Chennai 09: Thrilling fight tarnished

by ChessBase
11/21/2013 – Today was one of the most exciting games of chess seen in recent years. The World Champion pawn stormed his opponent without caring about Carlsen's b pawn... which was queening! However an unfortunate and horrifying blunder ended the attack and Anand had to resign. Anand must win the next three games in a row, two of them with black. Round 9 grandmaster impressions.

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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 nine video by GM Daniel King

Round nine report by Alejandro Ramirez

Vishy came. Vishy fought hard. Vishy went for the throat. Carlsen defended, Carlsen parried threats. The game was unbelievably complex. Black's passed pawn on the queensidse fighting against a near mating attack on the kingside. Grandmasters observing the game disagreed on which move to play, on who was better. Even engines disagreed on evaluations!

The position was tense, and Anand supporters were hopeful:

The appearance of 1.d4 is something that I could talk about at length if the match were longer, but the truth is that with two blacks remaining in the match (honestly, I think just one black left) for Anand it is difficult to believe that it matters much what his weapon with white would have been. The Saemisch Nimzo-Indian was definitely a thrilling battle.

Carlsen played a great game, of that there is no doubt. He managed to complicate his opponent's intiative by creating his own chances.

Nakamura echoed the feeling of many grandmasters that 20. a4 and maybe even 20. f5 looked much more natural. The engines unanimously agree that 20. axb4 was best, but that doesn't mean they are right. This is not a computer friendly position. Later on Nakamura also preferred the move 23. f6 instead of 23. Qf4, for which Anand took over 40 minutes of thinking time!

Unfortunately for Anand, unfortunately for Chess, a horrible blunder on move 28 cost him the game. Missing the simplest of defenses, and exhausted Anand had to resign as his attack was completely parried. The alternative would've kept the position rich and complex, with the result still unclear.

"How did this Nimzo-Indian go?!"

"Maybe I'll just take a nap and think about it later"

Our favorite guest commentator brings us superb analysis of a titanic struggle:

[Event "FWCM 2013"] [Site "Chennai"] [Date "2013.11.21"] [Round "9"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E25"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2870"] [Annotator "Josh Friedel"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [EventCountry "IND"] [TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"] 1. d4 {No Berlin this time, and the entire world claps.} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 {The f3 Nimzo is known for its sharpness, and now it was clear Anand was ready to fight.} d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 (7... Nxd5 8. dxc5 Qa5 {is the main line, and I remember Anand winning a wonderful game against Wang Hao here. Alright, might as well show it.} 9. e4 Ne7 10. Be3 O-O 11. Qb3 Qc7 12. Bb5 Nec6 13. Ne2 Na5 14. Qb4 e5 15. O-O Be6 16. Nd4 $1 exd4 17. cxd4 Nbc6 18. Qc3 Ne7 19. Rfd1 Rad8 20. Bf2 a6 21. Bg3 Qc8 22. Bf1 b6 23. Rab1 Nb3 24. Rxb3 Bxb3 25. Qxb3 bxc5 26. d5 Ng6 27. Qb6 f5 28. Bxa6 Qd7 29. Bb5 Qf7 30. exf5 Qxf5 31. Qxc5 Rc8 32. Qd4 Rfd8 33. a4 {1-0 (33) Anand,V (2810)-Wang Hao (2731) Wijk aan Zee 2011 CBM 141 [Anand]}) 8. e3 c4 {This has been a trend lately, trying to mess with White's development scheme of Bd3-Ne2. The main drawback to this is that e4 is potentially much stronger with the pawn on c4. It was a surprise for me to see this line, as it certainly isn't the safest, but perhaps it is simply what Carlsen prepared before the match.} (8... O-O 9. Bd3 b6 10. Ne2 Ba6 {is by far the most popular, and seems to be much more in Carlsen's style to me.}) 9. Ne2 Nc6 10. g4 {White prepares Bg2 and prevents Black from playing Bf5. It is clear we will have a fight!} O-O $1 11. Bg2 Na5 12. O-O $1 Nb3 13. Ra2 b5 {This is one of Black's major ideas in this c4 system. Put a knight on b3, shove the queenside, and hope not to get checkmated. The knight on b3 is actually not all that strong, but it helps to always have the option of taking White's bishop.} 14. Ng3 a5 15. g5 (15. e4 dxe4 16. fxe4 Bxg4 17. Qe1 {was another approach, but Anand possibly felt there was no need to sac a pawn.}) 15... Ne8 16. e4 Nxc1 {Magnus didn't want to allow Be3 and the knight on b3 might find itself to be a spectator.} 17. Qxc1 Ra6 {Magnus might not be afraid here, but I would be. White's pawns look menacing.} 18. e5 {Vishy closes off the center and prepares to shove his f-pawn.} (18. Rb2 {I might prefer a bit, retaining some kingside flexibility and discouraging Black's b4 counterplay.}) 18... Nc7 19. f4 (19. Rb2 {I still like for White, as once b4 happens Black's counterplay is quite annoying. I find when you are in a must-win situation, it is easy to forget prophylactic moves.}) 19... b4 20. axb4 axb4 21. Rxa6 Nxa6 22. f5 (22. cxb4 {was "safer" but this is no way to play for the win, as now he'll always be tied down to defending d4.}) 22... b3 {Both sides go all in. Black entrenches a protected passer on b3, but takes away all the pressure on White's center. In order for him to use this pawn, however, he needs to survive White's attack.} 23. Qf4 ( 23. h4 Nc7 24. h5 {was another plan of attack. It looks incredibly scary for Black, but it isn't so clear how White will break through.}) 23... Nc7 24. f6 { Once again, Vishy opts for the most committal continuation. I also don't think this move should be rushed.} (24. Qh4 {was a more flexible possibility. Now if} Ne8 25. Nh5 {There are some real threats.} b2 26. f6 g6 27. Nf4 {and White has more chances than in the game.}) 24... g6 25. Qh4 Ne8 26. Qh6 {Anand goes for the most direct attacking plan, which involves letting Black queen!} (26. Ne2 { was the other option, trying to bring the knight into the fray. A possible variation could go} Be6 27. Nf4 Qa5 28. Bh3 Bxh3 29. Qxh3 b2 {It looks like Black will be faster, but White has the resource} 30. Ne6 $1 Qa1 {Black has to continue his queenside play.} (30... fxe6 31. Qxe6+ Kh8 32. Qe7 {is crushing.}) 31. Nxf8 Kxf8 32. e6 Nd6 {Another only move, as Qh6-exf7+ was a mating threat.} 33. Qh6+ (33. exf7 h5 $1 {wins for Black.}) 33... Ke8 34. exf7+ Nxf7 35. Qh3 { and now the game will end in perpetual after} Kd8 36. Qg2 b1=Q 37. Qxd5+ Kc8 38. Qc6+ Kd8 39. Qd5+ {with a draw.}) 26... b2 27. Rf4 $1 {This is truly throwing all your chips into the middle of the table.} b1=Q+ {And here, unfortunately, Vishy has a mental blank. I'm not sure if he missed Black's response or if he simply thought he was lost anyway.} 28. Nf1 $4 (28. Bf1 {was necessary, and now} Qd1 {is forced, planning to pitch the queen on h5.} 29. Rh4 Qh5 30. Nxh5 gxh5 31. Rxh5 Bf5 {and at first White looks busted, but he has the move} 32. g6 $1 Bxg6 33. Rg5 {with the plan of h4-h5. Black is paralyzed, so he has nothing better than} Nxf6 34. exf6 Qxf6 35. Rxd5 {and the game will most likely be drawn after something like} Qf3 36. Rc5 Qxc3 37. Qf4 {and White takes on c4 next move. The d-pawn could be strong, but the king on g1 is too exposed to do much with it. Even so, I'm sure Vishy would have taken the extra 1/2 point.}) 28... Qe1 {The only move, but now it is over, as Rh4 is met by Qxh4 and Black is up a clean rook. It was really ashame to see Vishy's fighting spirit meet with such an end. It must be said, however, that Magnus kept his cool throughout the game despite the scary-looking attack and it seems like he was never really in any trouble. Despite this, Vishy really had everything he wanted out of the opening, and I'm sure he'd like that one back.} 0-1

There is no way to spin this nicely for Anand now. The match is essentially over. Tomorrow Anand will play for the win, but how sucessful he will be is questionable.

When we said Anand committed suicide in today's game, we meant that figuratively...

Anand will keep up the fight, he is that type of fighter, he is the World Champion. The problem is that Carlsen simply seems unbeatable.

Meanwhile in the press conference:

FIDE Press Officer : 'Did you really try to calculate all the way to the end?'

Anand: 'No I was thinking about dinner tonight'

The reaction of the players when someone asked the following question

Norwegian Reporter: Nigel Short just tweeted that this is the end of an era. Do you agree with this? To both players.

FIDE Press Officer: Actually it's not the end of the match yet. I don't know if this is the correct question.

Reporter: No, but this was just tweeted by Nigel Short and I would still like a comment from both players.

FIDE Press Officer (to Carlsen and Anand): Would you like to give comments on this question or not.

Carlsen: .....ahhhh.....No, let's be correct this time.

Carlsen did point out something. This is the first time he was scared in the match. Anand put some serious pressure on him, the game was fun and exciting. Anand explained his miscalculation:

"I saw these lines, some of them ending in a draw, but then I saw his resource of Qb6-Qb1+ (in the lines of 28.Bf1) and then I saw 28.Nf1. I calculated the variations with 28...Qd1 and started to get excited. As soon as I put the knight on f1 I realized what I had done" - Anand

There is nothing else left to add.

Joshua Friedel

Josh was born in 1986 in New Hampshire, USA and is currently living in Wisconsin. He obtained his international master title in 2005 and his grandmaster in 2008. He has participated in five US Championships, including a tie for fourth in 2008. Major Open tournament victories include: the 2003 Eastern Open, 2005 Berkeley Masters, 2008 National Open, 2009 Edmonton International, 2009 North American Open, 2010 Saint Louis Open, 2010 American Open, 2013 Chicago Open.

Josh is the current US Open Champion and is the first person qualified for the 2014 US Chess Championship.

Report by Alejandro Ramirez, photos by Anastasiya Karlovich

Report in Hindi by Niklesh Jain:

नवां मैच -कार्लसन फिर जीते ,विश्व विजेता बनने के बेहद करीब 6-3 से हुए आगे 

एक भारतीय होने के नाते चेन्नई पहुँचकर आनंद की हार अपनी आंखो के सामने देखना कोई अच्छा अनुभव नहीं था पर फिर भी यह कोई आम दिन नहीं था यह था विश्व शतरंज में एक बड़े बदलाव का दिन । अगर कोई चमत्कार ना हुआ तो पाँच बार के विश्व विजेता और मौजूदा विश्व चैम्पियन भारत के विश्वनाथन आनंद का ताज अब सिर्फ कुछ समय बाद ही नार्वे के युवा ग्रांड मास्टर मेगनस कार्लसन के सिर पर होगा । कहते है परिवर्तन संसार का नियम होता है और आज उसका गवाह बना भारत का चेन्नई शहर । आज आनंद सफ़ेद मोहरो से खेल रहे थे और जैसे की उम्मीद थी उन्होने आज पूरा ज़ोर लगाया और खेल की शुरुआत की 1.d4 से , आज खेल की शुरुआत से ही यह तय था की भारत के इस महान शतरंज खिलाड़ी के लिए आज का दिन और यह “ मैच आर या पार ” की कहावत की तरह था । या तो उनकी जीत उन्हे खेल में वापस लौटाती या फिर यह तय होना था की अगले विश्व विजेता का ताज उन्हे कार्लसन को सौंपने के लिए तैयार रहना होगा । आनंद का निशाना आज किसी भी हालात में कार्लसन को मात देना था और आज वो खेले भी वैसे ही ।कार्लसन ने भी अपनी तरफ से कोई रक्षात्मक रुख ना  दिखाते हुए बाजी की शुरुआत 1.. Nf6 चल कर की और अगली ही कुछ चालो खेल निमजो इंडियन डिफेंस में पहुँच गया। 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.e3 c4 9.Ne2 Nc6 10.g4! आनंद के इरादे आज साफ थे आज वो निश्चित तौर पर आक्रामक खेलने का मन बनाकर आए थे । 0–0 किलेबंदी करते हुए कार्लसन ने यह साफ कर दिया की वो शायद आज यह दिखाने के लिए तैयार थे कि वो रक्षात्मक खेल के भी कितने माहिर खिलाड़ी है । 11.Bg2 Na5 12.0–0 Nb3 13.Ra2 b5 यंहा जंहा सफ़ेद का मुख्य लक्ष्य किंग्स साइड आक्रमण करना था तो काले का उद्देश्य क्वीन साइड पर आक्रमण कर खेल को संतुलित बनाना था । यह सब ठीक कुछ उसी तरह था जैसा कि किंग्स इंडियन अटैक ओपेनिंग में होता है ।  14.Ng3 a5 15.g5 Ne8 16.e4 Nxc1 17.Qxc1 Ra6 18.e5 Nc7 19.f4 b4 20.axb4 axb4 21.Rxa6 Nxa6 और अब आया खेल का सबसे महत्वपूर्ण हिस्सा आनंद के पास दो ही रास्ते थे या तो f5 चलकर वो आक्रमण को जारी रखे या b4 पर पैदल को बदलकर कार्लसन के  घोड़े को खेल में आने का मौका दे जैसा कि उनका इरादा शुरू से साफ था उन्होने पहला तरीका बेहतर समझा ।22.f5 b3 ! यंहा पर गौर करने वाली बात यह थी आनंद के पास जंहा लगभग 1 घंटा और 5 मिनट का समय था वंही कार्लसन के पास लगभग 35 मिनट पर आनंद ने यंहा करीब 42 मिनट सोचकर 23.Qf4 खेला और कार्लसन ने तुरंत  Nc7 खेलकर जबाब दिया ।और अब आनंद के पास समय कम था और  कार्लसन काफी तेज खेल रहे थे और शायद वो खेल को पूरी तरह समझ पा रहे थे ।24.f6 g6 25.Qh4 Ne8 26.Qh6 b2  आनंद के समय कम हो रहा था और उनके पास अब शायद कोई और योजना नहीं थी 27.Rf4 b1Q+ इसके साथ ही अब कार्लसन का एक और वजीर बोर्ड पर था और ऐसा लगा कि खेल आनंद के हाथ से जा चुका है या जीतना अब बहुत मुश्किल होगा ।28.Nf1?? और इसके साथ ही आनंद ने बहुत तेजी से चाल चलते हुए आज फिर एक बड़ी गल्ती कर दी । इसी दौरान कार्लसन उठकर चले गए और जब वापस आए तब तक आनंद ने अपनी हार स्वीकार कर ली थी । आनंद 28.Bf1! चलकर कम से कम खेल को बराबरी पर रख सकते थे । पर शायद यह इस महान खिलाड़ी का समय नहीं था और उन्होने ठीक वैसी ही गलतियाँ कि जैसे कि उन्होने पहले कि थी । पूरा भारत सन्न है उनका हीरो अब हार चुका है पर हीरो तो हीरो होता है उसने जो अब तक दिया वो भी क्या कम है । और ज्यादा पाने कि चाहत किसे नहीं होती पर वक्त तो किसी का इंतजार नहीं करता फिर वो पाँच बार के विश्व विजेता और महान शतरंज खिलाड़ी आनंद हो या क्रिकेट के भगवान सचिन तेंदुलकर । आनंद शायद सबसे ज्यादा दुखी होंगे क्यूकि दुनिया के हर हिस्से में जीत दर्ज करने के बाद उन्हे भारत में हार देखनी पड़ी है । तकनीकी तौर पर शायद आनंद अभी भी तीनों मैच जीतकर वापसी कर सकते है पर शतरंज जैसे खेल में ऐसा होना काफी मुश्किल है । पर शायद वो कम से कम एक बाजी तो जीतना चाहेंगे ही जैसे कि कहावत है कि(never never give up ) कभी कभी और कभी हार नहीं माननी चाहिए शायद एक मात्र यही सोच कुछ कर सकती है । कल का खेल इस विश्व चैंपियनशिप की सबसे बड़ी बाजी होगी।

इसी उम्मीद के साथ चेन्नई से आपका ...निकलेश जैन ।

 

Score

Game:
Rtg
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
Score
Perf.
V. Anand 2775
½
½
½
½
0
0
½
½
0
     
3.0
2750
M. Carlsen 2870
½
½
½
½
1
1
½
½
1
     
6.0
2895

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.

07 November 2013 – Opening Ceremony
09 November 2013 – Game 1
10 November 2013 – Game 2
11 November 2013 – Rest Day
12 November 2013 – Game 3
13 November 2013 – Game 4
14 November 2013 – Rest Day
15 November 2013 – Game 5
16 November 2013 – Game 6
17 November 2013 – Rest Day
18 November 2013 – Game 7
19 November 2013 – Game 8
20 November 2013 – Rest Day
21 November 2013 – Game 9
22 November 2013 – Game 10
23 November 2013 – Rest Day
24 November 2013 – Game 11
25 November 2013 – Rest Day
26 November 2013 – Game 12
27 November 2013 – Rest Day
28 November 2013 – Tiebreak games
29 November 2013 – Closing Ceremony

Live commentary on Playchess in English

Day
Round
Live Playchess commentary in English
Nov. 09
1
GM Daniel King + GM Simon Williams
Nov. 10
2
GM Daniel King + GM Yasser Seirawan
Nov. 12
3
GM Yasser Seirawan + GM Maurice Ashley
Nov. 13
4
GM Yasser Seirawan + GM Alejandro Ramirez
Nov. 15
5
GM Daniel King + GM Maurice Ashley
Nov. 16
6
GM Daniel King + GM GM Alejandro Ramirez
Nov. 18
7
GM Yasser Seirawan + GM Alejandro Ramirez
Nov. 19
8
GM Daniel King + GM Chris Ward
Nov. 21
9
GM Daniel King + GM Simon Williams
Nov. 22
10
GM Daniel King + GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Nov. 24
11
GM Daniel King + GM Maurice Ashley
Nov. 26
12
GM Chris Ward + GM Simon Williams
Nov. 28
Tiebreak
GM Daniel King + GM Chris Ward

Live commentary in other languages

Day
Round
French German Spanish
Nov. 09
1
GM Fabien Libiszewski GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 10
2
GM Fabien Libiszewski GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 12
3
GM Christian Bauer GM Thomas Luther Leontxo García
Nov. 13
4
GM Christian Bauer GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 15
5
GM Fabien Libiszewski GM Thomas Luther Leontxo García
Nov. 16
6
GM Fabien Libiszewski GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 18
7
GM Christian Bauer GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 19
8
GM Yannick Pelletier GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 21
9
GM M. Vachier-Lagrave GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 22
10
GM Sebastien Mazé GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 24
11
GM Sebastien Mazé GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 26
12
GM Yannick Pelletier GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García
Nov. 28
TB
GM Sebastien Mazé GM Klaus Bischoff Leontxo García

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.

The games are being broadcast live on the official web site, with special coverage 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.


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