Berlin

This weekend the Candidates tournament commences in Berlin to decide the challenger who will face Magnus Carlsen for the world title in London later this year. The favourite is Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, with a rating of 2814, and this week’s puzzle shows a sample of his trenchant style. Although he is not the highest-rated, my money is in fact on triple Olympiad gold medallist Levon Aronian (2797), who is capable of reaching great heights when on form. The rest of the field, in rating order, is as follows: Vladimir Kramnik (2800), Wesley So (2799), Fabiano Caruana (2784), Ding Liren (2769), Sergei Karjakin (2763) and Alexander Grischuk (2767).
 
Aronian-Short: Gibraltar Masters 2018; English Opening
 
1 c4 e5 2 Nc3 d6 3 Nf3 f5 This early advance of Black’s f-pawn demonstrates that the British grandmaster was in an aggressive mood. 4 g3 Nc6 5 d4 e4 This response is the natural reply to White’s break in the centre.