World Championship G2 – Anand shows his hand as Semi-Slav is played

by ChessBase
5/12/2012 – Although the second game failed to develop the tension that might have led to a decisive victory, it did answer an important question: what did Anand have planned as his main black weapon? Against Topalov it had been the Grünfeld, then the stultified Catalan. This time the Semi-Slav was chosen, though it developed into a calm position that ended in a draw. Express report with GM commentary.

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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 two: Anand shows his hand with Semi-Slav

Press Release by Team Anand at NIIT

The reigning World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand demonstrated his defensive skills precisely and perfectly to draw against Challenger Boris Gelfand in the second game of the World Chess Championship at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow on Saturday night. Anand, the NIIT MindChampion was delightful in his defence with the dark pieces, often making unexpected moves as against the ones suggested by the experts and the chess engines following the game. The pieces and the position however appeared harmonious and Anand hardly appeared in trouble in the Anti-Meran game which lasted 25 moves.


Boris Gelfand at the start of game two of the World Championship

Anand later commenting on the ending position explained: "White did have a slight edge initially but in the end there were many defensive structures for Black.” Gelfand admitted: “I offered the draw as there was no option left. I could not get the slightest idea to mobilize the pieces.”


Cool with a Semi-Slav: World Champion Viswanathan Anand

In the initial stages, it appeared that Gelfand had a slight edge but Anand soon neutralized it by some quick exchange of pieces, including the queens. As expected there were no initial surprises by Gelfand as he stuck to his usual Queen Pawn Opening, while Anand opted for the Slav. He had stuck to the Grunfeld disastrously and then the Catalan against Veselin Topalov at the last World Championship at Sofia in 2010.

It was Anand who uncorked a novelty on the 14th turn with a knight move which left Gelfand thinking. However once the pawns and the pieces were cleared from the centre, there was not much play left.

Game two express analysis by GM Romain Edouard

Game two express analysis by IM Malcolm Pein

Ananlysis of game two by GM Daniel King on Playchess

Video stream of round two (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
                   
1.0
2727
 
 Boris Gelfand  
2727
½
½
                   
1.0
2791
 

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.

Sun May 13 Rest day  
Mon May 14 Game 3 Yannick Pelletier
Tues May 15 Game 4 Daniel King
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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