CHESS #1387

Jan Timman analysed the upcoming Candidates in Yekaterinburg in mid-March. He believes Ding Liren has the best shot with Fabiano Caruana second-favourite. He also thinks the inclusion of Kirill Alekseenko as the wild card could lead to higher scores. The 22-year-old Alekseenko at just above 2700 is rated much lower than the other seven.  

Timman’s assessment was written before the Tata Steel where Caruana had a terrific result and pushed his rating up to 2842. However, Ding (who’s also rated above 2800) has taken January and February off. A good result can be inspirational but rest and prep may trump that. 

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