Anand v Gelfand

[John McKenna]

The challenger won the fifth game, one significant difference - he had white and it was the last game of the Vienna (his home) half of the match.
Then 4 draws in Berlin and Lasker (born in Berlinchen?) won the fifth and final game there to keep his title.

[Ian Kingston]

We have a Sicilian Sveshnikov in Game 5.

[John McKenna]

So Anand changed tack first.

[Matthew Turner]

It takes some skill to make a Sveshnikov this boring.

[Graham Borrowdale]

Draw just agreed with a liquidation of q-side pawns.

Back to the Slav next ganme?

[Ray Sayers]

It takes some skill to make a Sveshnikov this boring.

LOL! It's funny because it's true.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Toys well and truly being chucked out of prams on chessgames.com after today's game

[Ray Sayers]

Yes, well it's a bit unfair to criticise Anand and Gelfand. I mean, the basic problem is a lot of people don't really want to see these 2 players play for the title and the fans are getting frustrated. But that's a fault of the qualification system and not the players. There's a comment on chessgames.com saying basically 'the younger players have got to qualify first' - but the problem is that qualification is a bit of a lottery and Gelfand won it instead of, say, Aronian.

Playing the final over 12 games doesn't help fighting chess; Fischer ceded a 2-0 lead to Spassky and still won comfortably over 24 games. Over 12 games, the players are scared that one loss will mean the rest of the games are drawn and end of match.

It's the system that's wrong, not the players and not even chess itself. In my opinion of course

[Roger de Coverly]

It takes some skill to make a Sveshnikov this boring.

Those of us that feel comfortable with a pawn on c4 and a Bishop on g2 have now no need to avoid the sequence 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 . I think the setup is well known, a local openings guru recommended it to me a few weeks ago as a method of being solid in these positions.

[Paul Cooksey]

Throwing in another theory, I wonder if the tie break rule is a factor in the dull chess so far?

In the good old days, when the champion retained the title in the case of a drawn match, someone was always behind and needing to push. I know 12 games is not a very long match. But still, I don't think it is completely unfair to ask the challenger to win the match to take the title.

Football comes to mind - this match feels like one of those world cup extra times, where both teams are showing a lot of respect to the opposition and playing for penalties. I'd rather it was a last day of the season, with one team ahead on goal difference.

[Matt Mackenzie]

The consensus, however, is that Anand would be the overwhelming favourite if it goes to rapidplay. So I don't think it is quite that Gelfand wants to draw *all* the games - rather that if the impasse continues, then Vishy might feel the pressure more (as defending champ) and slip up first

And I agree, that is probably the challenger's best chance......

[Mick Norris]

Gelfand has white in the next 2 games, and has now played himself into the match, so we'll see what he has prepared

[Paul Cooksey]

The consensus, however, is that Anand would be the overwhelming favourite if it goes to rapidplay.

Favourite certainly, but perhaps not overwhelming favourite. The GM view seems to be that Gelfand is a decent rapid player, unlike for example Topalov.

[Graham Borrowdale]

It could be said that Gelfand now has some kind of initiative. He has drawn 3 black games, now has 2 whites in a row, and if the draws continue he will be playing white first in the second half of the match, a bit like the player serving first in the final set of a tennis match.

I doubt Gelfand is in fact playing for penalties, but if he were to reach that scenario I would say it makes the result much more random than in classical games. I agree with Paul that the tie break rule makes the challenger less likely to have to go all out to win.

Having said all that, I can see Anand winning with black tomorrow.

[IM Jack Rudd]

It could be said that Gelfand now has some kind of initiative. He has drawn 3 black games, now has 2 whites in a row, and if the draws continue he will be playing white first in the second half of the match, a bit like the player serving first in the final set of a tennis match.

The player serving first in the final set of a tennis match loses more often than he wins, incidentally.