Sochi G4: Level game ends in Draw

by Alejandro Ramirez
11/12/2014 – Anand tried to stir things up! Rather than going for a positionally sound line in the Spanish, a Carlsen specialty, Anand tried to enter a theoretical battle in the Sicilian! Which type of Sicilian will remain a mystery as Carlsen avoided a sharp, theoretical confrontation, chose a quieter line, but obtained no advantage. With sound play the game was eventually drawn.
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FIDE World Chess Championship Carlsen-Anand 2014

The FIDE World Chess Championship match between defending champion Magnus Carlsen and his challenger Viswanathan Anand is taking place from November 7 to 27, 2014 in Olympic Media Center located in the Adler City District of Sochi, Imeretinsky Valley, on the Black Sea.

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. Sochi Time, which is the same as Moscow time:

Moscow (Russia)   3:00:00 PM MSK UTC+3 hours
New York (U.S.A. - New York)   7:00:00 AM EST UTC-5 hours
Paris (France)   1:00:00 PM CET UTC+1 hour
Beijing (China - Beijing Municipality)   8:00:00 PM CST UTC+8 hours

Round Four

An interesting game from the get-go. Carlsen had never been in a situation in which he had to recover from a loss against Anand, but that was exactly what he was facing today. It wasn't a do-or-die game but it certainly was a new experience for the defending World Champion.

The game started off with the Sicilian Defense, a sharper opening than the Spanish we have been used to seeing in these 1.e4 games. Carlsen decided not to go for the Open Sicilian but chose a quieter system instead. Anand seemed comfortable enough with the isolated queen pawn setup and confidently traded off into a drawn endgame.

Game four under way!

Carlsen had to consider his options from the very start

Grandmasters Shipov and Kosteniuk are providing
the on-site commentary for the people attending the match in person

Daniel King explains what Carlsen and Anand did today

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1.e4 c5!? Already a sharper approach to the game. Carlsen showed excellent understanding in the positional and quiet waters of the Spanish in game two. Anand hits back in his second black game with the Sicilian. 2.Nf3 e6 This move indicates that Black will play one of the following, in case of White going 3.d4 (the open Sicilian): 3...cxd4 4.Nxd4 and then: 4...Nc6 which is the Paulsen, 4...a6 with the Kan or 4...Nf6 followed by 5...d6 which is the Scheveningen. Unfortunately we will not know which one Anand had planned until, maybe, the next game Carlsen has white! 3.g3 This way of avoiding the theoretical battle has been very popular in the last few years. I go into an in-depth discussion of this variation in my recently released DVD on the Paulsen Sicilian that you can find at the ChessBase Shop. Nc6 4.Bg2 d5 5.exd5 exd5 6.0-0 Nf6 7.d4 Be7 There are many ways that Black can develop once he plays d5. Some of the more popular ones are as Anand played, but without Nc6, or playing Bd6 and Nge7. This specific variation is a little more rare, but the character of the position should not change. 8.Be3 8.Nc3 0-0 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.a3!? was played in Zvjaginsev-Rublevsky this year. Zvjaginsev is one of the experts on the white side of this variation. 8...cxd4 The first move for which Anand took a small think. It was more or less forced, but he is trying to evaluate how to continue from here. Probably Anand expected 8.Nc3. 9.Nxd4 Bg4 Black develops with tempo as it is not trivial to defend the queen. The queen does not want to move, but hardly has a choice. 9...0-0 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.Qd3 was Jones-Caruana from the Reykjavik Open from 2012. The move-order difference allows Carlsen to put his knight on d2 rather than on c3, but it does not seem to make a big difference. 10.Qd3 10.f3 is too ugly to be played, as it locks in the bishop on g2 and weakens the bishop on e3. 10...Qd7 11.Nd2 0-0 12.N2f3 Rfe8 13.Rfe1 Bd6 White has play against the isolated pawn, but in return all of Black's pieces are well placed. He will soon bring his rook to c8 finishing his development comfortably and he has relatively little to worry about in the short-run. He has to keep up some kind of pressure so White doesn't simplify into an endgame where the pawn might be weak. 14.c3 h6 15.Qf1!? The queen did not feel comfortable on d3 as it was vulnerable to certain knight jumps. He also prepares Bh3 - just in case. Bh5 16.h3 Bg6 17.Rad1 Rad8 18.Nxc6 bxc6 With the structure changing to hanging pawns d5 is not nearly as weak, and since the c-file is not open c6 is not a big target. White has to exert pressure on the center quickly or he risks being worse. 19.c4 Be4 20.Bd4 A strangely annoying move for Black, and a move that allows White to keep equality. Nh7 The knight is ready to jump to g5! 21.cxd5 Bxd5 21...cxd5 looks more natural to me than what Anand played, but there is nothing wrong with Bxd5 either. 22.Rxe8+ Rxe8 23.Qd3 Nf8 Black re-routes the knight. With Anand's passive play the pawn structure will give White an edge, but it is difficult to do much with it. That being said, if anyone can form an initiative out of nothing, it is Carlsen! 24.Nh4 Be5 25.Bxd5 Qxd5 26.Bxe5 Qxe5 27.b3 Every trade makes the Black pawn structure more vulnerable. Ne6 28.Nf3 Qf6 29.Kg2 Rd8 30.Qe2 Rd5!? A little sharp. With the passed pawn on d5 Black will be able to create some counterplay, but a lot of endgames are lost for him because of White's queenside majority which allows him to create an outside passed pawn. A simple pawn endgame, for example, would be lost for Black. 31.Rxd5 cxd5 32.Ne5 32.Qe5!? It made a lot of sense to try to trade queens. It is not trivial to calculate the knight endgame, but it doesn't look pleasant. Qd8!? Might be both more sedate and more reasonable. White retains a very slight edge, but maybe not enough to claim an advantage. 33.Nd4 32...Qf5 33.Nd3 Nd4 34.g4!? A great practical decision! Black has three major options, and with the clock ticking this is not always easy. Black can trade queens on e4, trade queens immediately, or retreat. Qd7 34...Nxe2 35.gxf5 Nc3!? Because of White's structure Black is probably fine in this position. However, it is still dangerous as White's pawns on the kingside look threatening. 35...Kf8!? 34...Qe4+? 35.Qxe4 dxe4 36.Nc5± is just bad. 35.Qe5 White gains some space, but Black's pieces are well placed and White's king is now a bit vulnerable, allowing counterplay. Ne6 A nice position for the knight. If White ever goes f4-f5 he will be faced with a defenseless king, while if the knight is allowed to stay on e6 it controls many, many key squares. 36.Kg3 Qb5 37.Nf4 Nxf4 Not a bad time to trade knights. With White's exposed king the queen endgame will almost inevitably be drawn. 38.Kxf4 Qb4+ 39.Kf3 d4!? Black sacrifices a pawn, but he hopes the activity of the queen and the passed pawn will give him enough to draw. 40.Qe8+ Kh7 With time control reached, Carlsen took a breather to look at his alternatives. 41.Qxf7 Qd2! This move is actually forced. Grandmaster Rustam Kasimdzhanov, who is doing live commentary for the www.playchess.com website, mentioned that Anand would find this by process of elimination if nothing else. Rustam has a good feel for Anand's thought process: he was the Indian's second for a long time! 41...Qc3+ 42.Ke4 d3 43.Qf3! and White loses his pawn on d3. All he can do is trade it for the one on a2, but he would be simply down one soldier. Qe1+ 44.Kxd3 Qb1+ 45.Ke3± 41...Qe1 42.Qf5+ Kh8 43.Qd3 allows an ugly blockade. 42.Qf5+ Kh8 42...Kg8? is a clear mistake because it allows White's queen to go to e2. 43.Qd5+ Kh7 44.Qe4+ Kg8 45.Qe2! And Black has no good way of making progress with the d-pawn, will probably lose it and with it the game. 43.h4 From a practical point of view, Anand is not worried at all that White will win a long endgame, he will be worried however that he gets mated! Carlsen wants to play g5 and g6 which puts real pressure on the stranded king on h8. Qxa2 44.Qe6!? Carlsen always likes to keep tension in the position. In this case the queen controls many squares, and White is still threatening g5 and g6. Qd2 The queen swings to the defense. It is important to note that g5 is covered. 44...a5? 45.g5 a4 45...hxg5 46.hxg5 a4 47.Qe8+ Kh7 48.bxa4+- 46.Qe8+ is one of the ways that Black gets mated. 45.Qe8+ Kh7 46.Qe4+ Kh8 47.Qe8+ Kh7 A well earned draw from both sides!
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2863Anand,V27852014B40World Chess Championship 20144

Carlsen's choice of 3.g3 is not without poison, but Anand handled it well

The Sicilian! It is good to see Anand trying to go into sharper positions. Carlsen was the one who wanted none of that today, an understandable choice after being theoretically squashed yesterday. He took an approach that resembled game two a lot more than game three, but this time Anand was better prepared and clearly more comfortable with the position.

The resulting queen endgame still contained a trick or two, but Anand was able to accurately figure his way around the maze of the queen endgame complications and drew a position that was still far from trivial.

41...Qd2. Philae has landed. Anand, an active amateur astronomer, played this important defensive move the same minute that the Philae probe touched down on the surface of comet 67P.

Photos by Vladimir Barsky from the official website

Score

Game:
 Rtg
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
Score
Perf.
M. Carlsen 2863
½
1
0
½
                
2.0
 2792
V. Anand 2792
½
0
1
½
                
2.0
 2863

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.

Summary report in Hindi by Niklesh Jain

राउंड 4 –

आनंद ने काले मोहरो से कार्लसन को ड्रॉ  खेलने पर किया मजबूर ,ली मनोवैज्ञानिक बढ़त !

कल की अपनी  आत्मसंतुष्टि और आत्मविश्वास को बढ़ाने वाली अपनी जीत के बाद आज आनंद ने काले मोहरो से खेलते हुए कार्लसन को ड्रॉ खेलने पर मजबूर कर दिया । और इसके साथ ही आनंद ने एकदिन के विश्राम से पहले मौजूदा विश्व चैम्पियन नार्वे के मेगनस कार्लसन के ऊपर एक मनोवैज्ञानिक बढ़त बना ली है । आज का खेल पिछले तीनों खेल से अलग सिसिलियन डिफेंस में खेला गया थोड़ी ही देर मे खेल सिसिलियन डिफेंस से निकलकर फ्रेंच डिफेंस के तराश वेरिएसन से मिलती जुलती स्थति में पहुँच गया आनंद की d5 पैदल एक और जंहा अकेली होने की वजह कार्लसन की और से आक्रमण का मुख्य केंद्र भी वही थी ।पर आनंद ने अपने खेल को स्तर को मजबूत बनाए रखते हुए कार्लसन के हर आक्रमण को  सफल नहीं होने दिया । 47  चालों के बाद दोनों खिलाड़ी अंक बांटने पर सहमत हो गए इस ड्रॉ के साथ ही दोनों खिलाड़ी 2-2 अंक पर पहुँच गए है । आनंद ने अपनी वापसी से कार्लसन को दबाव में लाने के साथ साथ अपने आपको बेहतर स्थति में पहुंचा दिया है और इसका सीधा प्रभाव आने वाले मुक़ाबले पर भी पड़ेगा । प्रतियोगिता के प्रति लोगो को वापस उत्साही दर्शक  बना दिया है । अब एक दिन के विश्राम के बाद आनंद सफ़ेद मोहरो से कार्लसन का मुक़ाबला करेंगे इंतजार कीजिये एक बढ़िया खेल का ।

आपका निकलेश जैन 

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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5!? The Grunfeld must be one of the most popular ways of meeting 1.d4 at the top level of chess; however it is not part of the World Champion's common repertoire. It is clear that Carlsen is bringing new things to the table and Anand's team will have to adapt quickly. 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bd2 In the face of an opening that he did not expect, Anand decides to play a variation that is relatively quiet and is far from being a theoretical duel. Bg7 6.e4 Nxc3 7.Bxc3 0-0 8.Qd2 This type of Grunfeld focuses on holding the central tension without committing White's pawn to c3, which leaves it vulnerable to the pressure from the g7 bishop. In this case White will rely on his pieces to support his d4 and e4 pawns. Nc6 Carlsen played this relatively quickly, but it is a rare line. 8...c5 has been seen in many grandmaster games. 9.d5 e6 10.Bc4 was the very recent Tomashevsky-Kasimdzhanov from the Grand Prix last month. 9.Nf3 After this move Carlsen went on a 15 minute think. Interestingly, Carlsen this time around has already revealed that his seconds are "the Dane and the Hammer" referring to Nielsen and Hammer. However, many speculated that maybe Nepomniachtchi would help Carlsen, and this line has been played by the Russian player recently. 9.Ne2 is also possible but it blocks the development of the f1-bishop. 9...Bg4 10.d5 Bxf3 11.Bxg7 This is a novelty already. 11.gxf3 Ne5 12.Be2 c6 Moiseenko-Nepomniachtchi, 0-1 August 2014. 11...Kxg7 12.gxf3 Ne5 13.0-0-0 c6 13...Nxf3? Drops a kn ight. 14.Qc3+ 14.Qc3 f6 15.Bh3 cxd5 16.exd5! Anand ruins his structure! To compensate this he now has a strong hold over e6 and will be able to kick out Black's knight from e5. For Black, he will be able to reroute this knight somewhere else that is useful and his structure remains very solid. 16.Rxd5 Qb6 starts looking bad for White. His control of the d-file is worthless as long as the knight is stable on e5, since it guards d7. Kicking out t he knight is not an option. 17.f4? e6! And the strong threat is Rac8. Black would already be winning. 16...Nf7 17.f4 Qd6 Black's blockade on the dark-squres is keeping his position together. There is no easy way to penetrate and Black will create counterplay if left alone. The idea of pushing the a-pawn down the ranks comes to mind. 18.Qd4 A fascinating strategical game. White has a clear clamp on the position, but on the long-term he is worse because of his ruined pawn structure. Practically speaking it seems as if White has the easier time finding moves, but by no means do I think Black is objectively worse. Carlsen whos great resilience in finding passive but solid moves. Rad8 19.Be6 Qb6! I like this plan. Anand can now go into an endgame, but that seems counter-intuitive. 20.Qd2?! This might be turning point. The concession seems natural; give up the good position of the queen on d4 to avoid the queen trade. However It seems that after this White has no good way of continuing. 20.Qxb6 axb6 21.Kb1 Even though this might still be far from an advantage, the possibility of quickly going to c7 with the rook and the passive position of the black rooks allow White to have some chances to create problems. Nd6 22.Rc1 f5! 23.Rc7 Kf6 24.Bd7! Ne4 25.Rxb7 is only slightly unpleasant for Black. 20...Rd6 21.Rhe1 21.Kb1 Nd8 22.Bg4 Nc6!? 22...e6 23.Bf3 exd5 24.h4!? This kind of computer idea is hard to play over the board. It is, at least immediately, not c lear to me why White has enough compensation for the pawn. There is some initiative on the queenside but Black's position does look solid. 23.h4 Nb4 24.Bf3 Rc8 21...Nd8 22.f5 Nxe6 23.Rxe6 Despite White's bind on the e6 square, it is Black that is now better. As soon as he solidifies his e7 pawn he can start working on grinding down White's structure. Qc7+ 23...Rxe6 24.fxe6 Rc8+ 25.Kb1 Qd6 is also rather appealing, but it does seem that Black might run out of ideas if the blockade must be preserved. 24.Kb1 Rc8?! perhaps letting White establish a rook on e6 is not a good way to push for any advantage. 25.Rde1 Rxe6 26.Rxe6 Rd8 27.Qe3 Rd7 28.d6! A tactical way of getting rid of his weakness. Anand is v ery close to equalizing. exd6 29.Qd4 Rf7 30.fxg6 hxg6 31.Rxd6 White's structure on f2 and h2 is still somewhat weak, but with his piece activity it does seem as if he should hold comfortably. a6 32.a3 Qa5 33.f4 Despite the computer's approval of this move, it is somewhat strange. Why push the f-pawn instead of the h-pawn? 33.h4 Qf5+ 34.Ka2 Qe5 perhaps Anand didn't want to deal with another rook endgame, considering how haunted by them he was last year... 35.Qxe5 fxe5 36.Re6= 33...Qh5 34.Qd2 Qc5 35.Rd5 Qc4 36.Rd7 Qc6 36...Rxd7 37.Qxd7+ Qf7 would force the queen to permanently defend the second rank, leaving it as a simple draw. 37.Rd6 37.Rxf7+ Kxf7 38.Qe3 a5! This would be what we have been calling a "Carlsen position". With the weak structure on the kingside Black has some chances of making progress by bringing in the king, as long as there is no perpetual, but of course with perfect play it should be drawn. 37...Qe4+ 38.Ka2 Re7 39.Qc1 a5 White has no way to improve so Black tightens the noose around White's king ever so slightly. This doesn't have a particular threat in mind, it is simply improving Black's chances. 40.Qf1 a4 With time control reached it is clear that the position is nothing but unpleasant for White. He is now passive, has to defend f4, and his king doesn't feel very comfortable. 41.Rd1 Qc2 42.Rd4 Black has to set-up some kind of lethal threat to make progress. The main thing is that if he can create real problems to the White king, White might run out of resources to defend both the king and the pawns on the kingside. Re2?! 42...Re3 The commentary team was very worried about this move appearing on the board. 43... Rxa3+! is a lethal threat. 43.Qd1 43.Rd7+ Kf8 44.Rxb7 Rb3 45.Rxb3 axb3+ 46.Ka1 Qxh2 White's badly placed king and the need to keep the queen on the first rank (or at lest protect the checkmate threats on the first rank) make this an incredibly unpleasant endgame that might just be lost. 47.Qd1! immediately threateining perpetuals. 47.Qd3 Qh1+ 48.Qb1 Qf3 49.Qxg6 Qxf4 47...Qh3! A hard move to find, especially from far away. 47...Qxf4 48.Qd8+ Kg7 49.Qd7+ Kh6 50.Qh3+ Kg5 51.Qxb3= 48.a4 Kg7 49.a5 Qe6! 50.Kb1! Qe4+ 51.Kc1 Qxf4+ 52.Qd2 Qf1+ 53.Qd1 Qc4+ 54.Kd2 Qd4+ 55.Ke1 Qe5+ 56.Kf1 Qxb2 57.Qd7+ Kh6 58.Qh3+ Kg5 59.Qe3+ Kf5 60.Qf3+ Ke6 61.Qg4+ Kd6 62.Qf4+ Kd7 63.Qg4+ f5 64.Qa4+ Ke6 65.Qc6+ Ke5 66.Qc7+ Ke4 67.Qc6+ Kd3 68.Qb5+ Kc2 69.Qe2+ Kb1 And Black has finally run away from the checks. 43...Qxd1 44.Rxd1 Rb3 is very unpleasant as Black's king will march in and once b5 is played the queenside is locked down. 43.Rb4 Now White's defensive set-up also includes pressure against the b7 pawn. Black cannot be careless with his own king. b5 Paralyzing White's position, but Anand still has an important resource. 44.Qh1! Incredibly important! Now Black's king is under threats of a perpetual. Re7 45.Qd5 Re1 46.Qd7+ Kh6 47.Qh3+ Kg7 48.Qd7+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2792Carlsen,M2863½–½2014D85WCh 20141
Carlsen,M2863Anand,V27921–02014C65WCh 20142
Anand,V2792Carlsen,M28631–02014D37WCh 20143

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Schedule

Saturday 08.11.2014 Round 1 Daniel King, Parimarjan Negi
Sunday 09.11.2014 Round 2 Simon Williams, Nicholas Pert
Monday 10.11.2014 Rest day  
Tuesday 11.11.2014 Round 3 Daniel King, Loek van Wely
Wednesday 12.11.2014 Round 4 Daniel King, Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Thursday 13.11.2014 Rest day  
Friday 14.11.2014 Round 5 Simon Williams, Irina Krush
Saturday 15.11.2014 Round 6 Daniel King, Yannick Pelletier
Sunday 16.11.2014 Rest day  
Monday 17.11.2014 Round 7 Simon Williams, Loek van Wely
Tuesday 18.11.2014 Round 8 Daniel King, Loek van Wely
Wednesday 19.11.2014 Rest day  
Thursday 20.11.2014 Round 9 Simon Williams, Irina Krush
Friday 21.11.2014 Round 10 Daniel King, Simon Williams
Saturday 22.11.2014 Rest day  
Sunday 23.11.2014 Round 11 Chris Ward, Parimarjan Negi
Monday 24.11.201 4 Rest day  
Tuesday 25.11.2014 Round 12 Simon Williams, Rustam Kasimdzhanov

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  • Dr. Karsten Müller: Graduated mathematician and chess grandmaster. His works on the endgame changed endgame training completely.
  • Thomas Luther: Several times German champion. Active in the FIDE commission for the handicapped.
  • Merijn van Delft: From the Dutch dynasty of the van Delfts. Lives in Hambug and in Holland.
  • Yannick Pelletier: Several times Swiss champion. With a linguistic gift he can provide commentary in a number of languages.
  • Markus Ragger: Grandmaster and Austria's number one.
  • Harald Schneider-Zinner: Chess trainer and moderator of ChessBase TV Austria.

French

  • Christian Bauer: Grandmaster, several time French Champion and member of the French national team.
  • Fabien Libiszewski: International Master and member of the French national team.
  • Romain Edouard: Grandmaster, European Junior Champion and Vice-World Junior Champion, member of the French national team.
  • Sebastien Mazé: Grandmaster and French national coaach

Spanish

  • Ana Matnadze, Marc Narcisco, Sergio Estremera

Links

The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com with full GM commentary. If you are not a member of Playchess get instant access, but you can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to log on.
Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.

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