Chess World Championship

[DarthFed]

A very bad position for Anand after only 15 moves today. His pieces are cramped in and Carlsen has 2 bishops. It will be tough for him to escape this with a draw IMO.

 

[Kieran]

Is it possible that fitness will become an issue in this match? I know they used to pl;ay even longer world championship matches, but mental fatigue could still be a problem, no?

 

[DarthFed]

I would think the only time fatigue might feature is in the 2nd game of the back to back since the format is 2 games, 1 rest day, 2 games, etc. I could be wrong but I'm thinking there is a longer break after this game since it will be halfway through the 12 game match.

 

[DarthFed]

This is ugly and against someone as precise as Carlsen I'd be shocked if he pulls out a half point.

 

[DarthFed]

Apparently they both just screwed up royally. Carlsen with 26. Kd2 would have been close to lost on the spot to Nxe5 but Anand missed it. WOW

 

[DarthFed]

That could possibly be the defining moment of the match, a potential 2 point swing in the course of 2 moves.

 

[Kieran]

Pressure, eh? Even sitting still, with time on the clock, the very best can screw up royally. We heading for a draw?

 

[DarthFed]

No this looks lost for Anand now. It's likely both spotted it after the fact and for Anand that could really cause him to lose it.

Many things cause blunders but the most common is moving too fast and that's exactly what Anand did. If he stopped to look at the position and think for a minute he'd spot it easily.

 

[DarthFed]

Completely over now, Anand will resign in a move or two. Such a shame, he won't sleep well tonight after seeing what he missed.

 

[Kieran]

"When you're not expecting a gift, you're not ready to take it."

Anand in the interview...

 

[DarthFed]

That's part of it. But what makes it more shocking is that was the point in the game where he should've been looking for any kind of way to turn the game around. It was just a matter of moving too quick and not even trying to analyze the position. It's kind of a well known principle, if you are down on material and/or position (Anand was badly down on the latter) you need to look for any opportunity to turn the tables or at least complicate things. That's what makes it a real horror for Anand.

It was a bad error on Carlsen's part but much more understandable since his plan was getting the king to the kingside. It was a natural move...but it led to a huge error that would've left him begging for a draw. Obviously he should've played Kd1. Bad error from Carlsen and a worse miss for Anand. Will be interesting to see if he can recover.

 

[Kieran]

How long did he take over that move?

 

[DarthFed]

From the site I was watching it was pretty quick.

 

[Kieran]

Hey brother, help me out here, has Carlsen white pieces for two games in a row? Or did I miss something?

 

[DarthFed]

I'm not sure why they did that really. But in the end each has 6 games as white but I can see an argument where having 2 straight white games is a big advantage.

 

[DarthFed]

Either a draw or win for white, I'd think a draw with best play for black. Any prayer for Anand means he needs to draw this.

 

[Kieran]

I'm not sure why they did that really. But in the end each has 6 games as white but I can see an argument where having 2 straight white games is a big advantage.

Exactly - when Carlsen wins two straight. If he wins this, it puts huge pressure on Anand, especially after his mistake in he last game.

Anand might want to speed up a little here...

 

[DarthFed]

^ Agreed, time is ticking.

 

[DarthFed]

Keeping rook on 2nd rank for black should be enough to draw this...

 

[DarthFed]

...but Anand feels differently, he should know better than myself