Sochi G6: Carlsen won, Anand missed big chance

by Johannes Fischer
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."

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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
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 10:00:00 AM BRST UTC-2 hours
Paris (France) 1:00:00 PM CET UTC+1 hour
Beijing (China - Beijing Municipality) 8:00:00 PM CST UTC+8 hours

Find the starting time in your home location

Round six

In the last game before the half-way mark World Champion Magnus Carlsen played with the white pieces - the first of his two white games in a row. After all, the rules of the match stipulated that the player who had the black pieces in the first game would play games six and seven with white. With a score of 2.5-2.5 one could expect that Carlsen would try to use these two games to put Vishy Anand under maximum pressure.

Magnus Carlsen: focused and combative

Vishy Anand seems to scan his vast repertoire of promising opening lines

Carlsen decided that 1.e4 was a good way to do so. After 1...c5 2.Nf3 Anand went for a Sicilian with 2...e6, which had brought him a comfortable draw in game four. But this time Carlsen was willing to steer the game into the lines of the Open Sicilian, and instead of the somewhat restrained 3.g3 of game four, he ventured 3.d4. A couple of moves and an early exchange of queens later a strategically interesting position was reached. White had the pair of bishops, a spatial advantage, and hopes to exploit weaknesses in Black's camp and on the d-file, but in return White had to accept doubled c-pawns and a compromised pawn-structure.

Vishy Anand looking for the best defensive position.

But the position seemed to be easier to play for White and Carlsen gradually gained an advantage on the clock while Anand protected the weak points in his camp by putting his rooks on h8 and g8 and his knight on f8.

Gradually White was gaining time on the clock.

Magnus Carlsen searching for ways to increase the pressure.

Carlsen in typical posture

But though Carlsen was better he had problems to create threats against Black's solid defensive set-up. However, White seemed to have a safe and superior position and maybe this caused World Champion to feel too secure which in turn led to a grave oversight which could have had disastrous consequences:

Carlsen had  just played 26.Kd2? presenting Black with the golden opportunity to play 26...Nxe5! turning tables completely around. The point is that after 27.Rxg8 Black has the zwischenzug 27...Nxc4+ securing a huge advantage.

The double blunder captured on the live coverage: it is clear by the way Carlsen writes down his move that
he realizes his mistake. Note that Anand takes around 60 seconds to make his move, and Carlsen then
repeatedly lets his head sink onto his arm.

But Carlsen's short attack of chess blindness infected his opponent who also missed 26...Nex5!. After thinking for one minute Anand played 26...a4? and after 27.Ke1 White was fine again, harboring a safe advantage. However, both players immediately realized what they had done after they played their moves and this must have influenced the further course of the game. Carlsen possibly felt lucky and confident again, while it is hard to imagine that Anand was not upset about missing such a chance.

Vishy Anand after realizing that he missed a big chance.

At any rate, the remainder of the game was very one-sided. Carlsen gradually increased his pressure while Anand was not able to offer serious resistance. He resigned after 38 moves.

Magnus Carlsen: "Sometimes you are very, very lucky."

After his oversight, Magnus played focused again and won his second game in the match. He now leads by 3,5-2,5.

Daniel King shows the highlights of game 6

[Event "World Championship Match 2014"] [Site "?"] [Date "2014.11.15"] [Round "6"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Anand, Vishwanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B41"] [WhiteElo "2863"] [BlackElo "2792"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] {After yesterday's game five Magnus was visibly relaxed. He had drawn with the black pieces and was now ready to press with White in games six and seven. But today we witnessed something weird. Magnus got a nice position out of the opening. No queens. slight pressure, just what he likes. As he was building up his position, he made a horrible mistake and gave Anand the chance to win the game with a simple tactic. Anand missed it and things were back on track for the World Champion. He won a smooth game after that. Let's get straight to the action} 1. e4 {Carlsen sticks to his king pawn.} c5 {And Anand seems to be happy with the position he got in the fourth game with the Sicilian.} 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 $5 {The Open Sicilian! An interesting question is when n Open Sicilian was last played in a World Championship match. As my friend IM Srinath Narayanan mentioned, it was last played by Vishy Anand vs Boris Gelfand in their World Championship match 2012. Remember the Sicilian Sveshnikov!} cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 $5 {The Sicilian Kan! It has not be as popular as it's brother the Sicilian Taimanov with 4...Nc6 but nevertheless it is a very popular opening.} (4... Nc6 {is the Taimanov.}) 5. c4 {White sets up the Maroczy bind. This Maroczy bind against the Kan is much more potent than the one against Taimanov as in the latter the knight is already on c6.} Nf6 6. Nc3 (6. e5 Qa5+ {of course is a very common trap.}) 6... Bb4 {Developing with momentum by putting pressure on the e4 pawn. There are lot of ways in which White can defend the e4 pawn but all have their own drawbacks.} (6... Qc7 {is the other main move here but White has been scoring pretty well here after} 7. a3 $5) 7. Qd3 $5 {A very odd move in the opening. The d3 square looks more natural for the bishop but the queen move has its own advantages. The biggest one being that after Nc6 White can just take and exchange queens. This move has been already played by players such as Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Leko and Vishy Anand!} (7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Nxc6 dxc6 9. e5 Qa5 $5 { leads to comfortable equality for Black.}) (7. f3 {weakens the dark squares a little and can be met with the simple} Qc7 8. Bg5 Nc6 {Black has a fine position.}) (7. e5 Ne4 8. Qg4 Nxc3 9. a3 (9. Qxg7 Na4+ 10. Kd1 Rf8 $19) 9... Bf8 10. bxc3 Qa5 $15) 7... Nc6 (7... Qc7 {was the other option.} 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. Qxc3 Nxe4 10. Nb5 $1 {is the little trick in this position.} axb5 11. Qxg7 Rf8 12. Bh6 $16 {White is substantially better.}) 8. Nxc6 dxc6 (8... bxc6 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 $14 {is a very pleasant position for White.}) 9. Qxd8+ {Once again Magnus gets what he wants. Queens are off the board and he can press in this slightly superior endgame. A good opening outcome for the World Champion.} (9. e5 Qxd3 10. Bxd3 Nd7) 9... Kxd8 10. e5 {This looks pretty natural and like the best move. It simply gains more space.} (10. Bd3 e5 $1 { and Black has no problems.}) (10. Bd2 e5 $1 $11 {Gives Black a good position.} (10... Bxc3 $6 11. Bxc3 Nxe4 12. Bxg7 Rg8 13. Be5 $16)) 10... Nd7 {This move can be condemned as being too passive. The other option was the more active Ne4. But does that solve all of Black's opening problems? I am not sure.} ( 10... Ne4 11. a3 $1 (11. Bd2 $6 Nxd2 12. Kxd2 Kc7 $15) 11... Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 { White has a nice position with extra space and two bishops. He should be better.} Kc7 (12... Nxc3 $2 13. a4 $1 Ne4 14. Be3 $16) 13. Be3 $14) 11. Bf4 { It was important to defend the e5 pawn with the bishop. If White played his pawn to f4 it would have only hindered the bishop on c1. This position could also be reached with White to play had White not wasted a tempo with first playing Qd3 and then taking on d8. That would have been wonderful for White as he could have just played Rc1 preserving his pawn structure. But it's Black's move now and he takes on c3.} Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Kc7 {On TwitterMany strong players condemned Vishy's opening play. GM Fabiano Caruana: "Passive and unpleasant position for Anand - something went very wrong. Now we can settle down for a long grind." GM Pentala Harikrishna: "Anands opening choice is surprising. if it is not worked out until draw, it is unpleasant position to play against Magnus." GM Nigel Short: "Actually I don't like the Black position at all." GM Teimour Radjabov: "Terrible choice by Anand today. Just worse,being worse on Saturday all day long is unpleasant, bad week-end choice." As you can see all the top GMs are in consensus that Black's position is passive and Magnus is going to grind on for a long time! Not good news for Vishy Anand.} 13. h4 $1 {A typical Magnus move. You have to feel chess as well as he does to explain this move. But let me make an attempt. The first idea is to push the pawn further gaining more space. The pawn goes to h5 and if unhindered even to h6. Also the h1 rook can immediately be activated via h3 and attack the g7 pawn. So all in all this move starts to put latent pressure on Black's position.} b6 14. h5 {The pawn wishes to go to h6 and create more dark squared weaknesses.} h6 { Stopping the h-pawn but now the g7 pawn will be weak. And Carlsen takes full advantage of it.} 15. O-O-O (15. Rd1 $5 {was interesting because later on, Magnus did bring his king over to e1. Maybe this would have saved him a few moves.}) 15... Bb7 16. Rd3 $5 {As mentioned before the rook goes to g3 but it is interesting to note which rook Magnus chose. The rook on h1 is already very well placed because when the pressure on g7 will increase, Black will play g6 and then Rh1 will come into the game.} c5 17. Rg3 Rag8 18. Bd3 {White moves are definitely easier to make in this position. Black is under a lot of pressure and it is not easy to get rid of it. While Carlsen is an excellent grinder, Anand is a shrewd defender who always looks for active counterplay in such positions. A great battle of attack and defense lies ahead.} Nf8 {Anand is definitely angling for g6 to activate his pieces.} 19. Be3 g6 (19... Nd7 20. f3 $5 (20. f4) 20... Nxe5 (20... Kc8 21. Bf4 $14) 21. Bf4 f6 22. Bxe5+ fxe5 23. Re1 $14) 20. hxg6 Nxg6 (20... fxg6 $2 21. Rxh6 $18) 21. Rh5 $1 {Carlsen knows the best way to keep up the pressure in the position. He has the two bishops and would not want to part with them unless he gets some very concrete advantage.} (21. Rxh6 Nxe5 $1 22. Bf4 (22. Rxh8 Nxd3+ 23. Kd2 Rxh8 24. Kxd3 Rd8+ $15) 22... Rxg3 23. Bxe5+ Kd7 24. Rxh8 Rxd3 $11) 21... Bc6 $5 {This and the next move Kb7 was made pretty quickly by Vishy. He simply wants to get his king off the h2-b8 diagonal.} 22. Bc2 {The bishop was exposed and undefended on d3 and threats like Nxe5 are in the air, so Magnus safely decides to remove the bishop from that square.} (22. Kd2 {looked pretty natural but now Black can relieve the pressure with the very accurate} Ne7 $1 23. Rxg8 Rxg8 24. g3 Rd8 $1 {The reason why Kd2 would be a bad move.} 25. Kc2 (25. Ke2 Bf3+ $1 $15) 25... Ba4+ 26. Kd2 Nf5 $15) (22. f4 $2 Nxe5 $1 23. Rxg8 Nxd3+ 24. Kd2 Rxg8 $19) 22... Kb7 (22... Ne7 23. Rxg8 Rxg8 24. g3 $14 {maintains the pressure on Black thanks to the weakened h6 pawn.}) 23. Rg4 (23. Kd2 {was a better way to start. The king will be well placed on e2. As we will see in the game, Magnus' timing to bring out his king was completely wrong.} Be8 24. Ke1 $1 $14 (24. Ke2 f5 $1)) 23... a5 24. Bd1 Rd8 (24... Ne7 25. Rxg8 Rxg8 26. g3 $14 {keeps control.}) 25. Bc2 Rdg8 26. Kd2 $2 {An extremely bad mistake by Carlsen and very uncharacteristic of him. He is usually quite alert to tactical details but after this move Vishy could simply win a pawn.} a4 $2 {Missing a huge tactical resource. As Vishy said after the game, he was just too focussed on this idea with a4-a3 and trying to get counterplay that he did not notice this tactic with Nxe5. Magnus noticed that he had missed the tactics after he played Kd2 and Vishy noticed this trick only after he had played a4.} (26... Nxe5 $1 {It is extremely surprising that Vishy missed this simple tactic.} 27. Rxg8 Nxc4+ $1 28. Kd3 Nb2+ 29. Kd2 Rxg8 $17 {With the g2 pawn attacked and Nc4 coming up again, this position is extremely bad for White. But how could Vishy miss this tactical blow?. He was under pressure and he made his move 26...a4 very quickly. Maybe he just didn't believe that Carlsen would blunder so badly. Caruana's tweet at this point: "Shocking blunders... Vishy won't be able to sleep tonight."}) 27. Ke2 {Everything is back to normal now. Magnus is pressing and Vishy defending!} (27. a3 {would have been ideal but then it would trying your luck a little bit too much. Nxe5 is just winning.} Nxe5 $17) 27... a3 {What has Black achieved by pushing his pawn to a3? The main idea is to play Ra8 at some point and exchange bishops with Ba4. Kramnik said that Magnus should not have allowed the black pawn to come to a3 but I think Magnus realised that Nxe5 was actually possible and hence could not meet a4 with a3.} 28. f3 {Defending the rook on g4 and blunting the bishop on c6.} Rd8 29. Ke1 { Magnus is playing a waiting game. He is keeping all his options open, realizing that Black can do absolutely nothing.} (29. Bxg6 fxg6 30. Rxg6 Be8 31. Rg7+ Rd7 32. Rxd7+ Bxd7 33. Rxh6 Rxh6 34. Bxh6 {In this endgame you cannot be sure that White is winning.} Ba4 35. Bc1 Bc2 36. Bxa3 Bb1 37. g4 Bxa2 38. Kd3 Kc7 39. Bc1 Kd7 $11 {and Black should be able to hold this one.}) 29... Rd7 {Vishy's idea is now simple. He doesn't really care for the h6 pawn, he just wants to create counterplay.} 30. Bc1 Ra8 31. Ke2 Ba4 {From this point on Vishy starts to self destruct. He gives up all the pawns without any compensation .} (31... Rad8 {was a better try} 32. Bxh6 $6 Rh8 $1 33. Bxg6 fxg6 34. Rxg6 {And White is pinned and with opposite coloured bishops there are some chances to draw.}) 32. Be4+ $1 {Forcing the bishop to come back to c6.} Bc6 $2 (32... Ka7 {was not the ideal option but it was the only way for Black to continue the fight.} 33. Bxa8 (33. Bxg6 fxg6 34. Rxg6 Bb3 $1 35. axb3 (35. Bxa3 Bxc4+ $15) 35... a2 36. Bb2 Rad8 $15 {Black has a lot of counterplay.}) 33... Kxa8 { might have been an interesting choice as the knight on g6 sits strong and Black has decent counterplay. Of course White is better but Black has his chances.} 34. Rxh6 Rd1 35. Bxa3 Ra1 36. Ke3 Nxe5 $44) 33. Bxg6 $1 {Now it is all over. All the black pawns are falling.} fxg6 34. Rxg6 Ba4 (34... Rad8 35. Rhxh6 {doesn't generate sufficient counterplay.} Rd1 36. Bg5 R8d7 37. Rxe6 $18) 35. Rxe6 Rd1 36. Bxa3 Ra1 37. Ke3 Bc2 38. Re7+ {And there was absolutely nothing that Vishy could do and he had to resign the game.} (38. Re7+ Ka6 39. Rxh6 Rxa2 40. Bxc5 $18 {I feel that after Vishy had realized that he had missed Nxe5 he just started to play weak moves. A nice win for Magnus who now leads the match 3.5-2.5.}) 1-0

Score

Game:
 Rtg
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
Score
M. Carlsen 2863
½
1
0
½
½
1
            
3.5
V. Anand 2792
½
0
1
½
½
 00            
2.5

Summary of the game in Hindi by Niklesh Jain
 

विश्व चैंपियनशिप राउंड 6 – आनंद ने जीती बाजी गवाईं कार्लसन को 3.5-2.5 से  बढ़त

विश्व शतरंज चैंपियनशिप के राउंड 6 मे जो हुआ  उसे अगर सीधे सीधे यह कहा जा सकता है की आज का दिन आनंद की खिताब को वापस पाने की दिशा में एक मजबूत कदम साबित हो सकता था पर आनंद ने 26 चाल में कार्लसन की भूल को बिना ध्यान दिये तेजी से a4 चलते हुए एतिहासिक बन सकती चाल Ne5 घोड़े से कार्लसन की e5 पैदल ना मारने की भारी भूल कर दी और इसके बाद तो जैसे आनंद अपनी इस गलती के झटके से खुद ही इतना परेशान हो गए की कुछ अजीब से चाले चलने लगे जिनमे कुछ हमला करने की चाहत तो थी पर उन्हे इतनी गहराई थी ही नहीं जितनी विश्व चैम्पियन बनने के लिए जरूरी थी । कार्लसन को तो जैसे आनंद की 30 चाल Ra8 के बाद जीत की गंध आ गयी थी और फिर उन्होने आनंद की मानसिक हालत को भाँपते हुए कोई भी गलती नहीं की आनंद की योजना की कमजोरी को बड़ी आसानी से पकड़ते हुए उन्होने खेल को आराम से अपने कब्जे में ले लिया । आनंद अब फिर एक अंक से पीछे हो चुके है और अब दोबारा वापसी आसान नहीं होगी आनंद आज अच्छा खेल रहे थे पर उन्होने बाद में उतनी ही कमजोर चालें चली । प्रतियोगिता का आधा सफर तय हो गया है कार्लसन और उनके प्रशंसक बहुत खुश है तो आनंद के निराश खैर अब प्रतियोगिता अपने सबसे खतरनाक मोड पर है रविवार के आराम के बाद देखते है ऊंट किस करवट बैठता है ...

आपका निकलेश जैन 

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Schedule

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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Our team of World Championship commentators (English)


Irina Krush: The female in the commentator team, several times US Women's Champion.		  
Daniel King: Well known, popular, experienced, and very good. Author of many Fritztrainer DVDs

Simon Williams: English grandmaster, author of two popular ChessBase King's Gambit DVDs.		  
Chris Ward: Dragon expert and chess commentator at the London Chess Classic.

Niclas Pert: Grandmaster, trainer, and author of a number of excellent Fritztrainer DVDs.		  
Loek van Wely: Several times Dutch champion and quick-witted chess commentator.

Parimarjan Negi: Once the world's youngest grandmaster, author of books and DVDs.		  
Rustam Kasimdzhanov: The FIDE-World Champion 2004, former second for Vishy Anand

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German

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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.
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  • Ana Matnadze, Marc Narcisco, Sergio Estremera

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Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

Discuss

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Niima Niima 11/18/2014 04:41
@ Balthus

Good play with words, but no closer to providing a proof for your statement:

"These players would beat Korchnoi at his peak or Karpov at his peak, with no difficulty."

Next time, do a bit of homework, read a bit about chess history and above all, improve your own game. I bet anything that you are not rated more than 2000 (probably you are much lower rated). Any player who reaches even an expert level would know how incorrect your above-mentioned statement is.

As far a your claim about Morphy being beaten by today's club players, you just added another trophy to your collection. Add it to the one above.
Balthus Balthus 11/17/2014 10:45
@Niima: Well done. An ad hominem condescension and an appeal to authority fallacy in three lines. That's what I call a rhetorical double fault. Should I feel refuted? Well, not really.

Maybe you are a Korchnoi-and-Karpov expert, in comparison with whom I, indeed, know next to nothing about the playing style of those eminent chess players. But, prompted by one of the earlier remarks, I did go back to their WC match and found that their games included such a high proportion of suboptimal moves that is pointless to compare to today's tournament or WC games. That is, perhaps, due merely to the lack of the IT background today's top GMs have ready access to, but it still remains a fact. Former WC matches were far more flawed than this, or the previous, clash between Vishy and Magnus. Including the latest and all the former blunders.

This is life: there is improvement - no matter how brilliant Morphy's personal intelligence and talent may have been, a strong club player has today the skills and experience to punish his slightest tactical inaccuracies, of which there are, obviously, an immense number. You and I need not be geniuses to conjecture why the King's Gambit has disappeared from top-level chess. That is how development, how theoretical evolution works. And I am not, and have not been, saying that Korchnoi and Karpov (and even Short) were not among the very best of the chess players of all time. They were, and that remains a fact. Respect to all of them. And to Kasparov, perhaps the greatest of them all. And to Carlsen and to Anand, by all means.
FAD FAD 11/17/2014 10:29
Il est temps pour Anand de se souvenir de Mahabaratha
ashperov ashperov 11/17/2014 07:51
My 2 cents worth comment: This is great stuff lol! we have seen some exciting games and even this one had big entertainment value. If you want perfect chess sit in your slippers and watch Houdini and Fritz battle it out on your pc. However this is the World Human Chess Championships and the human element is a credit to our species which reminds us: Shit happens!
This match is good stuff. I fancy Anand to fight back like he did before. This is the last world championship for a while (is it 3 years?) so we should enjoy every bit of drama it presents to us.
FAD FAD 11/17/2014 05:23
It's time for Anand to remember the Mahabaratha
slavafide slavafide 11/17/2014 03:49
Nobody likes the truth however previous an current match is lackluster. 12 game format is just too short. Kasparov-Karpov used to be far more exciting chess battles with far better quality of chess games . Blunders were more rare occasion than in carlsen-anand match
and more gross in Carlsen matches than kasparov-karpov matches. Just remember 1985 match were twice as long and required physical indurance as well it gave fans longer time to savor every moment. Current WC events is just more of the fundraising event for corrupt FIDE. Chess became a business not a sport.
Please, understand that Kasparov were better than Anand. The great PLAYERS LEFT THE CHESS OR TOO OLD NOW to compete. Carlsen say that the last game was lucky for him. I do not believe in luck but skill.
Niima Niima 11/17/2014 03:20
@ Balthus

"These players would beat Korchnoi at his peak or Karpov at his peak, with no difficulty."

Shows that you know next to nothing about Karpov (or Korchnoi for that matter). Don't believe me, review the published opinions of today's greatest players (those who know what they are talking about) on Karpov and Korchnoi.
Balthus Balthus 11/16/2014 07:54
The title of the article should have been: "Carlsen blunders, Carlsen wins." Somehow, that is characteristic of this match.
slickfish slickfish 11/16/2014 06:16
@Captain Picard. I agree 100%
cptmajormajor cptmajormajor 11/16/2014 06:00
Surely Anand can see Carlsens's talent is not absolute and todays game is not a a total disaster but showing if he plays at his best he can beat Carlsen like he did Kramnik.
I do hope Carlsen wins though ...
cptmajormajor cptmajormajor 11/16/2014 05:32
well said Picard. They just do not understand that even a 2600 GM has the ability to play like a 2900 GM on his day and that a 2900 GM can play like a patzer on an off day. The champion makes the next to last blunder. It is notable that the very best make mistake against each other that they would never make against lesser players..... force of will and champion balls seem to be important when the skill level reaches equal.
henri51 henri51 11/16/2014 04:55
No one could win if there were no mistakes. White's starting advantage is not enough to win, and neither is Black's!
Sanchito Banerje Sanchito Banerje 11/16/2014 04:44
I think Anand will have to somehow convince himself that he can bounce back from this .. will be interesting to see how he comes out for the second black game in a row! ...
tacticachess tacticachess 11/16/2014 02:02
Never allow the exchange of Queens in an Undeveloped Position !
Ra8, Bc8 and Nd7 and somany 1-0 's
How many times did i tell/warn all of you regarding this my dear students ?
Sorry Vishy !
Still we wish you all the best and good luck !
tacticachess tacticachess 11/16/2014 01:54
Never allow the exchange of Queens in an Undeveloped Position !
Ra8, Bc8 and Nd7 and somany 1-0 's
How many times did i tell/warn all of you regarding this my dear students ?
Sorry Vishy !
Still we wish you all the best and good luck !
vietlion vietlion 11/16/2014 01:50
Anand is a gentelman. He 's just not wanted to win the championship by stealing a pawn. After all, it's only sport.
vietlion vietlion 11/16/2014 01:49
Anand is a gentelman. He 's just not wanted to win the championship by stealing a pawn. After all, it's only sport.
Benjamin ROLLAND Benjamin ROLLAND 11/16/2014 12:30
Even if the double blunder was shocking, it was actually an anecdotal aspect of the game, which remains a nice demonstration by Carlsen.

It is a pity that everybody comment only on the blunder. This is especially true regarding the journalists attending the press conference. They appear each day a little bit more as chess ignorants who only focus on emotional and trivial details of the match. Actually, a daily shame for every chess lovers.
rerent20 rerent20 11/16/2014 11:57
So many Wannabeessss.. as if they dont blunder . Natural for Humans to Blunder
Balthus Balthus 11/16/2014 11:49
As for a previous double blunder, this is what Google has helped me find: http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.hu/2007/01/world-championship-quality-blunders-iii.html - lesson: if both players play perfect chess, they are like machines; if not, they are patzers. I see there is a middle ground, but I repeat, only a very unfair amateur would condemn either party for the above game, or, indeed, any other.
Balthus Balthus 11/16/2014 11:30
(1) The press conference in its present format is pointless. How did you feel? Not good. What do you think your team would have done to you, had you lost the game? I don't know. Nice, isn't it. (2) Regardless of the occasional blunder (is that not the drama we are so much after!?), these players would beat Korchnoi at his peak or Karpov at his peak, with no difficulty. Kasparov is a tricky question, and Fischer, too, but it is very difficult to compare as there are so many more resources these days and, indeed, Carlsen's mindset is quite different from all of his precursors. But to say that it used to be and that this is substandard… That's just ridiculous! The quality of this match is outstanding, if not exorbitant. Besides, Anand earned his place there and is making as much of it as is humanly possible. Yes, Caruana… in a few years' time. He needs to develop, too. Mentally and physically. (3) For Anand fans, this must be a really tough situation to stomach, but by floccinaucinihilipilificating Carlsen's stature, or passion, or dedication, or whichever characteristic it should be this time, they just undermine Anand's evaluation. I personally look forward to six more games of excitement.
Jrcasablanca Jrcasablanca 11/16/2014 10:26
@captainpicard what made this blunder (which does not need any engine to see) particularly strange was they both missed it. also just a few moves earlier they both had to calculate a short sharp rather more difficult line based on N x e5 and both had plenty of time, while the Korchnoi/Karpov blunders cited were in time trouble and were taken advantage of by Karpov/Kasparov
The equivalent of today's episode is Spassky missing trapping the bishop after Fischer's Bx h2

Also Fischer's oversight was he missed a later Bd2 keeping the bishop trapped

I am not sure I know of a similar WC reciprocal blunder, I would be interested if there were any other.

murali100 murali100 11/16/2014 09:56
They should not have a press conference after every game...Its not fun to come to press conference after losing a game...
libyantiger libyantiger 11/16/2014 08:43
anand always helps carlsen in his task...i said this before many times ...carlsen must be driven into position where many chances and tactics are there so that will calculate alot lose time lose temper and lose the game that is how anand did it last time and that is how he will do it next time ...if there is a next time
Eric83 Eric83 11/16/2014 06:27
An obvious but maybe forgotten point by some commentators here : these guys are chess professionnals. So, it's fairly nonsense :
- to have arguments like 'you wouldn't have done better' a.s.o. : a big part of us isn't chess professionnal
- to try to protect them from press conferences : it's part of their job even when they loose. The Brasilian soccer trainer and the players had to answer to the press after their team had been ripped 7-1 by the German team in WC Semi-Final.
- to overlook the fact that some (many ?) of us would have been fired from their jobs if doing the same kind of professionnal mistake.
- and the problem is wider than a one-move blunder : it's the lack of passion. Fisher blundered in game 1, but the entire world was following the match, Karpov and Kasparov blundered but their 3-match-duel is the greatest clash in chess history, Tal blundered but made so many brillancies... Here we've 3 options : a flat game, Anand cracking after the slightest pressure coming from Carlsen, Carlsen falling in a Stockfish-Houdini-Komodo preparation. Where's the fun ?
sharpnova sharpnova 11/16/2014 05:49
@Najdork

Because the players have just finished an exertion feat the likes of which would crush you.
hpaul hpaul 11/16/2014 04:55
Wasn't it Tartakover who said that the winner is the player who makes the next to last error? Today that was Carlsen. Anand made the last, and lost.

I think it's unfortunate that both players are forced by FIDE to appear at immediate press conferences. At the least, a loser should have the right to opt out. Younger players may not realize how recent it is, this idea of a press conference by the players after a game. That was never done by Fischer or Spassky or Karpov or Kasparov, or in any earlier match. It's an invention of the Ilyumzhinov era in FIDE, and in my opinion it ought to be done away with. For the players to be confronted with "how did you feel when you blundered...?" and similar inane questions before they're allowed to go and rest, is akin to torture, especially for the loser.

As others have said, I would urge commenters here to keep it courteous, both toward the players and toward one another. I think this has been an exciting match so far by two of the best players in history. But I agree with those who feel that 12 games is too short for a serious match. The standard used to be 24 games. Perhaps 18 is a good compromise.
karavamudan karavamudan 11/16/2014 04:31
A world championship should have games befitting its level. Just because blunders have been there in

earlier WC matches does not absolve the current match of its poor quality.

Anand and Carlsen's blunders were noticeable even without engines.

It is sad that this match will be talked about for its blunders than innovations, deep combinations and new strategic ideas.

The games here are of even lower quality than the ones played out in Chennai.

Anyway, looking forward to Caruna - Carlsen next year.
Bobbyfozz Bobbyfozz 11/16/2014 04:02
Just ignore this Igor Sher who is so impressed with himself. Don't you image that in a 12 game match against either Anand or Carlsen, at 1900 elo, he would lose EVERY game? Of course he would. Self -possessed and self infatuated. No one enjoys being around someone like this, no one.
Niima Niima 11/16/2014 02:14
Another famous blunder is Karpov's 22nd move (22...Rcd8) in the 11th game of the 1985 WC match:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1067187
Liong43 Liong43 11/16/2014 01:29
How about 5th game of korchnoi- karpov, baguio 78 when korchnoi missed mate in few moves ? Is it better than blunder happened in this WCC ?
firestorm firestorm 11/16/2014 12:59
There's a saying that the kibitzers are always stronger than the players. Its worth considering that in the light of the comments (and yes, it is meant ironically). Its easy to be wrapped up in a direction of play, line of analysis, or a particular line of attack or defence, and so be blind to a random possibility that you never expect to exist. Rather than these somewhat fatuous criticisms of the players, it would be better to take the opportunity to learn a lesson from this mistake and reflect on your own play. I know I've kicked myself for missing something over the board that should have been obvious. I bet every single person commenting here has done the same.
bbrodinsky bbrodinsky 11/16/2014 12:02
I don't understand those criticizing the quality of play, seems very high to me. I do wonder, for historical reasons, though, if there has ever been such a double blindness ever before in a worlds championship game as was exhibited today. It was rather amazing.
DELTAMAX2020 DELTAMAX2020 11/15/2014 11:46
and FIDE pays millions of dollars for these two for the patzer match.
DELTAMAX2020 DELTAMAX2020 11/15/2014 11:39
World Amateur Chess championship.These two should study simple tactics instead of memorization of 30 moves theory.
rwood rwood 11/15/2014 11:24
Well said Captain Picard! Those individuals have no understanding of chess history whatever.
Bill Alg Bill Alg 11/15/2014 11:06
Carlsen has done the same to Aronian (actually he was completely losing then), and Aronian also did not notice. But he would not pull something like this off against Caruana, who is a cold calculator that cannot be bluffed.
Captain Picard Captain Picard 11/15/2014 10:27
Did everyone forget what happened in game 1 of Fischer Spassky? Look at Fischer's 29th move in that game - Bxh2. THAT was the worst move in the history of the world chess championship, and yet most of these people leaving comments probably think that was the best match of all time! In the Alekhine Euwe match there was a game in which they blundered in back to back moves, just like today's game. Tal made many blunders in his return match with Botvinnik. Spassky blundered many times against Fischer. Capablanca blundered many moves when he lost to Alekhine. If you look at past world championship games with a computer you will find many inaccuracies , mistakes, and blunders. I'm really tired of people complaining! When the first 4 games were drawn last year everyone complained that it was boring. Now that the games are decisive we hear complaining again. When Karpov and Kramnik played positional, defensive chess against Kasparov, it was fine. When Anand plays that way against a player who might be the best of all time, we see childlike tantrums. I suppose some people like to pretend that they can see the computer lines themselves. Others think that past players were chess gods who made no mistakes. Before you complain, go back and look at past WCC games with an engine and get back to me. If you find no mistakes then feel free to keep spouting your BS. If you don't like modern chess just don't watch it. Just stop being such arrogant crybabies! There are thousands of chess games from the past you can play through. If you want to incorrectly believe that past players played perfect chess the go right ahead. If you want to watch flawless chess just watch the computer chess championships. But don't insult today's players while you do it. I for one LOVE this match so far. We have seen many dramatic moments, and fighting chess at the highest level. Please stop with the arrogant BS. Thanks and take care.
gmwdim gmwdim 11/15/2014 10:04
Of course, the quality of GM play appears to deteriorate over the years as the strength and speed of engines improves. The Kasparov-Karpov matches had plenty of "blunders" as well, the only difference is that people didn't have the luxury of engines back then to point out every mistake. Also, thank you ChessBase for finally getting someone other than Ramirez to do the reports.
Eric83 Eric83 11/15/2014 09:59
Genem,
You're absolutely right if you consider these matches when the chess world was divided in FIDE and ACP. But if you consider only 'unified' matches, my statement could remain valid, even if, being totally honest, the Anand-Gelfand match and the Kramnik-Leko weren't particularly exciting too but this may well be because the two players involded were too close friends to have a real killing instinct against each other...
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