tag: World Championship - Page 3

Chess blindness of the Champions

11/16/2014 – Strange things happened in the sixth game of the World Championship in Sochi: Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand both suffered from an attack of chess blindness and overlooked a combination a lot of amateurs would have seen in a blitz game. In the end Carlsen was lucky and won the game. But has such a double blunder ever occurred in a World Championship match? Have a guess!

Sochi G6: Carlsen won, Anand missed big chance

11/15/2014 – In the sixth game of the World Championship match Magnus Carlsen won but could have lost. He got a good position from the opening but later overlooked a simple tactical trick with which Anand could have won. However, Anand missed his chance. Unable to put up much resistance afterwards he lost without much of a fight. As Carlsen said in the press conference: "I was very lucky."

Sochi G5: A few palpitations, but no heart attack

11/14/2014 – Today we saw a very well-prepared Carlsen, in contrast to the round three rout, and he rattled off his Queen's Indian at lightning speed. Vishy Anand was unfazed with White and never backed down from the sharp decisions. It seemed like a sedate draw until Magnus took a risky pawn on b2, providing chances for Anand, but in the end it petered out. Report of a short and sweet game.

Who will win the match?

11/13/2014 – The match between Magnus Carlsen and Vishy Anand is getting exciting. Four of twelve games are played, in the first two Carlsen dominated, but in game three Anand inflicted the first loss in a World Championship match on Carlsen. The fourth game was an unspectacular, hard-fought draw. Today's a rest day. A good opportunity to predict who will win the match.

Sochi G4: Level game ends in Draw

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.

Sochi WCh G3: The Tiger roars

11/12/2014 – After the loss in game two, the expectation was a repeat of the 2013 match, with hopefully a final result whose description did not include words such as catastrophic. So far, as much as his supporters wanted to believe, describing him as a 'different' Anand, a 'dangerous' Anand, the results were missing. Game three changed that. Report wtih analysis by GM Gilberto Milos.

Sochi G3: Anand strikes back – with a vengeance!

11/11/2014 – The match has exploded and is now wide open! Last year's match finished with not a single win for Viswanathan Anand, and today this has changed! The Indian struck back immediately after his loss in the previous round and used a combination of precise play and opening preparation to vanquish the World Champion. The match is now tied 1.5-1.5 The tiger is back!

Sochi WCh G2: A day to remember

11/10/2014 – November 9 was a day of anniversaries and birthdays, large and small, and was almost incidentally the day of the second game of the world championship match. Around the world, it represents the 25th anniversary of a world made whole, while for chess players it is also the day when, 29 years earlier, Garry Kasparov became the youngest world champion in history.

World Championship 02: Carlsen strikes first

11/9/2014 – Today on November 9, 2014, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and fittingly the prospect of a Berlin appeared on the board. Magnus Carlsen declined the option, and a long strategic battle ensued. Threats on the kingside led Anand astray and he got into a difficult position, blundering before the time control. Carlsen leads already!

World Championship 01: First fight, first draw

11/8/2014 – A hard-fought draw kicks off the match in Sochi. Anand was the one that came in with guns blazing, ruining his pawn structure for activity and a bind on e6. Carlsen slowly pushed it back and eventually it was Black that found himself with the initiative, attacking White's pawn structure on the kingside and the weak king on a1. Alas, it was insufficient. Round one analysis!

Breaking news: World Championship 2014 in Norway

4/1/2014 – They waited to see who would be the challenger. When it became clear that it was Anand the Norwegian government made an express bid to FIDE to stage the event in World Champion Magnus Carlsen's home country. The dates are not fixed, but the venue is – and it is spectacular: the match will be played on oil rig in the North Sea! We have an interview with the Norwegian Oil and Energy minister.

Chennai Final: Magnus Victorious

11/22/2013 – The game was well described by Vishy Anand: "a microcosm of what the match was". Anand played a solid game while keeping tension, but he started making mistakes. A blunder by each player led them to an endgame with an advantage for Carlsen. He tried to win the knight endgame but forced a draw when things got complicated. Analysis of the game that made Magnus Carlsen the new World Champion.

Chennai 09: Thrilling fight tarnished

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.

Chennai 07: Stabilization or Insipidity?

11/18/2013 – The obvious pro-Carlsen view of the round is that an easy draw puts him half a point closer to the World Championship title. However there is something to be said that is favorable to Anand. After two tough losses he managed to simply survive, he has time to stabilize his game and maybe come back with something stronger not in this set of games, but the next. Analysis of today's tame game.

Chennai 06: Disaster for India

11/16/2013 – The match isn't quite over, but Anand is in such a disadvantage. Psychologically he might be able to recover, but the damage done in the scoreboard and the obvious fact that his preparation isn't causing Carlsen problems should worry him greatly. Tomorrow is as rest day, a much needed one for himself and his team as they try to conjure some ideas. Analysis of today's major mistake.

Chennai 05: First blood, what next?

11/15/2013 – Carlsen won, he has proven that he can obtain the kind of positions that he is strong in, and that even Anand cannot always hold positions which can technically be held b ut are very uncomfortable. The World Champion has been in this situation before but he will need to conjure up all his tricks tomorrow to be able to put on the pressure on the Challenger. Full analysis of today's round.

Chennai 04: The Tables Turned

11/13/2013 – With everything going right for the defending World Champion, it seemed that it was up to Carlsen to create something and prove that his game was up to par. And today he did exactly that. A slip from Anand allowed Carlsen to snatch a "poisoned pawn", but precise calculation allowed him to keep it and put the pressure on. Anand survived, through cunning and perseverance.

Chennai 03: How bad was it?

11/12/2013 – The chess world has many things to celebrate: There was an exciting game, Anand, with the black pieces, almost won today, Carlsen looks shaky and not as dominant as he was thought he was going to be before the match. Where does the match go on from now? How will Carlsen fix his problems? We can only wait and see, meanwhile full analysis of today's exciting round.

The Ultimate World Championship Setup

11/7/2013 – In our recent guide to the world championship, there was one recommendation that was saved for last: The Ultimate World Championship Setup. Although we gave our heartfelt recommendations for the best experience possible, there is one way to make it even better: two screens. See why it is the best, and why you do not need two monitors in this step-by-step How-To guide.

ChessBase guide to the world championship

11/5/2013 – In just a few days the world championship Vishy Anand vs. Magnus Carlsen will start, heralded by many as one of the most dramatic and awaited matches in a very long time. In today's age, the question of how to watch an event such as this, is less a question of how it's possible, and more an issue of what the best recommendations are. Here is a guide so you don't miss a thing.

Are the chess World Champions just lucky? Part 3

10/20/2013 – The title of his article and his statistical calculations brought Matthew Wilson, a mathematician and economist, a number of letters of protest. In this third installment he painstakingly answers the objections and clarifies his methods. You can work your way up to PhD level statistics if you take the pains to follow the detailed discussion in this feedback page.

Are the chess World Champions just lucky? – Part 2

9/6/2013 – In November Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen, currently the world's highest ranked player, will challenge reigning champion Viswanathan Anand in a 12-game match. Many chess fans expect Carlsen to win. But what are his real chances? Matthew Wilson has been running 40,000 match simulations, based on previous results, rating and the event format. He comes up with precise figures.

Are the chess World Champions just lucky?

9/4/2013 – Some players – notably Fischer – were expected to win the title and did so convincingly. With others, such as the FIDE knockout world champions, clearly luck was involved. Statisticians like PhD student Matthew Wilson tell us what to expect from world championship matches, based on the previous results of the players, the event format. Part one (of two) of his statistical study.

Kramnik: 'My task is to play the very best chess'

7/12/2008 – Shortly after his rapid chess match against David Navara in Prague Vladimir Kramnik gave Czech journalist Pavel Motocha an indepth interview on Navara, chess ethics, the world championship title, his upcoming match against Anand and Garry Kasparov's political activities in Russia. An English language translation has appeared on the Kramnik web site. Here are the highlights.
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