London, January 15, 2013 — FIDE and AGON — the World Chess Federation’s commercial partner — are pleased to announce the players, dates and venue of the 2013 Candidates Tournament. The London Candidates will be the strongest tournament of its kind in history. The Prize Fund to be shared by the players totals €510,000. The winner of the Candidates will become the Challenger to Viswanathan Anand who has reigned as World Champion since 2007.
Dates: March 14, 2013 - April 1, 2013
Format: The Candidates is a double round-robin tournament with four rest days.
| Event | Day | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Ceremony | Thursday | 14/03/2013 |
| Round 1 | Friday | 15/03/2013 |
| Round 2 | Saturday | 16/03/2013 |
| Round 3 | Sunday | 17/03/2013 |
| Free day | Monday | 18/03/2013 |
| Round 4 | Tuesday | 19/03/2013 |
| Round 5 | Wednesday | 20/03/2013 |
| Round 6 | Thursday | 21/03/2013 |
| Free day | Friday | 22/03/2013 |
| Round 7 | Saturday | 23/03/2013 |
| Round 8 | Sunday | 24/03/2013 |
| Round 9 | Monday | 25/03/2013 |
| Free day | Tuesday | 26/03/2013 |
| Round 10 | Wednesday | 27/03/2013 |
| Round 11 | Thursday | 28/03/2013 |
| Round 12 | Friday | 29/03/2013 |
| Free day | Saturday | 30/03/2013 |
| Round 13 | Sunday | 31/03/2013 |
| Round 14 | Monday | 01/04/2013 |
| Tie-Breaks if necessary/Closing Ceremony | Tuesday | 02/04/2013 |
Venue: The IET at 2 Savoy Place
Address: 2 Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BL
Tickets can be purchased online here and at the venue during the tournament.
Players
- Levon Aronian (ARM)
- Magnus Carlsen (NOR)
- Boris Gelfand (ISR)
- Alexander Grischuk (RUS)
- Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR)
- Vladimir Kramnik (RUS)
- Teimour Radjabov (AZE)
- Peter Svidler (RUS)
World Chess Web Site: www.worldchess.com
FIDE Web Site: www.fide.com
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of FIDE, said: “FIDE is happy that this major tournament will take place in London and that UK chess fans will be able to see the greatest chess players live. We support AGON’s efforts to bring important chess events to the great cities of Europe.”
Andrew Paulson, the founder of AGON, said: “I am pleased to confirm that the 2013 Candidates Tournament will take place in a great venue on the banks of the River Thames and be broadcast online to a global audience.”
Note to editors
The World Chess Championship Cycle is the pinnacle of chess and consists of nine events over two years. The Championship Match between Viswanathan Anand and the winner of the Candidates Tournament will take place in November, 2013.
The commercial rights for the World Chess Championship Cycle were accorded to AGON by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) in February 2012.
For further information, please contact:
robert.fontaine@agonlimited.com