Against all odds
Israeli Boris Gelfand still holding his own against favored champ.
By Eli Shvidler | May.16, 2012 | 6:13 AM
“Four to one odds? I’d put my money on Gelfand in a split second,” said British chess grandmaster and coach Nigel Short of Israeli grandmaster Boris Gelfand.
And Short, himself a former competitor for the world title against the legendary Garry Kasparov, is not alone. While the bookies favor incumbent world champion Viswanathan Anand of India, Short’s opinion seems to be the prevailing one in the press room of the World Chess Championship in Moscow.
With a third of the match over – four games so far – Gelfand has won the admiration of his fellow players and of his opponent. It is clear that Gelfand has not only done his homework, but that he is determined as well. He does not play like an underdog, as might be expected. Including Tuesday, he has drawn four times – twice playing black.
“Four draws. The match is just developing. We are just probing each other,” Anand said at a press conference after the game.
Anand is one of the most brilliant people ever to master the game of chess, and every player at the world-class level, including all the past world champions – Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov among them – has felt the power of his game.
But Gelfand is holding his own. He surprised his opponent in the first game, winning himself a preferred spot. The game ended in a draw only because time ran out. In the second game, Anand had to be extremely precise in order to avoid giving Gelfand an opening. That game also ended in a draw. In Game 3, Gelfand’s opponent was pressed for time – itself a rare occurrence – and couldn’t find a way to win, thanks to an innovation by Gelfand that made the Tiger of Madras sink deeply into thought.
Tuesday’s game started as a repeat of Game 2 with a Slav defense, until Gelfand deviated, leading to a flurry of exchanges. Gelfand had a slight advantage but did not risk stretching himself too far. He tried advancing his bishop but Anand correctly countered.
After four draws, the two seem to be evenly matched, regardless of who is labeled underdog or defending champion.
Source: http://www.haaretz.com
Short is being short again.
I watched Nigel Short’s commentary on the W_CH Game the other day…Boring and Horrible. I’m glad he’s not doing the commentary again for the rest of this not so exciting world championship.
short is never short of making a fool of himself.. Remember his comment on anand-topa game 2 where anand doubled his pawns on R file.. short called that stupid and Anand went on to show his understanding and win the game. Short has the most dubious record – the quickest exit ever from top 10. Matches are always like that. Each one prepared for the other for a year.. so the shield is stronger than the sword. Anand will prevail but not overwhlemingly. Gelfand is no pushover as the candidate losers projected him to be.. I root for Anand but good luck to Gelfand too. Hey atleast they play the game in the right spirit.. Sofia rule stays in sofia and so does the lion which was tamed in its own den
post war this is the only WC where the contestants demonstrated amicable behavior towards each other. Kramnik-anand is a close second. Otherwise it is always some mind games or politics – the karpovs, kasparovs, topalovs. Sick of these guys
Generally in sitcoms there will be one comedian.. In serious chess atmosphere the organizers bring in nosher for comedy..Not that gelfand is going to be bulldozed by anand but nosher does not back saying with logic..