Chennai G3: A thrilling battle as Anand close to win

FIDE World Chess Championship Anand-Carlsen 2013

The FIDE World Chess Championship match between defending champion Viswanathan Anand and his challenger world number one Magnus Carlsen is taking place from November 9 to 28 2013 in the the Hyatt Regency, Chennai, India. The match is over twelve games, with time controls of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 61. The games start at 3:00 p.m. Indian Time, which is 4:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (New York), 10:30h Central European Time (Paris), 1:30 p.m. Moscow Standard Time. Find your local time here.

Round three report

Anyone looking at the crosstable at a later date, without any knowledge of the games, will see three draws in the first results, and might even be inclined to skip today’s draw to see the ‘win’. Still, there are draws and then there are draws. After two uneventful games, described as ‘testing the waters’ and a number of other similar metaphors, today’s game would show how serious Magnus Carlsen was about the Reti in game one, and how he planned to use it to his advantage in the match.

It was clear he would have to find a different approach than the one neutralized so easily by Vishy Anand, and everyone expected him to be booked to the ears this time. You can imagine the significant consternation by the grandmaster commentators when the Norwegian stopped after 3…dxc4 and sat there studying the position as if deciding how to continue. Was this an act to camouflage how deep his preparation went? Or could it be that he was just remembering how all his analysis went?

The one indicator that neither of these optimistic theories was correct was the plodding way he continued to play, and the trouble he soon got himself into. In fact, if the Playchess commentators GMs Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley were confused by 14.Qc1, they were outright critical of 15.a4 as the type of move they would show students on what not to play. The reason was not so much the individual value of the move itself, but how disconnected Carlsen’s moves were, suggesting there was no plan behind them, a singular situation for a player pointed out as the heir to Karpov’s style.

Vishy Anand as the game starts

Let the hostilities begin

The situation was not crystal clear for Anand either though, and whilst clearly in the driver’s seat, the best way to proceed seemed a matter of debate. The world champion placed his rooks on the b- and c- files, presumably aiming to support his queenside pawns and a possible advance, while others suggested the e-file and a massive battery on the e2 pawn was the way to go. Whatever the truth of the matter, Carlsen was obviously not happy and nerves were beginning to show. His clock was disappearing and his position was not improving in the least bit. After trying to exchange queens with 20.Qf4, he instead saw his queen elbowed and shoved onto h1. It might have had a useful function there, but it could hardly be described as ideally placed, and to suggest this was some sort of magnificent maneuver would also mean this was part of his master plan, which seems rather doubtful.

Carlsen as the game progressed

The zenith of the crisis was after a dubious 28.e3 which allowed Black to either take on b2, or at the worst find a great home on d4. It is here the grandmasters and engines thought Black might have gained a winning or near won position with 29…Bxb2, though deeper analysis will be needed to unravel the truth of it. After this, it was much less clear since any material advantage Black had was strongly counterbalanced by the presence of opposite-colored bishops.

In the hotel lobby, fans watched the game on the displays placed throughout

There was ample conjecture on how Anand might best press his advantage, but nerves and an approaching time control meant that all decisions would be made under duress, albeit more on White’s side than Black’s. In the end, seeing no way to press for a win, the world champion chose to begin mass simplifications with 37…Rd8, after which he proposed a draw. As if to say that he would draw in his own good time, Carlsen continued despite not believing he had anything, finally shaking hands on move 51.

IM Andrew Martin comments game three:

For the audience and chess fans around the world, the game was a wake-up call indicating the match had now truly begun, and the tentative prodding at the start, was no more than that. The real question now is what game four will bring, and how this bodes for Team Carlsen’s opening preparation, since his first white was neutralized at the starting line, and the second nearly cost him the game. In spite of his unquestionable playing strength, will opening preparation be his Achilles Heel in the match?

Garry Kasparov arrived in Chennai today, and became the media magnet for a while, stealing the thunder from the world championship match. Both players were asked what they thought, and the answers were what one might expect, however some chose to ask unexpected questions which got some great answers.

Journalist: Kasparov is here. In the building. Are you intimidated?
Anand: Is he now like Elvis? (laughter) No, it is good that he is here to watch.
Journalist: What do you think of Carlsen's preparation so far?
Anand: I'm flattered you think I'll answer that.

He also took the time to answer questions from his fans on Twitter and we asked him what he thought of the opening preparation until now. Here is what he said:

Score

Tournament details

Schedule: the match will be played over a maximum of twelve games, and the winner of the match will be the first player to score 6.5 points or more. If the winner scores 6.5 points in less than 12 games then the closing ceremony will take place on the day after the World Championship has been decided or one day thereafter.

Live commentary on Playchess in English

Live commentary in other languages

The commentary will commence around 30 minutes after the start of the games. The schedule and commentators may be changed before the start of the Championship on November 9th, with long and short castlings possible.