Anand v Gelfand

[AustinElliott]

Meanwhile, the game has hotted up as Gelfie has played 43. g4... Most of the K-side Ps now gone, White Queen on e5 - heading to g5 with check.

Still art exhibition commentary, BTW.

EDIT: Yep, 46. Qg5+

[Mick Norris]

Alex

that's a pity, Svidler has been pretty interesting this afternoon in the time I was watching

[AustinElliott]

Svidler is back on, says Anand found the key move to hold everything (45 ...Ng8!), and that he thinks that now the g4 break hasn't 'decided' it will likely be a draw - though he predicts Gelfie might try for a few moves to see if there's anything there.

[Ian Kingston]

Drawn.

I love the way Anand and Gelfand sit chatting while the arbiter deals with the formalities.

[AustinElliott]

Drawn.

I love the way Anand and Gelfand sit chatting while the arbiter deals with the formalities.

Proper chess players, say I. Good to see.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

It was an interesting game. Still, it ended a draw. Does having two whites in the last three games make Anand a slight favourite now? I wonder how well Gelfand will sleep tonight and what both players will have prepared for game 10?

[Jonathan Rogers]

Only by the standards of this desperately bare match can this game be termed interesting - at World Ch level. White had a very clear advantage out of the opening, even though he didn't play any novelty, but with c5, threw much of his real winning chances away. I imagine there was more than one fortress available to Anand (admittedly if there was only one, then it may have been a good practical try, but that seems doubtful) so c5 was just about enjoying a position he could not lose rather than making a committed attempt to win.

Still, it is nice that they are no longer getting equal or equalish positions at move 15, in the sense that this may conceivably bode well for the finale.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

I did, of course, mean interesting at the 150-170 level... You don't see that many fortresses there.

[Roger de Coverly]

I did, of course, mean interesting at the 150-170 level... You don't see that many fortresses there.

Svidler's commentary was illuminating. He was saying that in that type of position you both have to know the various defensive schemes that you can set up and calculate to ensure you can reach them.

[Matt Mackenzie]

Only by the standards of this desperately bare match can this game be termed interesting - at World Ch level. White had a very clear advantage out of the opening, even though he didn't play any novelty, but with c5, threw much of his real winning chances away. I imagine there was more than one fortress available to Anand (admittedly if there was only one, then it may have been a good practical try, but that seems doubtful) so c5 was just about enjoying a position he could not lose rather than making a committed attempt to win.

Still, it is nice that they are no longer getting equal or equalish positions at move 15, in the sense that this may conceivably bode well for the finale.

Well *I* thought it was interesting, so meh

I think it is undeniable the second half of the match (so far) has held rather more interest than the first.

[AustinElliott]

Only by the standards of this desperately bare match can this game be termed interesting - at World Ch level. White had a very clear advantage out of the opening, even though he didn't play any novelty, but with c5, threw much of his real winning chances away. I imagine there was more than one fortress available to Anand (admittedly if there was only one, then it may have been a good practical try, but that seems doubtful) so c5 was just about enjoying a position he could not lose rather than making a committed attempt to win.

Can we maybe see that as a deliberate strategy from Gelfand - a chance to win (albeit a very slim one against a defender as good as Anand) with no chance to lose? A Petrosianic 'No RIsk' decision, if you like.

On that theme, Gelfand must have been very shaken by missing Qf2 in the previous game. In the old 24-game matches, you'd figure that players like Petrosian (again) or Botvinnik would be looking to draw the next game quickly, even with White, simply to get a short-order blow-out behind them. It looks unambitious here mainly because the match is so short.

Speaking as another of the sub-160 Patzer Brigade, I found the game interesting even after the Black Q came off. In a club game with sub-170 players you'd definitely figure White to have the chances, so it was interesting to see two top class players contesting it. Think it bears out one of the things that is often said about master-level chess, that defensive technique in particular is of a far higher order than lower down the pile. At the sub-170 level I reckon that game, once it reached the Q v R+N point, would end with a decisive result most times.

[Roger de Coverly]

In a club game with sub-170 players you'd definitely figure White to have the chances, so it was interesting to see two top class players contesting it.

At club level, don't under estimate Black's chances if White tries too hard. There were tricks where White takes on h5 with the King on h4 and finds himself in a mating net with Rh8 after the Queen retreats. If White ran really short of time, it's marginal whether an Appendix D or 10.2 claim would be allowed.

On a more general level, what do people think of what might be called the "move by move" commentary by Svidler and others. About right, too expert, too dumbed down? I think you can reject dumbed down.

[John McKenna]

Sicilian (B30?) and Boris got 5... Pe5 in, but Vishy could have done it first - instead of 5.b3!?

[Paul McKeown]

The problem with Black's position is not that he has relatively poor bishops, backward development and an inflexible broken pawn structure, nor that he should lose (he shouldn't, surely?), it's just that he has real no chances to win and is going to have to defend for some time. Dull draw probably with a faint chance for a White victory.

[Paul McKeown]

Don't fancy Gelfand's position much, with that crap bishop. I assume it's still a draw, just unappetising?