Carlsen vs Anand 2014 World Chess Championship: Game 10 Analysis

The tenth game of the 2014 FIDE World Championship Match between two of most talented chess players ever was a study in adaptation. Anand opened, as I expected he would, with “1.d4″ and Magnus Carlsen chose to play the Grunfeld Defense. A brilliant strategist, Viswanathan Anand knew that he could not play against the Grunfeld as he did in round one, so he changed up his game plan and aggressively went after “The Mozart of Chess” with the double edged Russian Variation. Anand’s new strategy was met with Kasparov’s old line and the fight that ensued had Garry’s influence all over it.

The key point in this game occurred when Magnus played an inaccuracy on move sixteen. After Carlsen’s mistake, Anand was able to masterfully apply pressure to the young Norwegian right up until he let Magnus off the hook with his own inaccuracy on move twenty-four. After Vishy’s unfortunate mistake, all of his hard fought gains evaporated and the players quickly traded down to a draw.

Please enjoy my analysis of Game 10 from the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand.

 

[Event “FIDE World Chess Chamopionship 2014”]
[Site “Sochi, Russia”]
[Date “2014.11.21”]
[Round “10”]
[White “Anand, Viswanathan (IND)”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[Eco “D97”]
[Annotator “Chris Torres”]

{[ GRUNFELD def.,D97]}

1.d4 Nf6

2.c4 g6

3.Nc3 d5

4.Nf3 Bg7 {Magnus Carlsen has returned to the Grunfeld Defense which he used successfully all the way back in Game 1.}

5.Qb3 {After 5. Qb3, no one will rightfully be able to claim that Anand played passively in Game 10.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 5. Qb3.

 

5… dxc4

6.Qxc4 O-O

7.e4 Na6 {It’s no secret that Carlsen trained with Kasparov in the past and this
“Kasparovesque” line demonstrates the effect of the training.}

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 7… Na6.

 

8.Be2 {This move is the best by test(over 800 high-level games worth.)}

8… c5 {The reason behind the knight being on a6.}

9.d5 e6 {The idea is for black to leave white with an isolated d-pawn. If white can
promote this passed pawn, he/she will likely win. On the other hand, if black
can capture it, then he/she will be playing for a win.}

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 9… e6.

 

 

10.O-O exd5

11.exd5 Re8 {Carlsen chooses a line that Kasparov used twice against Anand. The first of
those occasions ended in a loss for Vishy and the second a draw.}
( 11…Bf5 12.Rd1 Qb6 13.d6 Rad8 14.Na4 Qc6 15.Be3 Ne4 16.Qb5
Bd7 17.Qxc6 Bxc6 18.Bxa6 Bxa4 19.Bxb7 Bxd1 20.Bxe4 Bxf3 21.Bxf3
Bxb2 22.Rd1 Bd4 23.Bxd4 cxd4 24.Rxd4 Rd7 25.h4 Rfd8 26.Ra4 Rb8
{0-1, Anand Viswanathan (IND) 2771 – Kasparov Garry (RUS) 2851 , Frankfurt 1999 It (active) (cat.21})

12.Bg5 {Anand responded with a move that Piket employed to defeat Kasparov.}
( 12.Rd1 Bf5 13.d6 h6 14.Bf4 Nd7 15.Rd2 Nb4 16.Qb3 Be6 17.Bc4
Nb6 18.Bxe6 Rxe6 19.Na4 Re4 20.Bg3 Nc4 21.Nxc5 Nxd2 22.Nxd2 Re2
23.Qxb4 a5 24.Qxb7 Rxd2 25.d7 Rxb2 26.Qd5 Rb5 27.Rd1 Bf8 28.Bd6
Bxd6 29.Qxd6 Rab8 30.h3 Rb1 31.Rxb1 Rxb1+ {…1-0, Piket Jeroen (NED) 2625 – Kasparov Garry (RUS) 2795 , Amsterdam 1995 Memorial M.Euwe (cat.18)})

( 12.Be3 Bf5 13.Rad1 Qb6 14.b3 Ng4 15.Bd2 Ne5 16.Nxe5 Bxe5
17.Be3 Qa5 18.Rc1 Rac8 19.Rfd1 Nb4 20.d6 Red8 21.Bf4 Bd4 22.a3
Nc6 23.Nb5 Bb2 24.Bg5 Rd7 25.Qxc5 Re8 26.b4 Qa4 27.Bf1 Bxc1 28.Qxc1
Qc2 29.Qa1 h5 30.Nc7 Re4 31.Bd3 Qxd1+ {…1/2-1/2, Van Der Sterren Paul (NED) 2555 – Timman Jan H (NED) 2625 , Rotterdam 1997 Ch Netherlands})

( 12.Bf4 Bf5 13.Rad1 Ne4 14.Nb5 Bd7 15.Bd3 Bxb5 16.Qxb5 Nd6
17.Qb3 c4 18.Bxc4 Nc5 19.Qc2 Rc8 20.Bd3 Nxd3 21.Qxd3 Bxb2 22.Rb1
Bf6 23.Bxd6 Qxd6 24.Rxb7 Red8 25.Rxa7 Qxd5 26.Qxd5 Rxd5 27.Re1
Rc2 28.g3 g5 29.h3 h5 30.Kg2 Kg7 31.Ra6 Rf5 {…1/2-1/2, Kramnik Vladimir (RUS) 2780 – Ivanchuk Vassily (UKR) 2754 , Khanty Mansyisk 9/29/2010 Olympiad})

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 12. Bg5.

 

 

12… h6

13.Be3 {This move is regarded as the strongest continuation. However, the alternatives are very interesting as well.}
( 13.Bh4 Qb6 14.a3 Bf5 15.Bd3 Bxd3 16.Qxd3 Qxb2 17.Ra2 Qb6 18.Rb1
c4 19.Qxc4 Rac8 20.Qf1 Qc5 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.Nb5 Nb8 23.d6 Red8
24.Rd2 a6 25.Nbd4 Rxd6 26.Rxb7 Qxa3 27.Rd1 Bxd4 28.Nxd4 Qa4 29.Nb3
Rxd1 30.Qxd1 Qc6 31.Re7 Qc4 32.h3 Nc6 {…1/2-1/2, Szczechowicz Bartosz (POL) 2200 – Miton Kamil (POL) 2415 , Trzebinia 1998 Ch Poland (juniors) (under 20)})

( 13.Bf4 Bf5 14.Ne5 Qb6 15.d6 Be6 16.Qd3 Qb4 17.Qd2 g5 18.Bg3
c4 19.f4 gxf4 20.Bxf4 Nd5 21.Bxh6 Nxc3 22.Bxg7 Nxe2+ 23.Qxe2
Kxg7 24.Qh5 Qxd6 25.Rxf7+ Bxf7 26.Qxf7+ Kh6 27.Ng4+ Kg5 28.Qg7+
{1-0, Antoshin Vladimir S (RUS) 2250 – Kozma Julius (CSR) 2380 , Sochi 1963 It})

13… Bf5

14.Rad1 Ne4 {Magnus plays a strong novelty. The question begging to be answered is if it was shown to him by Kasparov in their historic training sessions.}
( 14…Qb6 15.b3 Rad8 16.Rd2 Ng4 17.Bf4 Qa5 18.Rc1 g5 19.Bg3
Bxc3 20.Qxc3 Qxc3 21.Rxc3 Nf6 22.Bb5 Ne4 23.Re3 Nxd2 24.Rxe8+
Rxe8 25.Bxe8 Ne4 26.Ne5 f6 27.Nc4 Kf8 28.Bb5 Nxg3 29.Bxa6 bxa6
30.hxg3 Ke7 31.f3 Bb1 32.a3 Bc2 33.Na5 Kd6 34.Nc4+ {…0-1, Wojtaszek Radoslaw (POL) 2733 – Ponomariov Ruslan (UKR) 2735 , Poikovsky 9/29/2012 It (cat.18)})

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 14… Ne4.

 

 

15.Nxe4 Bxe4 {Also possible was Rxe4 with play likely to continue with:}
( 15…Rxe4 16.Qc1 Nb4 17.d6 Rc8 18.Qd2 Be6 )

16.Qc1 Qf6 {?}
{Carlsen plays the first innacuracy of the game. Better was:}
( 16…Nb4 17.d6 Nd5 18.Qxc5 Rc8 {and black is developing a dangerous initiative.})

17.Bxh6 {!} {The most direct punishment for Carlsen’s mistake.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 17. Bxh6.

 

17.. Qxb2

18.Qxb2 Bxb2

19.Ng5 Bd4

20.Nxe4 {Given the situation, this is a somewhat automatic capture but Bb5 should also be considered.}
( 20.Bb5 Bxd5 21.Bxe8 Rxe8 22.Rfe1 Rc8 {is a peculiar position with a very interesting set of imbalances.})

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 20. Nxe4.

 

 

20… Rxe4

21.Bf3 {White still has the initiative and the passed pawn.}

21… Re7

22.d6 Rd7

23.Bf4 Nb4

24.Rd2 {?} {This is where Anand loses his opportunity for a victory. Better was:}
( 24.a3 {!} Nc6 25.Rfe1 Rad8 26.Rb1 {and only Caissa knows if Anand could have converted this into a victory in route to taking back the world championship title.})

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand played 24. Rd2.

 

24… Re8 {Carlsen manages to escape from the tiger’s claws again.}

25.Rc1 Re6

26.h4 {Anand shows that he has some resources left in pushing his kingside pawns.}
Be5 {Now Anand must trade bishops or Carlsen will trade for him.}

27.Bxe5 Rxe5

28.Bxb7 {Vishy throws in the towel with this move. At this point in the match, he needs
to keep the complexity in whichever advantageous positions he has left. To try
and claw his way back into the match he needed to play something like:}
( 28.g3 Nc6 29.Bg4 f5 30.f4 {and give Carlsen more opportunities to lose.})

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 28. Bxb7.

 

 

28… Rxb7

29.d7 {The pawn looks threatening if you don’t notice that Carlsen has an extra knight within striking distance.}

29… Nc6

30.d8=Q+

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 30. d8=Q+

 

30… Nxd8

31.Rxd8+ Kg7

32.Rd2 {and the players agreed to a draw. Anand is still a point down in the match and is running out of opportunities to equalize.}
1/2-1/2

 

If you enjoyed this lesson, please check out my posts on the previous rounds:

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Game 7

Game 8

Game 9

and the official site for the 2014 FIDE World Championship Match in Sochi, Russia.

Carlsen vs Anand 2014 World Chess Championship: Game 8 Analysis

After an epic battle of 122 moves in round 7, both contestants returned to the chess board in round 8 looking a little worse for the wear. Carlsen, in a World Championship first, even fell asleep in his chair during the early going of the game. Being a point down in the match, Anand returned to play “1. d4” as he did in his round 3 victory. Magnus was more prepared this time and had little trouble neutralizing any advantage Anand had with the white pieces.

 

Magnus Carlsen used round 8 to catch up on some much needed rest.(www.sportsrediscovered.com)

 

A key moment in this game came when Magnus Carlsen played 10… Be7 which is an innovation. Magnus had little trouble with Anand for the remainder of the game and the resulting draw was a huge victory for everyone on Carlsen’s team.

 

[Event “FIDE World Chess Championship 2014”]
[Site “Sochi, Russia”]
[Date “2014.11.18”]
[Round “8”]
[White “Anand, Viswanathan (IND)”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[Eco “D37”]
[Annotator “Chris Torres”]

{[ QUEEN’S gam. var. WITH 5.BF4,D37]}

1.d4 {Anand is obviously hoping to play a game that resembles his win from round 3.}

1… Nf6

2.c4 e6

3.Nf3 d5 {A Queen’s Gambit Declined as in game 3.}

4.Nc3 Be7

5.Bf4 O-O

6.e3  6. c5 {Magnus Carlsen changes course from following what was played during his loss in round 3. In that contest, Carlsen played 6… Nbd7 and found out the hard way that Vishy was extremely prepared for that continuation.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 6… c5.

 

7.dxc5 Bxc5

8.a3 Nc6

9.Qc2 Re8

10.Bg5 ( 10.O-O-O e5 11.Bg5 d4
12.Nd5 Be6 13.Bd3 Bxd5 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Bxh7+ Kf8
17.Be4 Qd6 18.Kb1 Rac8 19.Rc1 Bb6 20.Qd3 Red8 21.Rhd1 Rc7 22.Bxc6
Rxc6 23.e4 Rdc8 24.Nh4 Qe6 25.Nf5 Rc3 26.Qd2 Rxc1+ 27.Rxc1 Rxc1+
28.Qxc1 Qc6 29.Qxc6 bxc6 {…1-0, Forintos Gyozo V (HUN) 2317 – Vaisser Anatoly (FRA) 2536 , Tallinn 1986 It (open)})

10… Be7 {According to my database, this is actually an innovation though I suspect it
has been played many times in informal games as the move seems pretty obvious.}
( 10…d4 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.exd4 Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Qxd4 14.Bd3 Qe5+
15.Kf1 Kg7 16.Re1 Qc7 17.b4 Be7 18.Re3 f5 19.g4 f4 20.Rh3 h6
21.Rh5 Rd8 22.h4 Qd6 23.Rh3 e5 24.Bf5 Be6 25.Qe4 f6 26.g5 Bxf5
27.gxf6+ Qxf6 28.Rxf5 Qc6 29.h5 Qxe4 30.Nxe4 {…1-0, Delchev Aleksander (BUL) 2623 – Elbilia Jacques (MAR) 2390 , France 6/ 6/2010 Ch France (team) 2010})

( 10…dxc4 11.Rd1 Qa5 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.Bxc4 Be7 14.O-O Rd8
15.Rxd8+ Nxd8 16.Rd1 a6 17.Ba2 Nc6 18.Bb1 f5 19.e4 Bf6 20.exf5
exf5 21.Nd5 Bd8 22.Ne3 Be6 23.Nxf5 Bxf5 24.Qxf5 Qxf5 25.Bxf5
Bf6 26.b3 Na5 27.Rd3 Re8 28.Kf1 Re7 29.Nd2 Rc7 30.Be4 {…1-0, Lev Ronen (ISR) 2449 – Ruderfer Mark B (RUS) 2344 , Israel 2002 Ch Israel (team)})

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 10… Be7.

 

 

11.Rd1 {Vishy pins the d5 pawn to Carlsen’s queen.}

11… Qa5 {and Carlsen unpins the queen by using it to pin Anand’s knight.}

12.Bd3 h6

13.Bh4 {Taking the knight would allow Carlsen to add more pressure to the c3 pin after he recaptures with his bishop.}

13… dxc4 {Carlsen could have added more pressure to the center with a move like Rd8 but instead aims for a very symmetrical pawn structure.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 13… dxc4.

 

 

14.Bxc4 a6

15.O-O b5

16.Ba2 Bb7 {Both sides are done with development and Anand is just a tiny bit better.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 16… Bb7.

 

17.Bb1 {The obvious threat is Bxf6 followed by Qh7.}

17… Rad8 {Magnus isn’t too worried about Anand’s little threat and decides to take shared control of the open file.}

18.Bxf6 Bxf6

19.Ne4 {Anand improves his knight with tempo which is far better than:}
( 19.Qh7+ Kf8 20.Qh8+ Ke7 21.Qh7 {This is the kind of over-zealous mistake a lot of scholastic players make that results in white’s queen being out of play.})

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 19. Ne4.

 

 

19… Be7

20.Nc5 Bxc5 {Magnus is more than happy to trade his inactive bishop for Anand’s pesky knight.}

21.Qxc5 b4 {Magnus offers to trade queens.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 21… b4.

 

 

22.Rc1 {Anand politely declines for now. Had he captured on a5, play would have continued:}
( 22.Qxa5 Nxa5 23.axb4 Nc4 24.Rd3 Nxb2 25.Rb3 Bxf3 26.Rxb2 Bc6
{and now it is black that has the small edge.} )

22… bxa3

23.bxa3 Qxc5

24.Rxc5 {With the queens off the board, there is not much here for Anand to use to pressure his opponent.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 24. Rxc5.

 

24… Ne7

25.Rfc1 Rc8 {Carlsen has easily and completely neutralized white’s opening.}

26.Bd3 Red8

27.Rxc8 Rxc8

28.Rxc8+ Nxc8 {Barring a catastrophe, this game is a complete draw.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 28… Nxc8.

 

29.Nd2 Nb6 {Still, it is nice to see Anand play on so that students of the game have more moves to learn from.}

30.Nb3 Nd7 {It was very important to stop Anand from playing Nc5 and doubling up on a6.}

31.Na5 {So Anand has to settle for the second best square for his knight.}

31… Bc8

32.Kf1 {Endgame rule number two from the Thirty Rules of Chess states that, “The king must be active in the ending.”}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 32. Kf1.

 

32… Kf8

33.Ke1 Ke7

34.Kd2 Kd6

35.Kc3 Ne5 {Carlsen’s knight is allowed to improve on Anand’s time.}

36.Be2 Kc5 {I will be setting this position up for my students and seeing how close their games match the outcome of this one.}

37.f4 {Kicks the knight but sets up another trade.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 37. f4.

 

 

37… Nc6

38.Nxc6 Kxc6

39.Kd4 f6

40.e4 Kd6

41.e5+ {The players agrede to a draw which would have been the outcome in so many more moves. One possible continuation is:} (41… fxe5+ 42.fxe5+ Kc6 43.h3 g5 44.a4 a5 45.Bf3+ Kb6 46.Be4 Bd7 47.Bc2 Be8 48.g4 {with neither side having any hope for victory.)} 1/2-1/2

 

The final position from game 8 of the 2014 World Chess Championship.

 

If you found this lesson useful, feel free to read through my other lessons on the 2014 World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand:

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Game 7

and be sure to visit the official site of the 2014 Fide World Chess Championship in Sochi, Russia.

Carlsen vs Anand 2014 World Chess Championship: Game 7 Analysis

The best chess education available comes from attempting to grasp the work of the greatest masters. In game 7 of the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand, students of the game are treated to a battle between the great master of maneuvering and the great master of the fortress.

 

(photo from http://www.thehindu.com)

 

The key move of this game belongs to Viswanathan Anand. On move 31, Vishy sacrificed his bishop to eliminate the threat of Carlsen’s passed pawns. Magnus, who was left with an extra knight, tried every trick in the book but was unable to break Anand’s super fortress.

 

[Event “FIDE World Chess Championship 2014”]
[Site “Sochi, Russia”]
[Date “2014.11.17”]
[Round “7”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)”]
[Black “Anand, Viswanathan (IND)”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[Eco “C67”]
[Annotator “Chris Torres”]

{[ RUY LOPEZ. BERLIN def.,C67]}

1.e4 e5

2.Nf3 Nc6

3.Bb5 Nf6

4.O-O {For 4. d3, see Game 2 from the Carlsen-Anand World Championship Match of 2014 or Game 6 and Game 7 from their 2013 World Championship Match.}

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen castles on move 4.

 

4… Nxe4

5.d4 Nd6 {5… Be7 was Lasker’s favorite:}
( 5…Be7 6.Qe2 Nd6 7.Bxc6 bxc6 8.dxe5 Nb7 9.Nd4 O-O 10.Nc3 Nc5
11.Re1 Ne6 12.Nf5 f6 13.Nxe7+ Qxe7 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.Ne4 Qg6 16.c3
d6 17.Ng3 Bd7 18.Be3 Rae8 19.Qc4 Kh8 20.Rad1 c5 21.Qh4 Bc6 22.Qb4
{1/2-1/2, Mason James (ENG) – Lasker Emanuel (GER), London 1892 Match})

6.Bxc6 dxc6 {It is best for black to take back with the queen’s pawn to open up lines for his pieces.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 6… dxc6.

7.dxe5 Nf5

8.Qxd8+ Kxd8

9.h3 {Of course, Nc3 is also very playable as demonstrated by Tal:}
( 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.Ne2 Be7 11.Re1 Nh4 12.Ng5 Ng6 13.Ng3 h6 14.Nf3
c5 15.h3 h5 16.Ne4 Be6 17.Nfg5 Bxg5 18.Bxg5 b6 19.Rad1 Ne7 20.Rd3
Rd8 21.Bf6 Rxd3 22.Bxg7 Rd4 23.Bxh8 h4 24.Bf6 Ng6 25.f3 Kd7 26.Kf2
Kc6 27.Ke3 Ra4 28.a3 Rd4 29.Re2 Rd1 30.Nc3 Rg1 31.Kf2 Rh1 32.Rd2
Bf5 33.Ne2 Ra1 34.Ke3 a5 35.Nf4 c4 36.Nxg6 fxg6 37.c3 Bd3 38.Bxh4
Kd5 39.Kf4 b5 40.Bd8 Kc6 41.e6 Re1 42.e7 Kd7 43.b4 {1-0, Tal Mikhail N (LAT) 2660 – Shamkovich Leonid (USA) 2540 , Dubna 1973 It})

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 9. h3.

 

 

9… Ke8 {For 9… Bd7, see Game 4 from the Anand-Carlsen World Championship Match of 2013.}

10.Nc3 h5

11.Bf4 ( 11.Bg5 Be6 12.b3 Be7 13.Rad1 h4
14.Rfe1 Rd8 15.Rxd8+ Kxd8 16.Ne4 b6 17.Bf4 Kc8 18.Neg5 Bxg5 19.Bxg5
Bd5 20.Nh2 c5 21.Rd1 Bc6 22.c3 a5 23.Ng4 Bd7 24.f3 a4 25.Kf2
{1/2-1/2, Aronian Levon (ARM) 2805 – Kramnik Vladimir (RUS) 2801 , Zuerich 4/25/2012 Match})

11… Be7

12.Rad1 ( 12.Ne4 Nh4 13.Nxh4 Bxh4 14.Ng5 Bf5 15.c3 Bxg5
16.Bxg5 Kd7 17.Rad1+ Kc8 18.Rd2 b6 19.Rfd1 Kb7 20.Rd8 Raxd8 21.Rxd8
Rxd8 22.Bxd8 Bg6 {1/2-1/2, Bacrot Etienne (FRA) 2721 – Jakovenko Dmitry (RUS) 2760 , Dortmund 7/ 4/2009 It (cat.20)})

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 12. Rad1.

 

 

12… Be6

13.Ng5 Rh6

14.g3 ( 14.Nxe6 Rxe6 15.Rfe1 Rd8 16.Rxd8+ Kxd8
17.Ne4 c5 18.Ng5 Bxg5 19.Bxg5+ Kd7 20.c3 Kc6 21.Kh2 Nd6 22.f4
f6 23.Bh4 fxe5 24.fxe5 Nc4 25.b3 Nb6 26.Kg3 c4 27.Re4 cxb3 28.axb3
g6 29.Kf4 Nd5+ 30.Kg5 b5 31.c4 bxc4 32.Rxc4+ Kd7 33.Kh6 Ne3 {…1-0, Dominguez Lenier (CUB) 2734 – Alekseev Evgeny (RUS) 2683 , St. Petersburg 10/ 7/2012 Cup St. Petersburg (active)})

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 14. g3.

 

 

14… Bxg5

15.Bxg5 Rg6

16.h4 ( 16.Bf4 Nh4 17.Kh1 Nf3 18.Kg2 Nh4+ 19.Kh1 Nf3 20.Kg2 {1/2-1/2, Grischuk Alexander (RUS) 2757 – Anand Viswanathan (IND) 2817 , Monaco 3/15/2011 It “Amber” (blindfold)})

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 16. h4.

 

 

16… f6

17.exf6 gxf6

18.Bf4 Nxh4

19.f3 Rd8 ( 19…Rg7 20.Ne4 Kf7
21.Kf2 Nxf3 22.Kxf3 Bg4+ 23.Kf2 Bxd1 24.Rxd1 Kg6 25.Nc5 Re7 26.Kf3
Rae8 27.Bd2 Kf7 28.Nd3 b6 29.Re1 Rxe1 30.Bxe1 c5 31.Bc3 Rh8 32.Be1
Re8 33.b3 c6 34.Bf2 Rd8 35.Be3 Rh8 36.Bf2 Rd8 37.a4 Rd7 38.Be3
Rd8 39.Nf4 {…0-1, Efimenko Zahar (UKR) 2703 – Bacrot Etienne (FRA) 2705 , Poikovsky 10/13/2011 It (cat.19)})

 

Position after Anand plays 19… Rd8.

 

 

20.Kf2 ( 20.Rxd8+ Kxd8 21.Kf2 Nf5 22.Rh1 Ng7 23.Bd2 Bf5 24.Nd1
Bxc2 25.Ne3 Bd3 26.Ng2 Ne6 27.Rxh5 Rg7 28.Bc3 Ke7 29.Rh6 Rf7
30.g4 Bb1 31.a3 f5 32.g5 Nxg5 33.Nf4 Ke8 34.Rg6 Nh7 35.Rg8+ Rf8
36.Rg7 Rf7 {1/2-1/2, Anand Viswanathan (IND) 2817 – Nakamura Hikaru (USA) 2753 , Sao Paulo 10/ 7/2011 It (cat.20)})

20… Rxd1 {I am sure that Magnus Carlsen and especially Viswanathan Anand have studied this line as it is a major possibility stemming from the above Anand-Nakamura game.}

21.Nxd1 {White shouldn’t recapture with the rook or else:}
( 21.Rxd1 {?} Nxf3 22.Kxf3 Bg4+ )

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 21. Nxd1.

 

 

21… Nf5

22.Rh1 Bxa2 {I’d be surprised if this was not all part of Anand and Carlsen’s preparation.}
23.Rxh5 Be6 24.g4 Nd6 25.Rh7 Nf7 {The first original move of this game is an improvement over:
{ 25… f5 26. g5 Nf7 27. Rh5 Rg8 28. Kg3 Rh8 29. Rxh8+ Nxh8 30. Bxc7 Ng6 31.
Nc3 Kd7 32. Bb8 a5 33. Na4 Kc8 34. Bf4 b5 35. Nc5 Ba2 36. c3 a4 37.Bd6 Bd5 38.
f4 Kd8 39. Kf2 Nh4 40. Ke3 Ke8 41. Nd3 Be4 42. Nf2 Bd5 43. Ba3 Kf7 44. Kd4 Ke6
45. Nd3 Ng6 46. Nc5+ Kf7 47. Na6 Nxf4 48. Ke5 Nd3+ 49. Kxf5 c5 50. g6+ Kg8 51.
Nxc5 Nxc5 52. Bxc5 1/2-1/2, Giri, Anish 2768 – Radjabov, Teimour 2726, Tashkent UZB 2014.10.20}
26.Ne3 Kd8 {Anand must defend the pawn on c7 from Carlsen’s bishop.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 26… Kd8.

 

27.Nf5 c5 {The first move of the game that is not a computer suggestion. Houdini showed
27… a6 as black’s number one choice. Obviously not 27… Bxf5 because:}
( 27…Bxf5 28.gxf5 {just loses for black.} )

28.Ng3 {Carlsen is threatening to move his knight to h5 where it can attack Anand’s isolated pawn.}

28… Ne5 {Anand’s knight improves but not without presenting Carlsen with two good moves (Bxe5 or Rh8+.)}

29.Rh8+ {Carlsen’s other plan would have been to capture Anand’s knight straight away:}
( 29.Bxe5 fxe5 30.Rh8+ Rg8 31.Rh5 Rf8 32.Ke3 Bd5 33.Ne4 Bxe4
34.Kxe4 Rf4+ 35.Ke3 Rb4 36.b3 c4 37.Rxe5 cxb3 38.cxb3 Rxb3+ 39.Kf4
Rd3 40.g5 {and Carlsen’s advanced passed pawns are quite dangerous.} )

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 29. Rh8+.

 

29… Rg8 {Vishy would like to trade as Carlsen’s rook has been a monster.}

30.Bxe5 {The move order is different but the result is the same as in the notes after move 29.}

30… fxe5

31.Rh5 Bxg4 {!} {This has nothing to do with calculation and everything to do with the instincts of one of the greatest chess masters ever!}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 31… Bxg4.

 

32.fxg4 Rxg4

33.Rxe5 b6 {Anand wisely defends a pawn with a pawn rather than relegating his last piece to its defence.}

34.Ne4 Rh4 {Anand wants his rook free to defend the pawns from any rank and that means distancing it from white’s pieces.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 34… Rh4.

 

35.Ke2 Rh6

36.b3 Kd7

37.Kd2 Kc6 {Anand is setting up a fortress against white’s offensive. Vishy has proven many times over that he is likely the world’s best defender in positions requiring a fortress strategy.}

38.Nc3 a6 {There will be much debate as to whether Anand’s fortress can withstand perfect play from white.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 38… a6.

 

39.Re4 Rh2+ {The rook can always move back to h6 and defend.}

40.Kc1 Rh1+

41.Kb2 Rh6

42.Nd1 Rg6 {Anand just needs to hold his present formation and not trade rooks. If the rooks leave the board, Carlsen will likely win.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 42… Rg6.

 

43.Ne3 {So we have a great master of maneuvering vs a great master of the fortress!}

43… Rh6

44.Re7 Rh2 {The rook can dance a little but the pawns should not be moved unless necessary because once a pawn moves forward, it is a permanent commitment.}

45.Re6+ Kb7

46.Kc3 Rh4

47.Kb2 Rh2

48.Nd5 Rd2 {The faithful rook defends its master when the knight gets to close for comfort.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 42… Rd2.

 

49.Nf6 Rf2

50.Kc3 Rf4

51.Ne4 Rh4

52.Nf2 Rh2

53.Rf6 Rh7

54.Nd3 Rh3

55.Kd2 {Carlsen has made no progress against Anand’s fortress.}

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 55. Kd2.

 

55… Rh2+

56.Rf2 Rh4

57.c4 {Magnus must add a pawn into the mix if he plans on breaching Anand’s defenses.}

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 57. c4.

 

57… Rh3

58.Kc2 Rh7

59.Nb2 Rh5

60.Re2 Rg5 {Anand’s rook is currently guarding a strong pawn on c5 because he plans to
start moving pawns forward which will make c5 a target.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 60… Rg5.

 

 

61.Nd1 {Magnus wants his knight to get to d5.}

61… b5 {Again, Anand is trusting his instincts and changing his pawn formation.}

62.Nc3 c6 {Anand takes d5 from the knight.}

63.Ne4 Rh5

64.Nf6 Rg5 {Anand’s rook refuses to be distracted by Carlsen’s knight and continues to guard the weak pawn on c5.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 64… Rg5.

 

65.Re7+ Kb6

66.Nd7+ Ka5

67.Re4 {Moves such as Re5 won’t force the exchange of rooks because Carlsen’s king is an easy target:}
( 67.Re5 Rg2+ 68.Kd3 Rg3+ 69.Kd2 Rg2+ {and black is fine.} )

 

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 67. Re4.

 

67… Rg2+

68.Kc1 Rg1+

69.Kd2 Rg2+

70.Ke1 bxc4 {With white’s king far away, now is the perfect time for Anand to play this exchange and force this game into a draw.}

71.Rxc4 ( 71.bxc4 Kb4 72.Ne5 Ra2 73.Re3 a5 74.Kd1 a4 75.Kc1 Rg2
76.Nd3+ Kxc4 77.Ne1 Rf2 78.Nc2 Rg2 79.Kb2 Rd2 {Also leads to a draw.} )

71.. Rg3 {It is no accident that Anand always seems to have his rook on the perfect rank and safely away from trouble.}

 

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 71… Rg3.

 

72.Nxc5 Kb5

73.Rc2 a5

74.Kf2 Rh3

75.Rc1 Kb4 {The pawn on b3 is Carlsen’s last hope for a victory and it is doomed.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 75… Kb4.

 

76.Ke2 Rc3

77.Nd3+ {Carlsen escapes trading rooks but will lose his pawn on b3.}

77… Kxb3

78.Ra1 {At this point, Carlsen’s only hope is for Anand to blunder his rook. But his name is Magnus and he will play on!}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 78. Ra1.

 

78… Kc4

79.Nf2 Kb5

80.Rb1+ Kc4 {The game is a draw unless an epic blunder occurs. Many chess players who are not world champions questioned Carlsen’s motives for playing on. Not giving up the fight is a huge part of what makes Magnus “Magnus!” and why he has been able to achieve so much in his young career. Perhaps rather than questioning Magnus Carlsen’s tenacity at the chess board, we should be enjoying it.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 80… Kc4.

 

81.Ne4 Ra3

82.Nd2+ Kd5

83.Rh1 a4

84.Rh5+ Kd4

85.Rh4+ Kc5

86.Kd1 Kb5

87.Kc2 Rg3

88.Ne4 Rg2+

89.Kd3 a3

90.Nc3+ Kb6

91.Ra4 a2

92.Nxa2 Rg3+

93.Kc2 Rg2+

94.Kb3 Rg3+

95.Nc3 Rh3

96.Rb4+ Kc7

97.Rg4 Rh7

98.Kc4 Rf7

99.Rg5 Kb6

 

 

100.Na4+ Kc7

101.Kc5 Kd7

102.Kb6 Rf1

103.Nc5+ Ke7

104.Kxc6 Rd1

105.Rg6 Kf7

106.Rh6 Rg1

107.Kd5 Rg5+

108.Kd4 Rg6

109.Rh1 Rg2

110.Ne4 Ra2

 

 

111.Rf1+ Ke7

112.Nc3 Rh2

113.Nd5+ Kd6

114.Rf6+ Kd7

115.Nf4 Rh1

116.Rg6 Rd1+

117.Nd3 Ke7

118.Ra6 Kd7

119.Ke4 Ke7

120.Rc6 Kd7

121.Rc1 Rxc1

122.Nxc1 1/2-1/2 

 

With only one old knight left, this game is finally a draw by insufficient material (http://www.leninimports.com/lovis_corinth.html)

 

If you thought this lessons was useful, please check out my analysis of:

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

 

and the official site for the 2014 Fide World Chess Championship Match in Sochi, Russia.

Carlsen vs Anand 2014 World Chess Championship: Game 6 Analysis

Chess is sometimes a cruel game. I was reminded of this in game 6 of the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanthan Anand. Early on, Anand dug himself into a hole by choosing passive play and dubious plans. There was a glimmer of hope when Magnus Carlsen tossed him a lifeline by blundering but, on this day, the Tiger from Madras was toothless and completely missed his opportunity to attack. Still, all hope was not lost if Viswanathan Anand could regain his footing and escape with a draw. Anand, however, was not able to do this and the world watched as he self destructed. Now, only one question  remains unanswered from round six: Is the hole Anand dug the final resting place for his dreams of another world championship title?

 

Viswanathan Anand in Sochi, Russia(photo from: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/)

 

The key moment in game 6 of the 2014 Carlsen-Anand Match came on move twenty-six when Magnus Carlsen made a terrible mistake with Kd2. At the time of the blunder, I started receiving excited messages from chess fans across the globe asking questions about Anand’s chances. Then, the most extraordinarily shocking moment of the game took place. Viswanathan Anand allowed Carlsen to escape from his blunder unharmed. At the time, I honestly thought that there must be some problem with the moves being relayed properly. However, it soon became clear that Viswanathan Anand had been so preoccupied with his own strategy for the game that he simply failed to examine all of his checks, captures and threats. At least there is a valuable lesson to be learned from round 6…

Below is my analysis:

 

[Event “FIDE World Chess Championship 2014”]
[Site “Sochi, Russia”]
[Date “2014.11.15”]
[Round “6”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)”]
[Black “Anand, Viswanathan (IND)”]
[Result “1-0”]
[Eco “B41”]
[Annotator “Chris Torres”]

{[ SICILIAN def. Paulsen/Kan var.,B41]}

1.e4 c5

2.Nf3 e6

3.d4 {Magnus is coming back to the main lines after his 3. g3 detour in game 4.}

3… cxd4

4.Nxd4 a6 {This move classifies black’s opening play as the Kan Variation of the Sicilian Defense. The Kan is a good choice for those thinking of trying out the Sicilian Defense because it does not require massive amounts of memorized theory in order to play well.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 4… a6.

5.c4 {Magnus Carlsen is not concerned with hiding his intentions and immediately sets up the Maroczy Bind. In the Maroczy Bind, white’s pawns on e4 and d4 make it very difficult for black to strike at the center with d5.}

5… Nf6

6.Nc3 Bb4

7.Qd3 {Vishy has played this move himself so we know that he knows this idea well.}
( 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Ne5 10.O-O d6 11.f4 Nxd3 12.Qxd3
e5 13.fxe5 dxe5 14.Bg5 h6 15.Bh4 exd4 16.e5 dxc3 17.Qxd8+ Kxd8
18.exf6 g5 19.Rad1+ Bd7 20.Bg3 Re8 21.Rd3 c2 22.Rd2 Re6 23.Rxc2
Ke8 24.Rd2 Rc8 25.c5 Bb5 26.Rf5 b6 {…1-0, Radjabov Teimour (AZE) 2748 – David Alberto (LUX) 2589 , Bastia 10/29/2010 It “Corsica Masters” (1/4 final) (active)})

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 6. Qd3.

 

 

7… Nc6 {The game below has a neat trick for white which is worthy of study.}
( 7…Qc7 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 Nxe4 10.Nb5 axb5 11.Qxg7 Rf8 12.Bh6
Qc5 13.f3 bxc4 14.Bxc4 d5 15.Bb5+ Bd7 16.Rc1 Qxc1+ 17.Bxc1 Bxb5
18.Bh6 Nd7 19.fxe4 Ra4 20.exd5 Re4+ 21.Kd1 Re5 22.d6 Rd5+ 23.Kc1
Rxd6 24.Rd1 Bd3 25.Qg3 Nc5 26.b4 Ne4 27.Qg7 Rc6+ 28.Kb2 Rc2+
29.Ka1 {1-0, Kovacevic Aleksandar (SRB) 2575 – Kontic Djordjije (MNE) 2364, Cetinje (Montenegro) 2009.08.16})

8.Nxc6 dxc6

9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 {Anand’s position is known to be better than it looks. However, this is the kind of position that Magnus Carlsen is notoriously very strong at playing.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 9… Kxd8.

 

10.e5 ( 10.Bd2 e5 11.O-O-O Ke7 12.f3 Be6 13.a3 Bc5 14.Na4 Nd7
15.Nxc5 Nxc5 16.Bb4 b6 17.Kc2 Rhd8 18.Be2 f6 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Kc3
a5 21.Bxc5+ bxc5 22.Rc1 Rb8 23.Bd1 Kd6 24.Ba4 Kc7 25.Rg1 h5 26.h4
Rd8 27.Bc2 Rd4 28.Bd3 g5 29.Rh1 Bf7 {…1/2-1/2, Ruan Lufei (CHN) 2453 – Cherenkova Kristina (RUS) 2256 , Sochi 5/ 2/2007 Ch Russia (club) (w)})

10… Nd7 {Anand plays the very passive Nd7 rather than the more agressive Ne4. We saw Vishy make passive choices like this last year in Chennai when he first lost his title to Carlsen.}
( 10…Ne4 11.a3 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Kc7 13.Be3 b6 14.Bd3 Nc5 15.Bxc5
bxc5 16.O-O-O Bb7 17.Rhe1 Rad8 18.Re3 Rd7 19.Bf1 Rxd1+ 20.Kxd1
Rd8+ 21.Kc2 Kd7 22.Rg3 g6 23.Rh3 Rh8 24.Bd3 h6 25.Kb3 Kc7 26.Rf3
Rh7 27.g4 Kb6 28.Rh3 Bc8 29.Be2 Bd7 30.Rf3 {…1-0, Flores Rios Mauricio (CHI) 2499 – Lemos Damian (ARG) 2495 , Villa Martelli 3/12/2008 Memorial R.Fischer (cat.9)})

11.Bf4 Bxc3+

12.bxc3 {Carlsen’s queen side pawn structure has been damaged but he can activate pieces much more easily than Anand.}

12… Kc7 {Anand’s position is cramped but has no weaknesses.}

13.h4 {Carlsen sends forth a pawn to irritate Anand’s kingside pawns structure. Also,there is the potential to move the rook to h3 giving it access to squares like d3 and g3.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 13. h4.

 

13… b6 {Anand is making it possible for his bishop to move to b7. Once there he can play c5 and his bishop will control the long diagonal.}

14.h5 {Carlsen commences the “irritation.”}

14… h6 {?} {By reacting to Carlsen’s pawn in this way, Anand creates a weakness on g7 that will come back to haunt him later in this game. Better was:}( 14…Bb7 15.h6 g6 )

15.O-O-O

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen castles queen-side on move 15.

 

 

15… Bb7

16.Rd3 c5

17.Rg3 {Carlsen wastes little time in attacking the target that Anand gave him.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 17. Rg3.

 

17… Rag8

18.Bd3 Nf8 {Anand’s plan becomes clear. He wants to start exchanges on g6 which will finally allow his pieces to enter the game.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 18… Nf8.

 

19.Be3 g6

20.hxg6 Nxg6

21.Rh5 {The best way of defending the pawn on e5. Had Carlsen simply played pawn to f4, he would have blocked his own bishop.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 21. Rh5.

 

21… Bc6

22.Bc2 {Magnus is shoring up his position before pushing ahead for victory. Now Anand’s Bishop, knight and rooks have no way to penetrate white’s position.}

22… Kb7 {?!} {I am not sure as to why Anand felt it was necessary to move his king to b7. Probably because it wasn’t.}

23.Rg4 {?!} {Carlsen is getting a little overly prophylactic. His rook was better on g3 as it allows his king to move to d2 without it being a blunder as seen on move 26.}

23… a5

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 23… a5.

 

24.Bd1 {?!} {Carlsen will have to admit to the dubious nature of this move when his bishop returns to c2 on his very next turn.}

24… Rd8

25.Bc2 Rdg8 {Based on Anand’s passive play, a draw by repition would suit him fine.}

26.Kd2 {?} {A terrible blunder by Magnus Carlsen. If he had left his rook on g3 a few moves back this would be fine.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 26. Kd2.

 

26… a4 {?} {Viswanathan Anand is to focused on his own plans to consider all his checks, captures and threats. Had he explored his options he would not have lost this game and may have even taken the lead in the match. Play could have continued like this:}
( 26…Nxe5 27.Rxg8 Nxc4+ {I believe Anand may have missed this check in his calculations.} 28.Ke2 ( 28.Kd3 Nb2+ 29.Kd2 Rxg8 30.g3 Rd8+ 31.Kc1 Nd3+ 32.Kb1( 32.Bxd3 Rxd3 33.Kb2 Be4 34.Rxh6 Rd1 35.a4 Rb1+ 36.Ka2 ) Ne1 33.Rxh6 Nxc2 34.Kxc2 Be4+ ) Rxg8 29.g3 Na3 30.Bd3 c4 31.Bh7 Rd8 32.Rxh6 Nb5 33.Bd2 Bf3+ {and white still has drawing chances but the road to the half point will be difficult.})

27.Ke2 {Magnus Carlsen was visably relieved to escape unpunished.}

27… a3 {?!} {Anand wants to play Ra8 and then exchange bishops after Ba4. The problem is that this takes a lot of time and Magnus isn’t going to wait around.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 27… a3.

 

28.f3 {!} {I really like this move. Magnus prevents Anand’s bishop from causing any trouble while simultaneously defending his rook on g4.}

28… Rd8

29.Ke1 {This is a high class waiting move. Whichever way Anand decides to go, Magnus will be able to react efficiently and attack Vishy’s weaknesses.}

29… Rd7

30.Bc1 {!} {It’s worth pointing out that Magnus would not have had a target on a3 without Anand placing it there.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 30. Bc1.

 

30… Ra8

31.Ke2 Ba4 {After a long wait, we finally get to see Anand’s plan come to fruition. The only problem being that, it doesn’t work.}

32.Be4+ Bc6 {?} {At this point, the game became painful to watch. Anand’s chess has gone from dubious to ugly. It is worth pointing out that he did have one last potentially game saving idea:}
( 32…Ka7 33.Bxa8 Kxa8 34.Bxa3 Rd1 35.Rxh6 Ra1 {and black still has a fighting chance for a draw.})

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 32… Bc6.

 

 

33.Bxg6 {!} fxg6

34.Rxg6 {All the dominoes begin to fall.}

34… Ba4

35.Rxe6 Rd1

36.Bxa3 Ra1

37.Ke3 Bc2 {?}

38.Re7+ {and Anand just couldn’t take it any more.}
1-0

 

The final position from game 6 of the 2014 World Chess Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand.

 

Please check out my analysis of the other World Championship rounds:

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

and the official site for the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship in Sochi, Russia.

Carlsen vs Anand 2014 World Chess Championship: Game 5 Analysis

With both players even after four games and Magnus Carlsen due to get the white pieces in rounds 6 and 7, it was important for Viswanathan Anand to make good use of being white in round 5. Vishy once again began with “1. d4” but this time, a more prepared Carlsen, demonstrated his incredible knowledge of the Queen’s Indian Defense at a lightning fast pace. Anand responded to Magnus’ rapid moves with novel ideas which kept the pressure on Carlsen throughout the game. The young Norwegian never cracked and when the dust settles he was able to hold Vishy to just a draw. Still, this was my personal favorite round from the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship as both contestants seemed to be performing at their best.

 

Viswanathan Anand vs Magnus Carlsen 2014(photo from: https://chess24.com)

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire game but, in particular, I loved how Viswanathan Anand dared Magnus Carlsen to gobble a pawn on b2 with his queen on move twenty. Had Carlsen accepted the pawn, the “Tiger from Madras” would have chased Magnus’  queen for several moves and caused him all kinds of difficulties. Carlsen finally accepted the pawn on move twenty-two and wisely set up a queen trade to alleviate Anand’s pressure.

 

[Event “FIDE World Chess Championship 2014”]
[Site “Sochi, Russia”]
[Date “2014.11.14”]
[Round “5”]
[White “Anand, Viswanathan (IND)”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[Eco “E16”]
[Annotator “Chris Torres”]
[Source “”]

{[ QUEEN’S INDIAN def.,E16]}

1.d4 Nf6

2.c4 e6

3.Nf3 b6 {Magnus Carlsen moves to a Queen’s Indian Defense in round 5. In the Indian Defenses, black attempts to control the center with pieces rather than occupying it with pawns. So, in the Queen’s Indian Defense, the idea is to control d5 and e4 with the fianchetto of the queen’s bishop.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 3… b6.

 

4.g3 Bb4+ {This move and the subsequent retreat has been gaining popularity in recent years.}

5.Bd2 Be7

6.Nc3 Bb7

7.Bg2 c6 {Generally it is not a good idea to place pawns in front of a strong bishop as Carlsen does here. However, in this line of the Queen’s Indian Defense, Magnus is adding more strength to his coming d5 push.}

8.e4 {Anand constructs a nice wall in the center.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 8. e4.

 

 

8… d5 {Carlsen swings a wrecking ball toward Anand’s wall.}

9.exd5 {Anand could have also played 9. cxd5 or 9. e5 as in the games below:}
( 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.e5 Ne4 11.O-O O-O 12.Re1 Nxd2 13.Qxd2 Ba6 14.a3
Nc6 15.b4 Bc4 16.Qe3 b5 17.Nd2 Qb6 18.Nxc4 bxc4 19.Rad1 Rae8
20.f4 g6 21.h4 f6 22.Nxd5 exd5 23.Bxd5+ Kg7 24.Bxc4 fxe5 25.dxe5
Rd8 26.Bd5 Qxe3+ 27.Rxe3 Rd7 28.Red3 Rfd8 {…1/2-1/2, Karpov Anatoly (RUS) 2775 – Tiviakov Sergei (NED) 2655 , Linares 1995 It (cat.17)})

( 9.e5 Ne4 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.O-O O-O 12.Re1 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Ba6
14.h4 Nc6 15.Ng5 Na5 16.Qb1 g6 17.Nf3 Rc8 18.h5 Rc6 19.Bf1 Bxf1
20.Rxf1 Kh8 21.Bh6 Rg8 22.hxg6 Rxg6 23.Bd2 Nc4 24.Qd3 b5 25.Kg2
Qa5 26.Rh1 Nxd2 27.Qxd2 Rxc3 28.Rh5 Rg7 {…1-0, Ruban Vadim (RUS) 2590 – Tiviakov Sergei (NED) 2635 , St. Petersburg 1993 Zt})

9… cxd5

10.Ne5 {With nothing to prevent it, it makes good sense for Anand to move the knight to the outpost at this point.}

10… O-O

11.O-O Nc6 {Magnus Carlsen has played his opening moves noticeably faster in game 5.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 11… Nc6.

 

12.cxd5 {Anand had five serious options to consider here. I give examples of the other four below:}
( 12.Bg5 Rc8 13.Qa4 Na5 14.cxd5 Nxd5 15.Bxd5 Bxd5 16.Bxe7 Qxe7
17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Rfe1 Rfe8 19.Nd3 Qd8 20.Rxe8+ Qxe8 21.Qxe8+ Rxe8
22.Rc1 Nc4 23.b3 Nd6 24.Nf4 Nb5 25.Nxd5 f6 26.Ne3 Nxd4 27.Rc7
Nb5 28.Rb7 Kf8 29.a4 Nd4 30.Rxa7 Nxb3 31.Nd5 Re6 {…1/2-1/2, Abramovic Bosko (SRB) 2500 – Scavo Fernando (ITA) 2185 , Montecatini Terme 1997 It (open)})

( 12.Qa4 Rc8 13.cxd5 exd5 14.Rfe1 a6 15.Bg5 b5 16.Qd1 h6 17.Bxf6
Bxf6 18.Nxd5 Re8 19.Qh5 Nxe5 20.Nxf6+ Qxf6 21.dxe5 Qb6 22.Bxb7
Qxb7 23.Rad1 Re6 24.Rd6 Qe7 25.Rd5 Qb4 26.Re2 Qc4 27.Qf3 Qxa2
28.Rd7 Rf8 29.Kg2 Qc4 30.b3 Qc5 31.Rd5 Qc7 {…1/2-1/2, Almasi Zoltan (HUN) 2650 – Breder Dennis (GER) 2454 , Germany 2003 Bundesliga 2002/03})

( 12.Bf4 Na5 13.Rc1 dxc4 14.Bxb7 Nxb7 15.Nc6 Qd7 16.d5 Bd6
17.Be5 Bxe5 18.Nxe5 Qc7 19.Re1 Rfd8 20.Nc6 Re8 21.Qf3 Nd6 22.dxe6
fxe6 23.Nd4 e5 24.Rxe5 Rxe5 25.Qxa8+ Re8 {1/2-1/2, Wehmeier Stefan (GER) 2400 – Rodriguez Amador (ESP) 2510 , Olot 1996 It (open)})

( 12.Nxc6 Bxc6 13.Bg5 Rc8 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.cxd5 exd5 16.Rc1
Qd6 17.Qd2 Rfd8 18.Rc2 Qd7 {1/2-1/2, Czerwonski Aleksander (POL) 2360 – Grabarczyk Miroslaw (POL) 2445 , Warsaw 1995 Ch Poland})

12… Nxe5

13.d6 {According to my extensive database, this is a novelty.}
( 13.dxe5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Bc3 Bxg2 16.Qxd8 Rfxd8 17.Kxg2
Rd5 18.Rfd1 Rad8 19.Rxd5 Rxd5 20.f4 f5 21.Rc1 Kf7 22.Be1 {1/2-1/2, Komljenovic Davor (CRO) 2465 – Palac Mladen (CRO) 2561 , Sibenik 9/10/2010 Ch Croatia (team) (1A)})

13… Nc6 {Magnus Carlsen responded quickly as if he expected Anand’s move.}

14.dxe7 Qxe7

15.Bg5 h6 {Magnus challenges Anand’s pin.}

16.d5{!} {Anand is really adding spice into this game.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 16. d5.

 

 

16… Na5 {!?} {Wow! The world was expecting a rook to move to d8 and Carlsen, instead, places a knight on the rim.}

17.Bxf6 {It may have eliminated Anand’s advantage in having the bishop pair, but I still believe 16. d5 to be an exceptional move by Vishy.}

17… Qxf6

18.dxe6 {Magnus Carlsen has some interesting captures to consider.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 18. dxe6.

 

18… Qxe6 {Although, it appears that Magnus’ alternative choices are identical to each-other.}
( 18…Bxg2 19.Kxg2 fxe6 20.Qe2 Nc6 ) ( 18…fxe6 19.Qe2 Bxg2
20.Kxg2 Nc6 )

19.Re1 {This move prepares for Vishy’s 20th.}
( 19.Bxb7 Nxb7 20.Qf3 Nc5 21.Rfe1 )

19… Qf6

20.Nd5 {!} {Viswanathan Anand is daring Magnus Carlsen to capture on b2!}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 20. d5.

 

20… Bxd5 {It is worth taking a moment to look at 20… Qxb2:}
( 20…Qxb2 21.Re2 {!} Qa3 22.Re3 Qb2 23.Rb1 Qxa2 24.Ra1 Qc4
25.Rxa5 {!} bxa5 26.Ne7+ Kh8 27.Bxb7 Rad8 28.Qa1 {!} Qc5 {and white has some nice targets while black is left defending.})

21.Bxd5 Rad8

22.Qf3 Qxb2 {Carlsen finally accepts Anand’s challenge.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 22… Qxb2.

 

23.Rad1 Qf6 {!?} {Carlsen is ready and willing to shatter his king-side pawn structure as long as it relieves the pressure Anand is exerting on him.}

24.Qxf6 gxf6

25.Re7 {Rooks on the seventh rank are very powerful weapons.}

25… Kg7 {There is no point in trying to save the pawn on a7.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 25… Kg7.

 

 

26.Rxa7 {?} {This obvious move is slightly inaccurate. A better plan would have been leaving the “dead pawn” on the board but also leaving Magnus’ knight stranded.:}
( 26.Rc7 f5 27.Kg2 Rd6 28.Bf3 Rxd1 29.Bxd1 )

26… Nc6

27.Rb7 Nb4

28.Bb3 Rxd1+

29.Bxd1 Nxa2

30.Rxb6 {At this level, there is not much Viswanathan Anand can do to avoid the draw with Magnus Carlsen.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 30. Rxb6.

 

30… Nc3

31.Bf3 f5 {This obviously prepares for the knight to move to e4.}

32.Kg2 Rd8

33.Rc6 Ne4

34.Bxe4 ( 34.Rc4 Nd2 35.Rb4 Nxf3 36.Kxf3
{and the knight and bishop would have left the board anyways.} )

34… fxe4

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 34… fxe4.

 

35.Rc4 f5 {I enjoy World Championship Matches because the players continue to play beyond where they would normally agree to a draw. The extra moves demonstrate good technique and are of good educational value.}

36.g4 Rd2

37.gxf5 e3

38.Re4 Rxf2+

39.Kg3 Rxf5 1/2-1/2

 

The final position of Game 5 from the 2014 Carlsen-Anand World Chess Championship Match.

 

If you enjoyed this lesson, please check out my analysis of:

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

 

and the official site for the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship Match in Sochi, Russia.

Carlsen vs Anand 2014 World Chess Championship: Game 4 Analysis

After a disappointing loss in Game 3, Magnus Carlsen returned with the white pieces and played “1. e4” in game 4 of the 2014 FIDE World Championship. Viswanathan Anand replied with c5 and the hopes of again proving that his opening preparation is superior to the young Norwegian’s. However, Magnus opted out of the main lines with “3. g3” and thus the stage was set for a long and strategic battle.

 

Magnus Carlsen (white) vs Viswanathan Anand (black) photo: http://www.sochi2014.fide.com/

 

Game four of the Carlsen-Anand Match hit a critical phase at move thirty-two. After the exchange of rooks, the ideas expressed through the moves of Magnus and Vishy offer a rare glimpse into the understanding of complicated endgames that these two great chess players possess. Their play should provide great study material to chess enthusiasts worldwide.

 

Below is my analysis of Game 4:

 

[Event “FIDE World Chess Championship 2014”]
[Site “Sochi, Russia”]
[Date “2014.11.12”]
[Round “4”]
[White “Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)”]
[Black “Anand, Viswanathan (IND)”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[Eco “B40”]
[Annotator “Chris Torres”]

{[ SICILIAN def.,B40]}

1.e4 c5

2.Nf3 e6

3.g3 {After a negative result in round 3, Magnus decides it is best not to test Anand’s preparation and avoids the main lines of the Sicilian Defense.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 3. g3.

 

3… Nc6

4.Bg2 d5

5.exd5 exd5

6.O-O Nf6 ( 6…d4 7.c3 Nf6 8.cxd4 Nxd4
9.Nxd4 cxd4 10.Qa4+ Qd7 11.Re1+ Be7 12.Qxd7+ Kxd7 13.d3 Rd8 14.Bf4 Ke8 15.Na3 Kf8 16.Nb5 a6 17.Na3 Nd5 18.Be5 Nb4 19.Bc7 Rd7 20.Bb6 Nxd3 21.Re2 Nxb2 22.Rxb2 Bxa3 23.Rb3 Be7 24.Rd1 a5 25.a4 d3 26.Rbxd3{…0-1, Geurink Jasper (NED) 2305 – Klinkhammer Johan (NED) 2017 , Groningen 4/13/2011 Tournament (open)})

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 6… Nf6.

 

 

7.d4 {Magnus strikes at the center with plans of isolating a black pawn.}

7… Be7 {It is important to allow oneself the ability to castle in such positions.}

8.Be3 {Taking with dxc4 also makes sense as it forces black to make Be7 a time waster.}
( 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Bg5 Be6 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Qd3 h6 12.Bf4 Re8 13.Rad1
Rc8 14.a3 a6 15.h3 Qd7 16.g4 Ba7 17.Rfe1 d4 18.Ne2 Bd5 19.Ng3
Rxe1+ 20.Rxe1 Re8 21.Nf5 Be4 22.Qb3 Bxf5 23.Rxe8+ Nxe8 24.gxf5
Nf6 25.Ne5 Nxe5 26.Bxe5 Qxf5 27.Bg3 b5 {…1-0, Bauer Christian (FRA) 2634 – Milov Vadim (SUI) 2680 , Ajaccio 10/25/2007 Ch Europe (blitz)})

8… cxd4 {Anand chooses the proactive approach to dealing with the pawn situation in the center.}
( 8…O-O 9.dxc5 Ne4 10.Nc3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Qa5 12.Qxd5 Be6 13.Qe4
Qxc3 14.Nd4 Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Qc4 16.Rfd1 Bxc5 17.Bf1 Qb4 18.Rab1
Qa3 19.Bd3 g6 20.Bb2 Qxa2 21.Qe5 Bxf2+ 22.Kxf2 f6 23.Qf4 Rad8
24.Kg1 Rf7 25.Re1 Bd5 26.Qb4 Bc6 27.Bc4 {1-0, Hasangatin Ramil (RUS) 2498 – Santos Antonio P (POR) 2336 , Cappelle la Grande 3/ 3/2011 It (open)})

9.Nxd4 Bg4 ( 9…O-O 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Qd3 a6 12.Rfe1 Qd7 13.Nxc6
bxc6 14.Na4 Qf5 15.Bf4 Bb4 16.Qxf5 Bxf5 17.c3 Ba5 18.Bf1 Bd8
19.b3 Ne4 20.h4 Bf6 21.Rac1 g5 22.hxg5 Nxg5 23.Bg2 Nh3+ 24.Bxh3
Bxh3 25.Be5 Bg5 26.f4 Be7 27.Bd4 Rfe8 28.Re3 Bf5 29.Nc5 {…1/2-1/2, Jones Gawain C (ENG) 2653 – Caruana Fabiano (ITA) 2736 , Reykjavik 3/10/2012 It (open)})

10.Qd3 Qd7

11.Nd2 O-O {Here we have a classic situation where only one side has a center pawn but it is isolated and therefor a weakness.}

The position after Viswanathan Anand castles on move 11.

 

12.N2f3 {Magnus improves his less influential knight.}

12… Rfe8 {Vishy grabs the open e-file with his rook.}

13.Rfe1 {Magnus responds by doing the same.}

13… Bd6 {Both sides are making small improvements to their overall position.}

14.c3 h6

15.Qf1 {Magnus plays the first tricky looking move of the game. His plan is to take away Anand’s ability to play Bh3 while preparing to play pawn to h3.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 15. Qf1.

 

15… Bh5 {Anand doesn’t wait for h3 and instead decides it is best to get his bishop to the b1-h7 diagonal a move faster.}

16.h3 Bg6

17.Rad1 Rad8 {Now both players have centralized the action of their rooks.}

18.Nxc6 {Carlsen decides to end the small maneuvers and fire the opening shot.}

18… bxc6

19.c4 {Carlsen, for the second time in this game, challenges Anand’s control of the center.}

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 19.c4.

 

19… Be4 {Now Anand’s early Bh5 move in route to Bg6 looks pretty good.}

20.Bd4 {Magnus is threatening to capture on f6 which would expose Anand’s King.}

20… Nh7 {Very interesting play by Anand. Re6 would be the common response in such situations but then black’s rooks would no longer be a unified force.}

21.cxd5 Bxd5 {Anand now has two isolated pawns to watch out for.}

22.Rxe8+ Rxe8

23.Qd3 {Redeploying the queen to a6 is also a fine idea.}
( 23.Qa6 Bf8 24.Qa4 Qb7 25.Qxa7 Qxa7 26.Bxa7 Bxa2 27.Rc1 Re2
28.Bd4 Bd5 {but does not result in a large advantage for white.} )

23… Nf8

24.Nh4 {“Knights on the rim are grim,” unless you are Magnus Carlsen.}

24… Be5 {Anand makes a key move at a very important point in the game. Be5 effectively shuts down Carlsen’s threats on the kingside.}

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 24… Be5.

 

25.Bxd5 {Carlsen is happy to trade pieces as each trade he makes gets him closer to an endgame where Anand’s pawn weaknesses can be exploited.}

25… Qxd5

26.Bxe5 Qxe5 {Trading queens would create many more difficulties for Anand given his weak pawn structure.}

27.b3 {It is better to move the pawn forward than to dedicate a piece to its protection.}

27… Ne6

28.Nf3 {Both sides return their knights to duty.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 28. Nf3.

 

 

28… Qf6

29.Kg2{It is much better to use the king to defend the knight rather than limiting the queen’s aggressiveness.}

29… Rd8

30.Qe2 Rd5

31.Rxd5 cxd5 {This is an interesting point in the game. Magnus Carlsen could try for a trade of queens with Qe5 or leave the queens and knights on the board with Ne5.}

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 31… cxd5.

 

32.Ne5 {The knight and pawn endgame would have required very precise play from Anand. However, Anand was not forced to trade queen after Qe5.}

32… Qf5

33.Nd3

33… Nd4 {Anand stops any ideas Magnus may have had about initiating a trade of queen with Qf3.}

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 33… Nd4.

 

34.g4 {Carlsen obviously believes that the doubled pawns he receives after the trade of queens is an acceptable price for reasonable chances in a tricky knight endgame.}

34… Qd7 {Anand is wise to the young Norwegian’s motives and declines the offer.}

35.Qe5 {Carlsen improves his queen with tempo.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 35. Qe5.

 

 

35… Ne6

36.Kg3 Qb5 {Vishy is happy to steer the game towards a queen ending.}

37.Nf4 Nxf4

38.Kxf4

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 38. Kxf4.

 

38… Qb4+ {Anand prepares to advance his passed pawn.}

39.Kf3 d4 {If Anand’s passed pawn becomes too threatening, Carlsen will need to settle for some kind of perpetual check/threat draw. On the other hand, if Magnus can trade queens he will win the endgame easily.}

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 39… d4.

40.Qe8+ Kh7

41.Qxf7 {The extra pawn in material is rather meaningless as Carlsen’s king is exposed and Anand’s passed pawn has already crossed the equator.}

41… Qd2 {This is likely the most important move of the game for Anand and is almost forced. For example:}
( 41…Qc3+ 42.Ke4 d3 43.Qf3 Qc2 44.Qxd3 Qxf2 {is very dangerous for black.})

 

The position after Viswanathan Anand plays 41… Qd2.

 

 

42.Qf5+ Kh8

43.h4 {Magnus does not have time to get a pawn to g6.}

43… Qxa2

44.Qe6 {Magnus manages to keep a little complexity in the endgame.}

 

The position after Magnus Carlsen plays 44. Qe6.

 

44… Qd2 {A important move by Anand which defends his passed pawn and prevents Carlsen from playing pawn to g5.}

45.Qe8+ {With his hopes for a win dashed, Magnus agrees to a draw by perpetual check.}

45… Kh7

46.Qe4+ Kh8

47.Qe8+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

 

Final position from Game 4 of the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship

 

If you enjoyed this lesson, please check out my analysis of:

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

 

and be sure to visit the official site for the 2014 FIDE World Championship in Sochi, Russia.

 

Carlsen vs Anand 2014 Word Chess Championship: Game 3 Analysis

Viswanathan Anand was in a desperate search for a victory in Round 3 and he found it! A large portion of today’s game followed established Queen’s Gambit Declined Theory. On move seventeen, it was obvious by Magnus Carlsen’s agonized expression and long pause that he was unprepared for Anand’s Ng5. What followed was a brilliant display of Vishy combining his incredible memory with the killer instinct that earned him the nickname, “Tiger from Madras.”

 

The “Tiger from Madras” has returned!

An area of great interest in round three occurred on move twenty-six when Carlsen played pawn to g5 threatening Anand’s Bishop. Anand retreated his bishop to g3 rather than punishing the Norwegian’s inaccurate play with Be5. The limited success achieved by Vishy’s retreat was short lived however. Carlsen, who was under extreme pressure from the clock, employed a misguided plan from move 27… Bb4 until 29… Bxc7. It was this failed idea that allowed Anand to gain a decisive advantage and equalize the match heading into game four.

Below is my analysis of Game 3 from the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship:

[Event “FIDE World Chess Championship 2014”]
[Site “Sochi, Russia”]
[Date “2014.11.11”]
[Round “”]
[White “Anand, Viswanathan (IND)”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)”]
[Result “1-0”]
[Eco “D37”]
[Annotator “Chris Torres”]

{[ QUEEN’S gam. var. WITH 5.BF4,D37]}

1.d4 Nf6

2.c4 e6

3.Nf3 d5 {Magnus Carlsen has chosen the reliable Queen’s Gambit Declined this time around.}

4.Nc3 Be7

Position after Magnus Carlsen played 4… Be7.

5.Bf4 {Historically, this is white’s second most popular placement for the bishop with Bg5 being the most frequently played move.}

5… O-O

6.e3 Nbd7

7.c5 {This move has been in fashion following some nice successes by Levon Aronian. However, the match commentator, Peter Svidler preferred 7. Qc2 in an interesting game from 2008.}
( 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 Nxc5 9.Be2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Bd7 11.O-O Qb6 12.Rfd1
Rfd8 13.Be2 Be8 14.Nd2 Nd5 15.Nc4 Nb4 16.Nxb6 Nxc2 17.Nxa8 Nxa1
18.Rxd8 Bxd8 19.Bd6 Na4 20.Nd1 Bf6 21.b3 Nc3 22.Nxc3 Bxc3 23.Bf3
Bc6 24.Bxc6 bxc6 25.Bc5 a6 26.Nc7 a5 {…1-0, Svidler Peter (RUS) 2727 – Jakovenko Dmitry (RUS) 2737 , Sochi 8/13/2008 It (cat.19)})

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 7. c5.

7… c6 {Carlsen chooses the c6 line. A nice alternative is Nh5.}
( 7…Nh5 8.Bd3 Nxf4 9.exf4 b6 10.b4 a5 11.a3 c6 12.O-O Qc7 13.g3
Ba6 14.Kg2 Bf6 15.Bxa6 Rxa6 16.Qc2 Rfa8 17.Rab1 axb4 18.axb4
Ra3 19.Rb3 Rxb3 20.Qxb3 Qb7 21.Rb1 h6 22.h4 h5 23.Ne5 {1/2-1/2, Radjabov Teimour (AZE) 2752 – Kramnik Vladimir (RUS) 2791 , Kazan 5/ 9/2011 Ch World (candidates) (active)})

8.Bd3 b6

9.b4 a5

10.a3 Ba6 {This has all been played hundreds of times at the highest levels of chess.}

11.Bxa6 {Viswanathan Anand chooses a relatively rare line that creates a dangerous passed pawn for white.}
( 11.O-O Qc8 12.Qc2 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Nh5 14.Be5 Qb7 15.Rfc1 Rfc8
16.h3 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 b5 18.Rcb1 Qc7 19.a4 axb4 20.axb5 bxc3 21.Nxc6
Nf6 22.Qxc3 Bf8 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Ra1 Ne4 25.Qb2 Re8 26.Ne5 Nxc5
27.b6 Qb7 28.Qb5 Ra8 29.Rxa8 Qxa8 30.dxc5 Qa1+ {…1-0, Nyback Tomi (FIN) 2639 – Carlsen Magnus (NOR) 2786 , Dresden 11/19/2008 Olympiad})

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 11. Bxa6.

11… Rxa6

12.b5 cxb5

13.c6 {A passed pawn is born.}

13… Qc8 {Magnus Carlsen defends his knight with a pin.}
( 13…b4 14.Nb5 bxa3 15.cxd7 Bb4+ 16.Ke2 Qxd7 17.Qd3 Ne4 18.Rhc1
f6 19.Rc7 Qd8 20.Na7 b5 21.Nxb5 Rb6 22.Rc2 Qe8 23.Nxa3 Qa4 24.Raa2
Rc6 25.Nb1 Rfc8 26.Rcb2 Qxa2 27.Rxa2 Rc1 28.Rb2 g5 29.Nfd2 Bxd2
30.Nxd2 Nc3+ 31.Kf3 gxf4 32.Rb7 f5 33.Qa6 {…1-0, Olafsson Helgi (ISL) 2270 – Al-Tamimi Hamad (QAT) 2302 , Turin 6/ 4/2006 Olympiad})

14.c7 {A lot of extra tactical possibilities exist for the player whose pawn is but one step away from promotion.}
( 14.Nxb5 Qxc6 15.Nc7 Ra7 16.Rc1 Qb7 17.a4 Bb4+ 18.Ke2 Rc8 19.Qd3
Nh5 20.Nb5 Nxf4+ 21.exf4 Raa8 22.f5 Nf8 23.Ne5 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Rc8
25.Rc2 f6 26.Ng4 exf5 27.Ne3 f4 28.Qf5 Rxc2+ 29.Nxc2 Qc6 30.Kd1
Bd6 31.Nc3 Be5 32.Kd2 g6 33.Qh3 Bd6 {…1-0, Efimov Igor (MNC) 2467 – Costantini Roberto (ITA) 2314 , Reggio Emilia 2001 It (cat.8)})

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 14. c7.

14… b4 {Both Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen are deep within their memorized territory.}

15.Nb5 a4 {Carlsen’s other choice were:} ( 15…Ne4 16.O-O bxa3
17.Qa4 g5 18.Bg3 g4 19.Ne1 Nd2 20.Qd1 Nxf1 21.Qxg4+ Kh8 22.Kxf1
Ra8 23.Nc2 Qa6 24.Qe2 Rg8 25.Ncxa3 Rac8 26.Bf4 f6 27.Rc1 Nc5
28.dxc5 bxc5 29.e4 dxe4 30.Nd6 Qxe2+ 31.Kxe2 Rxc7 32.Nf7+ Kg7
33.Bxc7 Kxf7 34.g3 a4 35.Nc4 {…1-0, Karpov Anatoly (RUS) 2688 – Georgiev Kiril (MKD) 2654 , Dubai 2002 Cup World (active)}
) ( 15…bxa3 16.O-O Nh5 17.Qc2 Nxf4 18.exf4 Qb7 19.Ne5 Nc5 20.dxc5
bxc5 21.Rfb1 c4 22.Nd7 Rfa8 23.Qa4 h6 24.h3 Qc8 25.Nb8 Rb6 26.Kh2
Bb4 27.g3 Raxb8 28.cxb8=Q Qxb8 29.Nd4 Bc5 30.Nb5 Bb4 31.Nd4 Bc5
32.Nb5 {1/2-1/2, Sedlak Nikola (SRB) 2550 – Pavlovic Milos (SRB) 2531 , Vrnjacka Banja 8/29/2010 Ch Serbia (team) (1 liga)})

16.Rc1 Ne4

17.Ng5 {Watching the live broadcast, I couldn’t help but notice that this move made Carlsen very uncomfortable.}
( 17.Nd2 e5 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Bxe5 Nxe5 20.dxe5 Bc5 21.Qd5 bxa3
22.O-O Qa8 23.Qd7 Qc8 24.Rfd1 Qxd7 25.Rxd7 Raa8 26.Nd6 h6 27.Nxe4
Rfc8 28.Nd6 Bxd6 29.exd6 b5 30.Re7 b4 31.d7 b3 32.dxc8=Q+ Rxc8
33.Rd7 b2 34.Rd8+ Kh7 35.Rf1 Rxc7 36.Rb8 Rc1 {…0-1, Jendrichovsky Peter (SVK) 2147 – Goumas Georgios (GRE) 2315 , Fermo 9/ 3/2009 Ch Europe (juniors) (under 18)})

Magnus Carlsen’s expression after Anand played 17. Ng5(photo from: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/)

17… Ndf6 {Magnus thought for about half-an-hour before choosing Ndf6. A more aggressive response would have been:}
( 17…Bxg5 18.Bxg5 Ra5 19.Be7 Rxb5 20.Bxf8 Kxf8 21.Qxa4 Ra5
22.Qxb4+ Ke8 23.f3 Nef6 )

18.Nxe4 Nxe4

19.f3 Ra5 {Another idea worth considering is:}
( 19…Nc3 20.Nxc3 bxc3 21.Rxc3 b5 )

20.fxe4 {I really like Anand’s innovation here. Levon Aronian chose to play 20. Qe2 in 2013:}
{ [20. Qe2 Qd7 21. fxe4 Rc8 22. exd5 exd5 23. axb4 Rxb5 24. O-O Rxb4 25. Qa6 h6
26. Rc6 Bg5 27. Bxg5 hxg5 28. Rfc1 Rc4 29. R1xc4 dxc4 30. Qxb6 a3 31. Rxc4 a2
32. Qa5 Qe6 33. Qxa2 Rxc7 34. Qa8+ Kh7 35. Rxc7 Qxe3+ 36. Kf1 Qf4+ 37. Qf3 Qxc7
38. Qh5+ Kg8 39. Qxg5 Qc4+ 40. Kf2 Qxd4+ 1/2-1/2 Levon Aronian 2795 – Michael Adams 2753 Bilbao 10/07/2013 Bilbao Masters]}

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 20. fxe4.

20… Rxb5

21.Qxa4 Ra5

22.Qc6 {From watching the live broadcast it is clear that Anand is still playing moves from
his memory while Carlsen has really been having to work.}

22… bxa3

23.exd5 {This was a key moment in the game for Magnus Carlsen with his options being: 1)Bb4+, 2)Rxd5 and 3)exd5}

23… Rxd5 {Some analysis of the other two options:} ( 23…Bb4+ 24.Kf2
Rxd5 25.Qxb6 Be7 26.Rhf1 {and white looks good.} )
( 23…exd5 24.O-O Ra8 25.Qxd5 Qe6 26.Qb7 {Here, white also looks good.})

Position after Magnus Carlsen plays 23… Rxd5.

24.Qxb6 Qd7 {Unfortunately for Magnus, white also looks good here.}

25.O-O {This was likely Anand’s first move that wasn’t preconceived and he missed the best attacking possibility of Qa6.}
( 25.Qa6 Qc8 26.Qc4 Rf5 27.Rb1 a2 28.Qxa2 Rxf4 29.exf4 Qxc7 30.O-O )

25… Rc8 {Magnus Carlsen is actually doing quite well when one considers that he played
against Anand’s preparation so deeply into this game.}

26.Rc6

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 26. Rc6.

26… g5 {?} {The first in a series of inaccuracies for Magnus.}

( 26…Bb4 27.Ra1 h6 )

27.Bg3 {?} {Anand responds with an inaccuracy of his own.}
( 27.Be5 Ra5 28.Rxe6 {!} Qxe6 29.Qxa5 )

27… Bb4 {?} ( 27…g4 28.Be5 Bg5 29.Rc3 Be7 {is likely good enough for a draw.} )

28.Ra1 Ba5{?} {And this mistake gave Anand a decisive advantage.}

29.Qa6{!} {When the smoke clears, Carlsen will be down material with no compensation.}

Position after Viswanathan Anand plays 29. Qa6.

29… Bxc7 {?} {This whole plan by Carlsen was ill-conceived.}

30.Qc4 {!} {The Tiger from Madras has returned!}

30… e5

31.Bxe5 Rxe5

32.dxe5 Qe7

33.e6 Kf8

34.Rc1 {And Carlsen resigned without looking Anand in the eyes.}
1-0

 

In round 3, Viswanathan Anand returned to vintage form.

 

2014 FIDE World Chess Championship Game 1 Analysis

 

2014 FIDE World Chess Championship Game 2 Analysis

Carlsen vs. Anand: World Chess Championship 2014

Official Photograph for Carlsen-Anand 2014

Championship rematches are a source of the historic rivalries which provide intrigue for fans and motivate the competitors to perform at their highest level. Historically, chess has had many such occasions because a World Champion who failed to defend his title used to be awarded an automatic rematch. The fact that there is no longer a rematch clause did little slow Viswanathan Anand‘s pursuit of regaining his title from Magnus Carlsen.

Regular readers of this blog will remember that Magnus Carlsen stunned the world by throttling Viswanathan Anand in their first encounter. Many expected Anand to retire after his crushing defeat and chess to be taken over by the “young guns” of the sport. However, Viswanathan Anand quickly returned to form and convincingly defeated his rivals at the 2014 Candidates Tournament. In doing so, he won the right to a rematch against the man who humiliated him in front of his own countrymen.

Kasparov vs. Karpov 1986

Rematches have been hugely important for the overall popularity of chess in the 20th century. Who can forget the five epic matches between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov? Perhaps the only worthy comparison of the Kasparov-Karpov rivalry can be drawn from the battles between boxing’s Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier. Another great chess rematch occurred between Mikhail Tal and Mikhail Botvinnik in 1961. In their first match, Mikhail Tal’s attacking style was too much for the strategic Botvinnik to handle but in their second encounter, Mikhail Botvinnik was able to shut down Tal’s offensives and win the match convincingly. In order for an Anand-Carlsen rivalry to achieve anywhere near the same level of notoriety, Viswanathan Anand will have to follow in Botvinnik’s footsteps and bounce back convincingly.

Vishy Anand needs to go on the offensive.

Perhaps the most important strategy for Anand in his rematch will be going on the offensive. In their first encounter, Viswanathan Anand was defending his title and his play was lifeless. In 2014, Vishy has nothing to lose and thus nothing to gain by being ultra-conservative. Indeed, for the much elder Anand, it is vitally important to be the aggressor as much as possible.

Magnus Carlsen needs to assume the role of the World Champion.

For Magnus, the key to victory is being a professional. Magnus Carlsen is the highest rated player on the planet and has already defeated Anand in match play. In his first defense of his title, it is critical that Magnus assumes the role of the champion and not take any unnecessary risks early in the match. Carlsen needs to allow Anand, who didn’t win a single game in their first match, to be the one to gamble with risky strategies. Finally, Carlsen needs to forget about losing rating points and accept drawing opportunities as a chance to move closer to a possible rapid play tiebreak and his goal of retaining his title.

In chess, rematches fuel rivalries and it is these rivalries that create legends. Very few chess players are ever crowned a World Champion and within hours two of them will be writing their rivalry into the book of chess lore. Regardless of the outcome, the winner will be chess itself.

Check back here often for updates on the 2014 FIDE World Chess Championship in Sochi, Russia.