Viswanathan Anand all set for World Chess Candidates in Khanty Mansiysk

Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia: With odds stacked against him, five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand will look forward to making a grand comeback in the Candidates chess tournament that starts in Khanty-Mansiysk with the first round on Thursday.  

With the weather slated to hit -14 degrees during the week, the heated battles are likely to compensate for them as eight of the world elite compete here to find the next challenger for World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

It may be recalled that Carlsen defeated Anand in the last world chess championship match at Chennai by 6.5-3.5 margin to become the undisputed king of the 64-squares late last year.

The eight-player super tournament will be played under double round robin basis and there will be 14-grueling rounds in all before the winner is determined. After a recent decline in form and rating, Anand starts only as the fourth seed in the tournament.

Levon Aronian of Armenia starts as the rating favourite with his ELO touching 2830 points. Russian Vladimir Kramnik who missed winning the candidates by a whisker last year, is ranked second ahead of former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

Sergey Karjakin of Russia is behind Anand and is seeded fifth ahead of seven times Russian Champion Peter Svidler. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan and Dmitry Andreikin of Russia complete the line-up.

With his remarkable current form Levon Aronian is a live threat to all participants and Kramnik will hope to give the Armenian a run for his money. The stakes are high as apart from a match against Carlsen, the tournament has a total prize pool of 600,000 Euros (About Rs. 5 crore) out of which 135,000 Euros is reserved for the winner.

The tournament will be played under Classical Chess rules with 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 for the next 20 and then 15 minutes each with a 30 seconds increment from move 61.

How they got here: 

V Anand: Losing finalist of last world championship The World champion is here as the losing finalist of World championship. If Anand does not win it, he will either have to go through a long cycle or take is rating up significantly to be back in hunt next time.

Levon Aronian: By virtue of his high rating. Aronian did not come good in the last world chess cup but otherwise has been in exemplary form. His victory at the Tata Steel tournament earlier this year was a just indication of his great form. Many Chess buffs are rooting for a match between Aronian and Carlsen.

Sergey Karjakin: High rating. Karjakin qualifies as the second player on rating. He holds the record for the youngest ever Grandmaster in history at 12 years and seven months and has won some of the strongest events. His most recent success was in Norway when he came first ahead of Carlsen himself.

Vladimir Kramnik: Winner of the last World Chess Cup. Having never played in the knock-out world cup before, not many believed Kramnik would last the distance in the seven rounds format. However he made it all look too easy. He might have been around even without the world cup victory but this was certainly the way he wanted to come in. The Russian has been out of competitive chess for some time, as he opted out of Tata Steel as well as the Zurich Classic this year.

Dmitry Andreikin: Runners up in World Chess Cup Andreikin?s second place finish in the world cup was no less intriguing. Slowly but steadily, this 2010 world junior champion is making his presence felt in elite chess. The hallmark is solid play, complemented with deep opening preparation. On his day, a real threat to the best in business.

Veselin Topalov: Winner of FIDE Grand Prix. One has not been hearing much about Topalov since he lost the 2010 world championship match against Anand. Yet, if his performance in the Grand prix is anything to go by, Topalov can belittle everyone else with his uncompromising variety of chess that very few possess. It was not long ago when he was the world champion and this tournament gives him another chance.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov: Runners up in Grand Prix. Mamedyarov is the most unpredictable player in this field and can serve as the spoiler of the tournament as well win it by sheer power-play. Grit, determination and fearlessness are words that best describe this Azerbaijani.

Peter Svidler: Organisers wild card. It is not without reasons that the wild card is given to Svidler - the seven times Russian champion. Svidler has won it all in the past including the World chess cup and remains a feared opponent. It was he who jolted Calrsen in the last round of Candidates last year and the Norwegian is world champion because Kramnik also lost his game on the same day against Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk. A draw by Kramnik would have resulted in a match between him and Anand and recent history would not be the same. -- PTI

(For special features and other reports also visit our partner site www.worldchesschampionship2013.com)

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I have Hunger to Play Good Chess: Anand

Former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand on his preparation for the Candidates 2014 in an interview to Ashok Venugopal for Sunday Standard - The New Indian Express

How are you preparing for the Candidates tournament? A lot of strong players will be in action. Who do you think is a tough opponent?

The Candidates will be a tough event — strong players and a grueling format. I think there is no one particular favourite. It depends on who is in top form. I have been preparing for the event since January.

Have you made any change in the style of preparation?
Again, can’t say much.

Have you changed your seconds from the World Championship?
I can’t really talk about it right now.

Have you overcome the World Chess Championship defeat?
That is over. I don’t think about it anymore. It seems like it happened ages ago. As a sportsperson you have to learn to let go and move on.

In the London Chess Classic you began to win again, but managed to reach only till quarterfinals. When you won the first match (after the World Championship loss) in the tournament did you get over a psychological barrier? How do you rate your performance?
At this level of the game, there are no barriers. You have good games and bad ones. I would say moderately happy. I was very proud of my games in the qualifying. I could feel myself like a six-year-old again, just playing very fast and confidently. That is the way I would really love to play.

At Zurich, in perhaps the strongest field in the history of the game, you came fifth overall. How do you rate this performance? You are known for your rapid skills, but lost three games?
Well, I am going through a phase of changing my game. So there will be some hits on the way before you reach your optimum form. So, Zurich was a good learning experience.

Is there a mental block when playing Carlsen? You are yet to beat him in the classical format in the last two years or so.
This is something I hope to correct. It is his (Carlsen) style, which is very different to what many players have grown up with.

How do you recollect the match against Carlsen at Zurich Chess 2014?
It was a normal game. You can’t base each encounter on the match. That is over. You have to just look forward and play a normal game.

How eager are you to go through the grind, win the Candidates and take on Carlsen again in the World Championship in November?
I am looking to do well in Khanty right now. If that leads to a match in November I would definitely try and do things differently.

Despite having nothing left to prove do you still have the hunger to be the world champion?
I would say I have hunger to play good chess.

What motivates you now to give your best? Is it pride, reputation or just simple love for the game?
I would just say that I love the game. If something gives you a lot of pain, it also gives you a lot of enjoyment. That is why you love it and is passionate about excelling in it.

How do you handle pressure, not just expectations of fans from the country, but also that from the Western media, players and officials who cannot digest an Indian ruling the world of chess?
You do have some amount of pressure being the outsider. But I have always tried to keep a small circle of friends and just enjoy the chess. I don’t really read much chess news. But there are also many people who show their support especially since you had to work doubly harder to reach the top.

Does the attitude (running down Anand) of some former Russian greats like Garry Kasparov motivate you to prove them wrong?
I don’t waste my time on petty chess politics. Chess was clearly Kasparov’s strongest point.

-- Team Chess Magazine Black and White would not have asked the last two questions in there. Ah well. More on that later ;)

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Play Chess with World Champion Magnus Carlsen Anytime, Anywhere!

This is a dream app for every single chess player on the planet. We're just glad iTunes hasn't crashed with World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen unveiling his special branded official app 'Play Magnus'. Here's what the intro states:

Play Magnus

Want to test your chess skills against the World Champion of Chess? Now you can! Play Magnus offers you the opportunity to play chess against the official Magnus Carlsen-tuned chess engine, train your chess skills with exclusive Magnus Carlsen training content and earn points towards qualifying to play Magnus Carlsen Live!


 

Stats

Free
Category: Games
Released: 25 February 2014
Version: 1.1
Size: 54.1 MB
Language: English
Seller: Play Magnus AS
© 2014 Play Magnus AS
Rated 4+

Compatibility: Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
Ad-Free Upgrade$1.29

Here's the official website of Play Magnus with its own dedicated twitter account. You can download the app there: http://magnuscarlsen.com/playmagnus

The World Champion's YouTube video states: "I spent some time over the past few months creating something to give back to the chess community. As many of you know, I want to help the chess community spread the game we love to more people around the world, with a special focus on young people. The Play Magnus app is my first step in helping make that happen."

For a nice press conference update on the release check out ChessVibes.

Here are two more screen grabs. Damn Cool we would say!

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Candidates 2014 R1 Anand vs Aronian

Former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand of India will face World No. 2 Levon Aronian of Armenia in the first round of the Candidates in Khanty Mansisysk this March. The winner of the Candidates will earn the right to challenge World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen in November, 2014 for the world title. 

There were conflicting reports earlier this year whether Viswanathan Anand would take part in the Candidates in a bid to meet Carlsen again and regain the world title. At least his fans hoped so. But, before the deadline for confirmation, Anand asserted that he would go for it and said aye for Khanty Mansiysk.

The World Chess Championship 2014 Khanty Mansiysk Candidates will begin with the arrival of players on March 11. The opening ceremony will be a day later. There will be one round a day from 13-15, 17-19, 21-23, 25-27 and 29-30. Intervening days would be utilised as rest days. March 31 would be utilised for tiebreaks / Closing ceremony.

Here are the complete pairings as released by FIDE:

Round 1 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7

Round 2 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 67 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5

Round 3 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6

Round 4 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4

Round 5 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 62 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7

Round 6 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 25 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4

Round 7 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 64 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8

Round 8 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6

Round 9 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 85 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7

Round 10 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5

Round 11 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6

Round 12 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 15 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4

Round 13 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 63 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8

Round 14 SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Svidler Peter RUS 35 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1

Meanwhile, FIDE has already initiated the bidding procedure for the World Chess Championship 2014. FIDE and its commercial partner AGON are looking for potential venues for the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship match to host Magnus Carlsen and his challenger. 

The World Chess Championship Match 2014 shall take place from 6 November (game 1) to 25 November 2014 (possible tiebreaks/closing ceremony). 

If Viswanathan Anand makes it... 

-- Rajat M Khanna

* Complete regulations in FIDE handbook

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World Chess Champ Ignored for Strong Chess Event. Discrimination?

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has not been invited to this very strong chess tournament. Do you think this is discriminatory to humans? ;)

The next season of the computer chess championship TCEC starts in a few hours from now: February 7 at 20:00 CET. 

All the big guns are going to be there: Komodo (3232), Stockfish (3240), Houdini (top seed at 3247), Rybka (3159) along with 32 other top chess engines of the planet to battle through four stages and a Superfinal for the title of the world's best chess 'chip' champion. 

The computer chess championship can be followed live via a brand new website, that will show the games in real time, together will all information about pairings, standings, and statistics.

Meanwhile, we believe the Norwegian World Chess Champion has not taken "being ignored" to heart and was busy launching his YouTube Channel. 

So, here are all the details of the world computer chess championship and system of play.

The TCEC Season System

TCEC (Thoresen Chess Engines Competition) is a computer chess tournament organized and maintained by Martin Thoresen, in cooperation with Chessdom Arena. The goal is to provide the viewers with a live broadcast of long time control, quality chess – played strictly between computer chess engines created by different programmers. One Season is divided into several Stages and lasts about 3-4 months. The winner of the Season will be the TCEC Grand Champion.

As soon as a Stage starts, it will run 24/7 until all games have been played. One game is played at a time – the next one starts automatically. There will be a short break between the Stages, to make sure everything is ok with the TCEC game server and to prepare for the next Stage.

Stage 1

A Season starts off with Stage 1 which consists of roughly 36 engines. This can vary from Season to Season, as can the format (Swiss / round robin etc). Then the top X (varies) will move on to Stage 2, while the rest is out of TCEC for the current Season.

Stage 2

Stage 2 consists of the engines that qualified from Stage 1. It is usually a single round robin. The top X move on to Stage 3 while the rest is out of TCEC for the current Season.

Stage 3

Stage 3 consists of the engines that qualified from Stage 2. The format for Stage 3 is usually a double round robin so that each engine will play both sides of the same opening against each other. The top X will move on to Stage 4 while the rest is out of TCEC for the current Season.

Stage 4

Stage 4 consists of the engines that qualified from Stage 3. It is a multiple round robin and the openings are chosen randomly per pair so that each engine will play both sides of the same opening against each other. The top 2 will qualify to play the Superfinal, while the other engines are out of TCEC for the current Season.

Superfinal

After Stage 4 has finished, the top 2 engines will meet in a Superfinal of 64 (previously 48) games. This match is played with 32 different openings so that each engine plays both black and white of the same position. The match will be presented with opening 1 used in games 1 and 2, then opening 2 used in games 3 and 4 etc. If the match is theoretically won for one side before game 64, the match will still continue until all 64 games have been played. In the case of a drawn match there will be a Rapid match of 16 games with a time control of 25′ + 10″. In case it is still tied there will be a Blitz match of 8 games with a time control of 3″ + 2′. When the Superfinal is over, the current Season ends.

The TCEC Grand Champion

The winner of the Superfinal will be crowned the TCEC Grand Champion and will keep this title until there is a winner in the next Superfinal. There is no automatic qualification for the reigning Grand Champion, it will have to go all the way through the next Season for it to be able to defend the title.

Time control

The time control of this season is 120 minutes + 30 seconds added per move for the whole game, in all events. If an engine loses on time, the game will not be replayed. If the TCEC game server locks up at any time during a game (BSOD, freeze etc), that game will be restarted unless the last position was a 6-man or less tablebase position, then it will be manually adjudicated.

Game adjudication

A game can be drawn by the normal 3-fold repetition rule or the 50-move rule. However, a game can also be drawn at move 40 or later if the eval from both playing engines are within +0.05 to -0.05 pawns for the last 5 moves, or 10 plies. If there is a pawn advance, or a capture by any kind, this special draw rule will reset and start over. In the website this rule is shown as “TCEC draw rule” with a number indicating how many plies there are left until it kicks in. It will adjudicate as won for one side if both playing engines have an eval of at least 6.50 pawns (or -6.50 in case of a black win) for 4 consecutive moves, or 8 plies – this rule is in effect as soon as the game starts. In the website this rule is shown as “TCEC win rule” with a number indicating how many plies there are left until it kicks in. Cutechess will also adjudicate 5-men or less tablebase endgame positions automatically.

Opening Book

TCEC uses openings put together by Nelson Hernandez and Adam Hair. All of them are 8 moves deep. If you click the Help menu and then “The Season 6 opening book” you can read in detail how they prepared for this challenge.

Engine Ratings

All new engines will receive an initial elo rating based on the CCRL 40/40 single CPU list. If an engine isn’t found here, or if it has played very few games, the CEGT 40/20 single CPU list is used instead but the rating difference between Houdini 3 64-bit in the two rating lists will be added to the rating. If an engine isn’t found in either list, an approximate elo rating will be given to that engine based on tests from the programmer. If an engine is updated to a new version, this new version will inherit the rating of the old version. When you enter “Archive mode” in the File menu, you can see the official TCEC ratings at the bottom right corner – they are updated after each Stage or Superfinal.

Engine Updates

The engine programmers can provide updates only before an event starts, not during. However, there will be no extra testing meaning that this is a gamble if the engine could be unstable. The deadline for engine submission is the last game of the current Stage – the goal is to be able to start the next Stage as soon as possible without any significant delay.

Critical Engine Bugs

In the case of a serious, play-limiting bug (like crashing or interface communication problems) not discovered during the pre-Season testing, the engine can be updated once per Stage to fix this/these bug/bugs only. If this update still doesn’t fix the problem(s) or if there is no update available, the engine might have the number of cores reduced, have the hash size reduced or have the tablebase access disabled – these changes will remain for the rest of the Stage.

Tiebreaks

If necessary, tiebreaks can be used to determine advancement. For all Stages, the first tiebreak criteria is the “crash” tiebreak, meaning that if an engine has crashed once or more during the Stage, it will fail qualification versus another engine that has not crashed if both of them has the same amount of points. The Sonneborn-Berger criteria is the second. If still a tie, the greatest number of black games decides. The next criterion is the greatest number of wins, then the greatest number of wins with black. In case of still being tied, then the direct encounter between the tied engines decides. If they are still tied, then the tournament director decides which engine gets the promotion.

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Carlsen wins Zurich Chess, Anand 5th

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 final report: Five-time World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand continued to struggle with his form and had to be content with a fifth-place finish after a poor show in the rapid section of the Zurich Chess Challenge that concluded here on Tuesday.

Magnus Carlsen wins Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 despite self-destructing in the rapid section. Viswanathan Anand finished the tournament at fifth place. Photo: Maria Emelianova

Staying joint fourth spot on four points after the classical games, Anand could manage just one point out of a possible five in the rapid section that has always been his forte and finished with an overall score of just five points out of a possible 15 in the six-player event.

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen got a scare, in the rapid section, but still managed a clear first place on 10 points despite scoring just two points in the rapid section that was dominated by Fabiano Caruana of Italy.

Carlsen ended the tournament with 10 points in all, a point ahead of Caruana and Levon Aronian of Armenia.

Hikaru Nakamura of United States also came up with a decent show in the rapid to finish clear fourth on 7.5 points while Anand ended fifth, half a point ahead of his former world championship challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel.

The rapid section turned out to be worse than the classical one for Anand wherein the Indian had started with two losses.

In rapid, Anand lost the first three games against Aronian, Nakamura and Caruana to end hopes of finishing in the first half. In the last two games, the former world chess champion played out draws with Gelfand and Carlsen.

Anand was beaten by Aronian in the first round of rapid in 44 moves after losing a rook for a minor piece earlier.

Against Nakamura, he simply blundered a piece in the opening to go down rather tamely and against Caruana it was a long grind wherein Anand missed his chances in the queen and knight endgame.

Interestingly, the game against Carlsen was an exact replica of the eighth game of the last world chess championship till move 29. The draw was inevitable thereafter.

Carlsen too was not at his best as he lost to Aronian and Caruana in the rapid games. However, a victory against Gelfand and draws with Nakamura and Anand were enough to stay clear of the field.

The 23-year-old Carlsen did not show the rustiness that was expected post a break after the world championship triumph in November last in the Classical games and his score there was enough to help secure first place in his first tournament as the world champion.

The loss to Caruana in the final classical game proved costly for Aronian as he missed out on a clear second spot. In the rapid Aronian scored three points in all.

Nakamura's 3.5 points out of last five did not help his cause as he still could finish only fourth. However, with the form coming back, the American can look up to coming events positively now.

For Anand, it will be a test of time ahead of the Candidates tournament to be held in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia in mid-March. In what is expected to be his bid for the world chess championship match against Carlsen, the Indian will have to recover very quickly from the results here in Zurich. -- PTI

Final Standings (Classic and Rapid Tournament)

Rank Name Pts. elo

1. Magnus Carlsen 10 2872

2. Fabiano Caruana 9 2782

3. Levon Aronian 9 2812

4. Hikaru Nakamura 7½ 2789

5. Viswanathan Anand 5 2773

6. Boris Gelfand 4½ 2777

Closing ceremony video

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