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Viswanathan ANAND (India)
Born 11 December 1969 in Madras
FIDE World Champion 2000, World Champion since 2007 Rating on 1 January 2012 – 2799 (peak rating: 2817)
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Early years. Anand was born on 11 December 1969 to a well-to-do family in
Madras. His parents belonged to the highest caste in Hinduism: his father, Viswanathan, was an engineer, and later General Manager of the Southern Railway; his mother, Susheela, was a housewife. The future champion was given the name Anand at birth.
Indian people do not have family names, so in his own country he was known to everyone by his first name. But when Anand began to travel to Europe in the mid-1980s, he was “renamed”: his first name was taken as his surname, and people began to call him by his father’s first name, and then shortened it to “Vishy”. This form of address might have seemed crude and inappropriate to
Anand, but he took a completely calm attitude towards it, and it soon became established in chess circles. Anand learnt to play chess at the age of 6, at the instigation of his mother, and within a year he started going to the local chess club, named after Mikhail Tal. From his first acquaintance with the play of the eighth world champion he fell in love with Tal’s chess, and to this day Anand names him as his favorite chess
player, along with Fischer. It very soon became clear that the Indian had a lot in common with his idol – the same talent for combinations and eagerness to take the initiative, and also incredibly fast thinking. Vishy did not waste time – he would spend not two hours but just 25 –30 minutes on a serious game… His parents strictly “rationed” Anand’s interest in chess. He only played if things were going well for him at school – they once stopped him playing for a
whole month. Vishy never had chess tutor: the main sources of his knowledge were books and magazines. He worked everything out for himself! First success. success. The breakthrough in Anand’s results occurred in 1983. He won
the Indian Under-16 (9 wins out of 9) and Under-19 championships – and won a place in the country’s adult championships. After successively – and finishing in fourth place in these, the 14-year-old talent won a place in the Indian national team! Then, accompanied accompanied by his mum, he set off for his first Olympiad in Salonika. Anand played very successfully on board 4, with a result of +6=3-2, and his game against Hergott ended up in Chess Informant. In 1985 Anand became an International Master, the youngest Asian player to hold this title. In 1986 he won the Indian adult championship, and in 1987, at his fourth attempt, he won the Under-20 World Championship, winning 10 out of 13. In “faraway Baguio” he beat Ivanchuk by half a point in an incredible
race, and also defeated him in a head-to-head game. The other contenders were left trailing far behind. For this achievement the 18-year- old “chess prince” became a Grandmaster, the youngest at that time. http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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But according to Anand, the main thing for him was that at last people noticed him: “I didn’t need to waste loads of time playing in ordinary In dian
tournaments where I could pump up my rating and wait for an invitation to some good tournaments…” He was immediately invited to a strong open competition in Lugano, and also to Brussels, where the young chess prince found himself acting as one of the commentators on the World Cup tournament. While at this great chess forum, f orum, the young and sociable Anand managed to renew his acquaintance not only with the entire international elite but also, far more importantly for him at that point, with the organizers of the biggest international tournaments… Vishy immediately received an invitation to his first big round-robin tournament – in Wijk aan Zee!
It was after this tournament, in which Anand shared 1st-4th places with Nikolic, Ribli and Sax, people started to refer to him as one of the leaders of the new generation. And he himself felt that he had taken a qualitative leap forward in his chess development. Challenger 1. In the middle of 1990 Anand’s rating went above 2600 for the
first time, and as he set off for the inter-zonal match in Manila he was already one of the favorites. And he succeeded in justifying his supporters’ expectations! After a “bumpy” start Vishy finished the tournament in hurricane style – 3.5 out of 4, becoming a challenger at 19 years of age!
India was delighted and made every effort eff ort to get his 1/8 final match against Dreyev played in Madras. His rival was considered more experienced and stronger, but on the outside Vishy coped fairly easily with the pressure. His won the first game, and after a defeat in the third he achieved a hat trick and finished the match early, winning 4.5:1.5. Immediately after this, Anand started his first Linares tournament. The Indian began with two victories – over Kamsky and Karpov – but then suffered one misfortune after another. After losing in devastating style to Ivanchuk with white, Anand fell to the lower half of the table… On seeing this game, Kasparov started talking about Vishy’s “glass jaw”: he’s a striking and talented player but he hasn’t learnt to “roll with the punches”. In addition, when the experts discussed Anand’s style, they noted that he had two shortcomings: the lack of a “school”, which led to a not very convincing
way of approaching the game, and being too hurried when taking important decisions. Of course, he wasn’t spending 30 minutes on a game as he had in his youth, but at times he was clearly hurrying, making second-class moves – and thereby spoiling games that he had played very well… http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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But in his quarter final match with Karpov, who before bef ore the start had looked like the favorite, Anand managed to improve his play. Mikhail Gurevich helped him to eliminate many of his shortcomings and taught him to work seriously on his openings without losing the inherent lightness of his game. And the exchampion felt the full force of the new Vishy. This match was probably a breakthrough for the future Anand. “At the beginning I was annoyed by the toss,” Vishy recalls. “But later I started to stick to the view that you can’t become a champion without meeting your most powerful rivals. You simply have to beat everyone you meet on the way!”
In the majority of games the Indian held the initiative, but his lack of match experience told. Anand did not win the third and fifth games, and instead the rivals exchanged blows in the fourth and sixth. In I n the seventh, Vishy attempted to “squeeze out” a victory, but instead he managed only to squeeze himself out.
In the deciding eighth game Karpov proved to be fresher and bolder. It has to be said that defeat in this match did not crush Anand. On the contrary, he drew the right conclusions, and this, he says, had an effect as early as the next cycle… Challenger 2. The fact that Vishy was in good shape was shown by his two victories over Kasparov – at the tournaments in Tilburg and Reggio Emilia. In
Italy the Indian for the first time left the whole international elite, including both world champions, trailing in his wake. In 1992 he shared victory at the Euwe (Amsterdam) and Alekhine (Moscow) memorials. But the landmark event for him was the “friendly” match against Vassily Ivanchuk in Linares. They were both (with Gelfand) considered the heirs of the two “Ks”, but which of them would come out in front? Before the match in Linares Vassily’s shares were rated a little highe r, but afterwards Anand’s “rate” went up… It was not
only that the Indian won 5:3 (and might have won by more), but his game was more integrated and his palette was richer. “This match proved to be an important point in my career, since it gave me a big boost in courage when I beat Ivanchuk,” Anand believes. “After all, he was
the first really strong opponent that I defeated in a match. I took this as a good sign before the forthcoming world championship cycle…”
In 1993, as we know, the chess world divided into FIDE and the PCA, and Anand was faced with the prospect of playing in two world championship cycles at the same time. People even rushed to attribute words to the Indian I ndian – who was seen as one of the main favorites for both cycles – which he had not uttered, that there was no better way of uniting the crown than to win a match against both Kasparov and Karpov. http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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True, to play a match with with the champion it was was necessary to play an interinterzonal tournament and then Candidates’ matches. And at Biel 1993 (FIDE), Vishy nearly slipped up. In order to go through he had to win “+4”, and he finished with “+3”, but in the last round five (!) games in a row ended in the
right way, and Anand got the last place to go through. In Groningen (PCA) there were no surprises: “+4” and sharing 1st-2nd places. Anand went from victory to victory for the whole of the following year. At the beginning he soundly beat the “old men” Yusupov 4.5:2.5 (FIDE) and
Romanishin 5:2 (PCA), but then unexpectedly lost to Kamsky. Their match took place in Sanghi Nagar, India, and after five games Vishy was leading 3.5:1.5. In order to get a match with Karpov, all he needed was to draw two of the three remaining games. Alas, Vishy did not manage to do this. The familiar surroundings of home played a nasty trick on him: at the time he literally did not know where to hide from the intrusive attention of his compatriots. Anand lost the sixth and seventh games weakly, after which, as if hypnotized, he also lost both of the “rapid” games in the tie-break. In the concluding game Vishy surrendered on his seventeenth move, giving people an excuse, if one were needed, to chatter about his extreme vulnerability. And so he dropped out of the FIDE cycle. But in the PCA “world” he advanced to the very end – a match with Kasparov. Along the way he first overcame Adams, 5.5:1.5, and then took revenge on Kamsky for his “home” defeat. But
he lost the first game in Las Palmas to Gata through inertia (he ran out of time in an overwhelming position). But later Anand was almost irreproachable, totally in control of the game. He won the third, ninth and eleventh games finished the match 6.5:4.5 ahead of schedule and went through to the title match! Anand played in the Tal Memorial (Riga) as a challenger. He came second after Kasparov and lost to him in a head-to-head game, but Vishy’s mood remained good. “My game was very convincing, and I felt on form!” Vishy recalled. “I had
every reason to be in good spirits at the moment when I had only just started preparing for a world championship match…” At the top . Unfortunately, the actual match against Kasparov did not work out for Anand. He probably over-prepared for this match – he – he effectively didn’t play anywhere for half a year – and he lost the lightness of play and freshness of
perception that was so customary for him. Also, according to Kasparov, the Indian’s trainers paid too much attention to
his rival, organizing the preparations in such a way as not to allow Kasparov to make any headway under any circumstances, completely forgetting to develop Anand’s own best qualities. “They imposed a way of playing on him that was http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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not natural for him; they put him in a box where a priori he had no way of showing what he was capable of with his gift… It was as if Vishy had forgotten about his rich intuition and completely excluded risk from his game!”
The penalty for his lack of experience experience – Anand for the first time put his own “team” together. He invited four Grandmasters that he knew well and with
whom he had worked previously: Ubilava, Wolff, Speelman and Yusupov. In the “final straight” he also added Dvoretsky. At the end of the match the Indian
was saying that if they got together with him again, the effectiveness of his team would be higher than in 1995. The moral climate climate was not the best either. On the threshold of the “match of his life”, Anand was burdened with a rather difficult relationship with the PCA
leadership. He was very hurt that the opinion of the title challenger was not being taken into account – they were simply presenting Vishy with a fact. First, that the match would be transferred from Cologne to New York. Then that the prize fund for the contest would be reduced to $1.35 million. He was also irritated by everyday worries, so that by the start of the match the Indian was very tense. But anyway, he was ready enough for the big fight. On which subject, the first eight games against Kasparov, who had far more match experience and generally beat the Indian in head-to-head games, were drawn! Vishy yielded nothing to his awesome rival, and several times even held the initiative… Most of the games ended within about 20 moves, when the
opponents were exhausting the conflict in the game and a draw was beginning to look obvious. But from the eighth game onwards they began having a real fight! It was Anand who gave the signal for battle to commence. His two brilliant replies in this game forced the champion to switch from playing for victory to seeking a draw… And in the ninth game Vishy moved ahead, breaking through Kasparov’s Scheveningen defense at the fifth attempt! Alas… then they played the tenth game: here Garry used his amazing novelty,
sacrificing a rook and winning by using his home analysis. And Vishy “snapped”, as he had already done a number of times before. The eleventh
game would be the key one. In what was an approximately approximately even endgame Kasparov suddenly, and it seemed at the drop of a hat, “blundered away” an exchange! Anand lost his
concentration and made the most obvious move, after which he lost the game and the match in literally two moves… His rival accomplished the whole thing http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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at lightning speed. Left without two pawns, Vishy immediately stopped the clock. In the twelfth, the challenger won half a point with black, but… in the thirteenth Anand again lost through a crude blunder – the game ended in 25
moves! Kasparov also beat his opponent in the fourteenth game, bringing his lead up to three points. The match was one-sided now… “I think one of my main problems in the match against Kasparov was that I didn’t have the faintest idea what pressure I would have to withstand in a match like this,” said Anand on his sad exit from the match. “When I think back to the eleventh and thirteenth games, I don’t need a team of four ‘seconds’ – I simply made basic errors!” to know where I slipped up in these matches – I But just as he did after his challenger’s match against Karpov, Anand
gradually recovered and did not give up thinking about scaling the chess Olympus again. The chess world split. split. T hroughout hroughout 1996 Vishy “simply played chess” with
gusto. The most surprising thing is that despite a lot of brilliant games and excellent results, he did not win first place in anything! But coming second in the Las Palmas six- way tournament between the world’s strongest chess players – Kasparov was first, and behind Vishy came Topalov, Kramnik, – was quite enough to confirm the Indian’s status. Vishy Ivanchuk and Karpov – was was right behind Garry, even though on the basis of his results for the year he was rated third, yielding second place to Kramnik. This “world scene” remained the same in 1997. One good result for Vishy gave way to another! He won in Monte Carlo, Dos Hermanas, Leon, Frankfurt, Biel and Belgrade… However, the main event for
him in 1997 was taking part in the FIDE World Knockout Championship in Groningen. “After winning the tournaments in Biel and Belgrade I set off for the championships in very good spirits!” said Anand, recalling that year.
Working his way consistently past Nikolic, Khalifman, Almasi, Shirov, Gelfand and Adams, Anand got through to the final, where a “fresh” Karpov was already waiting for him. The whole point was that FIDE wanted to put an end to the “two kings” regime and had decided to allow the two “Ks” straight into the
semi-final. But while Kasparov declined this privilege and his $300,000m, Karpov was not prepared to pull any punches. Their final match started in Lausanne, Switzerland, literally a few days after the end of the intense 23-day marathon. Anand was losing 2:3 after five games, but managed to win the sixth, where a victory was crucial for him, taking the match to a tie break. “I won’t say the http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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game was particularly good, but… it shows something in my character: despite all the difficulties I was able to win it,” said Vishy with pride. “Previously “ Previously I probably couldn’t have done this, but I have become stronger over the years, especially in critical situations!”
Alas, in the tie break a huge tiredness made itself felt. Anand managed to gain a dominant position but not only failed to win the game but even lost. His attempt to draw level a second time did not work, and Karpov successfully defended his title as champion. “I regard Groningen as a huge success and in a way I believe that I have won the FIDE world championship,” said Anand, making his position clear. “The terms in the final were so unequal that… it’s difficult for me to regard it as part of the competition.” The mood among the chess-loving public was roughly the
same. Karpov had the official title and the money, but all the glory went to Vishy Anand. It’s no accident that at the end of the year the Indian was awarded a Chess
Oscar! In 1998 Anand received an Oscar statuette for the second time, having secured victory in five super-tournaments super-tournaments – Wijk aan Zee, Linares, Madrid, Frankfurt and Tilburg. In 1999 Kasparov had talks with Anand about a new world championship match. Having lost the support of Intel, the PCA could not stage a Candidates’ cycle, and Garry had no alternative but to accept challenges, as in the “preFIDE” days. However, this time t he champion himself was looking for a
challenger. The Indian agreed to play, play, but, remembering the story of 1995, during during the work on the documents he demanded that the sponsors that Kasparov had found f ound in the USA provide guarantees and also a deposit in case the match fell through. The talks were resumed several times, times, then things would go quiet quiet again, until until finally they became deadlocked…
Anand missed the 1999 FIDE world championship championship in Las Vegas as a result. But the next time, when it was held in New Delhi, Vishy succeeded in becoming the champion! I ndian was only winning Champion. It is interesting that in 1999 and 2000 the Indian “rapid” tournaments”. In classical chess things were different… “At the beginning of 1999 I was still swimming with the tide of almost uninterrupted success, which started after I beat Kramnik in Belgrade-97,” Vishy recalled. “However, sooner or later all good things have to come to an end.” The failures http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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that ensued toughened Anand, making him seize every chance and get the maximum out of the situation. Another factor in this was the six-week preparation for the match with Kasparov that did not take place. “I discovered something: the work you’ve
done always brings you a reward in the end, although sometimes that can be definitely not in the game you’d like or in the tournament you’d hope for…” For
Vishy, it was in New Delhi. However, in 2000 he became the double champion, having won the World Blitz Chess Championship in Warsaw and then the World Cup in Shenyang. “I was
very motivated in my approach to the FIDE FI DE championship in New Delhi. To play 21 games in such a strong competition without a single defeat says that I was in peak form!”
On his home ground Anand overcame Bologan, Lputjan, Macieja, Khalifman – 3.5:0.5. “The and Adams, and in the final, which took place in Tehran, Shirov – 3.5:0.5. consequences of my victory in the FIDE FI DE world championship were extraordinary,” recalled Vishy. “When I returned to Delhi, I was met at the
airport by thousands of people, and I was accompanied by a cortege of vehicles on a trip round the city… There were flags flying everywhere on the streets, just as they do on a national holiday!” In Madras Anand was seated in a carriage,
carried through the center of the city and decorated on behalf of the government. A real “chess fever” broke out in India itself, like the one in the
Soviet Union in 1925. The champion himself, himself, understanding that that it would not be easy to win his third knockout tournament in a row right on cue in a year’s time, did not intend to rest on his laurels. “When I won the title I experienced a sense of profound
satisfaction with what I had achieved at the chess board, and I was looking forward to whatever new challenges fate might bring!” And he didn’t have to
wait long. The following year, 2001, did not work work out very successfully as a whole whole for Anand. Vishy did not win a single victory in classical tournaments, and in the FIDE Knockout Championship in Moscow he lost 1.5:2.5 to Ivanchuk in the semi-final and lost his champion’s title. And An d this defeat by his historic rival had ha d a “domino effect” on the Indian. Having acquired a new champion (Ponomarev),
FIDE ruled Anand out of the Prague Unity Agreements for 2002, and the Indian, who was contracted to FIDE, was not included on the list of challengers for a match with Kramnik in Dortmund. Vishy took a philosophical view of this: “It doesn’t matter, I said to myself. The
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regardless of money and titles – and – and even of playing chess.” And by way of “compensation” Anand scored a victory in Prague (in the final Vishy beat
Karpov), in the World Cup (in the final he beat the future FIDE champion Kasymzhanov), and in Mainz, where one of his rivals was Ponomarev. What next? next? For two years Anand “went with the flow”, with a fairly intense tournament schedule. In 2003 – 2004 2004 Vishy was first in Wijk aan Zee, was
among the first in Monte Carlo and Dortmund, and was also the traditional winner of the “championship match” in Mainz. This was followed by “rapid” tournaments in Bastia, Cap d’Agde and Benidorm.
In 2005, when FIDE finally gave up the knockout and defined a new format for the world championship championship – a two-round tournament of the best eight – Anand returned to the fight for the crown. But the FIDE world championship in San Luis proved to be a magic moment for Topalov. He swept through the first round – 6.5 out of 7 – after which he calmly reached the finish f inish with draws. Vishy was the only one who did not lose once to Veselin, but he had to make do with sharing 2nd-3rd place with Svidler – 8.5 out of 14. His time had still not come! In I n 2006 he had his traditional victory at Wijk aan Zee and was unstoppable in rapid chess, and in 2007 he scored victories in Morelia/Linares… But Anand was mainly focusing on the world championships
in Mexico. He spent more than a month preparing for this tournament, and straight away “took the bull by the horns”. After finishing the first round with a
result of +3, thanks to his victories over Aronian, Svidler and Grishchuk, the Indian seized the lead and left no one in any doubt even for a second about his superiority over his rivals. The result was 9 out of 14 and a one-point lead over Gelfand and Kramnik. And… the champion’s title! At the top. top. Unlike Topalov, who became champion without any “buts”, Anand, or rather FIDE, still “owed” something ever since the Prague days. According to
the regulations, in order to become the fully fledged king, Vishy would still have – in a match with the “classic world champion” Kramnik, to confirm his title – in whom he had already surpassed in Mexico. Once again the Indian was a “hostage of the system”, but… there was nothing he could do about it, so he
started preparing for the new challenge. Their match was due to take place in Bonn. Anand took the news that again he had something to prove almost philosophically. “I thought, since I had been able to beat Kramnik so confidently in the tournament match, I would probably have a good chance against him in a head-to- head match too. I’m well prepared, I have permanent trainers… Why not, if this match is so necessary and if it’s the only way to get a respite?” http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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This time Anand studied the mistakes of his 1995 match… First, he got together a superb “team”: Nielsen, Kasymzhanov, Wojtaszek and Ganguly, who
constantly plied him with novelties and important reinforcements. Second, he had a “strategic plan” for the match, which he succeeded in fully implementing. And third, he simply approached this contest in fine form and did not show the slightest weakness. The decisive factor in the outcome of the match was Kramnik’s two “white”
games, in which Anand made a risky choice. Vladimir set himself the objective of denying his opponent at any cost – but did not manage to do this in either the third or the fifth game… gam e… The Indian won two very important victories, and then added another – in the sixth game, after which the result of the match
was a foregone conclusion. Kramnik could only score a “consolation goal”, wh ile Vishy only needed to win
half a point in the three remaining games to retain the title. The story of his match with Kamsky was not repeated – Anand’s – Anand’s “jaw” was no longer “glass”… This victory mollified mollified the Indian – now he was first without any reservations and could do whatever he liked! Following Kasparov’s retirement from chess in 2005, the most worthy candidate had now become the world champion. “For
many years in a row I have taken part in all the prestigious competitions and accepted any challenge, but now I’m going to be more careful about how I choose my tournaments,” he said after the match. “The title of world champion places obligations on me, but I don’t want them to define my life. I’ve done too much and I want to live for a bit for my own pleasure!”
In 2009 – 2010 2010 his tournament motivation clearly declined. Anand did not take a single first place in either classical or rapid chess. He even ceded his first place in the ratings list first to Topalov and then to Carlsen. But this did not prevent Vishy from defending his champion’s crown – in a tense contest with Topalov, even on his rival’s territory, in Sofia in 2010. But this time Anand had to summon up all his strength to prove his superiority…
Veselin was brilliantly prepared. Playing at home with his own supporters, he was clearly burning with a desire to regain the crown he had lost in a scandalous contest with Kramnik. He played the first game in grand style, but did not shake Vishy – the latter replied in the second, but mainly in a brilliant fourth game, which was a credit to this match. After seizing the lead Vishy went through a difficult patch. Despite the fact that Vishy had two white games from the fifth to the seventh game, Veselin dictated his own terms, and in the eighth he leveled the score to 4:4… With only four games left to the finish, the will and determination of the players would decide http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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everything. And their match experience. It turned out that Anand had more – he had been through duels with the greats! Vishy was very close to victory in the ninth game: several times he came close to forcing a win, but he could not find a solution. He had to seek a draw in the tenth game, “in retaliation”. The next one ended in a calm calm draw. But in the twelfth Topalov lost his nerve! Anand, on the contrary, was cold and dispassionate: he used his rival’s indecisiveness to settle the game – and the whole match – with a direct attack. What Kasparov had done to Anand in 1995, Anand himself did to Topalov 15 years later, and he didn’t even need to sacrifice a rook to do it! The title of world champion was in Vishy’s hands for a second time. And again it was
deserved. A new challenge? It is worth noting that as world champion Anand has not yet
won a single super-tournament. super-tournament. Vishy is always at the top, taking 2nd-3rd places, but first place always goes to someone else. Aronian, Carlsen, Kramnik… But all the evidence suggests that this does not bother him too
much, although from time to time it becomes the subject of discussion among his colleagues or on the pages of chess newspapers and magazines. Anand is the world champion, and that says it all, and he has won dozens of supertournaments in his life. In May 2011 Anand found out the name of the latest challenger to his throne. It is Boris Gelfand, with whom he competed back in their youth in the mid1980s, after which they followed “parallel paths” for a long time… It is quite q uite a
pity that their match will take place only now, when they have both passed the year mark and possible have passed their peak. However, it’s better to ask 40- year their rivals about being “past their peak” – these players have not managed to prevent Vishy and Boris meeting in a contest for the chess crown!
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Boris GELFAND
Born 24 June 1968 in Minsk Grandmaster, winner of the 2009 World Cup and of the 2011 Candidates’
Matches Rating on 1 January 2012: 2739 (peak rating = 2762) Early Years. Boris entered the world on 24 June 1968 in Minsk, born into a family of engineers. His parents – Abram and Nella – had difficult backgrounds:
they were both born not long before the Great Patriotic War, were both evacuated, and after the war they returned home to Minsk. The family was constantly moving from one construction site to another in Belorussia, Lithuania and Russia… The parents were accustomed to a nomadic lifestyle,
and their sun picked this up from them. The Gelfands were a typical intellectual intellectual family in the then USSR: chess was as much an integral part of their culture as the cinema, the theatre or books. It is therefore not surprising that when Boris was four years old his father bought his son his first book about chess: Journey to the Chess Kingdom, by Averbakh and Beilin. http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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“I decided that we would look at one diagram per day,” Abram recalled. “That way we’d be able to get through the book in a year!” The pair of them worked
on chess every day, and the son became increasingly immersed in the world of the 64 squares. During the week Boris could not wait for his father f ather to come home so that they could start a new lesson… And within a few months he had already started to work on his chess independently. “At first I had thought that
Boris would lose interest in chess, but I soon discovered that he had already got to the end of our book and was trying to re-enact some of Grandmasters’ games!” Gelfand’s first trainer was the well-known teacher Eduard Zelkind. Boris was
not yet seven when he joined his group. At first Zelkind did not want to take the lad, but he got the measure of his chess talent when Boris pointed out the winning move in Bronstein’s famous game against a computer. It became clear
to Zelkind that Gelfand had not only memorised the moves but could also feel what was happening on the chess board…
Boris studied with Zelkind for five years. The boy proved himself as a player in the combination style, but also made substantial progress in studying endings and game technique. In 1979 Tamara Goleva, a talented teacher and strong player, took Boris under her wing. She became a second mother to him and was very fond of him. “We never worried about Boris when he set off for another tournament with Tamara,” Abram recalled at the time. And their work
together was undoubtedly beneficial. Then Albert Kapengut appeared in Gelfand’s life.
The favorite pupil of Boleslavsky, Boleslavsky, a strong player, theoretician theoretician and method trainer, he gave Boris systematic knowledge about chess, taught him to work on it independently and instilled in him the habit of generating new ideas. In the apt phrase of Razuvaev, Gelfand became “Boleslavsky’s chess grandson”. Their creative collaboration began in 1980 and continued for nearly 12 years… Gelfand was given access to the trainer’s huge library and was able to ask
Kapengut any question about chess. Another formative stage in Boris’s chess was his participation in 1980-1983 in sessions of the “Petrosian School” – Gelfand went to three two-week sessions,
where he not only attended lectures by teachers but also spent time with the former world champion himself. “That was wa s something special! To have the opportunity to spend time with a great player, just like that,” Boris recalled with delight. “I remember Petrosian saying to me that I shouldn’t make a single move without having an idea: ‘Even when you’re playing blitz, always think!’
That idea played an an enormous role in the subsequent subsequent development of my my way of playing…”
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First successes. The fact that in 1979 the USSR championships took place in Minsk also played an important role in Gelfand’s development. It was won by the 54-year-old Geller – Efim Petrovich beat the young Yusupov and Kasparov
in a fierce contest. The 11-year-old Gelfand was the most attentive spectator in the room: he did not miss a single game and got the autographs of all 18 participants, as well as that of Flohr, the head judge. On seeing the boy’s obsession, Kapengut’s wife said: “Soon people will be asking for your autograph too!”
The next few years were fairly successful for Gelfand. Gelfand. He proved himself to be one of the strongest young chess players in the USSR, winning prizes in many individual and team tournaments. Then in 1983 came his breakthrough. In that year Gelfand, like Kasparov five years earlier, “wangled” his way into the Sokolsky Memorial in Minsk – and caused another sensation! Boris finished
the tournament ahead of two Grandmasters without losing a single game, and immediately fulfilled the requirements to be a master, although bureaucratic delays meant he did not become one until 1985. In the same year, 1983, the 15-year-old Gelfand played in the Belorussian adult championship for the first time. He won it in both 1984 and 1985! In 1985 Gelfand played in the USSR Junior Championship for the first time. In a fierce battle for first place he came in ahead of another rising star – Vassily Ivanchuk – by half a point. Two years later in Arnhem he outperformed him in the European Under-21 Championship, after going through a tough selection before it. Vassily managed to beat him in a head-to-head meeting, but this did not trouble Boris: he won the other 11 games, and when his hold on first place was no longer threatened he “gifted” his opponents one draw. It was an
unconditional unconditional victory. A year later, in 1988, in Arnhem again, Gelfand repeated his achievement and became twice (joint) Champion of Europe. Before this he shared first place in the USSR Junior Championship and the Under-20 World Championship in Adelaide. Boris also played brilliantly in the first league, earning his place in the USSR adult championship. Take-off . By 1989 the whole chess world had started talking about Gelfand! Successes came one after another, and his rating rose rapidly… Boris was still
not 20 when after adding 66 points at once he rapidly broke into the top 10 with a rating of 2673! He then consolidated these figures with more brilliant successes. Thus Gelfand made it onto the winners’ podium at the USSR championship at his first attempt – he shared third place in Odessa (the champion was Rafael http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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Vaganian). This success won him a place in the USSR national team – and together with this young and ambitious team he was victorious in the European championship. championship. A year later he was playing for the USSR team at the Olympiad in Novi Sad. In his career to date Gelfand has played in nine Tournaments of of Nations, heading first the Belorussian Belorussian team and and then Israel. But the main event for Boris in 1989 was the grand GMA Candidates Tournament in in Palma de Mallorca. One One hundred and fifty Grandmasters Grandmasters started: it was probably the most impressive Swiss-system tournament tournament in the history of chess. And it had a single winner! Gelfand won six of the first seven games. His victims included Dlugi, Adams an d King… His final result – 7.5 out of 9 – was reminiscent of his triumphant junior victories, which had left not the slightest doubt about his superiority. Such a brilliant success simply could not go unnoticed, and at the end of the tournament Gelfand received an invitation to two super-tournaments, super-tournaments, in Tilburg and Linares. Linares. In the first tournament, tournament, in Linares in 1990, the novice had to play Kasparov himself. And Boris passed the test of his first meeting with the world champion. A very fierce struggle to the last move held the spectators in huge tension – and despite the fact that this game ended in a draw it was acknowledged as the best in the tournament. After this “warm-up”, Kasparov and Gelfand both won four games in a row,
virtually removing any question about who would be contending for first place… In 1989 another Linares debutant, Ivanchuk, had also started the tournament with a game against Garry – he won it, and then the whole tournament. Alas, Gelfand did not manage to repeat Vassily’s feat – he finished half a point behind Kasparov, despite his six victories! Having passed this “exam” brilliantly, Gelfand was numbered among the world’s leading players. And after he – together with Ivanchuk! – shared victory
in the inter-zonal in Manila, people began talking about the Belorussian as a possible challenger for the chess throne. Unfortunately, Gelfand’s first “move” for the crown came to an abrupt halt at
the quarter-final stage. As it had, incidentally, for Anand with Ivanchuk. After a difficult victory over Predrag Nikolic – 4:4 in normal time and 1.5:0.5 in the – Boris lost to Nigel Short 3:5. But in this cycle no one could stop rapid playoff – the British player, and Nigel got as far as Kasparov! Gelfand did not intend to make a tragedy out of this defeat, the first in his rapidly developing career. Boris gave his opponent his due for his exceptional http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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pressure in the white game and his ability to attune himself to victory – and got ready for another assault on Olympus in two years’ time. He was just 22.
But it turned out that after losing his match against Short, Boris had an indirect hand – Karpov, – Karpov, Timman and Kasparov also “connived” in this – in splitting the world of chess. In 1993 Garry and Nigel played a match for the crown outside FIDE’s jurisdiction, and the chess world entered an era of dual
power. This situation could not have made Gelfand happy. For him, the world of chess had always seemed like a pyramid, at the top of which should be the world champion, and his main aim was to get to the top. But in 1993, when FIDE and the PCA began to run two cycles in parallel, there were suddenly two of these peaks. And Boris was just about the only one who did not try to “kill two birds with one stone”. He decided to concentrate on the
FIDE line. Challenger 1. However, before celebrating success in an inter-zonal
tournament for a second time in 1993, Gelfand achieved a lot. In 1991 he won brilliantly in Belgrade, and in 1992 he shared second place with Kasparov in Reggio Emilia, won at Wijk aan Zee, and won the Alekhine Memorial towards the end of the year… This success in Moscow was one of the most brilliant triumphal pages in the Grandmaster’s career.
This was one of the tournaments tournaments in which Gelfand Gelfand succeeded in literally everything, and his brilliant creative game reached its apogee! Boris won three brilliant victori es over Karpov, Anand and Salov, and only an “unnecessary” defeat by Shirov denied him an “outright” victory. Various publications got so carried away in their delight at Gelfand’s play that they named him the direct
heir of Alekhine. However, not much can compare with an outright first place at the inter-zonal in Biel in 1993. Before Boris, Bronstein had managed to win two inter-zonals – at Saltsjobaden in 1948 and Gothenburg in 1955 – but no one had won two in a row. Gelfand confidently scored “+5”, and the key game in his overall success was the one against Anand, whom he defeated in the eighth round (as he had also done, incidentally, three years earlier, at the inter-zonal in Manila). Manila). Having become the challenger, Gelfand did not go to the PCA candidate’s tournament in Groningen. The fact that Gelfand’s approach to this cycle was totally serious was shown by the result of his very first match with the “twice challenger” Adams. Boris was
superior to him in all aspects of the game and did not give Michael a single chance, winning 5:3. After failing to win in Linares (eleventh place) and a victorious Dos Hermanas he went away for more than two months to prepare for a contest against the 19-year-old Kramnik. http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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To this day Boris considers this this match victory – 4.5:3.5 – one of his most important. Despite his youth, Vladimir was already among the five leading players in the world, and there was no doubt that more successes awaited him. Together with his assistants assistants Alexander Huzman, Huzman, Mark Kogan and and Valery Atlas, and succeeded in discovering the shortcomings in his opponent’s play – Gelf and and in hitting the key areas of his opening analyses. The situation was “complicated” by the fact that Boris and an d Vladimir were good friends and had
worked together on their chess more than once. The match as a whole was was dictated by Gelfand. He put on pressure pressure with white, and Kramnik found himself with effectively no opening – and was forced to shift the emphasis of the battle to the middle game. Vladimir did take the lead after winning a victory in the fascinating third game, but the score was immediately leveled in the fourth. Then after a series of draws Gelfand finished off his opponent by winning the final, eighth, game of the match – 4.5:3.5. Gelfand finished 1994 with a victory in the rapid knockout tournament in Cap d’Agde, in the final of which he beat his opponent in the candidates’ match,
Anatoly Karpov, 4:2! At that moment his victory in the FIDE cycle seemed entirely realistic. Anatoly, true, had a score of 3:1 in non-draw matches with Boris, having beaten him with both white and black, but… “that was before” – and Gelfand set off for Sanghi Nagar not only confident of victory but also with a clear idea of how he could achieve it. At the start Karpov was having serious problems: having saved himself in the first game, he could do nothing in the second and fell apart in the third. But… feeling that the match wasn’t wasn ’t going in the right direction, the FIDE ch ampion
mobilized all his inner reserves and managed to regain control. In his trademark subtle style he got the better of Gelfand in the fourth and sixth games and, after changing his opening, confidently secured a draw with black in the fifth. The key game of the match was was the seventh. Here Boris, who had missed missed several chances as play progressed, opted for the “wrong” endgame! He traded knights instead of taking the bishop and securing an easy draw. Anatoly converted his advantage into a victory in exemplary style. This defeat really took the wind out of Gelfand’s sails. The battle was over – 3:6. This contest, or rather the chance that Boris lost in it, would “reverberate” in
his life for a long time to come. At that time, at 27 he was at the height of his creative force and opportunities… After the match in Sanghi Nagar it was said that Gelfand had been in a hurry to lay out all his trump cards in front of http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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Karpov, and that Karpov, with his huge match experience, had known exactly how to adapt to him. Boris was not flexible enough. One of the elite. Fortunately the collapse of the challenger’s hopes did not obstruct Gelfand’s further career. In the same year, 1995, Boris found himself
among the winners in Dos Hermanas and Biel, and in Belgrade he shared 1st2nd place with Kramnik, with “+5” each!
In the next two years a cornucopia of invitations to major tournaments came the Belorussian’s way, and he probably overestimated his physical capacity.
But what could he do? The world championship cycle had collapsed, and all that was left was “simply playing”…
And Gelfand, a player who approached his every game, almost his every move, with trepidation, was suddenly forced to play every third day. In the next two years he played an inconceivable 183 “classical” games, not to mention rapid
chess and blitz chess. Boris travelled all over the world without a breathingspace… Wijk aan Zee, Amsterdam, Dos Hermanas, Madrid, Novgorod,
Dortmund, Vienna, Yerevan, Tilburg and Groningen, plus appearances in leagues in 1996. Linares, Dos Hermanas, Novgorod, Dortmund, Biel, PolanicaZdroj, Belgrade and again Groningen, and the first FIDE knockout world championship in 1997. Anyone would “break” under such an exhausting
schedule of appearances. It goes without saying that Gelfand simply had no time to think about high places – he had to get ready for the next game! It is surprising that he managed to maintain his rating, staying on the edge of the top 10. When asked about unimportant results at that time he would simply throw up his hands: “I simply don’t have the energy, because I’m playing too much…” His emotional
tiredness led to a loss of technique and to frequent errors in games that were not going badly. He was caught in a vicious circle. Before this, Boris had more than once declined invitations to tournaments, tournaments, wishing to focus on preparing for candidates’ matches. After FIDE gave them up, deciding to determine the champion in a knockout tournament, he had nothing to save his strength for. And he did not have any. But Gelfand got ready for his first knockout in Groningen. Boris had some very difficult contests – all three went to a tie-break: Lautier, Tkachev and Dreev. But in the the quarter-final he was up up against Anand. Anand. After a rapid draw in the first game, there was no threat to Boris in the second, but his nervous tension had an effect. While in a good position he blundered away an exchange; he tried to give up a piece for two pawns but did not hold out for long. Anand went through to the semi-final against Adams. The Indian took http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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“revenge” for two defeats in the inter-zonals, each of which had been almost fatal for him. And Gelfand was again two steps away from the throne… A new life. life. On his return home Gelfand decided to start a “new life”. He had been nurturing plans to move to Israel for a long time… But he did this only in 1998, when he moved to Rishon LeZion – a small town to the south of Tel Aviv.
Brussels – Boris shared his free time approximately approximately evenly between this city and Minsk – thus did not become his home. But Rishon LeZion – a small town to the south of Tel Aviv – did, and immediately became a centre of chess activities. Having changed his “chess citizenship”, Gelfand faded into the background for
a while: the organizers of big tournaments stopped noticing him. As a result Boris began to sit at the chessboard much less frequently. But his rare appearances were more “fruitful”. A win in Polanica-Zdroj with a
one point lead over Shirov in 1998, and another at the first super-tournament in Tel Aviv and Malmo in 1999. And then in the FIDE knockout world championship in Las Vegas Boris lost “by tradition” to the future world champion Alexander Khalifman in the qualifying round for the last 32…
In April 1999 Gelfand, who was never shy about expressing his opinion, spoke for the first time on matters other than chess. In a column in the largecirculation German paper Die Welt the Israeli Grandmaster went against public opinion and expressed sharp condemnation of the NATO bombing in Yugoslavia. “For us chess players, these towns – Bugojno, Niksic, Banja Luka, Pula and Belgrade – are not simply points on a map. They are the places where our good friends and real supporters of chess ch ess live!” Boris wrote. For nowhere in Europe
took as much interest in chess as the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Gelfand was not trying to throw down a challenge to anyone; he simply regarded it as his duty to express his position. These bold and frank statements statements by Gelfand, who had taken taken an active stance against the bombing of Yugoslavia, were taken at face value by the public. At the end of 2000 people began to talk about Gelfand’s “return” to the chess Olympus… Boris got as far as the semi-final of the World Cup in Shenyang,
losing only to Anand, and that in the blitz chess. And for a second time he won the Rubinstein Memorial brilliantly. Things did not work out for for him in the knockout championship championship in New New Delhi, it is true: he only got through two rounds, losing to the future finalist Alexei http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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Shirov 1.5:2.5… But a year later in Moscow he “made amends” and got as far
as the quarter-final. Gelfand managed to overcome Cabrera, Dominguez, Delchev and Azmaiparashvili. He was halted only by Svidler. Boris lost to him in a protracted blitz series and once again spoke out on the subject of the imbalance between the significance of the championship title and the actual knockout format. His statements were quickly taken up by the press, and by other players too, as a result of which FIDE soon abandoned the knockout in favor of the classical world championship cycle format with a match for the crown. Meanwhile the knockout tournament received, to general satisfaction, the status of the World Cup, one of the candidates’ stages in the world championship…
In 2002 Gelfand made an attempt to get selected for a world championship match with Kramnik. But the candidates’ tournament in Dortmund did not work out for Boris – he could not get through from his group into the play-off,
losing to Topalov and and Shirov. There was another reason for Gelfand’s failure, apart from chess problems – three explosions by suicide bombers that occurred literally one block from his house in Rishon LeZion on the very eve of the tournament. This threw Boris into disarray. Not even an invitation from Boris Postovsky, the legendary captain of the Burevestnik sports society and the Russian national team in the 1990s, to join his team could help revive his fighting spirit. But if Gelfand had only himself to blame for the failure of his 2002 campaign, the fact that he did not get into the 2004 world championship was due only to FIDE, which chose Libya as the venue for the tournament. It is well known that citizens of Israel are forbidden to travel to this country. Two dozen players at that time fell afoul of this, which caused a storm of indignation in the world of chess. “A shameful act, in the opinion of many chess players, spectators and organizers,” said Boris, speaking frankly in interviews… “One can only imagine where we’ll end up if the situation in the world of chess remains this stable in the years to come!” And indeed, the chess world had seen nothing like this
since 1976, when the USSR and company boycotted the Olympiad in Haifa. Challenger 2. In 2002-2006 Gelfand experienced successful performances
alternating with not very successful ones, brilliant bursts of creativity with periods of creative drought. With his rating and track record he was always a welcome guest in second-rank tournaments. tournaments. But the only tournament with the prefix “super” that remained on his credit side was Amber, although time after time Boris achieved nothing special in it: neither in the rapid games nor in the blindfold games – he invariably finished in the lower half of the table.
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“Between 1998 and 2006 I played in perhaps five or six ‘classical’ super tournaments, and that’s in eight years!” said a perplexed Gelfand. “My rating
was always between number six and 16. Nowadays a player with that kind of rating would play more tournaments in two years than I did during that whole period! A conspiracy? An objective situation in the world…”
In 2005 Gelfand took part in the first World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. Khanty-Mansiysk. He got as far as the quarter-final, where he was beaten 4:2 by Grischuk (it is interesting that several years before this, when the 17-year-old Grischuk was a semi-finalist in the FIDE knockout in New Delhi, Boris did a few training sessions with him at the request of his trainer Anatoly Bykhovsky). But despite being knocked out of the World Cup, Gelfand was included in the 16 candidates who were due to compete for four places in the 2007 round robin world championship a year later in Elista. The prospect of once again having to fight for the champion’s title was more than a serious irritant for Gelfand.
And he conf idently idently earned the right to travel to Mexico City. First he beat Rustam Kasimdzhanov: six draws in normal time and total superiority for Gelfand in the tie-break – 2.5:0.5. Then Kamsky was defeated too: Boris needed – 3.5:1.5… only five main games to beat Gata, and he won two with black – 3.5:1.5… Three months later later the 39-year-old Gelfand was… the “main discovery” of the world championship in Mexico! Boris was incredibly prepared in the opening. He played Petrov’s Defense as black and the Catalan opening as white; it was simply some kind of Kramnik personified. But the main thing was that he was full of energy, with a big stock of new ideas. He had not displayed such force and desire to play for victory in every game in tournaments for several years. However, in the first round with black against Anand he did not have enough of this attitude, otherwise Gelfand would have taken the pawn that Vishy left vulnerable, and… who knows how the whole tournament would have turned
out? But the Indian held his ground, finishing the first round with five points – two “white” victories over Aronian out of seven. Boris had half a point less – two and Morozevich; and with all his main opponents Boris secured confident draws with black. Unfortunately the “fairy tale” ended in the ninth round, in a game with
Grischuk. The latter, who had finished the first round with a 50% result, was beaten outright in the second, with only a single victory. And that was against Gelfand… After that, Vishy could not be caught, even despite the fact that
Boris achieved a determined victory over Aronian. Gelfand could not even get an outright second place, because of Kramnik, who rolled on to the finish. Nevertheless, the experts unanimously noted that at nearly 40 years of age Gelfand had literally found his “second wind”. However, Boris was only http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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displaying it in competitions connected with the fight for the title of world champion. In “ordinary” round robin tournaments he lacked stability, and he
played in them with variable success. On the one hand there were blatant failures in Wijk aan Zee and Sochi in 2008, and some very average results in Nalchik and Biel in 2009. And on the other hand there were brilliant results in Bazna and Jermuk, and steady and confident play in the Tal memorials. Breakthrough. Even a brilliant victory in the 2009 World Cup in KhantyMansiysk did not change this “picture of the world”. Gelfand was able to move
through this tournament, which lasted three weeks, in top gear! On the way to the final he got past Obodchuk, Amonatov, Polgar, Vachier-Lagrave, Vachier-Lagrave, Yakovenko and Karyakin. Half the matches went to a tie-break, and Boris effectively did not have a single day off. And a titanic struggle with Ponomarev still awaited Gelfand in the final. The main games ended in draws, and then the “fireworks”
started. Twice Boris was just one step away from victory, and twice Ruslan fought back in the last game. But… Gelfand still finished 7:5!
It would have been most unfair if victory had slipped from his grasp – the Israeli Grandmaster had invested all his strength in this tournament, and even a bit more… His young seconds were “dying” under the pressure, but their boss
turned out every day as if for his last fight, as if it were nothing special, and he could not get enough of it, just kept playing and playing. As Alexander Huzman, who had served as his second for 20 years, put it: “After all, none of the elite players loves chess as Boris does…”
Even Gelfand himself, turning over his past successes in his mind, could not decide which of them had been the most impressive. Two victories in the interzonal, Mexico in 2007, Belgrade in 1995, Moscow in 1992… “I’m not about to put my victory in Khanty-Mansiysk on a par with my previous achievements. It was something special!”
After his victory in the World Cup Boris was again invited to Linares, after a 13-year interval. In addition, Gelfand played in tournaments in Astrakhan and Bazna, and then performed brilliantly for the team of “veterans” in a crossgeneration match in Amsterdam. can didates’ matches! This But the main challenge for Boris in 2011 was the candidates’ time he did not go to the match tournament but straight to a duel for the crown with Vishy Anand…
Before the battle started in Kazan, there was a lot of talk about the mismatch between the importance of this event and its format: the matches were too short, and they were to be played one after another, and there was too much http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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rapid and blitz chess. Even Magnus Carlsen, who was number one in the world ratings, had declined to take part, believing that it was impossible to decide who was strongest in this way. The majority of matches matches turned into a real lottery, lottery, with the main events events happening at the flag fall. Gelfand took a philosophical view of the format: in the words of the poem, “We “ We don’t choose our times, we just live and die”! We have no choice – we – we have to play…
His first opponent was Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and the key game in their match was the third. Here his opponent attacked fiercely, but Boris put up an effective defense. When the smoke of battle cleared it turned out that the Baku player had an extra rook, and the Israeli had six potential queens. The other three games ended in draws – 2.5:1.5. In the next match against Gata Kamsky all the main events came in the tiebreak. Here too Gelfand could have resolved all issues in his own favor in the main time – again with black in the third game – but in the zeitnot he wrongly retreated his queen. A draw. The result of this match seemed seemed to trouble Boris: he eased off his his attack in the fourth game and played uncertainly in the rapid chess. But if Gata “excused” him in the first game, in the third Gelfand, playing white, was left without a piece by the sixteenth move! He had just one slim chance left to save the match – to win the last game, playing black. As this game proceeded, Kamsky had more than one chance to put the outcome of the match beyond doubt, but he hesitated and retreated, while… it
was not obvious that Gelfand would win. In I n the blitz chess there was no contest – Boris won both games and secured himself a place in the final. Awaiting him there was Alexander Grischuk, who had seen off his two most dangerous opponents – Aronian and Kramnik – before this in tie-breaks. In Kazan the Muscovite played without white, securing quick draws, and was ready to withstand a siege with black. He was very close to losing, but his brilliant playing qualities enabled him to “hold the balan ce”.
The final match also also followed the same scenario. scenario. It seemed it would be impossible to avoid a tie-break after five drawn games, but Gelfand managed to go all out in the sixth, which was really “the game of his life”. It seemed as
though white had gained nothing in the opening and black was already beginning active operations against its “weak king”, when suddenly it became clear that… it simply had no moves! Grischuk perished quickly in a futile
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Gelfand won the match 3.5:2.5 and won the right to a match for the crown! “I’ve always had great respect for the title of world champion,” said Boris after his victory. “So when the cycle effectively collapsed in the mid-1990s, I found it emotionally more difficult to train and to prepare properly for tournamen ts… I
lacked the motivation. As soon as the normal cycle was resumed, my results immediately improved! In 2007 in Mexico I shared second place with Kramnik, then I won in Khanty-Mansiysk in the World Cup, and now I’ve won the candidates’ cycle too!” Boris Gelfand was asked in an interview, whether he was not appearing somewhat late as a challenger for the title the title of World Champion. "Why?” Gelfand replied, "Viktor Korchnoi also played his World Championship matches when he was 43, 47 and 50 years old." And Korchnoi - now more than 80 years old - is still playing successfully in chess tournaments. A couple of years ago a nu mber mber of very young players advanced to the world's chess elite and some thought that top class cl ass chess was being dominated by children. However, it is not that easy to push the "old guys" aside. Some of the 40-somethings have been top players for decades and they do not all intend to give up their positions: Anand, Gelfand, Ivanchuk, Shirov and Adams are all more than 40. Kramnik, Svidler, Kamsky, and Morozevich too, are approaching 40. And Levon Aronian, one of the younger players, (who, however, is already 30 years of age), played a match against Kramnik in Zürich. Apparently, chess is not yet turning into a child's c hild's game soon, even if the Women's World Champion would not be able to get her driver's license in most countries... Well, chess is a sport for every age!
K Biography from the official website: http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/
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Boris Gelfand obtained an easy draw with black against World Champion Viswanathan Anand in the first game of the World Chess Championship in Moscow. No-one could recall the last time, if at all, Gelfand had chosen this opening. Although Anand was ready for the choice, as surprises of this nature were inevitable. Anand headed straight to a very unusual sideline but after Gelfand captured the pawn on a2 Anand slowed down and seemed unsure of himself. There were certainly alternatives to 13.Rb2 such as 13.Bg5. It seemed for a while like black might be significantly better but afterwards Gelfand said as far as he was concerned "There was no big advantage." The players quickly steered for a draw after this and the game was drawn in 24 moves. (1) Anand,Viswanathan (2791) - Gelfand,Boris (2727) [D85] WCh Moscow RUS (1), 11.05.2012 11.05.2012 [Analysis by GM Mikhail Golubev ( Golubev ( www.chesstoday.net www.chesstoday.net ) ] 1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.¤c3 d5 Gelfand, as it seems, had never played The Gruenfeld before. Alex Baburin points out that Gelfand's "Black" repertoire in the closed openings normally includes: 1. Semi-Slav - after usually goes for the Moscow (...h6), but sometimes plays ...Qa5. 2. Slav - sometimes. 3. Nimzo + Queen's Indian. 4. Sometimes after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4.Nc3 he goes for 4...dxc4. 5. QGD - rarely and mostly recently - goes for TMB or Lasker. 6. Sometimes goes for Benoni, which he knows well from his junior years. side-system. 8...¤c6 9.d5!? 4.¤f3 ¥g7 5.cxd5 ¤xd5 6.e4 ¤xc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.¥b5+ A side-system.
[Most often, White plays 9.0 – 0 ] 9...£a5 10.¦b1 a6 11.¥xc6+ bxc6 12.0 –0 £xa2 13.¦b2!? Maybe a novelty for a human play; it was tested in many computer/"Centaur" blitz games, available in special databases. [13.¥e3 was Niederwieser-Kratschmer, Austria 2006.] 13...£a5! [After 13...£c4 14.d6!ƒ is stronger than in the game.] 14.d6!? ¦a7 http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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15.¥g5 [Quite critical was 15.¥f4!© , discussed, in particular, by Susan Polgar on Twitter during the game.] 15...exd6! 16.£xd6 ¦d7! 17.£xc6 £c7
Now Black solves all his problems. p roblems. 18.£xc7 ¦xc7 19.¥f4 [There are two computer games with 19.e5 0 – 0³] 0³] 19...¦b7 20.¦c2N [20.¦a2!? (Which is a more human move at first glance) had occurred in RudiSinnlos, Rybka 2.3.2a vs. Formula Open, Rybka 2.3.2a, 3+0 rated blitz 2008.] 20...0–0 21.¥d6 ¦e8 22.¤d2 f5 Black is slightly better because he has the pair of bishops and the position is quite open. 23.f3 fxe4?! Gelfand made not the most critical move. [Preferable could have been 23...¥d7!?³ ] 24.¤xe4 ¥f5 Now, it's almost totally equal. There are no Sofia rules at the world championship, and the draw was agreed. I would never blame players who are following existing rules, but organization/system of the competition is a very big problem. Such games are not attractive products. ½–½
Game 2 [Analysis by IM Malcolm Pein] Viswanathan Anand drew drew with black against Boris Gelfand in just 25 moves of a Semi-Slav 5.e3 in second game of the World Chess Championship in Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery. They are tied at 1-1. Gelfand took some time after 14...Nf6 to choose between 15.Bg5 and 15.exd5, his eventual choice. Anand said the "position is supposed to be better for white just after 17.Be3. But I'd actually checked this and found that 17...Bf5 gives reasonable [play]". Anand had to be precise after this but with 19...Rfe8!, 21...h5! And 24...Kh7! Although the second game failed to develop the tension that might have led to a decisive victory, it did answer an important question: what did Anand have planned as his main black weapon? Against Topalov it had been the Grünfeld, then the stultified Catalan. This time the Semi-Slav was chosen, though it developed into a calm position. Gelfand had nothing and offered the draw with 25.Rc5. http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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(2) Gelfand,Boris (2739) - Anand,Viswanathan Anand,Viswanathan (2799) [D45] WCh 2012 Moscow RUS (2), 12.05.2012 12.05.2012 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤c3 ¤f6 4.e3 e6 5.¤f3 a6 6.b3 ¥b4 7.¥d2 ¤bd7 8.¥d3 0 –0 9.0– 0 ¥d6 10.¦c1 e5 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.e4
[12.dxe5 ¤xe5 13.¤xe5 ¥xe5 14.¤e2 (14.h3 ¥d7 15.¤e2 ¦c8 16.¥c3 ¥xc3 17.¤xc3 £a5 18.£e1 £b6 19.£d2 ¦c7 20.¤e2 ¦fc8 21.¤d4 a5 22.¦xc7 £xc7 23.¤e2 £b6 24.¦c1 ¦c5 25.¤d4 £b4 26.£b2 b6 27.a3 ¦xc1+ 28.£xc1 £d6 29.£b2 ¤e8 30.¥e2 ¤c7 31.£c3 £c5 32.£b2 £d6 33.b4 axb4 34.axb4 g6 35.£c3 h5 36.¥d3 £e5 37.h4 ¤e6 38.¤e2 £xc3 39.¤xc3 ¤c7 40.¢h2 ¢g7 41.¢g3 ¢f6 42.¢f4 ¤e6+ 43.¢g3 ¤c7 44.¢f4 ¤e6+ 45.¢g3 ¢e5 1/2 – 1/2 1/2 Bukavshin,I (2502)-Rublevsky,S (2682)/Taganrog RUS 2011/The Week in Chess 868 ) 14...¤g4 a) 14...¥g4 15.f3 ¥d7 (15...¥h5 16.¥c3 £d6 17.¥xe5 £xe5 18.£d2 ¦fe8 19.¦c3 ¥g6 20.¥xg6 hxg6 21.£d4 £e7 22.¦fc1 ¦ad8 23.¢f2 £d6 24.h3 ¦d7 25.¦c8 ¦de7 26.¦1c5 g5 27.£c3 £e6 28.¦xe8+ ¦xe8 29.¤d4 £e5 30.¦c8 g6 31.¦xe8+ £xe8 32.£c7 £d7 33.£e5 ¤h7 34.a4 £d8 35.¤e2 ¤f6 36.¤c3 £b6 37.¤xd5 ¤xd5 38.£xd5 £b4 39.a5 b5 40.axb6 £xb6 41.¢e2 £c7 42.b4 £c2+ 43.£d2 £b3 44.¢f2 ¢h7 45.¢g1 £c4 46.e4 ¢g7 47.£d6 £c1+ 48.¢h2 £c3 49.e5 £c4 50.£f6+ ¢g8 51.e6 £c7+ 52.f4 gxf4 53.exf7+ £xf7 54.£xa6 ¢g7 55.£c6 £b3 56.£c7+ 1 – 0 Aronian,L (2763)-Morozevich,A (2774)/Yerevan ARM 2008/ The Week in Chess 710 ) 16.¥c3 £e7 17.¥xe5 £xe5 18.£d2 ¦fe8 19.¦c3 g6 20.¥b1 ¥b5 21.¦e1 ¥xe2 22.¦xe2 d4 23.¦d3 dxe3 24.¦dxe3 £c5 25.¢f1 ¦ed8 26.¦d3 ¦xd3 27.£xd3 ¤d5 28.£d2 ¤c3 29.¦e1 b5 30.£d7 ¦a7 31.£d8+ ¢g7 32.¦e8 ¤xb1 33.¦g8+ ¢h6 34.£h4+ £h5 35.£e1 ¦d7 36.£xb1 £xh2 37.£c1+ ¢h5 38.£c5+ f5 39.¦h8 £h1+ 0 – 1 Meszaros,M (2414)-Gurevich,M (2617)/Forni di Sopra ITA 2011/The Week in Chess 867; b) 14...¥e6 15.¥c3 £d6 16.h3 ¥xc3 17.¦xc3 ¦ac8 18.£c2 ¦xc3 19.£xc3 ¦c8 20.£b2 ¤d7 21.¦d1 ¤e5 22.¥b1 ¤c6 23.¤f4 £c5 24.£d2 ¦d8 25.¤e2 g6 26.£b2 £d6 27.¥e4 £c7 28.¥f3 ¤e5 29.¤d4 ¦c8 30.¢f1 £c3 31.£xc3 ¦xc3 32.¢e2 ¢f8 33.g4 ¤c6 http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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34.¥g2 ¤xd4+ 35.¦xd4 ¦c2+ 36.¦d2 ¦xd2+ 37.¢xd2 g5 38.¢c3 ¢e7 39.¢d4 ¢d6 40.e4 f6 41.exd5 ¥f7 42.¥f3 ¥g8 43.b4 ¥f7 44.a3 h6 45.a4 ¥e8 46.¥d1 ¥f7 47.¥f3 ¥e8 48.a5 ¥a4 49.¥e2 ¥b3 50.¥f3 ¥a2 51.¥e4 ¥b3 52.¥g2 ¥a2 53.¥e4 ¥b3 54.¥f5 ¥xd5 55.¥e4 ¥xe4 56.¢xe4 ¢e6 57.¢d4 ¢d6 58.¢e4 ¢e6 59.f3 ¢e7 60.f4 ¢e6 61.f5+ ¢d6 62.¢d4 ¢c6 63.¢c4 ¢d6 64.b5 axb5+ 65.¢xb5 ¢c7 66.¢c5 ¢d7 67.¢b6 ¢c8 68.a6 bxa6 69.¢xa6 ¢c7 70.¢a7 ¢d6 71.¢b7 ¢e5 72.¢c7 h5 73.gxh5 ¢xf5 74.¢d6 1 – 0 Ivakhinova,I (2326)Kuprin,V (2154)/Barnaul RUS 2011/The Week in Chess 868; c) 14...¤e4 15.¥xe4 dxe4 16.¥c3 ¥g4 17.¥xe5 £xd1 18.¦fxd1 ¥xe2 19.¦d7 ¦ac8 20.¦dc7 1/ 2 – 1/2 1/2 Najer,E (2638) Jakovenko,D (2718)/Olginka RUS 2011/The Week in Chess 860; 15.h3 ¤f6 16.¥c3 £e7 17.£c2 ¥xc3 18.£xc3 ¥d7 19.¤d4 ¦fc8 20.£a5 £d6 21.¥e2 g6 22.¥f3 h5 23.£d2 £a3 24.¦c3 ¦xc3 25.£xc3 ¦c8 26.£a1 a5 27.¦d1 £e7 28.¤e2 ¦c5 29.¤f4 ¥e6 30.£e5 ¤d7 31.£d4 ¤f6 32.a4 b6 33.£e5 ¤d7 34.£b2 ¤f6 35.£d4 ¢h7 36.¤d3 ¦c6 37.¤e5 ¦c5 38.¤d3 ¦c6 39.¤f4 ¦c5 40.g3 ¥f5 41.b4 axb4 42.£xb4 £c7 43.£d4 £e7 44.£b4 £c7 45.¢g2 ¥e4 46.¥xe4 dxe4 47.¦b1 ¦c6 48.£f8 g5 49.¤e2 £d7 50.¤d4 ¦c8 51.£a3 ¤d5 52.¦b5 h4 53.g4 ¤f4+ 54.exf4 £xd4 55.£e7 £c4 56.¦xg5 ¦c5 57.f5 ¦c6 58.£f8 1 – 0 Dreev,A (2705) -Godena,M (2527)/Warsaw POL 2005/The Week in Chess 555] 12...dxe4 [12...exd4 13.¤xd5 ¤xd5 14.exd5 h6 15.¤xd4 ¤f6 16.¤f5 ¥xf5 17.¥xf5 ¥a3 18.¦c4 £xd5 19.£c2 ¥e7 20.¥c3 ¦ad8 21.¦e1 ¦fe8 22.¥e4 £b5 23.¥f3 ¥d6 24.¦xe8+ ¦xe8 25.g3 ¤h7 26.h4 ¤f8 27.a4 £d7 28.£d3 £e7 29.¥d5 ¤e6 30.¦g4 h5 31.¦e4 ¥c5 32.¦e5 £f6 33.¦f5 £g6 34.£f3 ¦c8 35.¥b2 ¦c7 36.¥e4 £g4 37.£xg4 hxg4 38.¦d5 ¥a7 39.¦d2 g6 40.¥f6 ¥c5 41.¢g2 ¥b4 42.¦e2 ¥e7 43.¥b2 ¤c5 44.¥d5 ¤d3 45.¥a1 ¢f8 46.¥c4 ¤c5 47.h5 gxh5 48.¦e5 h4 49.gxh4 ¥xh4 50.¦f5 b5 51.axb5 axb5 52.¥e5 bxc4 53.¥xc7 ¤xb3 54.¦f4 c3 55.¦xg4 ¥f6 56.¦c4 ¢e7 57.¥f4 ¢e6 58.¦c6+ ¢f5 59.¥e3 ¥e5 60.¢f3 ¤d4+ 61.¥xd4 ¥xd4 62.¢e2 ¥e5 63.¦c4 ¥g7 64.f3 ¥f6 65.¢e3 ¥g5+ 66.¢d3 ¥d2 1/2 – 1/2 1/2 Shankland,S (2580)-Erenburg,S (2616)/Philadelphia USA 2012/The Week in Chess 909] 13.¤xe4 ¤xe4 14.¥xe4 ¤f6
[14...exd4 15.¦c4 (15.¥g5 ¤f6 16.¦c4 h6 17.¦xd4 hxg5 18.¦xd6 £e7 19.¥b1 ¥g4 20.¦e1 ¥xf3 21.¦xe7 ¥xd1 22.¦xd1 ¦fd8 23.¦de1 b5 24.h3 g6 25.¥e4 ¤xe4 26.¦7xe4 ¦ac8 27.a4 ¦d3 28.¦e8+ ¦xe8 29.¦xe8+ ¢g7 30.¦a8 ¦xb3 31.¦xa6 bxa4 32.¦xa4 ¦b1+ 33.¢h2 '1/2 – 1/2 1/2 Goganov,A (2480)-Rublevsky,S (2682)/ Taganrog RUS 2011/The Week in Chess 867' 33...¦b2 34.¢g1 ¦b1+ 35.¢h2 ¦b2 36.¢g1 ¦b1+ 37.¢h2 1/2 – 1/2 1/2 Goganov,A (2480)http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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Rublevsky,S (2682)/Taganrog RUS 2011/ The Week in Chess 867 ) 867 ) 15...¤f6 (15...¤c5 16.¥g5 f6 17.¥d5+ ¢h8 18.¥c1 ¥xh2+ 19.¤xh2 £xd5 20.¦xd4 £f7 21.¥a3 b6 22.¦d6 ¦b8 23.¦xb6 ¦xb6 24.¥xc5 ¦e6 25.¥xf8 £xf8 26.£d2 ¦d6 27.£b4 £d8 28.¦c1 ¥e6 29.¤f1 h6 30.¤e3 £b6 31.£e4 ¢g8 32.¤c4 ¥xc4 33.£xc4+ ¢f8 34.g3 ¦d2 35.£c8+ ¦d8 36.£f5 £d6 37.¦c8 ¦xc8 38.£xc8+ ¢f7 39.£c4+ ¢e7 40.£e4+ ¢f7 41.£b7+ ¢g6 42.b4 h5 43.¢g2 £d4 44.£xa6 £e4+ 45.¢g1 h4 46.£f1 hxg3 47.fxg3 £xb4 48.£d3+ ¢g5 49.a3 £b2 50.£e3+ ¢g6 51.£e4+ f5 52.£e3 ¢f6 53.£d3 ¢g5 54.£e3+ ¢f6 55.£f3 g6 56.£c6+ ¢g5 57.a4 £a1+ 58.¢g2 £b2+ 59.¢h3 £e2 60.£d6 £f1+ 61.¢h2 '1/2 – 1/2 1/2 Riazantsev,A (2710) Antoniewski,R (2559)/Warsaw POL 2011/The Week in Chess 893' 61...£f2+ 62.¢h1 £f1+ 63.¢h2 £f2+ 64.¢h1 £f1+ 65.¢h2 1/2 – 1/2 1/2 Riazantsev,A (2710)-Antoniewski,R (2559)/Warsaw POL 2011/The Week in Chess 893 ) 893 ) 16.¥b1 ¥g4 17.¥g5 h6 18.¥h4 ¥xf3 19.£xf3 g5 20.¥g3 ¥xg3 21.fxg3 ¢g7 22.£xb7 d3 23.£b4 ¦e8 24.¦d4 £c7 25.¦xd3 ¦ad8 26.¦df3 ¦d6 27.¥d3 a5 28.£c4 £b6+ 29.¢h1 ¦e3 30.£b5 ¦xf3 31.¦xf3 £d4 32.h3 g4 33.hxg4 ¦d5 34.£c4 ¤xg4 35.£xd4+ ¦xd4 36.¥c4 ¤e5 37.¦f5 f6 38.¢g1 ¢g6 39.¦f4 ¦d2 40.¦f2 ¦d1+ 41.¦f1 ¦d2 42.¦f2 ¦d1+ 43.¦f1 ¦d2 44.a4 ¤xc4 45.bxc4 ¦c2 46.¦f4 1/2 – 1/2 1/2 Riazantsev, A (2688)-Matlakov,M (2630)/St Petersburg RUS 2011/The Week in Chess 880] 15.dxe5 ¤xe4 16.exd6 £xd6 17.¥e3 ¥f5 18.£xd6 ¤xd6 19.¤d4 ¦fe8 20.¤xf5 ¤xf5 21.¥c5 h5 22.¦fd1 ¦ac8 23.¢f1 f6 24.¥b4 ¢h7 25.¦c5 ½ –½
The World Chess Championship Championship match at Moscow between Vishy Anand and Boris Gelfand remains tied after three games. The third game was considerably livelier than its predecessors, as Anand secured a clear edge against the challenger's Gruenfeld Defense but then missed the most testing continuation in a double rook and pawn endgame . The world champion was was a pawn ahead but but had about one minute minute per move on the clock clock for the seven moves to the time control on move 40 and missed his chance. Unsurprisingly he looked mildly fed up at the post-game press conference. Earlier, Gelfand missed the best chance to equalize and was struggling for the half point before Anand erred and Gelfand's rooks, which had been active throughout, forced perpetual check. Gelfand's 23rd move was probably wrong. He said: "I understood the position was dangerous I underestimated a few moves. I thought that 23...Rfc5 could win back the pawn but I underestimated 24.Rd1 and here I had to fight for the draw. I was quite on edge for some time during the game. "Anand was more concise: "I came closer today." (3) Anand,Viswanathan (2799) - Gelfand,Boris (2739) [D70] WCh 2012 Moscow (3), 14.05.2012 14.05.2012 [Analysis by Ruslan Scherbakov ( Scherbakov ( www.chesstoday.net www.chesstoday.net ) ] 1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.f3!?
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After the first game the Grunfeld Grun feld is no surprise anymore but Anand still deviates from the main lines. This modest pawn advance might promise the advantage for White as it helps to build a strong pawn center and avoid the exchange of the knights on c3. However, it also weakens White's position and stops the natural development of the knight so Black should be able to get counter chances. 3...d5 4.cxd5 ¤xd5 5.e4 ¤b6 6.¤c3 ¥g7 7.¥e3 0–0 8.£d2 e5 [8...¤c6 is more common but Anand should have been prepared for that. After 9.0 – 0 – 0 Black has a choice. 9...f5!? is one of the most promising continuations. Perhaps Anand was going to play a) 9...e5 10.d5 ¤d4 has been often played but White scores well after 11.f4!; b) 9...£d6!? is interesting: 10.¤b5 (10.¢b1!?) 10...£d7 (10.¢b1!?) 10...£d7 11.¢b1 ( both both 11.f4 £e6! , Mamedyarov - Negi, Caleta 2012; 2012 ; and 11.¤a3 e5!? 12.d5 ¤d4 13.¢b1 c6 14.dxc6 bxc6 , bxc6 , Ivanchuk - Sutovsky, Ningbo 2011 were fine for Black ) Black ) 11...¦d8 11...¦d8 12.d5 a6!? ( after after 12...¤e5?! 13.£c2 c6 14.¤xa7! ¦xa7 15.¥xb6 ¦a8 16.¤e2 ¦e8 17.¤c3± White has obtained a big advantage, Anand - Mamedyarov, Bastia 2011 ) 2011 ) 13.dxc6 £xd2 14.¦xd2 ¦xd2 15.¥xd2 axb5 16.cxb7 ¥xb7 17.¥xb5 f5 18.exf5 ¥d5 Black has obtained good compensation for the pawn, Vitiugov - Giri, Reggio Emilia 2011; 10.e5 (10.h4 fxe4 11.h5 gxh5! brings Black good results - see, for example, Mamedyarov - Kurnosov, Moscow 2009, commented by Mikhail Golubev in CT-3030 ) CT-3030 ) 10...¤b4 11.¤h3 with some egde for White, according to practice practice - the pawn chain d4-e5 kills the Grunfeld bishop bishop on g7 and it may not be attractive for some of Black's advocates.; In the game Jobava - Caruana, Moscow 2012 Black experimented with 8...£d6!? 9.f4 ¦d8 10.¤f3 £b4 but White's chances should be better after 11.a3!? (11.£c2 ¤c4 12.¥f2 c5 13.0 – 0 –0 – – 0 cxd4 14.¤xd4 ¥g4 15.¥e2 ¥xe2 16.¤dxe2 ¤c6 17.a3 £a5 was £a5 was fine for Black in the aforementioned aforementioned game ) 11...£b3 ) 11...£b3 12.¥d3 ¤c4 13.¥xc4 £xc4 14.¦c1 £b3 15.0 – 0; 0; An immediate 8...f5 did not completely solve Black's problems in the game Khismatullin - Kurnosov, Moscow 2011 after 9.e5 ¥e6 10.¤h3 - see CT-3750.] 9.d5 c6 10.h4 cxd5 11.exd5 ¤8d7 12.h5 ¤f6 13.hxg6 fxg6 [13...hxg6?! is too suspicious: 14.¥h6 ¤fxd5 15.¥xg7 ¢xg7 16.¦d1 ¥e6 17.£h6+ ¢f6 18.¤e4+ ¢e7 19.£g5+ f6 20.¦h7+ ¦f7 21.¤xf6! ¦xh7 22.¤xh7+ ¢f7 23.£h6 £h8 24.¥d3 with initiative but perhaps White's advantage is not as big as it looks like.] 14.0–0–0 [In the game Laznicka - Areshchenko, Moscow 2007 White played 14.d6 but here Black had a typical 14...e4! ( after after 14...¥e6?! 15.¤h3! ¥xh3 16.¦xh3 Black faced serious problems ) problems ) http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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15.¤xe4 (15.fxe4 ¦e8) 15...¦e8 with initiative for the pawn.] 14...¥d7 15.¢b1 White cannot proceed without this move. 15...¦c8
[An immediate 16.d6 has been tried more often. White has 16.¢a1!? A patient move. An scored very well but perhaps things are not as good as the statistics suggest. The most precise reply seems to be 16...¥e6 17.¤h3 ¤bd5 18.¤xd5 ¥xd5 19.¥g5 ¥e6 20.¤f2 and here in the game Hillarp Persson - Wojciechowski, Jersey 2004 Black should have prevented the appearance of the blockading knight on e4 by the thematic 20...e4! and if 21.¥xf6 £xf6 22.¤xe4 £e5 with excellent compensation for the pawn. A possible continuation might have been 23.¦e1 ¦c6 24.g4!? (in case of 24.¦xh7 ¥f5 25.¥d3 ¦d8 26.¦xg7+! (26.¦eh1?! ¦cxd6! 27.¦xg7+ £xg7 28.¥c4+ ¢f8 29.£c1 ¦d2ƒ) 26...¢xg7 27.¦h1 White could not be better) 24...¦b6 25.¤c3 £a5!? 26.¦xe6 ¥xc3 27.¦xg6+! hxg6 28.¥c4+ ¦f7 29.¦h8+ ¢xh8 30.£h6+ ¢g8 31.£xg6+ ¢h8 32.£h6+= with perpetual check.] 16...e4!? Gelfand comes up with a novelty. [In the game Hillarp Persson - Aberg, Stockholm 2001 Black included 16...¤a4 17.¤ge2 e4 and here White should have played 18.¥d4 , neutralizing Black's powerful bishop, which would be actually a transposition to the recent game.] 17.¥d4 [Such pawns cannot be taken: 17.fxe4?? ¦xc3! 18.£xc3 ¤xe4 19.£e1 ¤a4 with decisive attack. For example, 20.¥d4 ¤xb2! 21.¥xb2 ¥xb2+ 22.¢xb2 £b6+ 23.¢a3 ¦xf1! 24.£xf1 £c5+ 25.¢b2 £c3+ 26.¢b1 ¤g3 27.¤e2 £b4+ 28.¢a1 ¤xf1 29.¦hxf1 £c5 and White has no chances to escape because of his vulnerable king.] 17...¤a4!? [17...exf3 18.¤xf3 promoted White's development.] 18.¤ge2 [18.¤xe4 looked risky but it was still worth considering. Yet, Black had sufficient counter chances: 18...¤xe4 19.fxe4 ¥xd4 20.£xd4 £g5 21.¢b1 ( not not 21.¤e2 ¦c2 22.¦b1 ¦d2 23.£b4 ¦c8 with domination ) 21...¦xf1! ) 21...¦xf1! 22.¦xf1 £xg2 23.¤e2!? ( here here 23.£f2 White White would force a draw by 23...£xh1 24.£f7+ ¢h8 25.£f6+=) 23...£xe2 24.¢a1 ¦c4!? (24...¦c3!? 25.¦f2! ¦d3 26.£xa4! £xf2 27.£xd7 should 27.£xd7 should be better for White: 27...h5 28.¦c1 £f7 29.£d8+ ¢g7 30.a3 ¢h6 31.¢a2 and so on though the position remains very complicated ) complicated ) 25.£f6 £xb2+ 26.£xb2 ¤xb2 27.¢xb2 ¦xe4 28.¦e1 ¦xe1 29.¦xe1 ¢f7 and Black should be able to hold on. For example, 30.d6 ¥e6 31.¢c3 h5 32.¢d4 h4 33.¢e5 h3 34.¦c1 ¥d7 etc.] 18...£a5!? [18...exf3 19.gxf3 £a5?! might have given White more attacking options. Here this queen lunge just makes things worse but Black had no concrete options anyway: 20.¤xa4 £xa4 (20...£xd2 21.¦xd2 ¥xa4 22.¥h3±) 21.¤c3 22.¥h3±) 21.¤c3 £a5 22.£h2 ¦f7 23.¥d3 and Black's life is not http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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easy.] 19.¤xe4 £xd2 20.¤xf6+ [In case of 20.¦xd2?! ¤xe4 21.fxe4 Black had a good choice: 21...¥xd4 (21...¤c5!?) 22.¦xd4 (21...¤c5!?) 22.¦xd4 ¦f2 with an annoying initiative in the ending. White could probably hold on but it was not much fun. One optional line: 23.e5 ¥b5 24.g3 ¦c2 25.e6 (25.d6 ¤c5 26.¢b1 ¦xf1+ 27.¦xf1 ¦xe2 28.¦d5 b6 29.b4 ¤a4 30.d7 ¤c3+ 31.¢c1 ¤xa2+ 32.¢b1=) 25...¢g7 26.d6 ¤c5 27.e7 ¥xe2 28.¥h3 (28.e8¤+? ¢f8 29.¥xe2 ¦cxe2 30.d7 ¦xb2 31.¦f4+ ¢e7 32.¦xh7+ ¢d8 33.¦xf2 ¦xf2 34.¤d6 ¦f6 35.¤c4 ¤xd7) 28...¥f1!? (28...¢f7? 29.¦e1) 29.¦d1 ¦xb2 30.¥e6! (30.e8£?? ¦xa2+ 31.¢b1 ¦fb2+ 32.¢c1 ¤b3#) 30...¥b5!? 31.d7 ¤xe6 32.e8£ ¦xa2+ 33.¢b1= and Black has no more than perpetual check.] 20...¦xf6! [After 20...¥xf6?! White had more chances to consolidate his forces: 21.¦xd2 ¥xd4 22.¦xd4 ¦c2 23.b3 ¥b5!? (23...¤b6 24.¤g3²) 24.bxa4 ¥xe2 25.¢b1 ¦fc8 26.¥xe2 ¦xe2 27.¦c1 ¦d8 28.¦c2² though this ending still seemed defendable.] 21.¦xd2 ¦f5 22.¥xg7 ¢xg7 White has won the pawn but his lack in development would hardly allow him to support it in time. 23.d6 [Otherwise White cannot maintain his material advantage, for example, 23.¢b1 ¦c5 24.b3 ¤b6; or 23.¦h4 ¤b6 24.¤c3 ¦xd5!] 23...¦fc5? Probably the first inaccuracy in the whole game but it could cost a great deal! [If Gelfand found the correct 23...¤b6! 24.¤c3 ¦d5! with full equality then some spectators would blame the players for the short draw again! Really, the game would not be too attractive then: 25.¦xd5 (or 25.¦d3 ¥f5 26.¦xd5 ¤xd5 27.¥d3!? 27.¥ d3!? ¤xc3 (27...¥xd3?! is unnecessary though it still seems drawish: 28.¤xd5 ¦d8 29.¦d1 ¥e2 30.¤f4 ¥xd1 31.¤e6+ ¢f6 32.¤xd8 b6 33.b3 ¢e5 34.d7 ¢d6 35.¤e6 ¢xd7 36.¤f8+ ¢d6 37.¤xh7 ¢e5) 28.¥xf5 gxf5 29.bxc3 ¦xc3 30.¦d1 ¦c8=) 25...¤xd5 26.¥b5 ¤xc3 27.¥xd7 ¦d8 28.¥g4 (28.¦c1 ¦xd7 29.¦xc3 ¢f6) 28...¤d5 ¢f6) 28...¤d5 29.d7 h5 30.¥h3 ¤f4 31.¦d1 ¢f6 with repetition after 32.¢b1 ¤xh3 33.gxh3 ¢e7 34.¦g1 ¢f6 35.¦d1 ¢e7=] 24.¦d1 a5 There are no more concrete concrete ideas. [The tempting 24...¦c2 could be simply met by 25.b3 ¤b6 (25...¤b2 26.¦d5) 26.¦h4 26.¦d5) 26.¦h4 and White gets all his pieces into action.] 25.¦h4 ¦c2 26.b3 ¤b2 Trying to play as actively as possible, but White keeps everything under control. 27.¦b1 [27.¦dd4!? looked risky under time pressure: 27...a4!? 28.bxa4 b5!? (28...¤xa4 29.¦xa4 ¥xa4 30.¦xa4 ¦d2 31.¦b4²) 29.axb5 ¤c4© with very active play already though for three pawns.] 27...¤d3 28.¤d4
28...¦d2 [28...¤b4? did not work: 29.¤xc2 ¦xc2 30.¦e1! ¦xa2+ (30...¥f5 31.¦xb4! axb4 32.g4+-) 31.¢b1 32.g4+-) 31.¢b1 ¥f5+ 32.¢c1 ¦a1+ 33.¢d2 ¦a2+ 34.¢c3 ¦c2+ 35.¢d4 and White escapes with the exchange.] 29.¥xd3 ¦xd3 30.¦e1 Now Black has to work hard to get half a http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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point. 30...¦d2 31.¢b1 [31.¦e7+!? was worth considering but Black was holding on, though not without difficulties: 31...¢f6 32.¢b1 ¥f5+ 33.¤xf5 ¦d1+! ( the the hasty 33...gxf5? would have justified White's idea: 34.f4! ¦xd6 35.¦exh7 ¦d1+ 36.¢b2 ¦d2+ 37.¢a3 ¦xg2 38.¦xb7 ¢e6 39.¦h6+ ¢d5 40.¦e7+-) 34.¢b2 ¦d2+ 35.¢a3 ¦cc2 36.¢a4 ¦xa2+ 37.¢b5 gxf5 38.¦h6+ ¢g5 39.¦exh7 ¦ab2 40.¢b6 ¦xb3+ 41.¢c7 ¦c3+ 42.¢d8 ¦cd3 43.¦h5+ (43.d7?? ¦xd7+ – + –+) ) 43...¢f4 44.d7 ¦xg2 and some passed pawn should save Black's skin even if he has to give up one of his rooks for White's passer.] 31...¥f5+ 32.¤xf5+ gxf5 33.¦e7+ ¢g6 34.¦c7?! [34.d7! straight away could have secured excellent winning chances: 34...¦cc2 (34...¦c5 35.¦exh7 (35.¦c4? ¦cd5) 35...¦d1+ 36.¢b2 ¦d2+ 37.¢a3 b5 38.¦4h6+ ¢g5 39.d8£+ ¦xd8 40.¦h4 ¢f6 41.f4 ¢e6 42.¦a7 b4+ 43.¢a4 ¢d5 44.¦h1+-) 35.¦c4! ¦xc4 (35...¦b2+? 36.¢c1 ¦xa2 37.¦c8 ¦f2 38.¦e6+! ¢h5 (38...¢f7 39.¦f6+! ¢g7 40.¦g8+!) 39.g4+! 40.¦g8+!) 39.g4+! fxg4 40.fxg4+ ¢xg4 41.¦e4+! ¢h3 (41...¢h5 42.¦h4+! ¢g6 43.¦g8+ ¢f7 44.¦f8+!) 42.¦h4+! ¢g3 43.¦g8+ ¢f3 44.¦f8+ ¢g3 45.¦xf2+-) 36.bxc4 h5 37.¢c1 ¦d4 38.¢c2 and White's king comes just in time: 38...¢f6 39.¦h7 ¢g6 (39...¢e6 loses to 40.¢c3! (not 40.¢b3? ¦xd7 41.¦xd7 ¢xd7 42.¢c3!? eventually brings White extra pawn but it's still a draw: (42.¢a4 ¢c6 43.¢xa5 ¢c5 is drawish: 44.f4 h4 45.a3 (45.a4 b6+! 46.¢a6 ¢c6! 47.¢a7 ¢c7=) 45...¢xc4 46.¢b6 ¢d4 47.¢xb7 ¢e4 48.a4 ¢xf4 49.a5 ¢g3 50.a6 ¢xg2 51.a7 h3 52.a8£ h2 and luck ily for Black, his odd f5-pawn, which usually helps White to win in such situations as there is no stalemate, keeps vital g4-square under control! For example, 53.£a2+ ( or or from the other side: 53.£g8+ ¢f2 54.£h7 ¢g2 55.£g6+ ¢f2 56.£h5 ¢g2 57.£g5+ ¢f2 58.£h4+ ¢g2) 53...¢g1 54.£b1+ ¢g2 55.£c2+ ¢g1 56.£d1+ ¢g2 57.£e2+ ¢g1= and White cannot force Black's king into the corner.) 42...¢d6 43.¢d4 b6 44.f4 h4 (44...a4? 45.g3+-) 45.a4 ¢c6 46.¢e5 ¢c5 47.¢xf5 ¢xc4 48.¢g5 b5 49.axb5 ¢xb5 50.f5 a4 51.f6 a3 52.f7 a2 53.f8£ a1£ etc.) 40...¦xd7 (40...¦d1 41.c5 h4 42.¢c4+- is a simple win ) 41.¦xd7 ¢xd7 42.¢d4 and White wins the pawn ending: 42...¢e6 There are two ways here: (42...¢d6 43.c5+ ¢e6 (43...¢c6 44.f4+-) 44.f4+-) 43.f4 (43.c5 f4 44.¢e4 a4 45.a3 h4 46.¢d4! (46.¢xf4? ¢d5 47.¢g5 ¢xc5 48.f4 ¢d6! 49.¢g6 ¢e7 50.¢g7 ¢e6=) 46...¢d7 47.¢c3! (47.¢d5 ¢c7) 47...¢e6 48.¢c4! ¢e5 (48...¢f6 49.¢d5 ¢e7 50.c6 bxc6+ 51.¢xc6) 49.c6! bxc6 50.¢c5 ¢e6 51.¢xc6 ¢e5 52.¢c5 ¢e6 53.¢d4! ( not not 53.¢b4? ¢d5 54.¢xa4 ¢d4 55.¢b4 ¢e3 and Black is in time ) 53...¢f5 54.¢d5 and White collects f4-pawn: 54...¢f6 55.¢e4 ¢g5 56.¢e5+-) 43...b6 44.c5 b5 45.g3 ¢e7 46.¢d5+- a4 47.c6 b4 48.¢c4 b3 49.axb3 axb3 (49...a3 50.¢c3 ¢d6 51.b4) 50.¢xb3 ¢d6 51.¢b4! ¢xc6 52.¢c4 ¢d6 53.¢d4 ¢e6 54.¢c5+-) 40.¢c3 ¦d1 41.d8¦ ¦xd8 42.¦xb7 and here I agree with Sergey Zagrebelny, who commented this game online on www. chesspro.ru that it is unlikely that Black will survive here though White's win is still not secured.] 34...¦e8 35.¦h1? [White should have tried to get back by 35.¦e7! but here Black had other options, such as 35...¦d8!?] 35...¦ee2 A draw is inevitable now. 36.d7 ¦b2+ 37.¢c1 ¦xa2 and the players signed the score sheets. ½–½
Boris Gelfand didn't achieve very much with white in repeating the opening from Game 2. Gelfand was the first to innovate with 10.Qc2 but slowed down after 16...Re8. Although Anand was slightly critical of his 24...Bd4 (24...Qb6 is better) and both players said 32.Rc6 could have been tried it probably didn't change the assessment that black should draw if he exercises a reasonable amount of care. At the end Anand said once he played 32...Nd5, 33...Ne7 even a symbolic edge had disappeared. Not a terribly thrilling game but the http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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match is still in the early stages. Gelfand said he obviously wasn't going to reveal his match strategy in a press conference, but it could easily be his idea to play solidly for the first few games in order to get into his first World Championship Match before revealing his major weapons. IM Malcolm Pein Pein annotates. (4) Gelfand,Boris (2739) - Anand,Viswanathan Anand,Viswanathan (2799) [D45] WCh 2012 Moscow RUS (4), 15.05.2012 15.05.2012 [Analysis by IM Malcolm Pein] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤c3 ¤f6 4.e3 e6 5.¤f3 a6 Anand's move order avoids 4... a6 5.c5 6.b3 ¥b4 Driving the bishop to a bad square 7.¥d2
[7.¥b2 £a5 8.¦c1 £xa2] 7...¤bd7 7...¤bd7 8.¥d3 0–0 9.0–0 ¥d6 10.£c2 [10.¦c1 Game 2 The game develops along broadly similar lines] 10...e5 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.e4 exd4 13.¤xd5 ¤xd5 14.exd5 ¤f6 Very similar to Game 2. Both players in their preparation undoubtedly 15.h3 ¥d7 16.¦ad1 ¦e8 17.¤xd4 ¦c8 18.£b1 h6 Typical example of where I distrust computer evaluations from a practical viewpoint. Gelfand can secure the two bishops here with Nf5 and even if the computers say equal, I would be worried about an endgame where the black queenside could be vulnerable to attack from the light squared bishop. With perfect play it may be = but in practice might be awkward. However for a world champion the position does not present too many problems 19.¤f5 ¥xf5 20.¥xf5 ¦c5 21.¦fe1 ¦xd5 22.¥c3 ¦xe1+ 23.¦xe1 ¥c5 Although White has two bishops his pieces are not coordinated optimally as Gelfand said after the game. If a white bishop found its way to f3 that would be a different matter 24.£c2 ¥d4 [24...£b6 might be better said Anand in post-match comments 25.¦e5 ¦xe5 26.¥xe5 Is a small edge so; 24...£b6 25.¦e5 ¦d8] 25.¥xd4 ¦xd4 26.£c8 g6 No more back rank tricks now 27.¥g4 h5 28.£xd8+ ¦xd8 Anand offered a draw 29.¥f3 b6 Getting the pawns out of harm's way onto black squares 30.¦c1 ¦d6 31.¢f1 a5 32.¢e2 [I was waiting for the king to get to e2 so I could execute my maneuver Nd5-e7 - Anand. It was generally agreed that Rc6 might have been more testing but Black holds 32.¦c6 ¦xc6 33.¥xc6 ¢f8 34.¢e2 ¢e7 35.¢d3 ¢d6 36.¥f3 ¢c5 37.a3] 32...¤d5 I was expecting Nd7-c5 but of course there is nothing wrong with this 33.g3 ¤e7 34.¥e4 ¢g7 ½ –½ http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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A dreadfully dull game left the world championship championship match between between Vishy Anand and Boris Gelfand tied 2.5-2.5 at Moscow. Game 5 saw Anand play white and he switched to 1.e4 perhaps in an attempt to sharpen the play. For the second time in the match the challenger wrong-footed the champion champion by playing a defence defence not previously previously in his repertoire and Anand was left somewhat somewhat unprepared. unprepared. Gelfand usually plays plays the Sicilian Najdorf or Petroff Defense but he uncorked the Sicilian Sveshnikov and equalized easily. The game followed a previous previous game of Anand's Anand's for a while, before the the champion varied but in the resulting position there were precious few active possibilities for either side and Anand avoided a line line that might have livened livened things up just a little bit. bit. After 27 moves a draw was agreed in a completely level position. Gelfand played quickly at the outset and was clearly following his prepared analysis for some time. (5) Anand,Viswanathan (2791) Anand,Viswanathan (2791) - Gelfand,Boris (2727) [B33] World Chess Championship Championship Match Moscow (5), (5), 17.05.2012 [Analysis by Romain Edouard] 1.e4 Does it mean the Grunfeld cannot be refuted? 1...c5 Does it mean Petroff can be refuted? Well, at least, it's good to see something different going on. 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.d4 cxd4 4.¤xd4 ¤f6 5.¤c3 e5 Gelfand had already played this system... almost ten years ago! 6.¤db5 d6 7.¥g5 a6 8.¤a3 b5 9.¤d5 ¥e7 10.¥xf6 ¥xf6 11.c4 Definitely not the most fascinating line, though most popular recently. 11...b4 12.¤c2 0–0 13.g3 [It is well know that 13.¤cxb4 ¤xb4 14.¤xb4 £b6 is good for Black.] 13...a5 14.¥g2 ¥g5 15.0–0 ¥e6 16.£d3 ¥xd5!?
A novelty. Black is just trying to set a draw immediately. [16...£b8 used to be played, while after 17.f4 Black can even keep the tension playing 17...¥d8!? 17...¥d8!? as it came in the game http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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Borisek-Moiseenko, Porto Carras 2011.] 17.cxd5 A bit symmetric, but necessary. In general White always has a small advantage in that kind of positions, due to some space advantage. The main problem is that the bishop on h6 prevents White from using the cfile... 17...¤b8 18.a3N ¤a6!? [My engine prefers 18...bxa3 19.¤xa3 ¤d7 which is probably also not so much for White.] 19.axb4 Also necessary. White has nothing better to do than trying this slightly better sort of endgame. 19...¤xb4 20.¤xb4 axb4 21.h4 ¥h6 22.¥h3?!
Too slow. But the reason White cannot win - in general - this kind of positions is that Black may sometimes just give up the b-pawn and still make a draw. All Black has to avoid is to lose the d6-pawn (unless the b-pawn is queening!). Normally, in that kind of positions, a bishop on d5 would be very welcome, in order to be able to put pressure out of the f7-pawn. But White has a irremovable pawn on d5, while Black may be able to put a bishop on d4 (or c5) one day, which would be enough to make a draw even a pawn down in most of the cases. [White should probably try 22.£c4 £b6 ( Even Even 22...b3!? 23.£xb3 ¥d2 might ¥d2 might be enough for a draw: not sure White can prevent Black from playing ...Qb6 and putting a bishop on c5. White would have an extra pawn, but no way at all to create problems. It is well known that in "opposite colored bishops endgames, the material is not preponderant. ) ) 23.£c6 ¦ab8 24.¦fd1!? (24.¦a6 £d4„) 24...¦fc8 25.£xb6 ¦xb6 26.¥h3 ¦cb8 27.b3 and White has a small pressure, though I'm not sure winning chances are so real.] 22...£b6 23.¥d7 b3! 24.¥c6 ¦a2 25.¦xa2 bxa2 26.£a3 [26.b3 is an option but one forced draw would be 26...¦b8 27.¥a4 ¦c8 28.¦a1 ¦c1+ 29.¦xc1 ¥xc1 30.£c2 g5! 31.£xa2 gxh4 32.gxh4 £d8=] 26...¦b8 27.£xa2 A very good opening choice by Gelfand. After such a game, my opinion is that there might be no decisive result at all if one of the players doesn't go out of the main theory with White. ½–½
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(6) Gelfand,Boris (2727) - Anand,Viswanathan Anand,Viswanathan (2791) [D45] 2012 World Championship - Moscow Moscow RUS (6), 18.05.2012 [Analysis by GM Gilberto Milos] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤c3 ¤f6 4.e3 e6 5.¤f3 a6 6.£c2 In the previous game Gelfand played b3. 6...c5 Anand replies with the most popular and probably best move aiming to exploit the position of White's queen. 7.cxd5 exd5 8.¥e2 ¥e6 9.0 –0 ¤c6 10.¦d1 [10.dxc5 ¥xc5 11.b3 has been played before and Black is ok.] 10...cxd4 [10...¤b4 is a good alternative and Black has also achieved good results with it.] 11.¤xd4 [11.exd4 is also equal.] 11...¤xd4 [11...¦c8 12.¤xe6 fxe6 13.e4! favors White.] 12.¦xd4 ¥c5 13.¦d1 £e7 14.¥f3 0–0
The novelty. [This is better than 14...¦d8 15.b3 0 – 0 16.¥b2 ¦c8 though Black is ok here too. There the game continued 17.¤xd5 ¤xd5 18.¥xd5 ¥xd5 19.¦xd5 ¥xe3 20.£e2 ¥g5 21.¦e5 £f6 22.¦e1 h6 23.h4 £g6 24.hxg5 ¦c2 25.£e3 ¦xb2 26.gxh6 £xh6 27.£xh6 gxh6 28.¦5e2 ¦xe2 29.¦xe2 ¦c8 ended in a draw in Lenic-Rublevsky 2011.] 15.¤xd5 ¥xd5 16.¥xd5 ¤xd5 17.¦xd5 ¦ac8 18.¥d2 This is a critical moment. Giving the pawn back allows Black to equalize but unfortunately keeping the pawn was not a great alternative either. [18.£e2 £e4 19.¦d1 (19.£d3 £xd3 20.¦xd3 ¦fd8 21.¦xd8+ ¦xd8) 19...¥e7 (19...¦fd8 20.¥d2 £c2 21.¦ab1) 20.f3 21.¦ab1) 20.f3 £c2 21.¦d2 £c5 and Black is at least equal.; 18.£d3 ¦fd8 19.g3 ¥b6 20.¦xd8+ ¦xd8 21.£c2 £b4 also is fine for Black.] 18...¥xe3 19.¥c3 ¥b6 20.£f5 £e6 21.£f3 [21.£xe6 ¥xf2+ 22.¢h1 fxe6 23.¦d7 e5 (23...¦f7?? 24.¦xf7 ¢xf7 25.¦f1) 24.¥xe5 25.¦f1) 24.¥xe5 ¦f7=] 21...f6 22.h4 This is a good try, perhaps the only decent one. White wants to play h5, threatening h6, to trying to force Black to play h6 fixing one more pawn on the same color as his bishop. 22...£c6 Good defense with the idea to change the heavy pieces. 23.h5 ¦fd8 24.¦xd8+ ¦xd8 25.£xc6 bxc6 Undoubtedly White has an advantage but it is too small and if the rooks or bishops are exchanged a draw is almost certain. 26.¦e1 White's idea is to play Re4, followed by Ra4, forcing a5. After he would http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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play Rc4, eventually forcing c5, and finally pursue his goals with g4, Kg2 and Kf3. If Black does nothing, White's advantage could become decisive, but Anand did not become world champion by doing nothing... 26...¢f7 27.g4 [27.¦e4 ¦d1+] 27...¥d4 The final pieces come off and this is good enough for a draw. 28.¦c1 ¥xc3 29.¦xc3 ¦d4 ½ –½
Viswanathan Anand crashed to defeat defeat against Boris Gelfand Gelfand of Israel in the seventh seventh game of the ongoing World Chess Championship in Moscow. The reigning World Champion was strangely error prone in the last stages of the game, just when it appeared that it was heading for a draw. Anand has steadfastly steadfastly stuck to the Slav defense defense in all the four black black games he has played played so far. From a theoretical view point it was another interesting duel in the Slav, and so far Anand had demonstrated demonstrated that with the black black pieces he had established established a pretty comfortably zone. Interestingly Interestingly it was Anand who tried to keep the position alive with some not so routine moves, initially, while Gelfand appeared more than content to keep his position solid and steer towards a draw. A tactical mistake by Anand Anand on the 25th move put Gelfand firmly in the the saddle. He forced the exchange of queens and very soon had his rook firmly entrenched on the seventh rank. Anand s bishop was hopelessly tied down and though he desperately tried for some counter play by sacrificing his bishop, Gelfand now smelling victory, kept up the attack with his rook and two knights threatening threatening check-mate. check-mate. Anand resigned on the 38th 38th move in a hopeless position. It was after 19 years that 43-year-old Gelfand scored a victory over 42-year-old Anand in classical chess. ’
After seven games Gelfand Gelfand now leads the twelve twelve game match series series with a score of 4:3. The player reaching reaching 6.5 points will be crowned Champion. Champion. In the next five games Anand Anand will wield Whites in three games, games, starting with the eighth game tomorrow tomorrow evening. Anand Anand now needs a victory to bounce back into the match. (7) Gelfand,Boris (2727) - Anand,Viswanathan Anand,Viswanathan (2791) [D45] World Chess Championship Championship Match (7), 20.05.2012 20.05.2012 [Analysis by Gilberto Milos]
Gelfand repeats white in game seven since this is the start of the second half of the match and they invert colors. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤c3 ¤f6 4.e3 e6 5.¤f3 a6 6.c5 Gelfand tries a different idea than Qc2 which led to nothing in game six. 6...¤bd7 7.£c2 b6 Another idea for Black is to play for ...e5 which could be achieved after ...Qe7 and g6. 8.cxb6 ¤xb6 9.¥d2 c5 10.¦c1 cxd4 This releases the central pressure and opens the white bishop on d2. Alternatives were; [10...c4 11.b3; 10...¤fd7] 11.exd4 ¥d6 12.¥g5 Black's pawn structure is better but the bishop on c8 is worse than White's bishop and this makes Gelfand's play easier. [If the challenger had played 12.¥d3 then Black might reply with 12...h6!? and White would not be able to activate his bishop on d2 so soon.] 12...0–0 http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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13.¥d3 h6 14.¥h4 ¥b7 If Black plays the idea .. .a5-Ba6, to exchange his bad bishop, then the b5 square would be weakened. 15.0–0
White's plan is Qe2-Ne5-f4. 15...£b8 controlling e5 and intending ... Rc8 and Nh5 or Nfd7. If White plays Bxf6 he will lose control of the black squares and there is no clear way to attack the king. 16.¥g3 after this White plays to control the black squares e5 and c5 and against the bad bishop on b7. 16...¦c8 17.£e2 ¥xg3 [17...¤h5 18.¥xd6 £xd6 19.¤e5 ¤f6 is also possible with a small edge for White. (19...¤f4? 20.£f3 ¤xd3 21.£xf7++-) ] 21.£xf7++-) ] 18.hxg3 £d6 19.¦c2 ¤bd7 [19...¦c7 20.¦fc1 ¦ac8 21.¥xa6 with a clear pawn up.] 20.¦fc1 ¦ab8 [20...¦c7 was possible and natural. White could play: 21.a3 to continue with b4. a) but not 21.¤b5 ¦xc2 22.¤xd6 ¦xc1+ 23.¤e1 (23.¢h2 ¤g4+ 24.¢h3 ¤df6) 23...¦b8 ¤df6) 23...¦b8 and Black is better.; b) 21.¤a4 ¦ac8 22.¦xc7 ¦xc7 23.¦xc7 £xc7 24.£c2 £xc2 25.¥xc2 a5! is equal.(25...¢f8? equal. (25...¢f8? 26.b4) ; ] 21.¤a4 [21.a3 was a good alternative.] 21...¤e4 [better was 21...¦xc2 22.¦xc2 (22.£xc2 ¦c8 23.£xc8+ ¥xc8 24.¦xc8+ ¤f8 is good for Black. ) 22...¥c6 ) 22...¥c6 (22...¤e4) 23.¤c5 (22...¤e4) 23.¤c5 ¥b5 24.¥xb5 axb5²] 22.¦xc8+!
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Forcing the bishop to c8 and controlling the c file. 22...¥xc8 23.£c2 [Another possibility worth considering was 23.¥xe4 but after 23...dxe4 24.£xe4 ¥b7 25.£e3 (25.£f4?! just leads to equality after 25...£xf4 after 25...£xf4 26.gxf4 ¥xf3 27.gxf3 ¦b4; The The same goes for 25.£e2 for 25.£e2 ¥xf3 26.gxf3 £xd4 and £xd4 and White has nothing. ) 25...¥c6! ) 25...¥c6! The key equalizer.(25...¥xf3 equalizer. (25...¥xf3 on on the other hand would be a mistake. 26.gxf3 ¦b4 27.¦c8+ ¢h7 28.¦c4! white 28.¦c4! white is a clear pawn up. No, the rook is not exactly hanging. 28...¦xc4 29.£d3+ wins 29.£d3+ wins it right back. ) ; ) ; 23.£e1 would be interesting with the idea 23...¥b7 24.£a5] 23...g5?
The decisive mistake. [The natural 23...¥b7 would be answered by 24.¤c5 with a small but clear advantage for White. 24...¦c8 25.b4; 23...¤df6 was the best defense. White could play Nc5 or Ne5 retaining the advantage, but not 24.£c7 ¥d7! And black is doing fine.] 24.£c7 Now Boris controls the entire board and we can clearly see the problems the bad bishop is causing. 24...£xc7 25.¦xc7 f6 26.¥xe4 Not wasting his chance, Gelfand plays all the correct moves until the end. 26...dxe4 27.¤d2 f5 28.¤c4 ¤f6 29.¤c5 ¤d5 30.¦a7 ¤b4 31.¤e5 ¤c2 '?!' 32.¤c6 '+-' 32...¦xb2 33.¦c7 ¦b1+ 34.¢h2 e3 35.¦xc8+ ¢h7 36.¦c7+ ¢h8 37.¤e5 [37.¤d7 would be mate in 17 moves according to the computer.] 37...e2 38.¤xe6 and the world champion resigned. That last trick was[38.¤g6+ ¢g8 39.¤xe6? ¦h1+ ¦h1+ 40.¢xh1 e1£+ 41.¢h2 41.¢h2 £xe6 and ... Black wins!] wins!] 1–0
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The reigning World Chess Chess Champion Viswanathan Viswanathan Anand bounced bounced back into the World Chess Championship in style with a short, sweet and stunning victory over Challenger Boris Gelfand in the eighth game. Yesterday night in the seventh game, Anand had ended on the losing side but the Chennai Tiger as he is known roared back with a 17 move victory. ‘
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Anand was in full flow today today and showed his natural natural aggressive side. It was was a fantastic effort by him as one seldom comes across a decisive miniature less than 20 moves in World Championship games. games. What is more important important is the way Anand shrugged shrugged off yesterday s defeat and would definitely be enjoying a psychological edge and to a certain extent some peaceful sleep and rest on the free day. ’
The theoretical discussion discussion in the Grunfeld Grunfeld did continue, which which incidentally has been been Gelfand s pet defense so far in this event. Gelfand deviated rather early on the third move from their third game in this match. Gaining confidence after yesterday s victory he tried to provoke Anand on the kingside, but the Indian did not take the bait. An invitation to swap bishops on the eighth move by Gelfand was rather surprising. Anand unhesitatingly accepted. Another sharp move by Gelfand on the tenth move and Anand was equal to the challenge. ’
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By the twelfth move Anand appeared distinctly better, and a wrong queen move on the 14th had Anand smelling victory! Gelfand s queen ventured into Anand s territory and it was probably too late for for the Challenger to realize realize that there was no way out for for her, prompting an immediate resignation. ’
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The Score once again stands equal 4-4 in the 12 12 Game Match. (8) Anand,Viswanathan (2791) - Gelfand,Boris (2727) [E60] ICC 120 0 u Internet Chess Club (8), 21.05.2012 [Analysis by GM Alejandro Ramirez]
popular way of trying to avoid the Grunfeld. Shirov 1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 This has been a popular used it successfully in the late 90s against Kramnik and it gave Anand great chances in the third game of this match. 3...c5 4.d5 The position now goes into the Benoni waters, a defense that is not very popular for Black right now - but white has committed to playing f3. 4...d6 5.e4 ¥g7 6.¤e2 0 –0 7.¤ec3 This knight dance is seen sometimes in this variation to bolster the center and to develop the knight - notice it isn't very useful on e2. 7...¤h5 [7...e6 had been played once before, but I'm sure Gelfand was out of preparation by now.] 8.¥g5 ¥f6 very logical - White's dark squares are weak, so Gelfand exchanges the bishops to emphasize the weaknesses. 9.¥xf6 exf6 Opening the file and allowing f5. 10.£d2 The start of a devilish trap. Looking back at the game, you just wonder when Vishy saw the upcoming sequence. 10...f5 11.exf5 ¥xf5 12.g4 ¦e8+ 13.¢d1 ¥xb1 14.¦xb1 £f6??
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I understand that not too many people saw Vishy's idea. However, you always have to be careful playing such a brilliant tactician. [14...¤f6 15.¢c2 ¤bd7 16.¥e2 Must favor White a little. His space advantage is considerable and his king is quite safe. Maybe Na6-c7 is better than Nbd7.] 15.gxh5 When a world champion hangs an an exchange and a pawn, you should know you are lost. 15...£xf3+ 16.¢c2 £xh1 17.£f2!!
Surprise! The queen is trapped in the corner. The threat is simply Bd3 and there is no adequate defense. Black resigned instead of continuing in a hopeless situation.[17.£f2 ¤a6 18.¥d3 ¤b4+ 19.¢d2 ¤xd3 20.¢xd3 Doesn't help Black one bit.; 17.£f2 ¤c6 18.dxc6 £xc6 19.¥g2 £d7 20.¤d5 is beyond hopeless when you play someone of Anand's caliber. Or even a little less.] 1–0
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The World Chess Championship Game 9 was drawn in 49 moves of a Nimzo-Indian Rubinstein Variation leaving the match tied at 4.5-4.5. Anand admitted that "Obviously I messed something up in the opening" and that "white just got the two bishops for my two knights and the only thing I did was to try and provoke this move 19. c5". Gelfand could have tried to exploit the two bishops with 19.Bg3 but instead he won Anand's Queen for Rook, Knight and Pawn as Anand wanted him to and a tricky ending resulted, one where Anand had to find the right fortresses to keep Gelfand's queen out. Anand was favorite to hold the draw but still had to work hard to do so. Gelfand at least showed he was still fighting after his disaster of game 8 two days before. (9) Gelfand,Boris (2739) - Anand,Viswanathan Anand,Viswanathan (2799) [E53] WCh 2012 Moscow RUS (9), 23.05.2012 23.05.2012 [Analysis by IM Malcolm Pein] 1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤c3 ¥b4 The Slav is evidently in the repair shop 4.e3 The Rubinstein, still trendy after all these years particularly now that Ivan Sokolov has published a new book 4...0–0 5.¥d3 d5 6.¤f3 c5 7.0 –0 dxc4 8.¥xc4 cxd4 9.exd4 b6 10.¥g5 ¥b7 11.£e2 [11.¦e1 ¤bd7 12.¦c1 ¦c8 13.£b3 ¥e7? (13...¥xc3! 14.¦xc3 h6 15.¥h4 ¥d5 (15...£e8!?) 16.¤e5) 14.¥xf6!± ¤xf6 15.¥xe6! fxe6 16.£xe6+ ¢h8 17.£xe7 ¥xf3 18.gxf3 £xd4 19.¤b5! and 1 – 0 in 25 Kramnik-Kasparov WCC London 2000] 11...¤bd7 12.¦ac1 ¦c8 13.¥d3 ¥xc3 14.bxc3 £c7 15.c4 ¥xf3?!
Voluntarily giving up the two bishops. Vishy criticized this afterwards. "Obviously I messed something up in the opening. Normally speaking my position is much worse, White just got the two bishops for my two knights and the only thing I did was to try and provoke this move 19. c5 because I thought that I would get rid of the bishop in almost all the lines and I could try and make a fortress. This is in fact what happened in the game." 16.£xf3 ¦fe8 17.¦fd1 h6 [17...e5 18.¥f5±] 18.¥h4 £d6 19.c5!? Anand was happy to see this rather than 19.Bg3 he had foreseen the consequences. In the commentary box http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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Peter Svidler had this on the board well in advance of it's appearance on the board [19.a3!? Press conference; 19.¥g3 £e7 20.¦e1 Is nice for White 2Bs v 2Ns is no fun for a nice example of exploitation, if ultimately White was unsuccessful see Korchnoi-Karpov WCC 1978 Game 5; 19.¥g3 £b4 20.a3 £a5 Black can play for e6-e5 but he must be worse here. Some maneuvers like Bg3-d6-b4-c3 is even possible] 19...bxc5 20.dxc5 ¦xc5 21.¥h7+ ¢xh7 22.¦xd6 ¦xc1+ 23.¦d1 White has won the queen for rook knight and pawn but with a knight coming to d5 Black has good chances to build a fortress 23...¦ec8 24.h3 ¤e5 25.£e2!? ¤g6 [25...¤d5!?] 26.¥xf6 gxf6 27.¦xc1 ¦xc1+ 28.¢h2 ¦c7 As Vishy said he had many possible setups though in the games it was very tricky to decide which fortress to choose. And I have pawn on e5, knight on g6 Rook on e7 as one fortress, pawn on e5, knight on e6, rook on c7 as another, the one I chose in the game the knight on d5, there are just too many 29.£b2 ¢g7 30.a4 ¤e7 31.a5 ¤d5 32.a6 This is progress Black has to be constantly on the alert for Qb7 32...¢h7 33.£d4 f5 34.f4 Now Vishy relaxed somewhat: He said: "When he played f4 and I had f5 and h5 then I thought I'm safe, I couldn't see a way forward for him. In fact I don't even need this Re7 and Ng8. I played this Re7 because I saw this Ng8 trick but if I play Kh6 I think we are just repeating the position for the second time already. I simply don't know if white missed a win somewhere." [34.g4 fxg4 35.hxg4 35.hxg4 perhaps offered more chances for kingside play but 34.g4 f4 is also possible; 34.g4 f4 35.h4] 34...¦d7 35.¢g3 ¢g6 36.£h8 ¤f6 37.£b8 h5 38.¢h4 ¢h6 39.£b2 [39.g4 hxg4 40.hxg4 ¤xg4 41.£g8 This position not so simple, I'm not sure if black is holding or not. - Gelfand. Now Black can lose with 41...Rc7 41...¦c7 ( But But there is a fast counter attack 41...¤f2 42.£c8 ¦d3! And ¦d3! And White must force perpetual or bale out 43.£xe6+ fxe6=) 42.£d8 ¦c6 43.£g5+ ¢h7 44.£e7 ¦xa6 45.£b7; 39.£b3 ¢g7 40.£g3+ ¢h7 41.£g5 ¤e4! 42.£xh5+ ¢g7 Wins for Black!] 39...¢g6 40.£c3 ¤e4 41.£c8 ¤f6 42.£b8 ¦e7 43.g4 hxg4 44.hxg4 fxg4 45.£e5 ¤g8! Preventing f4-f5+ 46.£g5+ ¢h7 47.£xg4 f6 48.£g2 ¢h8 49.£e4 ¢g7 ½ –½
Boris Gelfand equalized pretty quickly against Viswanathan Anand's Sicilian Rossolimo (3.Bb5) to hold the draw in only 25 moves in game 10 of the World Chess Championship in Moscow. The match is tied at 5-5 with only Saturday and Monday's games to go before a potential tie-break. Boris Gelfand was fully prepared for 5.b3, which could have been something of a surprise, and replied immediately with 5...e5. The play that resulted was very much in line with Morozevich's observation observation that Gelfand was "Trying to play as direct as possible with the black pieces." Black's position looked quite tricky to play for a short while but his two bishops always looked likely to hold and when he traded one of them off for Anand's best minor piece the draw followed quickly afterwards. Although equal probably Anand should have played on for a few moves just to make it clearer. (10) Anand,Viswanathan (2799) - Gelfand,Boris (2739) [B30] WCh 2012 Moscow RUS (10), (10), 24.05.2012 [Analysis by IM Malcolm Pein] 1.e4 c5 I was very impressed in game 9 how Boris bounced back from the game 8 debacle. He showed he was not crushed by it and pushed for the win 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 3.d4 got nowhere 3...e6 4.¥xc6 bxc6 5.b3 e5 Novelty at the top level. Black prevents http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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any dark square strategy from White directly. He intends d7-d6 with a chunky pawn mass and f7-f5 might open things up for the bishop on c8 [5...¤e7 6.¥b2 ¤g6 7.h4 h5 8.e5 c4 9.bxc4 ¦b8 10.¥c3 c5 McShane-Grischuk 2003; 5...¤e7 6.¥b2 ¤g6 7.h4 h5 8.e5 d6 9.exd6 £xd6 10.£e2 f6 11.£e4 ¢f7 12.¤c3 e5 Adams-Shirov 2003 It ended England 0 – 2 Russian speakers] 6.¤xe5 £e7 7.¥b2 d6 8.¤c4 d5 Technically the novelty. Black gains space with tempo and proceeds to block the Bb2 He has some long terms concerns as his c5 pawn could be vulnerable but right now he is active. His light squared bishop is unchallenged. Although this position is new, positions of this type occur frequently in this line 9.¤e3 d4 10.¤c4 £xe4+ 11.£e2 £xe2+ 12.¢xe2 ¥e6 I had some vague ideas of positioning the knights to pressure the c5 pawn but I guess it was impractical 13.d3 ¤f6 14.¤bd2 0–0–0 Some potential for Black to gain space with his kingside pawns perhaps. Peter Svidler was wondering about h7-h5-h4 and Rh5 but Boris plays more sedately 15.¦he1 ¥e7 16.¢f1 ¦he8 If Boris can avoid giving up the white squared bishop he should be OK although in the game he gives it up and is OK! I suspect Vishy's next move is not absolutely the best as Boris neutralizes any aggressive intent but White has nothing here. I reckon 5...e5 was a master stroke, it avoided all the sharp stuff 17.¥a3 17. a3 was suggested by the Russian commentators. "I thought that if Black plays Nd5 and Nb6 somewhere I didn't find a way to make this b4 idea work." - Anand. [17.¦e2 ¤d5 18.¦ae1 ¢c7 Black has no particular problems] 17...¤d5 [17...¥d5 18.¦xe7 ¦xe7 19.¥xc5 ¦ed7 20.¤e5 ¦c7 21.¤df3 ¥xf3 22.¤xf3 ¦cd7 23.¦e1] 18.¤e4 [18.¦e5 ¤b4 19.¥xb4 cxb4 20.a3 bxa3 21.¤xa3 ¥d6; 18.¦xe6 fxe6 Doesn't change evaluation - Anand, it's a lovely fortress] 18...¤b4 19.¦e2 ¥xc4 Justified by concrete tactics and according to Anand, after "any other waiting move then I will double and play Bc1 – f4 f4 [Not 19...¥d5?? 20.¤ed6+ ¢d7 21.¤xe8 ¦xe8; 19...¥xc4 20.bxc4 f5 21.¤g3 g6 22.¥c1 ¥d6 Is very comfortable for Black the Ng3 has no prospects; 19...¥f8 20.¦ae1 h6 21.¥xb4 cxb4 22.¤g3 ¥d7=; 19...f5 20.¥xb4 cxb4 21.¤g3²] 20.bxc4 f5 21.¥xb4! [21.¤g3 g6 As above] 21...cxb4 Boris offered draw. Again if Ng3 g6 22.¤d2 ¥d6 23.¦xe8 ¦xe8 24.¤b3 c5 Black's structure is completely safe the knight cannot do any damage. In fact it might have to watch a5 and prevent a long king march 25.a3 Vishy offered a draw ½–½
The World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand in Moscow is tied at 5.5-5.5 with just one regulation game left before possible rapid and blitz play-offs on Wednesday. Anand deviated from the Nimzo-Indian in the 9th game with the old 8...Bd7 and completely surprised his opponent. Gelfand took around 35 minutes to reply and fell further behind on the clock as Anand executed his preparation. As Gelfand's clock ticked down Anand still had to concentrate on equalizing rather than going for complications to take advantage time difference. In an equal position Anand offered a draw on move 24 which was accepted by Gelfand. At that point Gelfand had just 13 minutes left to Anand's 1 hour and 4 minutes.
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(11) Gelfand,Boris (2739) - Anand,Viswanathan (2799) [E54] WCh 2012 Moscow RUS (11), (11), 26.05.2012 [IM Malcolm Pein and Mark Crowther] 1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤c3 ¥b4 4.e3 0 –0 5.¥d3 d5 6.¤f3 c5 7.0 –0 dxc4 8.¥xc4 ¥d7 A Bronstein creation from the Russian Championship of 1957 where he got a couple of quick draws. Catching Gelfand completely by surprise he thought for about 35 minutes. [8...cxd4 was game 9. 9.exd4 b6 10.¥g5 ¥b7 11.£e2 ¤bd7 drawn in 49 moves.] 9.a3 9.Qe2 was expected by Kramnik. [9.dxc5 ¥c6 10.¤b5 a6 11.¤bd4 ¥xc5 was played by Bronstein against Petrosian and Furman in the USSR Championship of 1957.; 9.£e2 cxd4 10.exd4 ¥c6 "Vlad [Kramnik] was absolutely certain this would happen after Boris finished thinking. And then a game will ensue." - Svidler.] 9...¥a5 [9...cxd4 Was Kramnik's prediction.] 10.£e2 ¥c6 11.¦d1 ¥xc3 [11...£e7 12.¤e5 (12.¥d2) 12...¤bd7 (12.¥d2) 12...¤bd7 SchwebeDamjanovic was eventually a draw.] 12.bxc3 ¤bd7
"So far the guess the move percentage of the super-GMs in this position is close to zero. The whole sequence that has appeared on the board has not been predicted by anybody." - Svidler talking about the press room discussion of this game so far. Nbd7 left Kramnik and Svidler "completely lost" as to what Anand is doing. [12...¥a4 "We thought this whole point of this move order was to play 12... Ba4. Using the fact that there are no really good squares for the rook on the d-file." - Svidler. 13.¦e1 ¤c6 planning Na5 with a typical complex Nimzo-position. Kramnik and Svidler thought, "Ah this is the point as to why Vishy is doing what he is doing."] 13.¥d3 £a5 "He still hasn't spent 10 minutes on entire sequence. So it is safe to assume he's still doing what he knows is best. Not just feels is best but knows is best is my point." - Svidler on Anand. 14.c4 [14.¥b2 ¥e4 White's position can be a bit dull with one of his bishops. Black takes the light squares, prepares e6-e5 and has no problems; 14.e4!? Was my first thought 14...£xc3 15.¥d2 £b3 Involves risk for both sides. Although after the game neither player seemed very keen on the move.] 14...cxd4 [14...¥e4 Also a plan to remove one of the 2Bs] 15.exd4 £h5 Black hopes the presence of his queen will neutralize any attacking chances for White. White has to be a bit better here but not much 16.¥f4 [16.a4 "I had to find the time to put the pawn on a5 and at some time place my knight on e5... Maybe 16.a4 was more precise." - Gelfand.] http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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16...¦ac8 again played quite quickly. 17.¤e5 The time situation will play a huge influence on Boris Gelfand's choice of moves from now on. This commits to a position which Gelfand will be able to play play quickly. "Wow, either Boris was a little unnerved unnerved by the opening surprise or just wants to grind on in a position of safety. I guess he did not like the Bxf3 option for Black and he was way behind on the clock and wants to avoid very complex play" - Malcolm Pein 17...£xe2 18.¥xe2 ¤xe5 19.¥xe5 ¦fd8 20.a4 Coming to a5 to cramp the queenside. If Black plays b6 his pawn can become weak 20...¤e4 21.¦d3 A very solid move indeed. Gelfand seemed confident after playing it. 21...f6 22.¥f4 Gelfand 30 mins to Anand 1hr 9 mins. 22...¥e8 A tricky move to meet and one that sent Gelfand into yet another big think. 23.¦b3 Gelfand took over 10 minutes over this move. "Once white is precise enough after 22...Be8 to play 23.Rb3 and to calculate all these things precisely I think draw becomes a huge favorite." [23.c5 e5 24.dxe5 ¦xd3 25.¥xd3 ¤xc5 26.¥c4+ ¥f7 27.¥e2 fxe5 28.¥xe5 was an alternate way to the draw.; 23.f3 ¤d6 24.¦b3 ¤xc4 25.¦xb7 ¦xd4 should be a draw too.] 23...¦xd4 [23...b6 24.¥e3 "Is a position where white is coordinated and fine" and will eventually be able to press. So Anand didn't have much chance to complicate here even though the clock situation might suggest it. - Svidler.] 24.¥e3 ¦d7 Gelfand 13 minutes Anand 1 hr 4 minutes. Drawn on Anand's proposal. "I can't really blame Vishy for checking whether Boris wants to continue." - Svidler.[24...¤c5 25.¦xb7 ¤xb7 26.¥xd4 ¤c5 is completely equal.] ½–½
The World Chess Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand will be decided in a Rapid and Blitz play-off on Wednesday after the final game 12 was drawn in 22 moves. This result saw the match tied at 6-6. Using an approach I expected to see more often in the match Anand chose a side-line of the Sicilian Rossolimo 3.Bb5 with 6.b3 a move that caught Gelfand ("quite a novelty for me") off-guard. Gelfand thought hard about his set-up. After 10...c4! ("10...c4 showed he [Gelfand] was especially alert" - Anand) Gelfand had used just over an hour but seemed to have solved most of his problems. Gelfand sacrificed a pawn in return for free play and the two bishops. Indeed Kramnik at one stage preferred black as Gelfand's position looked the easier to play. Towards the end 20...a5 was criticized by Kramnik in commentary as he thought 20...Rfc8 was an immediate draw but even though he could have continued to press a bit Anand decided to offer a draw after 21.Bc5 Rhd8 22.Bxe7 which was accepted. accepted. (12) Anand,Viswanathan (2799) - Gelfand,Boris (2739) [B30] WCh 2012 Moscow RUS (12), (12), 28.05.2012 [IM Malcolm Pein] 1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 e6 4.¥xc6 bxc6 5.d3 Game 10 was 5.b3 e5! which was a great novelty and gave Boris an easy draw 5...¤e7 6.b3 Novelty Vishy puts Boris on his own for a change 6...d6 Black intends e5 with a strong center, White's next is logical 7.e5 Now Vishy can pursue the dark square strategy he intended in G10 7...¤g6 8.h4 What a bold move for a game where there is a world title and half a million at stake 8...¤xe5 9.¤xe5 dxe5 10.¤d2 e5 and c5 ar weak. Boris had a long think to 59 minutes used and came up with a dynamic and bold solution 10...c4 Boris thought to 59 minutes! [10...£d4 Would instinctively be avoided avoided by Boris as Vishy Vishy likely to have analyzed complication complication with http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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the computer 11.¦b1 ¥e7 12.¤c4 f6 13.¥b2 £d5 14.£h5+ g6 15.£g4 0 – 0 (15...¢f7) 16.h5 (15...¢f7) 16.h5 g5÷] 11.¤xc4 ¥a6 [11...¥b4+ 12.¥d2 ¥xd2+ 13.£xd2 f6 14.£b4 £e7 15.a3 c5; 11...¥b4+ 12.¢f1!?; 11...¥b4+ 12.¥d2 ¥xd2+ 13.£xd2 f6 14.£b4 £e7 15.£d6 £xd6 16.¤xd6+ Looks like an edge] 12.£f3 £d5!
Boris wants the endgame with 2 bishops and space and gives up a second pawn [12...£c7 13.0 – 0 ¥e7 14.¤xe5!; 12...£c7 13.¥b2 ¥xc4 14.dxc4 ¥b4+=] 13.£xd5 [13.£g3 ¥xc4 14.bxc4 £a5+ 15.¥d2 ¥b4!=] 13...cxd5 14.¤xe5 f6 15.¤f3 e5 16.0 –0 ¢f7 Black has ample compensation. Look how he has opened the game for the bishops and the light squared one is the key. To gain some space Vishy must consider c2-c4 17.c4 ¥e7 18.¥e3 ¥b7 19.cxd5 A sign Vishy sees no prospect of a win. A weak d3 appears Black has full compensation here 19...¥xd5 20.¦fc1 a5!? [Not sure about that move TT was approaching 20...¦hc8 21.¦xc8 ¦xc8 22.¥xa7 ¦a8 Was very comfortable 23.¥e3 ¥xb3 Black stands very well but 24.d4 exd4 25.¤xd4 ¦xa2 26.¦xa2 ¥xa2 Bales out for a draw without problems] 21.¥c5! Of course Vishy wants one bishop off [21.¦c7 ¦hc8 22.¦ac1 ¦xc7 23.¦xc7 ¢e6 24.¤d2 a4 25.¤e4= (25.¥c5 ¥xc5 26.¦xc5 axb3 27.axb3 ¦a1+ 28.¢h2 ¦a2 29.¤e4 ¥xe4 30.dxe4 ¦xf2 Will ¦xf2 Will be a draw ) 25...axb3 26.axb3 ¥xb3 27.¤c5+ ¥xc5 28.¥xc5=] 21...¦hd8 22.¥xe7 [22.¥xe7 ¢xe7 23.¦c7+ ¦d7 24.¦ac1 a4 25.¤d2 axb3 26.axb3 ¦a3 White is still a pawn up. Black should hold but perhaps Vishy just couldn't stand the tension] ½–½
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Viswanathan Anand has successfully succ essfully defended his World Chess Championship title in Moscow by defeating his challenger Boris Gelfand in a very tense rapid tiebreak match 2.5-1.5 following a 6-6 draw at a longer time control. Thus Anand has defended the title he gained Mexico City in a tournament in 2007 for a third time following matches against Kramnik in Bonn 2008 and Topalov in Sofia 2010. Anand paid tribute to Gelfand's "enormous determination and his strength" starting with 2009's World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk and through the Kazan Candidates. The match has been criticized for the short draws but it certainly was tough in the openings and neither player gave much in the way of opportunities and Anand by way of explanation pointed out that "the problem in such a tight match is every mistake has a much higher value" which made the match even more cautious. For Anand the "critical moment in the match" was his loss in game 7 "That day I really thought I'd blown the match" and immediate equalization by winning game 8 which was "very important for my morale". Given Anand's Anand's state of mind (he hardly slept) perhaps Gelfand was trying to move in for the kill in game 8 which might explain his overaggression in a game so out of character from the rest of his play. The rapid playoff was dramatic with Gelfand's time trouble probably being the decisive factor in him losing game two and failing to win game three. Anand acknowledged "I understood that in all fairness this match simply could have gone either way."
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(1) Gelfand,Boris (2739) - Anand,Viswanathan Anand,Viswanathan (2799) [D45] WCh Rapid Tiebreak Moscow Moscow RUS (1), 30.05.2012 30.05.2012
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤c3 ¤f6 ¤ f6 4.e3 e6 5.¤f3 ¤bd7 6.£c2 ¥d6 7.¥d3 0 – 0 8.0 – 0 e5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.e4 exd4 11.¤xd5 ¤xd5 12.exd5 h6 13.b3 ¤e5 14.¤xe5 ¥xe5 15.¦e1 ¦e8 16.¥b2 ¥d7 17.£d2 £f6 18.g3 ¦ac8 19.a4 £f3 20.¥e4 £xb3 21.¦eb1 ¥xg3 22.¦a3 £b6 23.¥xd4 ¥xh2+ 24.¢xh2 £d6+ 25.¦g3 ¦xe4 26.¥xg7 ¢h7 27.¦xb7 ¦g8 28.£xh6+ £xh6+ 29.¥xh6 ¦xg3 30.¢xg3 ¥c8 31.¦c7 ¢xh6 32.¦xc8 ¦xa4 ½ – ½ (2) Anand,Viswanathan (2799) - Gelfand,Boris (2739) [B30] WCh Rapid Tiebreak Moscow Moscow RUS (2), 30.05.2012 30.05.2012
1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 ¤c6 3.¥b5 e6 4.¥xc6 bxc6 5.b3 e5 6.¤xe5 £e7 7.d4 d6 8.¤xc6 £xe4+ 9.£e2 £xe2+ 10.¢xe2 ¥b7 11.¤a5 ¥xg2 12.¦g1 ¥h3 13.dxc5 dxc5 14.¤c3 0 – 0 – 0 15.¥f4 ¥d6 16.¥xd6 ¦xd6 17.¦g5 ¤f6 18.¦xc5+ ¢b8 19.¤c4 ¦e8+ 20.¤e3 ¤g4 21.¤cd5 ¤xe3 22.¤xe3 ¥g4+ 23.f3 ¥c8 24.¦e1 ¦h6 25.¦h1 ¦he6 26.¦c3 f5 27.¢d2 f4 28.¤d5 g5 29.¦d3 ¦e2+ 30.¢c1 ¦f2 31.h4 ¦ee2 32.¦c3 ¥b7 33.¦d1 33.¦ d1 gxh4 34.¤xf4 ¦e8 35.¦h1 ¦c8 36.¦xc8+ ¥xc8 37.¦xh4 ¥f5 38.¦h5 ¥xc2 39.¦b5+ ¢a8 40.¤d5 a6 41.¦a5 ¢b7 42.¤b4 ¥g6 43.¤xa6 ¦xf3 44.¤c5+ ¢b6 45.b4 ¦f4 46.a3 ¦g4 47.¢d2 h5 48.¤d7+ ¢b7 49.¤e5 ¦g2+ 50.¢c3 ¥e8 51.¤d3 h4 52.¦e5 ¥g6 53.¤f4 ¦g3+ 54.¢d4 ¥c2 55.¦h5 ¦xa3 56.¦xh4 ¦g3 57.¤d5 ¦g5 58.b5 ¥f5 59.¦h6 ¥g4 60.¦f6 ¦f5 61.¦b6+ ¢a7 62.¦g6 ¥f3 63.¦g7+ ¢b8 64.¤c3 ¥b7 65.¢c4 ¥f3 66.¢b4 ¥d5 67.¤a4 ¦f7 68.¦g5 ¥f3 69.¤c5 ¢c7 70.¦g6 ¢d8 71.¢a5 ¦f5 72.¤e6+ ¢c8 73.¤d4 ¦f8 74.¤xf3 ¦xf3 75.¢b6 ¦b3 76.¦g8+ ¢d7 77.¦b8 1 – 0 (3) Gelfand,Boris (2739) - Anand,Viswanathan Anand,Viswanathan (2799) [D12] WCh Rapid Tiebreak Moscow Moscow RUS (3), 30.05.2012
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.¤f3 ¤f6 4.e3 ¥f5 5.¤c3 e6 6.¤h4 ¥g6 7.¤xg6 hxg6 8.¥d3 ¤bd7 9.0 – 0 ¥d6 10.h3 0 – 0 11.£c2 £e7 12.¦d1 ¦ac8 13.c5 ¥b8 14.f4 ¤e8 15.b4 g5 16.¦b1 f5 17.b5 gxf4 18.exf4 ¤ef6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.¥a6 ¦c7 21.¥e3 ¤e4 22.¦b2 g5 23.¦db1 gxf4 24.¥xf4 e5 25.¥xe5 ¤xe5 26.¦xb8 ¤g6 27.¤xe4 fxe4 28.£f2 £g7 29.¢h2 ¦cf7 30.£g3 ¤f4 31.¦8b3 £xg3+ 32.¦xg3+ ¢h7 33.¦d1 ¤e6 34.¥e2 ¦f2 35.¥g4 ¤f4 36.¦b1 ¦f7 37.¦b8 ¦xa2 38.¦c8 e3 39.¦xe3 ¦xg2+ 40.¢h1 ¦d2 41.¦xc6 ¤e6 42.¦f3 ¦xf3 43.¥xf3 ¤xd4 44.¦c7+ ¢h6 45.¥xd5 ¦c2 46.¥e4 ¦c3 47.¢h2 ¢g5 48.¦d7 ¤f3+ 49.¥xf3 ¦xf3 50.¦xa7 ¦c3 51.¦c7 ¢f5 52.c6 ¢e6 53.h4 ¢d6 54.¦c8 ¦a3 55.¢g2 ¦e3 56.¢h2 ¦a3 57.¢g2 ¦e3 58.h5 ¦e5 59.h6 ¦h5 60.¦h8 ¢xc6 61.¦h7 ¢d6 62.¢g3 ¢e6 63.¢g4 ¦h1 ½ – ½ (4) Anand,Viswanathan (2799) - Gelfand,Boris (2739) [B51] WCh Rapid Tiebreak Moscow Moscow RUS (4), 30.05.2012 30.05.2012
1.e4 c5 2.¤f3 d6 3.¥b5+ ¤d7 4.d4 ¤gf6 5.e5 £a5+ 6.¤c3 ¤e4 7.¥d2 ¤xc3 ¤ xc3 8.¥xd7+ ¥xd7 9.¥xc3 £a6 10.exd6 exd6 11.£e2+ £xe2+ 12.¢xe2 f6 13.b3 ¥b5+ 14.¢d2 ¥c6 15.¦ad1 ¢f7 16.¢c1 ¥e7 17.d5 ¥d7 18.¥b2 b5 19.¤d2 a5 20.¦he1 ¦he8 21.¦e3 f5 22.¦de1 g5 23.c4 b4 24.g3 ¥f8 25.¦xe8 ¥xe8 26.¤f3 ¢g6 27.¦e6+ ¢h5 28.h3 ¥f7 29.¦f6 ¥g6 30.¦e6 ¦e8 31.¥f6 g4 32.hxg4+ ¢xg4 33.¤h2+ ¢h3 34.¤f3 f4 35.gxf4 ¢g4 36.¤g5 ¦a8 37.¦e3 ¢f5 38.¥b2 a4 39.¤e6 ¥h6 40.¦h3 ¥xf4+ 41.¤xf4 ¢xf4 42.¥f6 ¦a7 43.¦e3 ¥e4 44.¥h4 http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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axb3 45.¥g3+ ¢f5 46.axb3 ¦a1+ 47.¢d2 ¦a2+ 48.¢e1 ¦a6 49.f3 ¥b1 50.¢d2 h5 51.¢c1 h4 52.¥xh4 ¢f4 53.¥g5+ ¢xg5 54.¢xb1 ¢f4 55.¦e6 ¢xf3 56.¢b2 ½ – ½
You can play the games using the high speed Java-Based interactive Chess Board link: http://www.viewchess.com/cbreader/2 http://www.viewchess .com/cbreader/2013/4/5/Game 013/4/5/Game201440503.htm 201440503.htmll
http://www.scribd.com/elvuelodelcondor
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