World Championship G4 – Gelfand unable to dent Anand's Semi-Slav

by ChessBase
5/15/2012 – As in game two, the players stuck to their guns, showing the Semi-Slav was here to stay. Despite a slight modification, Gelfand's preparation was insufficient to generate any winning chances and the game remained both tame and balanced throughout. This also means it lacked excitement and though lasting ten more moves than before, the result was never in doubt. Report with GM analysis.
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The World Chess Championship 2012 is being staged in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, between the current World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India and the winner of the Candidates tournament Boris Gelfand of Israel. The match is over twelve games and lasts from May 11 to 30. The prize fund is US $2.55 million, the winner getting $1.53 million (60%), the loser $1,02 million (40%).

Round four: Gelfand unable to dent Anand's Semi-Slav

The fourth game of the ongoing World Chess Championship at the Treyatov Gallery in Moscow was a rather tame affair, in stark contrast to the lively, exciting and entertaining one played in the third round yesterday. The eventual outcome, however, was the same as in the third game – a draw after 34 moves.


Boris Gelfand and Vishy Anand before the start of game four: Well, let me see...


... why don't I just play 1.d4 as in game two?


1...d5 – will he, won't he go for the Semi-Slav again?


He went for it, and is playing super-fast. What to do, he has everything covered...


Ahhh, he starts to think. Have I got him out of book?!


He is thinking. Maybe Baris get him out of the book?!

Anand opted for the Slav defence and the game was a positional one, where the challenger Boris Gelfand could hardly get initiative despite pressing. When quizzed at the press conference on whether he had an edge because of the bishop pair, Gelfand responded: ”Optically White was better, but the pieces lacked co-ordination”. Anand, commenting on the draw quipped ‘The match is just developing and at this point we are just probing.” The Indian was also quick to add: "The ending today became a bit interesting”

The scores are still level at 2.0-2.0 after four games of the twelve-game match. Wednesday is a rest day and the fifth game will be played on Thursday, 17th May, when Anand will have the White pieces

Press Release by Team Anand at NIIT, photos by WGM Anastasya Karlovich

Game four: commentary by GM Romain Edouard

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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 6.b3 Exactly the same system as in round two. Bb4 7.Bd2 Nbd7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 Bd6 10.Qc2 This time, Gelfand goes for the main move, deviating from the second game, where 10.Rc1 was played. e5!? 10...h6 is the main move according to theory, but 10... e5 worked very well for Black in all the games played till now. 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.e4 Of course taking on e5 would no longer make any sense with the rook on a1 and the queen on c2. exd4 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Nf6 15.h3!? A very logical move played only once. Against almost all other moves, Black would go 15...Bg4 and simply equalize. 15.Qc4 Bg4 16.Qxd4 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Nxd5= 1/2-1/2 (36) Avrukh,B (2632)-Wang,H (2684) Dagomys RUS 2008 15.Rfe1 Bg4 16.Nxd4 Rc8 17.Qb2 Rc5= 1/2-1/2 (70) Aleksandrov,A (2636)-Kharlov,A (2511) RUS 2009 15.Nxd4 Be5= 15...Bd7 Anand keeps playing very fast. 16.Rad1 There was no hurry to play ...h6, since after 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bh4 Rc8 18.Qd2 Rc5! it seems Black equalizes. 16...Re8 17.Nxd4 Rc8 18.Qb1 h6 We reached the typical setup in that kind of structures, where White is up a pawn that he cannot really hold. The only question is always: can White force Black to capture the pawn back in poor conditions? 19.Nf5 Of course after taking the bishop pair, White has a very (very) slight advantage, but it doesn't seem enough at all. It seems to me that after 19.Nf3 White would have decent chances to get some advantage, though Anand had been playing very fast until 18...h6, which should mean he has some precise idea against 19.Nf3. 19.Nf3!? Nxd5 Of course it would be possible to delay ...Nxd5, but after a move like 19...Qc7 White could go 20.Bc1 and slowly reorganize his pieces, and it looks clear to me that Black should have some problems, though maybe solvable. 20.Be4! 20.Bh7+ Kh8 21.Bxh6? doesn't work because of Nc3 20...Bc6 21.Nd4 and White can take the bishop pair, and I don't see how Black can exactly equalize, e.g. Qb6 21...Nc3? 22.Bh7+ 22.Nxc6 Nxb1 23.Nxd8 Nxd2 24.Rxd2 Rcxd8= 22...Kh8 23.Bxc3 and according to the engine Black is still in the game with Bxg2! but after 24.Nf5 Bxh3 24...Be4 25.Qc1 Rxc3 26.Qxc3 Qg5+ 27.Ng3± 25.Bxg7+ Kxh7 26.Nxd6+ Kxg7 27.Nxe8+ Qxe8 28.Rfe1 White is clearly better. 22.Nxc6 bxc6 23.Bh7+ Kh8 24.Bd3 Most probably Anand had some idea which I just miss! I'm also not sure how easy is the calculation of 21...Nxc3 over the board. 19...Bxf5 20.Bxf5 Rc5 21.Rfe1 21.Rc1!? is an interesting option, but whatever Black plays he is very close to equality. At least much closer than in the 19.Nf3 line is Black doesn't have a clear way to exchange some pieces. 21...Rxd5 22.Bc3 Rxe1+ 23.Rxe1 Bc5 24.Qc2 Bd4! Now the position is absolutely equal. 25.Bxd4 Rxd4 26.Qc8 g6 27.Bg4 h5 27...Nxg4?? 28.Re8++- 28.Qxd8+ Rxd8 29.Bf3 b6 30.Rc1 Rd6 31.Kf1 a5 32.Ke2 Nd5!? The most dynamic. 32...Kf8 is also equal. 33.g3 33.Bxd5 Rxd5 34.Rc6 Re5+ 35.Kd3 b5!?= White's king can never advance so easily due to some problems with the 2nd file! 33...Ne7 34.Be4 Kg7 Though equal score, the impression after four games is that Anand is drawing with Black much more easily than Gelfand is. This means Gelfand is a little bit under pressure, and that his team will have to find more resources with White. But Gelfand's play is anyway very dynamic, and it is clear that the Israeli will be ready to punish any mistake from his opponent. Let's not forget that Gelfand had more problems with Black, but also played riskier openings: and the result 0-1 also exists in chess! ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gelfand,B2727Anand,V2791½–½2012D45World Chess Championship Match4

GM Romain Edouard, 21 years old, learnt to play chess at the age of five. He played his first national youth championship at ten, became a FIDE Master at 16, an IM at 17, and a GM at 18.

Romain won the French and European U16 Championships in 2006, came second in the U18 section in European and World Championships in 2007, and came second in the French Championship 2010 (shared first on points with Laurent Fressinet).

He has been a member of the French national team since 2009 (except in 2011). He won several international open tournaments: Bad Wiessee 2008, Zaragoza 2008, Echternach 2009, Andorra 2009, Hastings 2010, Echternach 2010, Clermont-Ferrand 2011, etc. as well as closed tournaments: Grand Prix de Bordeaux 2007, Antwerp 2011, Nancy 2012.

Romain delivers his analyses of the World Championship in Moscow minutes after the games have ended, something we greatly appreciate.

Game four: commentary by IM Malcolm Pein

IM Malcolm Pein comments on the games on TWIC and live during each game via Twitter #telegraphchess.

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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 Anand's move order avoids 4... a6 5.c5 6.b3 Bb4 Driving the bishop to a bad square 7.Bd2 7.Bb2 Qa5 8.Rc1 Qxa2 7...Nbd7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 Bd6 10.Qc2 10.Rc1 Game 2 The game develops along broadly similar lines 10...e5 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.e4 exd4 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Nf6 Very similar to G2. Both players in their preparation undoubtedly 15.h3 Bd7 16.Rad1 Re8 17.Nxd4 Rc8 18.Qb1 h6 Typical example of where I distrust computer evaluations from a practical viewpoint. Gelfand can secure the two bishops here with Nf5 and even if the computers say equal, I would be worried about an endgame where the black queenside could be vulnerable to attack from the light squared bishop. With perfect play it may be = but in practice might be awkward. However for a world champion the position does not present too many problems 19.Nf5 Bxf5 20.Bxf5 Rc5 21.Rfe1 Rxd5 22.Bc3 Rxe1+ 23.Rxe1 Bc5 Although White has two bishops his pieces are not coordinated optimally as Gelfand said after the game. If a white bishop found it's way to f3 that would be a different matter 24.Qc2 Bd4 24...Qb6 might be better said Anand in post match comments 25.Re5 Rxe5 26.Bxe5 Is a small edge so 24...Qb6 25.Re5 Rd8 25.Bxd4 Rxd4 26.Qc8 g6 No more back rank tricks now 27.Bg4 h5 28.Qxd8+ Rxd8 Anand offered a draw 29.Bf3 b6 Getting the pawns out of harm's way onto black squares 30.Rc1 Rd6 31.Kf1 a5 32.Ke2 I was waiting for the king to get to e2 so I could execute my manouvre Nd5-e7 - Anand. It was generally agreed that Rc6 might have been more testing but Black holds 32.Rc6 Rxc6 33.Bxc6 Kf8 34.Ke2 Ke7 35.Kd3 Kd6 36.Bf3 Kc5 37.a3 32...Nd5 I was expecting Nd7-c5 but of course there is nothing wrong with this 33.g3 Ne7 34.Be4 Kg7
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Gelfand,B2739Anand,V27992012D45WCh 20124

Analysis of game four by GM Daniel King on Playchess


GM Danny King's analysis in his daily wrap-up show

IM Andrew Martin analyzes game four

GM Robert Fontaine and his video producer Gérard Demuydt are in Moscow produced video reports and interviews after each round for the French chess magazine Europe Echecs. In the round four report we see a bit of Moscow, the arrival of players, a résumé of the game, the press conference, and an interview with Dorit Golender, the Israeli Ambassador to Russia.

Video stream of the round (from the official World Championship site)

Once again the Russian organisers are providing unprecedented coverage,
with a HD video stream of the action and commentary by visiting grandmasters.

Scoreboard

 Players
Rtng
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Tot.
Perf.
+/–
 Vishy Anand
2791
½
½
½
½
                
2.0
2727
–4
 Boris Gelfand  
2727
½
½
½
½
                
2.0
2791
+4

Schedule

Days of play, with live commentators on Playchess.com. Note that the games start at 15:00h local time = 13:00 CEST, 07 a.m. New York or here in your location.

Wed May 16 Rest day  
Thur May 17 Game 5 Daniel King
Fri May 18 Game 6 Loek van Wely
Sat May 19 Rest day  
Sun May 20 Game 7 Lawrence Trent
Mon May 21 Game 8 Oliver Reeh
Tues May 22 Rest day  
Wed May 23 Game 9 Daniel King
 
Thur May 24 Game 10 Yannick Pelletier
Fri May 25 Rest day  
Sat May 26 Game 11 Daniel King
Sun May 27 Rest day  
Mon May 28 Game 12 Sam Collins
Tues May 29 Rest day  
Wed May 30 Tiebreaks  
Thurs May 31 Closing  

Links

The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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