1. ANAND – CARLSEN
WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2013 GAMES
AS ANNOTATED BY MARK CROWTHER IN TWIC
PDF VERSION BY PEKCHA
FOR
IMMORTALCHESS FORUM
2. 2
Low key draw in first game of the World Chess
Championship 2013
Mark Crowther - Saturday 9th November 2013
The first game of the World Chess Championship 2013 match between
defending champion Viswanathan Anand and his challenger Magus Carlsen
ended in a draw in only 16 moves and 90 minutes play. Carlsen playing white
chose the Reti System an extremely conservative choice. Anand played quickly
and confidently, and after his 10...Nb6 introducing forcing play Carlsen already
thought he had no advantage, he seemed to want play to develop more slowly,
it's not clear to me what he'd overlooked in preparation although Carlsen
admitted he did miss that 13.Qe1 is very bad due to 13...Nb4.
This was Carlsen's first world championship game and whilst his opening clearly
didn't go well maybe he just wanted to get a feel for what it was like without
losing the game. Once things had gone wrong Carlsen felt he had no choice but
to "pull the emergency brake" and get to a draw as fast as possible. Anand
could have played on with 13...b5 but he didn't see it as being worth the risk
and Carlsen claimed he wouldn't have been too upset to play on either.
We got the start of an insight into how the players want to play the match, as
Anand put it "I got to see what direction he's aiming at and he probably got a
clue to mine." It's certainly a bit too early to start getting angry about short
draws and saying the match will be boring. Carlsen rarely has them and there's
no reason to suspect he'll be looking for them in this match. However it is to be
hoped that Carlsen has some more critical opening lines prepared with white.
Kasparov comments
Garry Kasparov comments on game 1 on Twitter
First, a few brief comments on today's Carlsen-Anand game. Brief
comments are fitting for such a brief game.
I imagine Anand's 2..g6 was a surprise for Magnus, and 4..c6 as well. Then
White has a big choice: to play c4 & sacrifice a pawn, or not.
Sacrificing the pawn with c4 would not be a typical position for Magnus but
Anand (& his second Leko) know those positions well.
But without c4 by White Black gets a very solid position, even if he plays
the Nbd2 I'd prefer to Carlsen's Nc3. Little danger for Black.
I remember Anand played this in his 1994 NYC candidates match against
Romanishin, who played c4 & drew one & lost one. Can be quite sharp.
First games of big matches are often tentative. Both get a half point but
it's great to start any event with an easy draw with black!
3. 3
Anand & I drew first 8 games of our 1995 world championship match. But
then, boom! Next 4/5 were decisive & the match was basically over.
So do not get too depressed with a slow start. Of my 7 world championship
matches, 5 started with draw in first game.
Game notes with player comments
Carlsen,Magnus (2870) - Anand,Viswanathan (2775) [D78]
WCh 2013 Chennai IND (1), 09.11.2013
[Crowther,Mark]
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4
c6 5.0-0 Nf6 6.b3 0-0 7.Bb2 Bf5
8.c4 Nbd7 9.Nc3 dxc4
[9...Ne4]
10.bxc4 Nb6
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 10...Nb6
"It developed kind of fast. 10...Nb6
is a rather sharp idea basically
forcing the play straight away. "
Anand
11.c5 Nc4 12.Bc1
Carlsen spent around 12 minutes
here. "12.Bc1 was a bit of a
surprise." Anand.
[12.Qb3 "To be honest I expected
12..Qb3 although after 12...Be6
black is probably doing fine. "
Anand. 12...Be6 13.Qc2 Bf5 14.Qb3
is a possible repetition here.]
12...Nd5!
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 12...Nd5!
4. 4
[12...Ne4 Wagner,F (2249)-Aring,G
(2205) Gerlingen 2011 is at least
equal for black.]
13.Qb3
"After 13.Qb3 I can force this draw."
Anand.
[13.Qe1? Nb4! "is even getting very
unpleasant for white." Anand.
(13...Nc7 is also good.) ]
13...Na5
Anand decided to repeat because he
didn't see any real advantage in the
complications of 13...b5.
[13...b5!? would have led to some
reasonably interesting tactics.
14.cxb6 "14.cxb6 is what I thought
he would play." Anand. (14.a4!?)
14...Na5 15.Qb2 axb6 (15...Qxb6 is
quite interesting. 16.e4 Nxc3
17.exf5) 16.Ne5 "Ne5 I thought is
keeping the balance reaonably well."
- Anand. (16.e4!? may be better.
16...Nxc3 17.exf5 Bxd4 18.Bh6) ]
14.Qa3 Nc4 15.Qb3 Na5 16.Qa3
Nc4
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Final Position after 16...Nc4
1hr 8 mins vs 1hr 21 mins.
1/2-1/2
5. 5
Anand's turn to steer for a draw in World Chess
Championship game 2
Mark Crowther - Sunday 10th November 2013
Sunday's second game of the FIDE World Chess Championship was drawn by
three-fold repetition after 25 moves and just one hour ten minutes of play.
Magnus Carlsen's choice of the Caro-Kann with black came as a big surprise to
defending champion Viswanathan Anand. Carlsen chose to follow the game
Anand-Liren Ding from the Alekhine Memorial earlier this year. Anand
apologised after the game for shutting the game down so quickly but he
"decided to be a bit prudent today." It looks like Anand had options like 13.Nh5
instead of his 13.Bd2 but most post-game discussion surrounded his choice of
18.Qxd5 rather than 18.Qg4 especially as Carlsen's suggestion of 18...Kh7
doesn't seem to equalise according to the computer engine Houdini. Anand
moved quickly after this to force a draw by repetition on the kingside. Notes to
the game below.
Anand's 1.e4 best by test?
It was defending champion Viswanathan Anand's first game with white and as
was widely predicted prior to the game he returned to his first love of 1.e4.
Anand was pretty much forced to switch to 1.d4 with white in world
championship play in 2008 as his then opponent Vladimir Kramnik was so
difficult to break down in the Petroff Defence. The subsequent match against
Topalov saw Anand stick to this choice and he mixed both 1.d4 and 1.e4
against Gelfand. I don't think there's much doubt that Anand prefers to play
1.e4 and he must have less fear that Carlsen will play directly for a draw
against it. Of course it's possible Anand will use 1.d4 and 1.c4 later in the
match but I think 1.e4 will remain his main weapon.
Two short draws
Most of the discussion of the match has centred on the brevity of the games.
Anand-Gelfand saw a lot of draws many of which were almost entirely made up
of high class preparation. There have been high hopes placed on this match to
be different. 12 games isn't many to sort out who is best amongst a couple of
elite players meaning that risk really isn't rewarded at all. That said I really do
think it unlikely we'll see too much more of this as the contours of the match
are established. Matches should be viewed as one contest with a rhythm and
slow starts whilst the players get comfortable are part of that. Carlsen pointed
out he started with two pretty tame games in the Candidates in London before
getting to work and he in particular is known as a slow starter. These games
6. 6
will soon be forgotten if the match catches alight. In the end however the
players are here to win the match and entertainment comes as a byproduct. I'm
not worried yet.
Hikaru Nakamura on twitter
Hikaru Nakamura @GMHikaru
I am not feeling inspired by the start of the WC match in India. One thing
@Kasparov63 always understood is that chess needs to be a show.
Game 2 notes
Anand,Viswanathan (2775) - Carlsen,Magnus (2870) [B18]
WCh 2013 Chennai IND (2), 10.11.2013
1.e4 c6
A small surprise from Carlsen as he
hasn't played this move more than
half a dozen times before. However
the Caro-Kann is an extremely
respectable opening which has
featured many times in world
championship matches.
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5
5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 e6
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 7...e6
With this move Carlsen seems to be
inviting Anand to repeat his game
against Liren Ding from the Alekhine
Memorial.
[7...Nd7 is by far and away the most
popular choice here.; 7...Nf6 is the
second most popular and 7...e6 only
the third but all have been played by
black at the highest level. It's a
genuine choice.]
8.Ne5
[8.h5 is the other common move
here.]
8...Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nd7
11.f4 Bb4+
[11...Ngf6 is an equally popular
continuation for black.; 11...c5 has
also been played a few times.]
12.c3
[12.Bd2 Bxd2+ 13.Qxd2 Ngf6 14.0-
0-0 0-0 15.Qe2 Qc7 16.Ne4 Nxe4
17.Qxe4 Rad8 18.Qe3 Nxe5 19.dxe5
1/2-1/2 Jakovenko,D (2724)-
Eljanov,P (2702)/Tromso NOR
2013/The Week in Chess 980]
7. 7
12...Be7
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 12...Be7
"It was a mild surprise. The position
after move 12 is a very sharp one
and I hadn't really expected it, that
was clear. I had to decide if I wanted
to fly blind or... I chose a slightly
solid line." - Anand.
13.Bd2
Not the sharpest.
[13.Nh5 might well be the critical
continuation. 13...Bxh4+ 14.Kd1 Bf6
15.Kc2 Qe7; 13.Qf3 also may be a
try. 13...Bxh4 14.0-0]
13...Ngf6 14.0-0-0
Anand has had this position before
this year, here he decides to deviate
from his game against Ding Liren
from the Alekhine Memorial.
[14.Qe2 So far no-one has used this
move again. 14...c5 15.dxc5 Qc7
16.b4 0-0 17.0-0 a5 18.a3 Nxe5
19.fxe5 Nd7 20.Ne4 axb4 21.cxb4
Qxe5 22.Bc3 Qc7 23.Rad1 Rad8
24.Qg4 g6 25.Nd6 e5 26.Qc4 Nb6
27.Qe4 Nd7 28.h5 gxh5 29.Qf5 Bf6
30.Qxh5 Qc6 31.Rxf6 Nxf6 32.Qxe5
1-0 Anand,V (2783)-Ding Liren
(2707)/Paris/St Petersburg FRA/RUS
2013/The Week in Chess 964;
14.Qf3!? Qa5 15.c4 Qa6 16.0-0
Qb6]
14...0-0
[14...c5 15.Be3 0-0 16.Kb1 Qc7
17.Ne4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 Nxe5 19.dxe5
Rfd8 20.h5 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 Rd8
22.Rxd8+ Qxd8 23.Kc2 Qd7 24.b3
Bf8 25.g4 Qb5 26.Bd2 Qa6 27.Kb2
Qf1 28.Qxb7 Qe2 29.Kc2 Qxg4
30.Qxa7 Qxh5 31.Qb7 Qg6+ 32.Kc1
Qg1+ 33.Kc2 h5 34.a4 h4 35.Qf3 c4
36.b4 Qa1 37.f5 Qxa4+ 38.Kc1 exf5
39.Qxf5 Qc6 40.Qg4 Be7 41.Kb2
Qd5 42.Be3 Qxe5 43.Bd4 Qh2+
44.Ka3 Bf8 45.Qc8 h3 46.Ka4 Qc2+
47.Kb5 h2 48.Qa8 Qc1 0-1
Inarkiev,E (2693)-Eljanov,P
(2702)/Poikovsky RUS 2013/The
Week in Chess 982]
15.Ne4
Allowing some piece exchanges.
[15.c4 has been played in a couple
of GM games and was a clear
alternative.]
15...Nxe4
[15...Nxe5 is an alternative. 16.fxe5
(16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.fxe5 Bxh4
18.Kb1 Rc8 19.Rh3 Bg5 20.Rdh1 f5)
16...Nxe4 17.Qxe4 Qd5 18.Qg4 Kh7
19.Kb1 Rad8 20.Rde1 c5]
16.Qxe4
8. 8
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 16.Qe4
16...Nxe5
[16...f5?! doesn't look like a move
Carlsen would ever play. 17.Qe2
Nxe5 18.dxe5 Qd5?! (18...Qa5
19.Kb1 Rad8) 19.c4 Qd7 20.Bb4 Qe8
21.Bd6 c5 1-0 Smeets,J (2613)-
Lauber,A (2465)/Forchheim GER
2012 and white was well on top and
went on to win.; 16...Nf6 is a
Khalifman suggestion whose line
continues: 17.Qb1 already this looks
very odd. (17.Qe2!?) 17...c5
(17...Qd5 18.g4 Ne4 19.Rh2 Rad8)
18.g4 cxd4 19.g5 Nd5 (19...dxc3!?
20.Bxc3) 20.gxh6 Qc7? (20...dxc3
21.Bxc3) 21.Rdg1 g5 22.c4 Bf6
23.Qe4 Bxe5 24.fxe5 with a crushing
position for white in 1.e4 According
to Anand by Khalifman but this is a
strange line.; 16...a5!?]
17.fxe5 Qd5
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 17.Qd5
[17...Qa5?! 18.Qg4]
18.Qxd5?!
It's Anand's turn to "pull the
emergency brake" to use Carlsen's
game one phrase but it doesn't seem
terribly necessary here and now
black is at least equal.
[18.Qg4 was the obvious alternative
for white and it has been seen in a
correspondence game. 18...f5
Carlsen thought this less accurate
but was sufficient for a draw in this
the only test and might very well be
the best here. Perhaps he feared
Carlsen was still in preparation but
this seems unlikely given that
Carlsen's suggestion here doesn't
seem the best. Of course hardly
anyone tells the full truth at press
conferences and Carlsen outright
refused to say where his preparation
ended.
a)
18...Kh7 was Carlsen's suggestion
after the game but it might not be
9. 9
that strong. 19.Kb1 (19.Bg5!?)
19...f5 (19...Rad8 although white
seems better here too.) 20.exf6 Rxf6
21.Bg5 Rg6 22.c4!! Houdini and
white is well on top.;
b)
18...Qxa2 19.Bxh6 Qa1+ 20.Kc2
Qa4+ 21.Kb1 is winning for white.;
19.Qg6 Qxa2 20.Bxh6 Rf7 21.g4
fxg4 22.Qxg4 a5 23.Rhg1 Bf8
24.Kc2 a4 25.Rdf1 Qb3+ 26.Kd3
Rxf1 27.Rxf1 Qb5+ 28.c4 Qb3+
29.Ke4 1/2-1/2 Epure,C (2411)-
Tikhobaev,A (2227)/ICCF 2010]
18...cxd5 19.h5 b5 20.Rh3
Black's queenside play is clear and
quite fast but white is just in time
with his pressure on the kingside.
20...a5 21.Rf1 Rac8
Inviting the draw seen in the game
not that there is much to do to avoid
it.
22.Rg3
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 22.Rg3
White best get on with forcing the
draw before black arrives with b4.
[22.Kb1 Kh7 23.Rhf3 Kg8 24.Rg3
Kh7 25.Rgf3 Kg8 is another draw.]
22...Kh7 23.Rgf3
An attack on the vulnerable f7 pawn
is white's main counter-play here.
23...Kg8 24.Rg3 Kh7 25.Rgf3 Kg8
1/2-1/2
10. 10
Carlsen again fails to cause Anand problems with
white in World Championship Game 3
Mark Crowther - Tuesday 12th November 2013
Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand drew the third game of their title
match in Chennai after 51 moves and just over 4 hours of play. Carlsen again
repeated his choice of the Reti but got little or nothing from the opening and
even admitted that he missed some important details. The game did produce
the first real struggle of the match, Anand at least was slightly better due to a
space advantage and the two bishops. Some computer analysis suggests Anand
could have had chances to be substantially better and Carlsen admitted he was
a bit concerned but there was nothing really clear. Anand himself suggested he
always thought Carlsen had enough counter-play.
Carlsen seemed to be disconcerted by 27...b5 rejecting his planned 28.Nxe6
Qxe6 29.Bh3 because he wasn't better but his 28.e3 put him at a disadvantage.
Anand talked up Carlsen's counter-play after this and there was indeed some
but 29.Bxb2 according to Houdini was strong but only due to a deep finesse.
Later 34...Rf8 which Anand rejected because he thought Carlsen would get
good counter-play with Bd3 and Qe4 could have led to a queen ending a pawn
up if he had found a later Qd6!
Anand offered a draw on move 40 but this was turned down by Carlsen who
then didn't really try to win but merely simplified to a complete draw. With
perpetual checks ending the first two games it may be Carlsen's unstated
intention never to offer or agree to a draw but to play all the games out like
this. This is something he has talked about in the past as being generally
desirable.
"I didn't spend much time regretting my moves, that's completely the wrong
focus." - Carlsen.
Q: "Kasparov is here. In the building. Are you intimidated?" - Anand: "Is he
now like Elvis?"
Arrival times and zero tolerance
The players have to arrive 10 minutes before play to clear security checks for
electronic devices and so forth. They have to be sat down at the board at the
time of the official start of play otherwise they will lose the game. The players
are separated from the press by glass but I imagine it's fairly disturbing and
alarming to sit there for very long. Anand was there alone for a few minutes but
Carlsen only sat down 46 seconds before he would have been defaulted. He was
11. 11
likely just off stage but I was starting to have a feeling of mild peril. Imagine he
misjudged this run.
Kasparov attends
Garry Kasparov attended the day's play in the company of J.C.D. Prabhakar,
President, AICF and D.V. Sundar, Vice President, FIDE. Kasparov said he is just
here to watch and was a bit unhappy he was applauded as this could be heard
by the players. He made lengthy comments on the game and match on his
twitter feed which were insightful without being controversial. Kasparov will also
watch game four.
Kasparov on twitter
Kasparov tweeting on game 3 of the match in answer to some questions
Hello from Chennai & the first real fight of the WCh match! Another
comfortable opening result with black for Anand, who had some pressure.
(To answer all your politics questions in 1 tweet, I was received very nicely
at match today. Ministry doesn't mind my visit, it seems!)
My feeling is Magnus is trying to reach "his" positions, where he can play
forever with little risk. Anand has blocked this plan very well.
Not sure if Anand missed a win as some suggest, but at the time I was
surprised he played 33..Qb4 so quickly. Pawn on b2 is dead meat.
The bishop went the wrong way! f2 is the juicy target. 33..Rf8 looked
much stronger. Maybe Vishy played it a little too safe there.
It's hard to switch to "win" mode if you are playing with mentality that
draw with black is good result. Psychological pull toward safety.
Carlsen got nothing in the opening. He wants calm positions but so far is
getting calm & slightly worse against Anand's strong reactions.
That is, Anand is responding in way that offers either a sharp fight not to
Carlsen's preferred style or calm with no advantage. Well done.
Yes, was surprised to see Carlsen think after Vishy took with 3..dxc4. I'm
sure Vishy took some confidence from that.
There is a nice trap I saw if White tries a trick with 7.Nxe5? Bxe5 8.Bxc6+
bxc6 9.Qxc6+ Bd7 10.Qe4 f6 11.f4 Ne7! 12.fxe5 Bc6 Oops!
12. 12
Will know more tomorrow about match evaluation. Anand gets second
white, warm-up time over! But clear as I said, no walkover for Magnus.
So far like wrestling, with Magnus trying for a clinch & slow squeeze &
Vishy handily fighting out of it but not pushing hard for more.
Will be interesting to see if Magnus is content to keep circling like this or if
he "takes the bait" & plays a sharper line.
No, no chance for anything 'great' yet, so don't blame players. But also,
'great' not always needed to win match & that's what matters!
Anand didn't play great vs Topalov or Gelfand but he beat them both! Vs
Kramnik he was fantastic & I'm sure Magnus is very aware of that.
An old tiger may not be able to chase down his prey like he used to, but
put your head in his mouth & you learn his teeth are still sharp!
It's far from exact comparison, but are parallels to 1st Petrosian-Spassky
match, 1966. Petrosian champ but underdog. But only 8 yr gap.
This is 3rd largest age gap in World Ch history, 22 years. Ironic it's young
guy looking for quiet positions, veteran wants it sharp!
Yes, both have same problem with white. How to balance desire for their
type of position (sharp or quiet) vs objective quality of moves.
So Vishy wants a sharp position but if Magnus defends well, how far out on
a limb should Anand go? Carlsen can play sharply too!
But that is all just talk & what matters is preparation & good moves & high
energy each game. Can't get too caught up in these clouds.
Yes, I heard both players' answers to question about my visit & was
impressed by both. I do not want to be a distraction & they are pros.
No, as I have said over 100 times, I am not working with Magnus & am
here as a spectator. Not second, not commentator, not politician!
Yes, "put your head into the tiger's mouth" is too strong. Anand doesn't
need so much help! Perhaps "if you step into his lair" is better.
Yes, was very nice reception. Kind but a little troubling people applauded
when I entered playing hall. Players can hear that, not good!
I'll be here in Chennai for game 4 tomorrow, hoping for another good fight.
Thanks for all questions & comments & to my kind Indian hosts.
13. 13
Game three notes
Carlsen,Magnus (2870) - Anand,Viswanathan (2775) [A07]
WCh 2013 Chennai IND (3), 12.11.2013
[Mark Crowther]
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.c4
Carlsen is the first to deviate.
[3.Bg2 was chosen by Carlsen in
game one.]
3...dxc4
White's opening is hardly critical so
grabbing a pawn to slow white's
development seems a good test.
[3...c6; 3...d4 are both respectable
and more commonly played
alternatives.]
4.Qa4+
[4.Na3 is the main alternative.]
4...Nc6 5.Bg2
[5.Qxc4]
5...Bg7 6.Nc3
[6.0-0 e5 7.Qxc4]
6...e5
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 6...e5
Grabbing a share of the centre.
[6...Nh6 7.Qxc4 Nf5 8.0-0 0-0 9.d3
h6 10.Bd2 Nfd4 1-0 Polugaevsky,L
(2575)-Dlugy,M (2545)/London
1986 Was perfectly fine for black
and led to an interesting game
settled on the run up to first time
control.]
7.Qxc4
[7.Nxe5 Bxe5 8.Bxc6+ bxc6
9.Qxc6+ Bd7 10.Qe4 f6 11.f4 Ne7
12.fxe5 Bc6! was a nice line given by
Kasparov.]
7...Nge7 8.0-0
[8.d3 0-0 9.Bg5 Be6 10.Bxe7 Qxe7
11.Qa4 Nd4 1/2-1/2 Vukic,M (2482)-
Palac,M (2565)/Neum BIH 2004]
8...0-0 9.d3 h6!?
14. 14
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 9...h6
[9...Be6 has been played more
frequently. 10.Qh4 Nf5 11.Qxd8
Rfxd8 12.Ng5 Bd7 13.Nge4 Nfe7
14.Bg5 h6 15.Nf6+ Kh8 16.Nxd7
Rxd7 17.Be3 Rb8 18.Rfc1 Nd4
19.Kf1 c5 20.Rab1 b6 21.b4 cxb4
22.Rxb4 Rc8 23.Rbb1 Rdc7 24.Bd2
Nef5 25.e3 Ne6 26.Nb5 Rxc1+
27.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 28.Bxc1 a6 29.Nc3
Nc5 30.Ke2 Kg8 31.g4 Nd6 32.Bc6
Bf8 33.Nd5 f5 34.gxf5 gxf5 35.Nxb6
e4 36.d4 Nd3 37.Bd2 Nb5 38.Bb7
Nb4 39.a4 Nd6 40.Ba8 a5 time 1-0
Stein,L-Averbakh,Y/Riga 1970/URS-
ch. (40...a5 41.Bxb4 axb4 42.a5+-)
]
10.Bd2 Nd4!?N
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 10...Nd4
starting to exchange pieces and
grabbing space.
[10...Be6 11.Qa4 Nd4 (11...f5!? has
been very successful for black but
has been only tested at a low level.)
12.Rfc1 f5 13.Ne1 c5 14.Bxb7 Rb8
15.Bg2 Rxb2 was a draw in
Kuzubov,Y (2624)-Negi,P (2607)
New Delhi 2011 (40 moves).]
11.Nxd4
"I missed some simple things when I
went for this whole 11.Nxd4,
12.Ne4, 13.Bb4 operation so I think
already then I misplayed
something." - Carlsen.
[11.Rac1 Be6 12.Qa4 b6 seems fine
for black.]
11...exd4 12.Ne4
[12.Na4 Be6]
12...c6 13.Bb4
15. 15
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 13.Bb4
This seems to allow black complete
equalisation but there doesn't seem
to be very much if anything for white
here already. Carlsen commented
that this position wasn't a disaster
because if he had had this as black it
would be a fairly common position
from the Maroczy structure.
[13.h4 Be6 14.Qc1 Nf5=; 13.Qc1
may offer the best chances for
something. 13...Kh7 14.Bb4 Be6
15.Nc5 Bc8 16.Re1]
13...Be6 14.Qc1
[14.Qc5 Nd5 15.Ba3 Qc7 16.Rfc1]
14...Bd5 15.a4 b6 16.Bxe7 Qxe7
17.a5 Rab8 18.Re1 Rfc8 19.axb6
axb6 20.Qf4
[20.Ra6]
20...Rd8 21.h4 Kh7 22.Nd2
White's queen is terribly short of
squares.
22...Be5 23.Qg4
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 23.Qg4
23...h5
[23...f5 was my thought when
watching the game it seems black is
so in control he can play on either
side of the board. 24.Qh3 f4!?
(24...h5) 25.Bxd5 Rxd5 26.g4 Rb5;
23...Be6 at first looks like it will lead
to a repetition but: 24.Qf3 Bd5
25.e4!? Be6 (25...dxe3?! 26.Qxe3
Re8 27.Nc4 Bxc4 28.Bxc6 Rec8
29.Bg2) 26.Qe2 Qb4 27.f4 Bg7
28.e5 which also looks better for
white.]
24.Qh3 Be6 25.Qh1 c5 26.Ne4
Kg7 27.Ng5
16. 16
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 27.Ng5
"Here it felt like white had more or
less gotten enough counterplay, I'll
have to check that was indeed the
case. I felt if we swapped light
squared bishops white was not
risking anything to that rules out for
me Bf5, Bg4 such moves and I didn't
really see where else I could go. Bb3
is a bit ridiculous so I decided just to
go for the opposite bishops." -
Anand.
27...b5!
Carlsen admitted he
"underestimated this plan with b5
giving up the bishop".
[27...Bf5 28.Bh3 Bxh3 29.Qxh3;
27...Bg4 28.Bf3 (28.Bh3 Bxh3
29.Qxh3 transposes.) 28...f6 29.Ne4
Bd7]
28.e3?!
"I really didn't have any idea what
was happening next so I was happy
to survive." - Carlsen. I think around
here Carlsen lost the thread of the
position after being surprised by b5.
[28.Nxe6+ Qxe6 29.Bh3 was
Carlsen's initial intention but it
"didn't seem to work out"
nevertheless most probably he
should have played it. 29...Qe7
(29...f5 30.Qf3 Qf7) 30.Qc6 c4
31.dxc4 bxc4 32.Qxc4 Rxb2 with a
draw to follow.]
28...dxe3 29.Rxe3
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 29.Re3
29...Bd4!?
[29...Bxb2! is the best according to
Houdini but only if you see a finesse
quite deep into the line. 30.Rae1
Rb6 31.Bd5 (31.Bh3 "I thought
white had full compensation, I didn't
see the point in going for that."
Anand. 31...Bd4 is the move Houdini
gives against this line of Anand's
with advantage to him.) 31...Bd4
32.Rxe6 fxe6 33.Rxe6 Qf8!! Houdini
(33...Rxe6 34.Nxe6+ Kh6 35.Nxd8
Qxd8 36.Qf3 is completely equal.)
34.Qg2 when black is better.]
30.Re2 c4
17. 17
"I think I have enough counterplay
here." Anand didn't comment at all
on 28.e3 suggesting that he didn't
considered it an important moment.
31.Nxe6+ fxe6 32.Be4 cxd3
33.Rd2
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 33.Rd2
33...Qb4?!
Kasparov was surprised Anand
played this move so quickly.
[33...Rf8!? 34.Bxd3 Qd6 35.Qg2
Rxf2 36.Rxf2 Rf8 37.Raf1 Bxf2+
38.Rxf2 Rxf2 39.Qxf2 Qxd3]
34.Rad1 Bxb2
[34...Rf8 "The thing is we were
getting very short of time. Even if I
win the pawn on f2 if he plays Bd3
and Qe4 I don't see how I'm better.
It seems to me my upside was quite
limited anyway." Anand. 35.Bxd3
(35.Kh2 doesn't seem any better.)
35...Rxf2 (35...Qd6!? may be the
critical try that Anand missed as it
stops Qe4. 36.Qg2 Rxf2 37.Rxf2 Rf8
38.Rdd2 Rxf2 39.Rxf2 Bxf2+
40.Qxf2 Qxd3 with a pawn up in a
Queen and Pawn ending but this I
think may be a long way from being
won.) 36.Rxf2 Rf8 37.Qe4 Bxf2+
38.Kg2 Qxe4+ 39.Bxe4]
35.Qf3 Bf6
[35...Bd4]
36.Rxd3 Rxd3 37.Rxd3 Rd8
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 37...Rd8
A tacit draw offer. "The thing is that
although black has an extra pawn
I'm not really in danger of queening
it. The problem is with these
opposite coloured bishop white's
always going to have a backstop and
the other thing is that g6. I saw I
could play Bd4 and normally this is
what I would have done but I simply
didn't see anything anyway with
something like Qe2, I didn't see any
progress. And then I was just
swapping down with Rd8." Anand.
[37...Bd4]
38.Rxd8 Bxd8 39.Bd3 Qd4
40.Bxb5 Qf6
18. 18
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 40...Qf6
Accompanied by a draw offer from
Anand.
41.Qb7+
Carlsen turns down the draw offer
but there are no chances here. The
first two games were settled by
three-fold repetition and perhaps
this indicates Carlsen won't agree
any draws but will play out the
games until the end. The players
quickly trade down to an absolute
draw.
41...Be7 42.Kg2 g5 43.hxg5
Qxg5 44.Bc4 h4 45.Qc7 hxg3
46.Qxg3 e5 47.Kf3 Qxg3+
48.fxg3 Bc5 49.Ke4 Bd4 50.Kf5
Bf2 51.Kxe5 Bxg3+
Finally insufficient mating material
for both sides, so draw.
1/2-1/2
19. 19
Anand survives "basically lost" position against
Carlsen in World Championship Game 4
Mark Crowther - Wednesday 13th November 2013
The FIDE World Championship showed just what it might become following a six
hour, sixty-four move draw in game four of the twelve game match. Garry
Kasparov was the centre of a post-game media controversy over his seating
arrangements but he was only talking enthusiastically about the game via his
twitter account. "Great game 4 in Chennai today! A true pleasure to watch. A
top-level battle that did credit to Anand & Carlsen & to fighting human chess!
Despite the eternal talk of their demise, classical chess and match chess are
alive and well. Many hours of deep ideas at highest level."
Defending champion Viswanathan Anand had white and whilst he repeated 1.e4
Carlsen deviated from the Caro-Kann and played the Berlin Defence instead
using a variation played a number of times by one of his seconds Jon Ludvig
Hammer. Anand said that "Something went horribly wrong in the opening - I
made one illogical move after the next" and after 18.Ne2 he allowed Carlsen to
win his a-pawn. Anand had some but probably insufficient compensation for the
pawn but this lead to a very difficult position for both sides and Anand started
to resist very well. Nevertheless Anand called the position "basically lost" in his
initial comments at the press conference. Although Carlsen pressed for a long
time Anand defended extremely well and eventually held the draw. "When I
won the pawn I was very optimistic but he kept finding resources. I was missing
some little things; he just fought on really well. All credit to him."
Key moments were 25...h5 (25...Ne7 Anand), 28...Rh4 (28...Nc5, 29...a6),
35.Ne4 (35.R1c3), 36...Rf4+ (36...Rd8), 37...Rf8 (37...g5) all of which were
tough decisions that would repay analysis. Anand's dynamic defence with
35.Ne4 and 38.Nd4 was great but in spite of his disappointment Carlsen
continued to find problems for Anand to solve after first time control with
43....Rdd3, 46....Rg3, 49....g5 and 56....Re6 were all tricky moves but in the
end he had to settle for the draw.
The two players chatted about the key moments animatedly at the end of the
game. Even after such a late finish to a great game the media focus seemed to
be dominated by Kasparov's visit and whether there had been a request by
Anand's camp to move him from the front row. Anand I believe said he knew
nothing (the sound to the press conference video was very bad today) and FIDE
Press Officer shut down the conversation quickly no doubt mindful of an earlier
reportedly acrimonious press conference with Georgios Makropoulos that I
haven't seen. It all seemed to me to be a bit of a storm in a teacup. Kasparov
didn't mention it and has now left India. (Big NRK Sport story in Norwegian on
Kasparov)
20. 20
"Please be cautious when using word like "blunder" to describe the game of two
great players. Or you think Anand didn't notice pawn on a2?" - Kasparov.
Game four annotated
Anand,Viswanathan (2775) - Carlsen,Magnus (2870) [C67]
WCh 2013 Chennai IND (4), 13.11.2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-
0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6
7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8
Kasparov talked on twitter about the
Berlin Defence that caused him so
many problems. "The Berlin is a
sharp & rich middle-game, not an
ending. This was Kramnik's
discovery, or re-discovery, vs me in
2000 that I didn't grasp. Nor did
most others then. Berlin is more
than a wall. After I lost to Kramnik &
failed vs his Berlin in 2000, many
said it was still lousy, only good
against me. Now every top player
uses it! Berlin also has benefit of
rendering most machine analysis
useless. Human chess, deep
strategic planning only way. Great
from both players." Kasparov has
written an essay for Informant 118
on this issue.
9.h3
[9.Nc3; 9.Rd1+]
9...Bd7 10.Rd1 Be7
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 10...Be7
Quite a rare continuation.
[10...Kc8 has been played a lot
here.]
11.Nc3
[11.Bg5 Kc8 12.g4 h6 13.Bd2
(13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.Kh2 Re8 15.Nbd2
b6 16.Re1 c5 17.Ne4 Bc6 18.h4 Kb7
0-1 Sutovsky,E (2692)-Hammer,J
(2606)/Aix-les-Bains FRA 2011 (44
moves)) 13...Nh4 14.Nxh4 Bxh4
15.Bc3 h5 16.f3 hxg4 17.hxg4 Bg3
1-0 Ganguly,S (2651)-Hammer,J
(2647)/Wijk aan Zee NED 2011 (67
moves)]
11...Kc8 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bxe7 Nxe7
14.Rd2
21. 21
[14.a4 a5 15.Rd2 c5 16.Rad1 Bc6
17.e6 fxe6 18.Ne5 Re8 19.Nb5 Bxb5
20.axb5 Nd5 21.c4 Nb6 22.h4 a4
23.h5 a3 24.b3 a2 25.Ra1 Rd8
26.Rdxa2 Rxa2 27.Rxa2 Rd1+
28.Kh2 Rb1 29.Ra3 Nd7 30.Ra8+
Nb8 31.Ra3 Nd7 32.Ra8+ Nb8
33.Ra3 Nd7 1/2-1/2 Berg,E (2587)-
Hammer,J (2630)/Achaea GRE
2012/The Week in Chess 921]
14...c5 15.Rad1N
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 15.Rad1
"Something went horribly wrong in
the opening - I made one illogical
move after the next" - Anand. This is
the first new move in the game. One
can assume Anand's comment refers
some if not all of this and the next
couple of moves.
[15.Ne4 b6 16.Ng3 Bc6 17.Nh2 Ng6
18.Re1 Nf4 19.f3 Kb7 20.Kf2 Rad8
21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Nhf1 g6 23.Ne2
Ne6 24.Ne3 Bb5 25.Nc3 Rd2+
26.Kg3 Bc6 27.Rd1 Rd4 28.Kf2 Kc8
29.Ne2 Rxd1 30.Nxd1 Nd4 31.c3
Kd7 32.Ne3 Nxe2 33.Kxe2 Ke6 34.f4
g5 35.g3 Be4 36.Ng4 gxf4 37.gxf4
h5 38.Nf6 Bg6 39.Kf3 c6 40.Ne8 f5
41.Nd6 h4 42.a4 Bh5+ 43.Ke3 Bd1
44.a5 bxa5 45.c4 Bb3 46.Kd3 Bd1
47.Ke3 Bb3 48.Kd3 Bd1 49.Nb7 Bf3
50.Nxc5+ Ke7 51.Nb3 Bg2 52.Nd4
Bxh3 53.Nxc6+ Kd7 54.Nd4 Bf1+
55.Ke3 h3 56.Nf3 Bxc4 57.Kf2 Bd5
58.Kg3 h2 59.Nxh2 Kc6 60.Nf1 Kc5
61.Kf2 Kd4 62.Ng3 Be6 63.Nh5 Kd3
64.Ng7 Bc8 65.e6 Kc2 66.e7 Bd7
67.Nxf5 Kxb2 68.Nd6 a4 69.f5 a3
70.f6 a2 71.f7 -- 1-0 Jakovenko,D
(2710)-Almasi,Z (2691)/Khanty-
Mansiysk 2007/CBM 122; 15.Ne1]
15...Be6 16.Ne1?! Ng6 17.Nd3 b6
18.Ne2
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 18.Ne2
"I just missed something after
18.Ne2 and suddenly I was basically
lost." - Anand who expanded on the
theme later saying that he played
the move "just to be consistant" and
that he thought there might be
tactics with a timely e6 that turned
out not to work.
22. 22
[18.f4; 18.b3]
18...Bxa2
The bishop cannot be rounded up.
White has some compensation for
the pawn but almost certainly not
enough.
19.b3 c4 20.Ndc1 cxb3 21.cxb3
Bb1 22.f4 Kb7 23.Nc3 Bf5 24.g4
Bc8 25.Nd3 h5
[25...Ne7 "I don't think there's
anything wrong with 25...h5 but I
thought 25...Ne7 was even stronger.
26.f5 Nc6 Anand said he "didn't see
how I could get anything" in this
position.]
26.f5 Ne7 27.Nb5 hxg4 28.hxg4
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 28.hxg4
[28.Rc1 was a suggestion of Boris
Gelfand's in commentary. 28...Nd5
The only move that promises any
advantage. (28...Nc6 29.Rdc2 is
what white is hoping for.) 29.Nc5+
bxc5 30.Rxd5 Bxf5 31.Rdxc5 Rac8 is
better for black but I'm not sure by
how much. "It just seemed to me
some kind of fantasyland" said
Anand about his rejection of this line
although he showed a rather
different set of ideas than this line.
But he obviously considered it for
some time.]
28...Rh4!?
[28...Nc6 29.Rc1 Rh4 30.Nf2 a5
(30...g6) ; 28...a6 If Carlsen wants
to drive away the white knight then
this proves to be the last chance to
do it.]
29.Nf2
Forced.
29...Nc6 30.Rc2
[30.Rc1]
30...a5
[30...g6!?]
31.Rc4 g6 32.Rdc1 Bd7 33.e6
fxe6 34.fxe6 Be8 35.Ne4
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 35.Ne4
23. 23
"Curious that - 35.Ne4 was the only
move Kasparov wanted to analyse
ten minutes ago in Chennai" Ian
Rogers on twitter.
[35.R1c3 is an alternative.]
35...Rxg4+ 36.Kf2 Rf4+
[36...Rd8!? may be the best but
maybe Carlsen missed it due to the
rather rare tactical idea involved.
37.Ned6+ (37.Ke3 is the best white
has and black is better.) 37...cxd6
38.Rxg4 Ne5!! when black is
threatening at least three things and
is winning.]
37.Ke3 Rf8?!
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 37.Rf8
[37...g5! maintains black's
advantage.]
38.Nd4!
Carlsen looked very unhappy when
this appeared on the board.
38...Nxd4 39.Rxc7+
Anand commented that he was lucky
that here and on move 59 he had
checks to take him to time control
when short of time.
39...Ka6 40.Kxd4 Rd8+ 41.Kc3
Rf3+ 42.Kb2 Re3 43.Rc8
There was the expectation that the
players would soon agree to a draw
but Carlsen kept the problems going
for another 20 moves.
43...Rdd3!
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 43...Rdd3
[43...Rxc8 44.Rxc8 Bc6 45.Rxc6
Rxe4 46.Rd6 Kb5 47.e7 Rxe7
48.Rxg6 and the ending is a simple
technical draw for a player of
Anand's class.]
44.Ra8+
This finesse may or may not be an
improvement over directly capturing
the bishop straight away.
44...Kb7 45.Rxe8 Rxe4 46.e7
Rg3
24. 24
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 46...Rg3
Black needs to hang on to the g-
pawn if he is to have any chance to
win.
47.Rc3 Re2+ 48.Rc2 Ree3
49.Ka2 g5!?
Again the most taxing.
[49...Rxb3? 50.Rb8+ wins for
white.]
50.Rd2 Re5 51.Rd7+ Kc6
52.Red8 Rge3 53.Rd6+ Kb7
54.R8d7+ Ka6 55.Rd5 Re2+
56.Ka3 Re6!?
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 56...Re6
setting up a final rather evil plot.
57.Rd8
[57.e8N Rxe8 58.Rxg5 R8e6
59.Rgg7; 57.Rxg5?? b5 and mate or
ruiness loss of material follows.
Anand said he thought he had
checked everything before this final
problem turned up.]
57...g4 58.Rg5 Rxe7 59.Ra8+
a welcome check to take Anand to
the time control.
59...Kb7 60.Rag8 a4 61.Rxg4
axb3 62.R8g7
In spite of getting more time Anand
played very fast at the end showing
he had everything under control.
62...Ka6 63.Rxe7 Rxe7 64.Kxb3
1/2-1/2
25. 25
Carlsen leads World Championship 3-2 after Anand
subsides in messy game 5
Mark Crowther - Friday 15th November 2013
Magnus Carlsen won the fifth game of the FIDE World Chess Championships in
Chennai. This was the first decisive game of the match meaning Carlsen leads
defending champion Viswanthan Anand 3-2. This was not a game for the purist,
with Carlsen's opening seemingly trying to skirt around anything at all like deep
opening theory and get Anand to find moves on his own. Anand chose the
Triangle System a variation of the Semi-Slav that can lead to sharp play,
especially after Carlsen's 4.e4 but after playing that Carlsen's 6.Nc3 transposed
to extremely quiet lines and I don't think there is very much doubt that Anand
was objectively at least equal on move 13. Around here Anand's play started to
get tentative and that set the pattern for the rest of the game. 13.Bc7 whilst
certainly not losing allowed Carlsen to swap queens off and reach a technical
ending where he could push for a long time.
Anand defended quite well and again must have been quite close to equality but
the point is to end the suffering at some point and not get tired having to be
endlessly accurate. After the game Anand picked 34.Rd4 as being too active
and the losing move but I think he was merely attending the press conference
as he had to, he didn't offer up much that made much sense and this assertion
is just wrong. Indeed it seemed Carlsen thought it a good move and not
thinking he was better at this stage.
It's hard to say what went wrong for Anand his resistance just seemed to
subside. 39...a4 could have been replaced by 39.g4 but it fixes the white a3
pawn and Anand could have followed this idea up by playing 45...Ra1 winning
that pawn with equality. After that 46.Re1 may be the very last chance,
certainly after 48...Kd7 Carlsen was winning.
A very hard game to annotate because the win came about more from
sustained pressure than any specific operation. Carlsen said about the win "It
feels good. It was good fighting game. It got messy at times. I got there in the
end. I am very very happy about that." Detailed notes and comments below.
"Someone said it's about age, I don't think so. The game was a draw, but
Magnus kept on as usual, playing his cold blooded little moves." - Miguel
Illescas
Anand has white in the next two games
This kind of loss can hurt a great deal more than one in a mutual slug-fest.
Anand admitted he didn't sleep after his only loss to Gelfand in his last defence
but then went on to win the following game. I think it likely he won't sleep
26. 26
much tonight either, can he also come back to win? The match is coming up to
the half way point and this means Anand will have white in the next two games,
a loss in either of those would probably be almost curtains for his chances but
Anand has a couple of chances to get right back into contention. Whatever
happens first decisive game always changes the dynamics of a match and
sometimes in unpredictable ways. Anand could loosen up and Carlsen become
more nervous. Anand could fall apart. Who can tell? but expect a change.
A few Kasparov comments
Oh, was there a chess game today? Will have a look... ;-)
A strange match but oddly balanced. Carlsen plays without openings and Anand
without endgames! Statistically, that's in Magnus's favor. Congratulations to
Carlsen for his first world championship win. It took me 32 games! Surely not
his last, but this match is far from over.
But I had similar problem in 2000 when I lost my title to Kramnik. I played into
his Berlin, his style, because I thought it was "best". Situation not nearly as
concrete for Anand, but yes, good to avoid long equal endgames vs much
younger player who loves them! But how?" Anand crushed Kramnik by getting
him into very sharp positions. Was very well prepared & played great, but also
much more at home there.
As I said after game 3, Carlsen content to wait patiently for 'his' positions, not
trying to fight sharp opening preparation war. Despite his gifts, no way for
Carlsen to catch up to Anand's opening prep advantage. So, avoid it & play to
own strengths. Today it worked. Similarly, it is unlikely Anand will fail to reach a
few sharp positions of "his" preference. Then we'll see first big test for Magnus.
Game notes
Carlsen,Magnus (2870) - Anand,Viswanathan (2775) [D31]
WCh 2013 Chennai IND (5), 15.11.2013
[Mark Crowther]
1.c4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4
This seems a strange choice from
Carlsen if he wasn't comfortable in
playing the main line. This means
that he saw some prospects in the
coming play.
[4.e3; 4.Nf3 are in fact the most
played moves. I go with e3
personally.]
4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Nc3!?
27. 27
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 6.Nc3
A surprise. I don't expect to see this
again later in the match.
[6.Bd2 has been seen as the true
critical test in this variation, I doubt
this game will change this
assessment, Anand would however
have prepared it extremely deeply.]
6...c5 7.a3 Ba5 8.Nf3
[8.dxc5 when white's trebled pawns
don't leave a good impression even
if one is extra and he has the two
bishops. 8...Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qxd1+
10.Kxd1 Nf6 11.f3 Na6 12.Be3 Bd7
13.Nh3 Ba4+ 14.Kc1 Nd7 15.Rb1
Naxc5 drawn in 79 moves
Georgiev,K (2636)-Potkin,V
(2647)/Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2013.]
8...Nf6 9.Be3
[9.Be2 Nc6 (9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 Ne4
11.Ndb5 Qxd1+ 12.Bxd1 Nxc3
13.Nxc3 Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 Bd7 15.a4
Bc6 16.0-0 Nd7 17.a5 a6 18.Ba3
1/2-1/2 Babula,V (2581)-Khenkin,I
(2624)/Tegernsee GER 2003/The
Week in Chess 427) 10.dxc5 Qxd1+
11.Bxd1 Ne4 12.Bd2 Bxc3 13.Bxc3
Nxc3 14.bxc3 and against draw this
time in 43 moves Gurevich,M
(2643)-Khenkin,I (2633)/Polanica
Zdroj POL 1999.]
9...Nc6
[9...Ne4 10.Qc2 Nxc3 11.bxc3 cxd4
12.Bxd4 0-0 13.Bd3 h6?! and white
went on to win in 36 moves
Yermolinsky,A (2530) -Shulman,Y
(2623)/Philadelphia USA 2008.]
10.Qd3N
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 10.Qd3
"There were lot of options for all the
sides. A lot of unconventional
positions. It is natural that you need
to take your time." Carlsen
commenting on the slow pace of the
opening play.
[10.d5!? exd5 11.Bxc5 Ne4 12.Qe2
Be6 13.0-0-0 Nxc5 14.cxd5 Qf6
15.dxe6 Nxe6 16.Nd5 Qh6+ 17.Kb1
0-0 18.Qb5 Rab8 19.Ne7+ Nxe7
28. 28
20.Qxa5 Nc6 21.Qf5 g6 22.Qf6 Qg7
23.Qxg7+ Kxg7 24.Bc4 Kf6 25.Bxe6
fxe6 26.Rd7 h6 27.Rhd1 Rbd8
28.Kc2 Rxd7 29.Rxd7 Rf7 30.Rxf7+
Kxf7 31.Kd3 1/2-1/2 Kubala, M
(2310)-Splosnov,S (2335)/Frydek
Mistek 1998/CBM 062 ext]
10...cxd4 11.Nxd4 Ng4 12.0-0-0
Nxe3 13.fxe3 Bc7?!
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 13...Bc7
"Probably Anand had chance to draw
in endgame...But what was the point
of 13...Bc7?! and to play endgame?"
Pentala Harikrishna. "Not to say
Anand's 13..Bc7 was objectively bad,
probably it is fine & had many
chances to hold draw. But fits
Carlsen's style perfectly." - "After
13..Nxd4 14.exd4 the queens are
still on the board & black has the
bishop pair to compensate for
white's central pawns. A
middlegame!" - Garry Kasparov.
[13...0-0; 13...Nxd4 "Again Carlsen
got next to nothing in the opening.
Amazed Anand went into endgame.
Could take on d4, keep queens on,
very different game." Garry
Kasparov 14.exd4 0-0]
14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.Qxd8+ Bxd8
16.Be2 Ke7
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 16...Ke7
"Anand plays again passively for a
draw, dismissing any chances to get
double edged game. May still hold
though, why not?" Later "I meant
that 13...Bc7 and 16...Ke7 were not
necessary. For example 16...Bb6!? is
way sharper if you ask me! Still
shocked though that Anand didn't
manage to save this one." were
Anish Giri's comments on twitter.
[16...Bb6 a quick sample Houdini
variation: 17.Bf3 Bxe3+ 18.Kb1 Bd7
19.Rhe1 Bb6 20.Ne4 Ke7 21.c5 Bc7
22.Nd6 Rhd8 23.Nb7 Rdb8 24.Nd6
Rd8 is a drawing line.]
17.Bf3 Bd7 18.Ne4 Bb6
29. 29
It's not quite clear to me why Anand
plays this way.
[18...f5 19.Nc5 Be8 20.Na6;
18...Bc7 19.c5 Rhb8 20.Nd6 Rb3
21.Rd2 Rab8 22.e4 Ba5 23.Rc2]
19.c5 f5 20.cxb6 fxe4 21.b7
Rab8 22.Bxe4 Rxb7
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 22...Rxb7
Now an end game where Carlsen has
static weaknesses to play at. Q: At
which moment did you have the
advantage? A: (Magnus Carlsen) "I
mean it is not huge. I have (pointing
mouse after move 22) I have better
bishop and better pawn structure. If
I can consolidate than I can win. I
did not manage to play with the
right plan."
23.Rhf1 Rb5!? 24.Rf4 g5 25.Rf3
h5!?
Actually rather a commital idea.
Anand had choices.
[25...Re5; 25...Be8]
26.Rdf1 Be8 27.Bc2 Rc5 28.Rf6
h4 29.e4 a5 30.Kd2 Rb5 31.b3
Bh5
[31...g4]
32.Kc3 Rc5+ 33.Kb2 Rd8 34.R1f2
Rd4
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 34...Rd4
Anand labeled this as the decisive
error but to be honest I don't think
he was mentally there in the press
conference. "Somehow my plan did
not materialise. I had to go
34...Rg8. There are many small
inaccuracies. But Rd4 was the
decisive mistake." - Anand. "After
...Rd4 I thought... I was worried that
I might be even worse. (after
browsing the game on Chess Base
says...) Probably I am not" - Carlsen
[34...Rg8 35.Rh6 Bg6]
35.Rh6 Bd1 36.Bb1 Rb5 37.Kc3
c5 38.Rb2 e5 39.Rg6 a4!?
30. 30
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 39...a4
This isn't losing and indeed sets up a
clear drawing idea so it really can't
be that bad.
[39...g4 "As I see others suggesting,
playing 39..g4 instead of sacrificing
the pawn also looks superior.
Though was likely still drawn as I
said." Kasparov.]
40.Rxg5 Rxb3+ 41.Rxb3 Bxb3
After the time control there was an
important moment. I really wanted
to go Bd3.
42.Rxe5+
[42.Bd3 c4 43.Rxe5+ Kd6 44.Kxd4
cxd3!! 45.Rf5 d2 46.Rf6+ Ke7
47.Rf1 d1Q+ 48.Rxd1 Bxd1 winning
a piece.]
42...Kd6 43.Rh5 Rd1 44.e5+ Kd5
45.Bh7
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 45.Bh7
45....Rc1+?
"Truly baffled by each of Anand's
moves from 39 onwards. But
especially 45...Rc1??" - Nakamura.
[45...Ra1! "Sure its easier for us
who are sitting at home without the
pressure, but 45... Ra1 seemed very
natural and intuitive." - Nakamura.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) When you
played 45...Rc1 did you also
consider also 45...Ra1? A:
(Viswanathan Anand) "It is possible.
Somehow I missed in the rook
ending. It is so difficult. I thought I
should be able to generate
counterplay in the end." 46.Bg8+
Kc6 47.Bxb3 Rxa3 48.Kc4 axb3
49.Rh6+ Kd7 50.Kc3 Ra2 51.Kxb3
Rxg2 52.h3 Rg3+ 53.Kc4 Rxh3
54.Kxc5]
46.Kb2 Rg1
Without deeper analysis hard to say
what "last mistake" was. Even
46..Re1 looks like it gives better
drawing chances. Keep king active.
31. 31
[46...Re1]
47.Bg8+ Kc6 48.Rh6+ Kd7
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 48...Kd7
Black is just lost here.
[48...Kc7]
49.Bxb3 axb3 50.Kxb3 Rxg2
51.Rxh4 Ke6 52.a4
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 52.a4
"I was amazed at how quickly
Magnus played 52.a4. He just
*knows* these positions. It's very
complex, a lesson in how to cut off
king." - Kasparov.
52...Kxe5 53.a5 Kd6 54.Rh7 Kd5
55.a6 c4+ 56.Kc3 Ra2 57.a7 Kc5
58.h4
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 58.h4
32. 32
Q: How does it feel to break the
deadlock? A: (Magnus Carlsen) "It
feels good. It was good fighting
game. It got messy at times. I got
there in the end. I am very, very
happy about that."
1-0
33. 33
Carlsen’s second win in a row a "heavy blow" to
Anand's World Championship chances in game 6
Mark Crowther - Saturday 16th November 2013
Magnus Carlsen took control of his match against defending champion
Viswanathan Anand in Chennai, India when he won the sixth game in 67 moves
to move to a 4-2 lead. This loss can only have been extremely painful to Anand
because in spite of being clearly short of his best this loss was almost totally
unnecessary and at least in part self inflicted.
Anand again played 1.e4 and Carlsen repeated his Berlin Defence from game
four. Carlsen repeated the moves from Anand's game against Aronian from
Paris earlier in the year. 10.Bg5 was a new, although hardly surprising, novelty
that didn't cause Carlsen any problems. After the manoeuvre 13...Nb8
14...Nbd7 similar to that used in the Breyer Defence Carlsen was doing well and
Anand didn't seem to know what to do. 21.Bxf6 led to a major piece ending
where Carlsen was slightly better. Anand wasn't so much blundering as making
slightly under-par decisions. Nevertheless there wasn't so very much for
Carlsen to work with. Anand decided to part with a pawn in return for a
clarification of the defensive task with 38.Qg3. Carlsen couldn't work out
whether it was a blunder or a sacrifice.
Carlsen's 43...Kf7 was an error, missing 44.h5 giving up another pawn but
more or less equalising. Carlsen had more or less given up trying to win and
only had one idea left to make progress. It was at this point Anand became a
bit careless taking only 30 seconds of his 38 minutes left in playing 57.Rg8+
(indeed he almost made this move immediately) when 57.Rc8 would have
probably led to a quick draw. Anand clearly missed Carlsen's last winning try
with 57...Kf4 and his post-game comments suggest he thought he was lost. It's
been my observation that carelessness in technical endings has been seen quite
a number of games in Anand's career. Anand thought he was now losing but in
fact it was 60.Ra4? that was the decisive error 60.b4 draws. Anand had nearly
half an hour left to consider his move but used only 90 seconds.
It was reported during commentary that Anand didn't sleep very much the
previous night following his game 5 defeat and this may have had an impact in
game 6. This loss was, if anything, worse. Anand will feel that in both games he
should have been able to avoid the loss.
Sunday's rest day marks the half way point of the match. Anand starts the
second half with the white pieces again. Carlsen leads by 4-2 and requires just
2.5/6 to become the new champion. There are scenarios where Anand could get
back into the match but right now Carlsen looks the near certain winner.
34. 34
There was a press conference right after the game. A clearly upset Anand
managed to control himself for the most part and finally snapped at a rather
fatuous line of questioning which brought the press conference to a close
Q: (Ole Rolfsrud, NRK TV) I am still wondering if Mr Anand will elaborate by
what you mean by doing your best again?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) Doing your best means doing your best. I don't know
why you don't understand English.
"Today was a heavy blow. I will not pretend otherwise. Nothing to be done. You
just go on." – Anand
Game 6 annotated
Anand,Viswanathan (2775) - Carlsen,Magnus (2870) [C65]
WCh 2013 Chennai IND (6), 16.11.2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3
Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 Re8 7.Re1 a6
8.Ba4 b5 9.Bb3 d6 10.Bg5N
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 10.Bg5
Anand comes up with a new, if not
especially surprising new move.
Again Carlsen had been following a
recent Anand game. This is why
players often hide their intended
repertoire in events before the world
championship. Anand however had
to play a lot of chess this year in
order to get some form back.
Perhaps however he gave away
some of his intended repertoire.
[10.Nbd2 Bb6 11.Nf1 Ne7 12.Ng3
Ng6 13.h3 h6 14.d4 c5 15.dxe5
dxe5 16.Qxd8 Bxd8 17.a4 c4 18.Bc2
Ba5 19.axb5 axb5 20.Be3 Bb7
21.Ra2 Bc7 22.Rea1 Rxa2 23.Rxa2
Ra8 24.Rxa8+ Bxa8 25.Kf1 Ne7
26.Nd2 Kf8 27.Bc5 Nd7 28.Ba3 g6
29.f3 Ke8 30.b3 cxb3 31.Nxb3 Nc8
32.Bd3 Bc6 33.c4 bxc4 34.Bxc4 Ba4
35.Nc5 Nxc5 36.Bxc5 Nb6 37.Bxb6
Bxb6 38.Ne2 Ba5 39.Nc1 Ke7
40.Nd3 Bc3 41.g4 1/2-1/2 Anand,V
(2783)-Aronian,L (2809)/Paris/St
Petersburg FRA/RUS 2013/The Week
in Chess 964]
10...Be6 11.Nbd2 h6 12.Bh4
Bxb3 13.axb3 Nb8 14.h3 Nbd7
"I thought I got a solid position out
of the opening." - Carlsen
35. 35
15.Nh2 Qe7 16.Ndf1 Bb6 17.Ne3
Qe6 18.b4 a5 19.bxa5 Bxa5
20.Nhg4 Bb6 21.Bxf6
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 21.Bxf6
Anand trades minor pieces hoping
his remaining ones would stand well
already an indication things have
gone slightly wrong. "Magnus'
manoeuvre with the knight was quite
good. Then I started wondering what
to do. Then I thought with Qg4 with
the major pieces I could get a solid
position. Then I dont know ... one
mistake after the other." - Anand
21...Nxf6 22.Nxf6+ Qxf6 23.Qg4
Bxe3 24.fxe3 Qe7
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 24...Qe7
"Then at some point I was little bit
better. But nothing much going on."
Carlsen.
25.Rf1 c5 26.Kh2 c4 27.d4 Rxa1
28.Rxa1 Qb7 29.Rd1
[29.d5 attempting to close things up
was a possible alternative although
white's position is a very static
target.]
29...Qc6 30.Qf5 exd4 31.Rxd4
Re5 32.Qf3 Qc7!
Just a nice manoever.
33.Kh1 Qe7 34.Qg4 Kh7 35.Qf4
g6 36.Kh2 Kg7 37.Qf3 Re6
38.Qg3?!
36. 36
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 38.Qg3
"He sacrificed or blundered a pawn.
After that I got a good rook ending. I
am not at all sure if it is winning." -
Carlsen. I presume Anand thought
simplification at the expense of a
pawn was the best idea. I wasn't
sure what Anand meant by his
explanation "Well, what can I say.
Some days goes like that."
[38.Qf4 Kh7 39.Qf3]
38...Rxe4 39.Qxd6 Rxe3 40.Qxe7
Rxe7 41.Rd5 Rb7 42.Rd6 f6!
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 42...f6!
The best idea for making progress.
43.h4 Kf7?!
[43...h5 and "press for a win
eventually with Re7-e5" according to
Carlsen.]
44.h5!
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 44...h5
37. 37
"At this point I missed the whole h5
idea. I didnt think you can really
give up a pawn like that. Now, it was
a draw." - Carlsen.
44...gxh5 45.Rd5 Kg6 46.Kg3
Rb6 47.Rc5 f5 48.Kh4 Re6
49.Rxb5 Re4+ 50.Kh3 Kg5
51.Rb8 h4 52.Rg8+ Kh5 53.Rf8
Rf4 54.Rc8 Rg4 55.Rf8 Rg3+
56.Kh2 Kg5
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 56...Kg5
57.Rg8+?
Not losing but now the game
continues and black's task quickly
turns out to be very hard. "I had one
little trap. Which was my Kf4-Ke3
etc. Fortunately he went for it. It is
very difficult. May be impossible to
hold after that." - Carlsen.
[57.Rc8 Seems to be an easy draw
as black has no way to progress.
57...Rg4 58.Rg8+ Kf6 59.Rh8 Kg7
60.Rc8]
57...Kf4 58.Rc8 Ke3 59.Rxc4 f4
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 59...f4
Carlsen only said "Maybe" when
asked if he thought this position was
winning. "Without these pawns (b2,
c3) it would be a dead draw but
these pawns seriously inhibit the
rook and h3, f3 is coming very fast."
- Carlsen. "Here it's lost" according
to Anand but computers suggest this
simply isn't the case.
[59...Rg4 "I thought he was going to
go for Rg4 and a similar idea and
then I'm OK." Anand.]
60.Ra4?
[60.b4 Both players thought this
idea way too slow but it seems to
draw. 60...h3 61.gxh3 Rg6 62.Rc7 f3
63.Re7+ Kd3 64.b5 f2 65.Rf7 Ke2
66.Re7+ Kf1 67.c4 Rg2+ 68.Kh1
Rg6 69.Kh2]
60...h3 61.gxh3 Rg6 62.c4 f3
63.Ra3+
39. 39
Carlsen moves closer to title after straightforward
World Championship Game 7 draw
Mark Crowther - Monday 18th November 2013
Magnus Carlsen requires just two points from the last five games of his World
Chess Championship match against defending champion Viswanathan Anand to
claim the title after an uneventful 32 move game 7 draw. Carlsen leads 4.5-2.5
in the 12 game match and only needs to score 2 out of 5 to take the title.
After two consecutive losses there was obvious speculation as to what Anand
would do as this was one of his three remaining games with white. Whilst
players such as Hikaru Nakamura and Teimour Radjabov advocated going "all-
in" with aggressive play Anand instead chose a "very slow, maneuvering kind of
game" where he "might be able to press a little bit". Anand admitted that
"somehow I was not able to make it happen". Key moments such as they were:
Anand's 5.Bxc6 goes for a small advantage by doubling pawns, Carlsen's
7...Bh5 was new at the elite level and probably avoided any preparation Anand
actually had, 17...fxe3 was probably the only move white could play to try for
an advantage, 19...a5 was a quality waiting move after 25...Qxe5 a draw was
going to be the only result.
No doubt Anand hoped for more from the opening today but the match has
probably passed the point where he can get back into it without Carlsen starting
to playing considerably worse than he is now. Carlsen hasn't shown much signs
of weakening but if it does happen then most likely it will be as he approaches
the finish line. A loss for Anand today would have all but ended the match. Has
Anand more or less given up as some believe? I don't know, it is possible. It
may be Anand had in mind the old Soviet dictum that if you lose two in a row
your only job is to draw to stop the rot. Then you can move on. Anand at least
looked in a reasonably good mood at the press conference today.
Anand needs to win at least one in the next three games and to hope that
Carlsen's nerves will get him a second in the final two. This already feels like a
long shot. The inability of Anand to put Carlsen under any real pressure with
white in the match so far has been the biggest surprise to me.
The closest Carlsen came to a loss today was before it started when he left the
board with less than a minute to go before the start and only returned with less
than 16 seconds to go. In watching the footage I was able for the first time to
see that there is a count-down on a video screen so Carlsen probably wasn't in
much danger of being defaulted for not being at the board at the time the
clocks were started. Nevertheless I was getting slightly alarmed.
40. 40
Game 7 Press Conference
I give the entire press conference today as there wasn't much of the chess. The
players were as cagey as ever. There's not a huge sign of meeting of minds
between the questioners and the players.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) Can you share with us your thoughts on game seven,
what happened today?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) I chose a line that both of us had played quite a bit in
the past. 6.Nbd2 He went for Bg4 instead. Then you get a slow kind of
manoeuvring game after the next three moves. White has two plans, which is,
one is to play f4 and the other like in the game which is to play on the h-file.
The problem with f4 which is not really effective is that because black is
preparing to go with the knight to f8-e6. So I tried castles. Here I thought I
might be able to press little bit. I know it is not huge. But somehow I was not
really able to make it happen. May be there is something to be said for Bg5 f6,
and then coming back and then trying h5. I thought here I might get something
with g3, f4 and perhaps the rook on the h-file. It did not materialise so much.
Swapping all the rooks gives him adequate counterplay.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) Magnus, so please your comments?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) Not so much more than what he said. We played this line
many different times. Whatever you play it really goes slow. I thought I was
doing moreorless fine. Just little bit worse. But nothing real. I thought the key
here after g3, a5 is that f4 can be met by f5 and everything goes out. For
instance if I had gone Rh8 immediately, then f4 and I cannot exchange all the
pieces. Also Ne6, f4, takes, takes, f5, e5, d5, Re1 and I was not sure if I
managed to chop everything off. But anyway, what happened in the game was
just drawish.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) Was there any moment black could have been in
danger?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) It was always going to be tiny bit pleasant for white but
my pieces are well developed and I had no particular weaknesses. I think I
should not be in any major trouble.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) How did you cope with the pressure yesterday? What
did you do?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) Nothing really special. The weather (pouring monsoon
rains) doesnt allow you to do very much. It is pleasant time to be here. But you
really cant go out. So I stayed in the hotel and did some work.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) Magnus, You were playing basketball or volleyball
(yesterday)?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) Yes we played a bit of football and basketball. Not too
successful but it was fun.
41. 41
Q: (Amit Karmarkar, The Times of India) You look at it as an opportunity lost or
was it a release?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) Obviously after the last two games it is nice to break
this result. I was hoping to press him a little bit. I did not manage very much to
be honest.
Q: (P.K. Ajith Kumar, The Hindu) Are you disappointed that the game was short
today?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I am fine with that. I have the lead. I won my last game
with black. So, this suited me fine.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) Anand, did you try yesterday thinking about changing
strategy and so on?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) We had to assess what was going on. But it is not
something I can explain now.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) What about something like lucky pen?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) There are other things to do.
Q: (Nirav Y Rajasuba, Gujarat Samachar) Vishy, you are an exceptional player
in the world. You recover so easily. You have the ability to recover so easily.
Shall we expect some sharp battle from you to come back?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) I will definitely keep trying.
Q: (Sam Daniel, NDTV) Are you a relieved lot now?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) Obviously the last two games were unpleasant. Well,
we played a game today. So, we will try again.
Q: (Ebenezer Joseph, Shubsandesh TV) How much of psychology is important in
a match and how do you feel about it? The last two games were not being
outplayed. It is just the press and made a small mistake? What about the
psychology in the match and to the kids watching throughtout the world?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) That was a really long question! (press room explodes into
laughter). Of course there are some psychological aspects. For instance, there
was no doubt that the outcome of game five influenced the next game. I think
that is unavoidable in a match. But that is little bit different. You try to move on
at best as you can. But it is not so easy.
A: (Viswanathan Anand) Yes, there is lot of psychology involved.
Q: (Paul Truong) This questions is for both of you. A lot of fans are sending best
wishes in the social media. Do you read any of it. Do your teams relay it to you
at all?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) In general if they think I should know something they
let me know. But I dont know what they are not telling me. (room explodes into
laughter) (Magnus Carlsen) I follow little bit. I am happy very thankful to all
42. 42
who wish me well. For those who dont I dont read it anyway. (room explodes
into laugher)
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) In Norway the sale of chess boards and sets increased
three times. What do you think about it? Do we expect a big chess boom in a
way?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) Really happy to see that people are following the match.
That they are interested. So keep it going and I will do my best. And keep up
the good work.
Q: (Lennart Ootes, New In Chess/News About Chess) After the first game you
said there were some Butterflies. About they third game you were nervous.
What about the butterflies and nerves?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) I guess they are still there. I think it is unavoidable. As the
match goes long you settle in. Then it becomes easier. I dont know.
Q: (Lennart Ootes, New In Chess/News About Chess) Can you recall a nervous
moment during your games?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) That is very optimistic of you.
Q: (V Kameswaran, United New of India) Anand, today did not go well.
Tensions released. Tomorrow, what Anand is going to do? You got a plan? Not
to allow your opponent to cross six points.
A: (Viswanathan Anand) Well in general that is the plan.
43. 43
Game 7 annotated
Anand,Viswanathan (2775) - Carlsen,Magnus (2870) [C65]
WCh 2013 Chennai IND (7), 18.11.2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3
Bc5 5.Bxc6
Definitely third choice in terms of
frequency in this position. The
trouble with this is that it starts a
simplification process that seems
likely to play to Carlsen's strengths.
[5.c3; 5.0-0]
5...dxc6 6.Nbd2 Bg4 7.h3 Bh5!?
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 7...Bh5
Practically a novelty as it has only
been played by a couple of lower
rated players before. One of
Carlsen's real abilities is to be able
to play such positions without
knowing theory as he's confident of
finding better continuations for
himself.
[7...Bxf3 Is presumably what Anand
was hoping for. 8.Qxf3 Nd7 9.Qg3
Qf6 10.Nc4 0-0 11.0-0 Rfe8 12.a4
Nf8 13.Bg5 Qe6 14.Bd2 Ng6 15.b4
Bf8 16.Qg4 b6 17.g3 f6 18.Bc3 Bd6
19.Ne3 Kh8 20.Kg2 a6 21.Qf3 Ne7
22.h4 b5 23.Rfb1 Qd7 24.h5 h6
25.Qg4 Qxg4 26.Nxg4 Nc8 27.Bd2
Nb6 28.a5 Nd7 29.c4 c5 30.cxb5
axb5 31.bxc5 Nxc5 32.Rxb5 Nxd3
33.Ra4 Ra6 34.Rc4 c5 35.Ne3 Rea8
36.Rc3 Nb4 37.Nc4 Be7 38.Rb3 Nc6
39.Rb6 Nb4 40.Kf3 R6a7 41.Be3 Kg8
42.Rb2 Rc7 43.Kg4 Kf7 44.Rb1 Nc6
45.R1b5 Nd4 46.Rb1 Nc6 47.R6b5
Nd4 48.Rb7 Rxb7 49.Rxb7 Ke6
50.Bd2 Ra6 51.Bc3 Bf8 52.f4 exf4
53.gxf4 f5+ 54.exf5+ Kd5 55.Ne5
Ne2 56.Be1 Bd6 57.Rxg7 Nxf4
58.Nf7 Nd3 59.Nxd6 Nxe1 60.Ne8
Rxa5 61.Rd7+ Kc6 62.Rd6+ Kb5
63.f6 Ra7 64.Re6 Nd3 65.f7 Ra4+
66.Kg3 1-0 Adams,M (2733)-
Fressinet,L (2696)/Germany
2012/CBM 148]
8.Nf1 Nd7 9.Ng3
[9.g4]
9...Bxf3 10.Qxf3 g6
44. 44
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 10...g6
Limiting the squares white's knight
can go to.
11.Be3 Qe7 12.0-0-0 0-0-0
13.Ne2 Rhe8 14.Kb1 b6 15.h4
Kb7 16.h5 Bxe3 17.Qxe3
[17.fxe3 Is Houdini's suggestion
here but it's not going to amount to
much anyway.]
17...Nc5 18.hxg6 hxg6 19.g3 a5
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 10...a5
A waiting move. Carlsen doesn't
want to allow f4.
[19...Rh8 20.f4]
20.Rh7 Rh8 21.Rdh1 Rxh7
22.Rxh7 Qf6 23.f4 Rh8 24.Rxh8
Qxh8 25.fxe5 Qxe5
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 25...Qe5
Black has at least equality.
46. 46
Carlsen forces quick draw in World Championship
Game 8
Mark Crowther - Tuesday 19th November 2013
Magnus Carlsen edged half a point closer to the World Chess Championship title
with a 33 move draw in game 8. Carlsen leads 5-3 against defending champion
Viswanathan Anand and only needs 1.5 points from the final 4 games to win the
match.
Carlsen chose 1.e4 for the first time in the match and after a short thought
Anand chose to defend with 1...e5 and then the Berlin Defence to the Ruy Lopez
a very solid choice. With a two point lead Carlsen chose the dullest variation
available and the game traded quickly to a draw. (was this playing into Anand's
final gamble?) This result pretty much guarantees Anand will have to win or go
down fighting in Thursday's game 9. After the game the press conference was
delayed whilst the players were informed they must undertake a doping control.
Below some light notes on the game and some comments on opening
preparation from the press conference.
Game 9 Thursday 21st Nov Anand-Carlsen 15:00 Chennai time, 9:30am GMT. I
will hosting ICC's commentary with GM Jon Speelman.
"Well, the match situation is fairly clear now. This was a short two relatively
easy games. Obviously I have to try in the next one." - Viswanathan Anand
"He played the Berlin. I played the most solid line ... yada yada yada (like chop
chop chop) we go to the doping control." - Magnus Carlsen
"Starting to realize that I am the only person who is going to be able to stop
Sauron in the context of chess history." - Hikaru Nakamura
Opening battles
Post game twitter talk was around the question as to whether Anand had just
given up following two games where Carlsen got easy draws. There was a lot of
discussion around whether Anand should have played a sharper variation.
Carlsen has been world number one for the best part of four years now and the
number of valid options to play for a win with black must look depressingly
small to Anand.
Anand's experience in preparing deeply for world championship matches was
supposed to his key advantage. So far this hasn't proven to be the case.
Carlsen played 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 in the early games when looking for an
advantage, now he's content to play 1.d4 and 1.e4 when a draw is good
enough. With black there was the surprise Caro-Kann not repeated (maybe a
key moment as Anand could have done so much more in that game to play for
a win) and then the Ruy Lopez Berlin where he's had no problems. I'm sure
47. 47
Anand must have prepared a lot of great opening surprises but one can only
conclude Carlsen has side-stepped them.
Carlsen untroubled
Whist Anand wasn't surprised Carlsen had played 1.e4 in the match he "had not
prioritised 1.e4" in his preparation for the game. Many people were
disappointed with Anand's choice of the Berlin rather than playing something a
bit more combative.
"I did not really know his intentions were. Even the Sicilian, if you want to play
the dry system they are available. It is not like there were clear options there. I
thought little bit (two minutes) and decided to go for this. Well the match
situation speaks for itself. It is my job to liven it up. I guess I will try in the next
game."
Carlsen has proved particularly lethal using the Moscow Variation of the Sicilian
with 3.Bb5. It doesn't seem that Anand has come up with anything he likes
against this.
Opening Preparation
The players won't discuss their preparation in detail but did at least open up a
start to a discussion that will happen after the match.
"I am quite happy with my opening perparation. This is not the time to start
analysing things. I get a bonus evening before the rest day and so I will try and
prepare something for the next one." - Anand.
FIDE Press Officer Anastasiya Karlovich asked "Magnus, many people say you
do not pay too much attention to the opening. I read an interview of Caruana
who are good in choosing openings which are not pleasant for your opponent.
What do you think about this?"
"I mean Caruana is a very good player and a clever guy. There must be
something to what he says." - Carlsen.
Carlsen's style of play
If Carlsen wins the match he will be the second youngest world champion by a
few months from Garry Kasparov both being 22. Whilst Carlsen has played all
sorts of styles I think there are signs he will be a pretty conservative player in
maturity. Paul Truong asked him.
"A lot of fans are asking you are having a very unique style for somebody so
young. How did you develop that style?"
"I did not have a particular bible in chess when I was young. As a young player
I was trying to play attacking chess sacrificing material all the time. A bit
different from what I do today. Although I am playing the game for a long time
I have been playing top level for seven years. I have had some time to adjust
to the situation and adjust to the other players and develop my play." - Carlsen
48. 48
Game 8 Annotated
Carlsen,Magnus (2870) - Anand,Viswanathan (2775) [C67]
WCh 2013 Chennai IND (8), 19.11.2013
[Mark Crowther]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-
0 Nxe4 5.Re1
With a two point lead it isn't up to
Carlsen to win a game.
[5.d4 is the move with real interest.]
5...Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5
8.Rxe5
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 8.Rxe5
One of the most drawish variations
in elite level chess. White very
occasionally wins one, black pretty
much never.
8...0-0 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8
11.c3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8
[12...Nf5 13.Bf4 d6 14.Nd2 Be6
15.Bd3 Nh4 16.Ne4 Ng6 17.Bd2 d5
18.Nc5 Bc8 19.Qe3 b6 20.Nb3 Qd6
21.Qe8+ Nf8 22.Re1 Bb7 23.Qe3
Ne6 24.Qf3 Rd8 25.Qf5 Nf8 26.Bf4
Qc6 27.Nd2 Bc8 28.Qh5 g6 29.Qe2
Ne6 30.Bg3 Qb7 31.Nf3 c5 32.dxc5
bxc5 33.Ne5 c4 34.Bb1 Bg7 35.Rd1
Bd7 36.Qf3 Be8 37.Nxc4 dxc4
38.Rxd8 Nxd8 39.Qe2 Ne6 0-1
Steinitz,W-Zukertort,J/USA 1886/]
13.Bf4 d5 14.Bd3 g6 15.Nd2 Ng7
16.Qe2
[16.Nf3 c6 17.Qd2 Bf5 18.Re1 Bxd3
19.Qxd3 Qd7 20.Be5 Bxe5 21.Nxe5
Qf5 22.Qxf5 Nxf5 23.Nd3 Kf8 24.Nc5
Nd6 25.Nd7+ Kg7 26.Nc5 Kf8
27.Nd7+ Kg7 28.Nc5 Kf8 29.Nd7+
Kg7 30.Nc5 Kf8 1/2-1/2 Salgado
Lopez,I (2621)-Bruzon Batista,L
(2694)/Quito ECU 2012/The Week in
Chess 911]
16...c6 17.Re1N
49. 49
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 17.Re1
The first new move not that it
matters all that much.
[17.Nb3 b6 18.Re1 Bf5 19.Bxf5 Nxf5
20.Nc1 Qd7 21.Nd3 Ng7 22.Be5 Re8
23.Qf1 Bxe5 24.Nxe5 Qd6 1/2-1/2
Nepomniachtchi,I (2711)-
Riazantsev,A (2688)/Khanty-
Mansiysk RUS 2011/The Week in
Chess 878 (88); 17.Be5 Bxe5
18.Qxe5 Bf5 19.Bxf5 Nxf5 20.Re1
Qd6 21.Nb3 Qxe5 22.Rxe5 f6 23.Re2
Kf7 24.Nc5 Nd6 25.f3 Re8 26.Rxe8
Kxe8 27.Kf2 b6 28.Nd3 Kd7 29.g4
g5 30.Ke3 h6 31.f4 1/2-1/2
Rozentalis,E (2619)-Bruzon Batista,L
(2691)/Montreal CAN 2013/The
Week in Chess 981]
17...Bf5 18.Bxf5 Nxf5 19.Nf3 Ng7
20.Be5 Ne6 21.Bxf6 Qxf6 22.Ne5
Re8 23.Ng4 Qd8
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 23...Qd8
The position is dead equal, the
players force the pieces off to show
this.
[23...Qg5? 24.f4! wins (24.h4 is not
quite as good 24...Qxh4 25.g3 Qd8
26.Qe5 Ng7 27.Nf6+ Qxf6 28.Qxf6
Rxe1+) 24...Qxf4 25.Rf1 Qb8 26.Qf2
f5 27.Nf6+ Kf7 28.Nxe8]
24.Qe5 Ng7 25.Qxe8+ Nxe8
26.Rxe8+ Qxe8 27.Nf6+ Kf8
28.Nxe8 Kxe8 29.f4 f5 30.Kf2 b5
31.b4 Kf7 32.h3 h6 33.h4 h5
1/2-1/2
51. 51
Carlsen on the brink of becoming World Chess
Champion after game 9 win
Mark Crowther - Thursday 21st November 2013
Magnus Carlsen is just one draw away from become World Chess Champion
after surviving a very difficult position against defending champion Viswanathan
Anand in game nine before even going on to win after a blunder by the
champion. Carlsen now leads 6-3 with potentially three games to go although
the most likely result will be that the match will finish after a quiet draw in
Friday's game 10 (no-one seemed to believe Anand will go all out to win with
black in such a dire match situation when I floated the idea but it could
happen).
The ninth game was pretty much Anand's last chance to get back into the
match and he switched to 1.d4 and played the sharp 4.f3 against Carlsen's
Nimzo-Indian. Carlsen's 7...exd5 avoided the main line 7...Nxd5 and 8...c4 was
really quite rare. 10...0-0 was a principled choice asking Anand if he could
checkmate him. 16...Nxc1 may have been an error (16...Nc7) because by move
20 most experts believe Anand may be close to winning with best play. The
suggestion is that 20.a4 and the direct 20.f5 both win although it will take
considerably more time and detailed analysis to prove this for sure as the wins
aren't easy. Anand's 20.axb4 did not seem to be right especially after Carlsen's
cold-blooded 22...b3. Anand fell into a 45 minute thought before playing
23.Qf4, this move should have led to a forced draw but Anand didn't check his
calculations too much and he played 28.Nf1 losing immediately (he realised
immediately what he had done), 28.Bf1 would have led to a draw. Very long
thinks such as Anand's are rarely good news for the player concerned and must
have been in part responsible for the error. Anand had calculated 28...Qd1 wins
for him. This I believe was the most interesting and difficult game of the match
but again finished drastically.
A consideration of the match as a whole and the future should wait until the
match finishes.
Below is a transcript of a sometimes tetchy press conference plus some light
notes which may serve as a starting point for deep analysis.
Game 9 Press Conference
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) Magnus can you please tell us what happened?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) So we get a very very sharp position from the opening.
Basically I missed something with f4 because in general I would like to do...and
block the pawns. He can play Qb1, Rb6 and attack the pawn which is a bit
inconvenient for me. So, here I had to go all out for counterplay. And I mean,
there are an amazing number of complicated lines here. I wasnt sure. As it
52. 52
happens my moves were not that complicated. I had to play the only move all
the time. Fortunately for me, he blundered.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) At this moment (after 24.f6) did you also consider
24...gxf6?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) Yes, 24...gxf6 is an option. But 25.Nh5 looks very
dangerous here. I can may be go 25...fxg5 26.Nf6+ Kh8 27.Qxg5 Rg8. Anyway,
I thought in case of 24.f6 here I would have to play ...g6 anyway. So it didnt
matter. Clearly, Nf1 is a blunder. He just missed Qh5. 28. Bf1 Qd1 29. Rh4 Qh5
30. Nxh5 gxh5 31. Rxh5 Bf5 32. Bh3 Bg6 33. e6 Nxf6 34. gxf6 Qxf6 35. Re5
fxe6 36. Qe3 here. This is what we discussed after the game. White should be
able to hold.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) Can you also give us your scenario of what happened?
The world champion. A: (Viswanathan Anand) The position was very very
interesting. Here I spent a hell of a lot of time essentially getting into this
position. If the king goes to h8 usually it looks like it should be lost. As I have
the extra resource of Qf7 check. Here I was anticipating Qh8. Because f6, g6,
Qh4, b2 and moreorless similar idea like in the game.
The difference is when Rb1 happened he has Qa5. But after this, I am kind of
forced to go in with Rf4. What I missed initially was this: I wanted to play Bh3,
Bxh3, Rxh3, Qd7, Rh5, Qf5, g6 I thought was a draw. But later I saw Qb6,
Qb1+.
Q: (Amit Karmarkar, The Times of India) Magnus, it was quite tense today. Can
you describe the tension you were going through?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) It was really tough game. From the opening it was clear it
going to be unbalanced. And I run a serious danger of getting mated which I
hadnt in previous games. I had to deal with the situation. I had to create
counterplay. It was really tough game.
Q: (FIDE Press Officer) Were you scared in any particular moment in this game?
A: (Magnus Carlsen) Basically all the time. The white pawns look extremely
menacing. At the same time I was trying to calculate this as well as I could. I
did not find a forced mate. It seems there wasn't any mate. At least no obvious
one.
Q: (Kristian Madsen, Politiken) Grand Master Anand, You came out needing a
win today. You showed us some of the attacking chess which has been
associated with your name throughout your career. You dominated the World
No.1 for 25 or 27 moves. For the game to end this way, how do you feel your
emotions right now?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) In general, the match situation did not leave me with
much of a choice. I saw a couple of moments when I could exit. For instance,
here I could play 22.cxb4 and try to get the knight to c3. Then black is also out
53. 53
of serious danger at the same moment. I had to give it a shot. When he played
Na6 I saw this variation. It is not that difficult to calculate. There were always
finessess. It seemed to be very dangerous for black. And, I could play e6
somewhere with fxe6, f6 which is a second kind of chance. I decided to give it a
shot. In the end, it was irresponsible, silly whatever you want to call it. I had
been calculating around about 40 minutes when I went f5, b3 Qf4 I think. And
what I was calculating was this line. It was a draw. When I found Qd6 there, I
couldnt see a way forward. When I got to this position, I suddenly saw Nf1,
Qd1, Rh4, Qh5, Rh5, gxh5, Ne3 and the knight is coming to e7. By a miracle,
black will probably play Be6, for Bxd5 he might have to play Qxd5. For a second
I got excited. The problem, I missed the knight which was on g3 has just
moved. As soon as I put the knight on f1 I knew what I had done. What can I
say?
(Magnus Carlsen) It should be noted that if Bf1, Qd1, Ne2 would be met by Qd3
or Qe1 works then. (Viswanathan Anand) If I had seen this Qe1 I would have
seen the other one as well. Because I only saw Qd3, Rh4, Qe3 this ladder.
Q: (V Kameswaran, United News of India) You have had many hat-trick wins in
your career. Will it be possible for you? Think it over and tell me?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) The situation does not look very good.
Q: There was lot of praise for your going for a win. Can you explain your
mindset and why you chose such a sharp opening?
A: (Viswanathan Anand) I needed to change the course of the match rather
drastically. That's why I kind of went for this. I had a rest day to kind of get
familiar with all this. Because it is all very complicated line.
Q: Were you glad you did it? A: (Viswanathan Anand) I was in a way. Still I
think I had to do this. This was the correct choice. I had no regrets for this.
55. 55
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 16.e4
16...Nxc1
If white is really much better in only
a few moves then this may be the
culprit but otherwise the knight may
end up just being out of play.
[16...Nc7 could easily be the better
move. 17.Be3 (17.e5? b4) 17...Ra6
18.e5 b4 19.f4 is worth
investigating. 19...f5 Giri]
17.Qxc1 Ra6 18.e5 Nc7 19.f4 b4
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 19...b4
20.axb4?!
After the game this move got some
criticism. Anand almost certainly was
motivated to play this to get rid of
Ra6 as a defensive piece.
[20.f5 Nb5 This is the move that
everyone was afraid of at the time
but it doesn't seem to work. White
would have to trust to intuition that
his attack will break through at this
point. (20...b3) 21.axb4 axb4
22.Rxa6 Bxa6 23.f6 g6 Is a line
given by ChessPro Ru and Mikhail
Golubev. It's possible to calculate to
here and feel this has a good chance
of winning. Will take a bit more work
to prove it's winning. 24.Qf4 (24.e6
fxe6 25.Qe3 Bc8 26.cxb4 Qd6 is
ChessPro's line with equality.)
24...Qb6 25.Qh4 h5 26.Nxh5 bxc3
27.Kh1 Nxd4 28.Ng3 Ne6 29.Nf5
gxf5 30.Qh5 Qb7 31.Bh3 is indeed
winning if I run Houdini long
enough.; 20.a4 was recommended
by several strong players with the
idea that it stops a lot of black's
56. 56
counter-play but that would require
a lot of analysis.]
20...axb4 21.Rxa6 Nxa6 22.f5 b3
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 22...b3
Cold blooded in the extreme but it
seems sufficient to hold. Carlsen was
over half an hour behind on the
clock but then Anand had a huge
think himself.
[22...bxc3]
23.Qf4
After 45 minutes thought.
[23.f6 g6 24.Qf4 Kh8 25.Qh4 isn't
fast enough.; 23.h4 a very slow
continuation of the attack which I
suggested during the game in
commentary also looks playable.]
23...Nc7 24.f6 g6
[24...gxf6 25.Nh5 Looks very
dangerous according to Carlsen.
25...Ne8! (25...fxg5 26.Nf6+ Kh8
27.Qxg5 Rg8) ]
25.Qh4 Ne8! 26.Qh6 b2! 27.Rf4
b1Q+
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 27...b1Q
Diagram
28.Nf1?
A complete surprise. Anand moves
quickly and it's a losing blunder.
[28.Bf1 Qd1 29.Rh4 Qh5 30.Nxh5
gxh5 31.Rxh5 Bf5 32.g6 Bxg6
33.Rg5 is equal.]
28...Qe1
57. 57
Magnus Carlsen
Viswanathan Anand
Position after 28...Qe1
And white has to resign.
[28...Qd1? Was the move Anand was
expecting and it just loses. 29.Rh4
Qh5 30.Rxh5 gxh5 31.Ne3 Be6
32.Bxd5 Bxd5 33.Nf5 Be4 34.Ne7+
Kh8 35.Qxf8#]
0-1
58. 58
Magnus Carlsen is the new World Chess Champion
Mark Crowther - Friday 22nd November 2013
Magnus Carlsen has won the FIDE World Chess Championship in Chennai by a
score of 6.5-3.5 against defending champion Viswanathan Anand. Carlsen
required just 10 of the 12 scheduled games to win the title. It is too early to
talk of the Carlsen era as defence of his title is scheduled in less than 12
months but this is the culmination of Carlsen's domination of the game. First
Carlsen has cemented himself firmly as world number one, then somewhat
nervously he navigated the qualification via a Candidates tournament and in
India he didn't seem to have to exert himself to the maximum in becoming
world chess champion. It seems entirely possible he will keep the title for some
time.
Carlsen had an overwhelming lead going into what turned out to be the final
game. A short perfunctory affair might have been expected but instead it
turned into a real struggle. Anand finally played his old favourite the Sicilian
Defence and Carlsen played his expected Moscow Variation against it. Anand
described the game as "I thought today was a kind of microcosm of the whole
match" in that "at some point I started to make mistakes" with 28...Qg5
allowing 29.e5 and after 29...Ne8 Carlsen almost immediately made the capture
30.exd6 which he thought was just winning but he "missed something simple".
Instead if Carlsen had spent a bit more time he would have seen 30.Nc3 would
have given him a huge advantage Carlsen said this mistake "doesn't feel very
important now" afterwards. Carlsen pressed for some time into a knight ending
which turned out to be very complicated and at least on the outside seemed to
give him at least some losing chances. In the end Carlsen had to trade into a
queen ending where he had pawns and Anand a knight. This was drawn after a
few more moves on move 65 with only a knight remaining.
Anand thought his chances in the match were down to being able to avoid a lot
of mistakes and that execution of any match strategy was entirely dependent
on that. He was happy to escape with a draw in game four but his first loss in
game five came as a big setback and for him this was the turning point in the
match. For Carlsen he felt that after a nervy first two games the play in games
three and especially four gave him the confidence that the match wouldn't
require him to do much more than he was already doing in winning
tournaments. Carlsen won games five and six and also yesterday's game nine
all after major blunders by Anand although both players pointed out that
Carlsen had some responsibility in getting Anand to make them.
At the final handshake the players signed the board they played game 10 on
and Carlsen remained on the stage a little longer than Anand eventually leaving
not with a punch to the air as Kasparov famously did in 1985 but with a broad
smile.
59. 59
22 year old Carlsen went from amateur to champion in only 10 years. Carlsen
(22 years and 357 days) is the 16th undisputed World Chess Champion and the
second youngest behind Kasparov (22 years and 210 days). The split between
Kasparov and FIDE in 1993 makes all numbers in this area controversial, the
Indian press release of champions names the maximum 20 champions in which
case FIDE's 2002 champion Ruslan Ponomariov would be youngest at 18 years
old.
Full account of this game and the match will follow over the next days.
"Clearly, he (Carlsen) dominated the match. Full credit to him," - Anand
"I would like to think I can take some responsibility for those blunders, I just
play and people crack under the pressure, even in World Championships." -
Carlsen
60. 60
Carlsen vs Anand final game one of the longest and
most difficult of the World Championship
Mark Crowther - Saturday 23rd November 2013
Magnus Carlsen became world chess champion by a score of 6.5-3.5 following
his game 10 draw against Viswanathan Anand. It was expected that Carlsen
would try and shut out the match with a quick draw but he pressed for a long
time even after missing a chance for a big advantage. Not surprisingly the
actual game was pretty much lost in all the excitement of the end of the match
but I've gone back over the game and produced some notes and added
comments from various sources. I don't have a definitive judgement but
hopefully I'll be able to point up the large number of key decisions that were
needed in this complicated and difficult game which ended up being the second
longest of the entire match.
Carlsen played the Moscow Variation against Anand's Sicilian and whilst playing
solidly he had a nice space advantage. After 28.a5 Carlsen had a nice position
and Anand had no easy choices but Anand's 28...Qg5 was definitely bad and if
Carlsen had played 30.Nc3 then he would almost certainly have won, instead
Carlsen thought that he was winning easily and miscalculated something after
30.exd6. This lead to a difficult knight and pawn endgame where Carlsen had a
definite but probably not winning edge. Anand quickly played 40...Nf5 but it's
not clear if 40...g5 might not have been better, 41...Ne3 was only played after
a long think, 42...f5 might well be forced. Carlsen's 43.Nd6 may not be the best
winning try but it was played after considering it for a while, 43.Nd2 might have
been better. Carlsen finally decided that enough was enough and his 46.Ng8+
moved towards a draw with 49.Nxf5+, if Carlsen had really needed a win then
he'd have tried 46.Nh5 but that really wasn't the case this time. The game was
quickly drawn after this.
62. 62
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 11.Qd3
"I was trying to play solidly in the
opening. And I am pretty happy with
what I got. Very solid position. No
weaknesses. As the game went on
he started to drift a bit I thought as
long as there is no risk I should try
and win it. " - Carlsen.
[11.Rfe1 0-0 12.Rad1 Qa5 13.Qd2
Qb6 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.cxd5 e5 16.Rc1
Rfc8 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Rc3 h6 and
eventually drawn in 49 moves
Girinath,P (2448)-Sitanggang,S
(2410)/Singapore SIN 2007.]
11...0-0 12.Nd4 Rc8
[12...Qc7 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Kh1 Rfd8
0-1 in 60 moves Kidzinski,L (2001)-
Szczesniak,P/Bartkowa 2002.;
12...Be8 keeping the light squared
bishop surely comes into
consideration.]
13.b3 Qc7
[13...Qa5!?]
14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15.Rac1 h6 16.Be3
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 16.Be3
White of course keeps his bishop
rather than exchanging.
[16.Bf4 Nh5 17.Be3 Nf6]
16...Nd7 17.Bd4 Rfd8 18.h3
Just playing things safe by breaking
the back rank. White is fairly
comfortable here.
[18.Rfd1]
18...Qc7
[18...b6 is Anand's alternative setup.
Both sides have some latitude in
their setups.]
19.Rfd1 Qa5 20.Qd2 Kf8
[20...Bg5 was the clear alternative.
21.Be3 (21.f4 Bf6 22.Bxf6 Nxf6)
21...Bxe3 22.Qxe3 Ne5 is about
equal.]
21.Qb2 Kg8 22.a4
[22.Qd2 offering a repetition was
expected by many at the time.
22...Kf8 23.Qb2 Kg8 24.Qd2 etc]
22...Qh5
63. 63
[22...Bg5 Houdini looks a bit odd to
me. 23.Rc2 Kh7]
23.Ne2 Bf6 24.Rc3 Bxd4 25.Rxd4
Qe5
[25...Nf6 26.Qd2 Qa5]
26.Qd2 Nf6
[26...Nc5]
27.Re3
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 27.Re3
Keeping black bottled in.
[27.Rcd3!?]
27...Rd7
Looks like the best response.
[27...b5?! 28.f4 Qc5 29.e5 Ne8
30.b4 Qb6 31.cxb5 axb5 32.a5]
28.a5
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 28.a5
White's position looks pleasant.
28...Qg5?
Already this position is quite
uncomfortable for Anand. This
however is just a mistake. "I simply
blundered Qg5. I saw the same
tactic for Qc5 but I simply put the
queen on g5. And the same e5
happened. I simply don't know the
evaluation after that." - Anand. It
isn't that easy to offer a move to
Anand. I think he already stands
worse.
[28...Qc5 allowing the same e5
break was seen by Anand. 29.e5
Ne8 is great for white eg 30.b4 Qc7
31.c5 d5 32.Nc3 Re7 33.Na4 g6
34.Nb6 with black having a
miserable position.; 28...Rcd8 is
perhaps best for black but he's still
passive. 29.b4 Qg5 30.f4 Qg6
31.Nc3 is nice for white.; 28...g5
Yermolinsky in his ICC game of the
day broadcast suggests this is a
thematic move but he also
64. 64
recognises how reluctant you might
be to play it. 29.Nc3 is Houdini's
suggestion(29.Kh1 Rcd8 30.Ng1
(30.b4 Kg7 31.Ng1) 30...Qc5) ;
28...g6 29.b4 looks better for white
too.]
29.e5! Ne8
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 28...Ne8
30.exd6?
"Played very quickly by Magnus
Carlsen. "When I took on d6 I
missed something simple. I thought
I was just winning with that. If I
knew this move wasn't so good I
would have taken some more time
and perhaps found a better move
and put even more pressure on him.
That wasn't terribly impressive.
Anyway, it doesn't feel very
important now." - Carlsen.
[30.Nc3 should lead to a winning
position and there are other better
moves than capturing too. This one
seems the best. 30...Rc6 (30...Qf5
31.Na4 Rc6 32.b4) 31.f4 Qf5 32.Ne4
Qg6 33.Nxd6 Nxd6 34.Rxd6 Rcxd6
35.exd6 Qf6 36.Re1 g6; 30.Rg4
Nakamura]
30...Rc6 31.f4 Qd8
Black gets to recover his pawn just
in time.
32.Red3 Rcxd6 33.Rxd6 Rxd6
34.Rxd6 Qxd6 35.Qxd6 Nxd6
36.Kf2
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 36.Kf2
White is better in this ending, but by
how much? Carlsen also only needs
a draw.
36...Kf8 37.Ke3 Ke7 38.Kd4 Kd7
[38...g5 seeking counter-play is the
other option that has to be
considered but it looks very
dangerous for black. 39.Kc5 Kd7
40.fxg5 hxg5 41.Kb6 Kc8 42.c5 Nb5
43.c6 bxc6 44.Kxc6 and I wouldn't
be surprised if white isn't just
winning.]
39.Kc5 Kc7 40.Nc3 Nf5!?
65. 65
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 40...Nf5
Anand played this rather quickly with
plenty of time on the clock. This
ending is terribly difficult and I don't
know the assessment.
[40...g5 may be the time to try the
g5 counter-play. 41.g3 (41.fxg5
hxg5) ]
41.Ne4
Played pretty quickly.
41...Ne3
Only played after a big think.
42.g3 f5
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 42.f5
Probably the best try.
[42...Nc2 43.Nd6 Na1 44.Ne8+ Kd7
45.Nxg7 Nxb3+ 46.Kb6 and white
may very well be winning.]
43.Nd6!?
This may not be the best here. It
depends on the evaluation of
43.Nd2. Carlsen thought for some
time. This is a very tough position.
[43.Nd2 "As far as I can tell after
playing around with the engine,
43.Nd2 was pretty safe and actually
- as an added bonus - winning." -
Jon Ludvig Hammer. This position is
worth analysing at least. 43...Nd1!?
The assessment of this line looks to
hinge on the evaluation of this
move. (43...g5? 44.fxg5 hxg5
45.Kd4 Nc2+ 46.Ke5 Kd7 47.Kf6 g4
48.h4 and although there is still
some way to go this must surely be
winning for Carlsen.) 44.b4 (44.Kd4
is the alternative.) 44...Nf2 45.Kd4
Nxh3 46.Nb3 g5 47.Nc5 gxf4
48.Nxe6+ Kd6 49.Nxf4 Ng5 needs
66. 66
looking at.; 43.Kd4 Nxc4 44.Nc5
Nxa5 45.Nxe6+ Kd7 46.Nxg7 Nxb3+
47.Kc3 Nc5 48.Nxf5 is equal]
43...g5 44.Ne8+ Kd7 45.Nf6+
Ke7 46.Ng8+
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 46.Ng8+
"At some point after the time
control, the variations were simply
getting too complicated. So I
decided to shut it down and force a
draw." - Carlsen
[46.Nh5 was the alternative that
keeps winning chances but Carlsen
only needs a draw and isn't totally
crazy but he did think for a long
time. 46...Kd7 47.b4 Nc2 48.b5 Na3
49.Kb6 axb5 (49...Nxc4+!?) 50.cxb5
Nc4+ 51.Kxb7 Nxa5+ 52.Ka6 Nb3
53.Nf6+ Kd6 54.b6 gxf4 55.gxf4
Nc5+ These lines are better for
white but can easily get out of
control and there is no clear win.]
46...Kf8 47.Nxh6 gxf4 48.gxf4
Kg7 49.Nxf5+
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 49.Nf5+
Very precisely calculated by Carlsen.
This leads to a forced draw where he
eliminates all black's pawns and both
sides get queens.
49...exf5
[49...Nxf5? 50.b4 Kf7 51.Kb6 Nd6
52.c5 Nb5 53.Kxb7]
50.Kb6
[50.b4 Ng2 51.Kb6 Nxf4 52.Kxb7
Ne6 53.Kxa6 f4 54.Kb6 f3 55.a6 f2
56.a7 f1Q 57.a8Q Qxc4 58.Qb7+ Kf8
still a draw.]
50...Ng2 51.Kxb7 Nxf4 52.Kxa6
Ne6 53.Kb6 f4 54.a6 f3 55.a7 f2
56.a8Q f1Q
It's only been about counting for
both sides.
57.Qd5 Qe1 58.Qd6 Qe3+ 59.Ka6
Nc5+ 60.Kb5
Now the game ends very quickly as
all the pieces are eliminated.
60...Nxb3 61.Qc7+ Kh6
67. 67
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
Position after 61...Kh6
Black has to come forwards at some
point otherwise the white queen will
continue checking. Now Carlsen
swaps queens to get his draw.
62.Qb6+ Qxb6+ 63.Kxb6 Kh5
64.h4 Kxh4 65.c5 Nxc5
Automatic draw as there is no
mating material! "I think it was a
nice fight and a worthy end to the
match." - Carlsen
1/2-1/2
