The three most important events in the World Chess Federation calendar are the World Championship match, the Olympiad and the Candidates tournament, all of them biennial. The last of these is now in progress in Berlin and the winner will go on to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the supreme title in London later this year. The first round witnessed some typical nerves which tend to afflict even leading players at the commencement of career-determining competitions. The former challenger Sergei Karjakin started off by losing with the white pieces to the highest-ranked contestant, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, while the popular favourite, Lev Aronian, a three-times Olympiad gold medallist, obtained an excellent position against the Chinese grandmaster Ding Liren, only to lose his courage at the critical juncture.
Aronian-Ding: Fidé Candidates, Berlin 2018
(See diagram 1)
White’s next move creates huge complications. 15 c5 Bxc5 This move, exploiting the pin along the d-file, is essentially forced.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in