Topalov Qualifies for Candidates Chess Tournament 2014

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013

Hi everyone, 

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov won the Beijing Chess Grand Prix and, along with Fabiano Caruana, could fill one of the seats of the Candidates Chess Tournament 2014. However, Veselin Topalov is already in a good overall first place in the Grand Prix series 2012/13 and qualifies for the Candidates. 

The Bulgarian got his third good result after playing four events of the Grand Prix. He shared first in London, got a clear win in Zug and shared 3rd-4th in Beijing thanks to a final round victory over Alexander Morozevich. The regulations of the Grand Prix series provide two spots at the Candidates event, so the second coveted prize is still up for grabs. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is the clear favorite to achieve this feat, but he still has to wait for the final leg, where Alexander Grischuk and Fabiano Caruana still have a mathematical chance of passing him on the standings. Mamedyarov already played the four allowed tournaments and achieved a score of 390 points. However, both Grischuk and Caruana are set to participate in the final leg.

If Grischuk is sole winner, he will get to 400 points; if Caruana is the sole winner, he will get to 395 points. In case of a shared first place, Mamedyarov would get the spot anyway, according to a Chessdom.com report.

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