Game 5 won by Carlsen!

Today Carlsen won the match against Anand! What a great match. Now it's 3:2 for Carlsen.

1.c4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 c5 7.a3 Ba5 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Be3 Nc6 10.Qd3 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Ng4 12.O-O-O Nxe3 13.fxe3 Bc7 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.Qxd8+ Bxd8 16.Be2 Ke7 17.Bf3 Bd7 18.Ne4 Bb6 19.c5 f5 20.cxb6 fxe4 21.b7 Rab8 22.Bxe4 Rxb7 23.Rhf1 Rb5 24.Rf4 g5 25.Rf3 h5 26.Rdf1 Be8 27.Bc2 Rc5 28.Rf6 h4 29.e4 a5 30.Kd2 Rb5 31.b3 Bh5 32.Kc3 Rc5+ 33.Kb2 Rd8 34.R1f2 Rd4 35.Rh6 Bd1 36.Bb1 Rb5 37.Kc3 c5 38.Rb2 e5 39.Rg6 a4 40.Rxg5 Rxb3+ 41.Rxb3 Bxb3 42.Rxe5+ Kd6 43.Rh5 Rd1 44.e5+ Kd5 45.Bh7 Rc1+ 46.Kb2 Rg1 47.Bg8+ Kc6 48.Rh6+ Kd7 49.Bxb3 axb3 50.Kxb3 Rxg2 51.Rxh4 Ke6 52.a4 Kxe5 53.a5 Kd6 54.Rh7 Kd5 55.a6 c4+ 56.Kc3 Ra2 57.a7 Kc5 58.h4 Kd5

Anand on attack with black, Carlsen holds in FWCM game 3

The third game of the FIDE World Chess Championship Match, sponsored by Tamil Nadu state and currently ongoing in Chennai, finished in a draw shortly after the first time control.

Carlsen was ready to enter the opening discussion by repeating the setup from the first game. Only this time he made an early c2-c4 advance, before committing with the d-pawn.

Anand responded by taking on c4 and the play was definitely heading to a different structure, compared to the earlier game.

Black seized the space in the center with e7-e5 and the position was finally formed as Sicilian Dragon Reversed.

White had some issues with the pieces’ coordination, but he solved the problem by conceding bishops pair and opening the a-file.

Carlsen maneuvered his queen around until the piece landed on the ‘unusual’ h1-square. But the Norwegian already had his queen on h1 in one game earlier this year.

IM Aman Hambleton reminded us in his live commentary on Chessdom: “25. Qh1 – This kind of play is reminiscent of Carlsen’s victory against Karjakin at the Tata Steel 2013. The queen on h1 is nothing new for Carlsen, even the pawn structure is identical to that game. The main difference between this game and his encounter with Karjakin is that Anand has the two bishops and the a-file is also open, two things that work against Carlsen here.”

However, Anand immediately started advancing queenside majority, to which Carlsen answered by opening the play in the center with 28.e3.

GM Vidit Gujrathi commented on Chessdom: “A risky move, but I like it. Objectively it might be inferior but it is very tricky and a good practical try. After 28..de3 29.Re3-Bb2 30.Rae1 white creates a lot of play for the pawn.”

Anand could have snatched a pawn on b2, but he preferred to keep the initiative going with 29…Bd4. As the commentators pointed out, the opposite-coloured bishops and presence of the heavy pieces favour the attacking side.

In the mutual time trouble black lost the track and white was able to conveniently bring the queen back into game. Further, black lost the extra pawn and the game soon ended in a draw.

IM Hambleton: “37…Rd8 Exchanging so many pairs of rooks removes the winning chances, and now White has a number of ways to make the draw.”

Photo courtesy of FIDE Press Officer Anastasya Karlovich

-Chessdom

Sports for Magnus, relaxation for Vishy on off day

Soccer for Carlsen, family for Anand
By Ashok Venugopal | ENS - CHENNAI
Published: 12th November 2013 03:23 AM
Last Updated: 12th November 2013 03:23 AM

‘All work and no play makes a person dull’ goes a famous adage; which is all the more true in sports, in particular chess.

Chess is such a mentally demanding sport where fatigue and stress are much more than what a person experiences in any outdoor sport. These days, chess players make it a point to relax on off days to rejuvenate and emerge fresh for the next battle.

Monday being a rest day in their World Championship duel, both Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen decided to relax for the major part of the day. The match being billed as the biggest after Bobby Fischer vs Boris Spassky in 1972 has generated a lot of interest and in the process has added pressure on the players.

Anand, playing in his hometown and not having been in great form in the last year or so, has been under great pressure to defend his crown. On the other hand, Carlsen, the World No 1 and lauded by many as the next Garry Kasparov, is under pressure to keep his reputation intact. The Norwegian said openly on Sunday that he was under great stress and he needed to unwind after two tough games.

Sources said that Carlsen, after watching the EPL on Sunday, woke up late and had ‘brunch’. It is believed that Carlsen habitually, during off days, wakes up around noon. Some say that he has his lunch about 90 minutes before the match and sleeps as much as possible before the start of the match. It is said Carlsen believes that his mind works best for 4 to 5 hours after he wakes up.

In other words, people close to Carlsen say that sound sleep is like tonic for the Norwegian who does not follow a regular sleeping pattern like Anand. So Carlsen, after a late lunch on Monday and after hanging out in the hotel for sometime, chose to play some outdoor sport.

Carlsen by nature likes to sweat it out in a natural way by playing some field games. One person, who has known Carlsen for a long time, states that he has a natural compulsion to play some outdoor game or the other. He is not like many other chess players who prefer the cool confines of the hotel room. So late afternoon, Carlsen and his father, along with his security personnel, headed for the Santhome School, which is near the Marina beach.

He played football, and also basketball, for more than an hour.

Around 5.30 pm, he headed back to the hotel still in his shorts, dripping with sweat and dirt all over his shoes. Carlsen also likes to hit the gym regularly at the hotel.

“I have seen Carlsen in the gym of the hotel, but not met Anand there yet,” said Grandmaster Tejas Bakre of Ahmedabad who is spending a vacation in the city, enjoying the WCC.

Meanwhile, Anand had a quiet day with his family. It is learnt that Anand, during his stay, has been eating food from the hotel even though his house is hardly three km from the WCC venue. Sources said that he likes Italian and Chinese food apart from Indian food. Anand is also particular about his tea, which he takes during the match. However, his logistics manager Hans-Walter Schmitt, of Germany, wanted to have a feel of the city.

“We plan to go around the city and take chess-related and world chess championship match-related pictures in Chennai,” said Schmitt.

Source: http://newindianexpress.com

Anand: It’s my turn to offer a slight apology today

World Chess C’ship: Anand caught off guard as game two ends in draw

Defending champion Viswanathan Anand was surprised by Magnus Carlsen’s opening as he played out a tame draw against his challenger with white pieces in the second game of the World Chess Championship in Chennai today.

World number one Carlsen showed that he was made of sterner stuff and pulled back the attention on himself with an easiest of draws against Anand, who played with his first white in the match. The first game, in which Anand played with black pieces, was also a drawn affair yesterday.

The scores are now tied 1-1 after two games and there are 10 more games to go under Classical time control in this Rs 14 crore prize money championship.

Just like Anand’s mesmerising work in the opening game yesterday, it was Carlsen all the way as Anand could not do anything.

“It’s my turn to offer a slight apology today. I had to be a bit prudent but things will get interesting,” Anand said after avoiding any undue risk that might have led to wild complexities out of a Caro Kann defense.

The local hero agreed that the opening was a surprise for him and even more the variation chosen by Carlsen.

It was a repetition of a game played by Anand against Chinese Ding Liren some time back and Anand spent a lot of time thinking about various complicated variations but could not be sure of himself.

The easier way out was to play solid, as Carlsen did when posed with slightest difficulty and the draw was up for grabs for the Norwegian.

While the first game lasted just 16 moves, this one went on till the 25th but the result of the game had been forecasted by many much before that.

Carlsen’s surprise opening apparently took Anand completely off guard and the world champion will now have to look at some new options to figure out the Caro Kann.

The variation that Carlsen chose has tendencies to go for wild-play which is a major shift from the Carlsen camp according to general perception that the Norwegian plays well in dry positions.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com