Chennai G6: Carlsen wins second straight

by Albert Silver
11/16/2013 – The game was a solid, uninspiring Spanish that seemed to have nothing in it. The position simplified and an endgame arose with draw predictions from all sides. It was no surprise that Carlsen insisted, until Anand dropped a pawn out of the blue. After the surprise subsided, a draw was again on the horizon, and Magnus played his last trap. Suddenly, it was all over. Illustrated report.

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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 six report

Though they shook hands, there is a distinct lack of eye-contact

The opening was a solid, if uninspiring Spanish, that seemed to hold no magic. Ideas and plans were considered by grandmaster commentators to develop an advantage for White, or counterchances for Black, but as the number of pieces dropped, so did the enthusiasm, and a draw seemed in order.

Top players are all following and commenting the games

The opening did not seem to hold much, but that is just the way Carlsen likes it

When Magnus Carlsen avoided the queen exchange with 24…Qe7 as opposed to the standard 24…Qe6, GM Daniel King laughed, saying he was crazy, not because there was something inherently wrong with the move, but because it could only indicate he still hoped to try to win. This seemed borderline Never Never Land, since at move 35, when asked what Black could do to promote his ambitions, both GM Daniel King and GM Alejandro Ramirez admitted they had no clue, and if the world number one had a way, it was outside their ability to even conceive it.

Just when Black seemed out of ways to improve or increase the pressure, the world champion stunned the fans and pundits alike with 38.Qg3, effectively dropping a pawn, though forcing a rook endgame. As the surprise subsided, it became clear that the adage “all rook endgames are drawn” still applied here, though a new contest arose: what new ways would the challenger find to keep the game alive? It has become clear he has a fantastic talent for finding means to conjure up trouble for his opponents in even the driest and most innocuous positions.

Anand chose to sacrifice his h-pawn to shatter Black’s structure and neutralize any rolling pawn front he might have feared. In return, Carlsen gave back his b-pawn to activate his rook and king, playing for his last trap. When he played 59…f4, it was a bit of a shock for Vishy, as he admitted in the press conference, believing his position to be lost. It is perhaps this lapse in judgment, coupled by frayed nerves that has failed him these last two games.

The Norwegian box, instants before Magnus scored his second win (@lladini)

In game five, despite being with his back against the wall, he still held a theoretical draw in his hands up until move 51, and had he played 51…Re2! the entire match situation might have been different. Instead he rushed 51…Ke6? with very little thought, either believing he was already lost and nothing could change it, or wishing to end the nervous tension that had reached torturous proportions.

One gets the impression a similar thing happened today, since 59…f4 is not winning yet, though it does force White to come up with an only move: 60.b4! which still holds the draw. Instead, Vishy Anand spent an unusually short amount of time, rushing out 60.Ra4?  and costing him the game.

[Event "FWCM 2013"] [Site "Chennai"] [Date "2013.11.16"] [Round "6"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2775"] [BlackElo "2870"] [PlyCount "134"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [EventCountry "IND"] [TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O Re8 7. Re1 a6 8. Ba4 b5 9. Bb3 d6 10. Bg5 Be6 11. Nbd2 h6 12. Bh4 Bxb3 13. axb3 Nb8 14. h3 Nbd7 15. Nh2 Qe7 16. Ndf1 Bb6 17. Ne3 Qe6 18. b4 a5 19. bxa5 Bxa5 20. Nhg4 Bb6 21. Bxf6 Nxf6 22. Nxf6+ Qxf6 23. Qg4 Bxe3 24. fxe3 Qe7 25. Rf1 c5 26. Kh2 c4 27. d4 Rxa1 28. Rxa1 Qb7 29. Rd1 Qc6 30. Qf5 exd4 31. Rxd4 Re5 32. Qf3 Qc7 33. Kh1 Qe7 34. Qg4 Kh7 35. Qf4 g6 36. Kh2 Kg7 37. Qf3 Re6 38. Qg3 Rxe4 39. Qxd6 Rxe3 40. Qxe7 Rxe7 41. Rd5 Rb7 42. Rd6 f6 43. h4 Kf7 44. h5 gxh5 45. Rd5 Kg6 46. Kg3 Rb6 47. Rc5 f5 48. Kh4 Re6 49. Rxb5 Re4+ 50. Kh3 Kg5 51. Rb8 h4 52. Rg8+ Kh5 53. Rf8 Rf4 54. Rc8 Rg4 55. Rf8 Rg3+ 56. Kh2 Kg5 57. Rg8+ Kf4 58. Rc8 Ke3 59. Rxc4 f4 60. Ra4 $2 (60. b4 $1 {is the only move to hold the draw, if barely.} h3 61. gxh3 Rg5 (61... Rg6 62. Rc7 f3 63. Re7+ Kd2 64. b5 Rf6 65. Kg1 Kxc3 66. Kf2 $11 ) 62. Rc6 f3 63. Re6+ Kf2 64. Rxh6 Rg2+ 65. Kh1 Rg1+ 66. Kh2 Re1 67. b5 $1 Re2 68. b6 {and Black has no win.}) 60... h3 61. gxh3 Rg6 62. c4 f3 63. Ra3+ Ke2 64. b4 f2 65. Ra2+ Kf3 66. Ra3+ Kf4 67. Ra8 Rg1 0-1

A disappointed Anand, sighs deeply just before the press conference

With a 4-2 lead after six games, Magnus Carlsen has a commanding lead, which will be very hard to surmount.

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
           
2.0
2750
M. Carlsen 2870
½
½
½
½
1
1
           
4.0
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. 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. 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.


Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.

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