in the last round---when he has White against Caruana.