Welcome to Carlsen – Anand Sochi World Championship game 3 (LIVE commentary by me).
Thanks for joining me. What can we expect from Anand today? After just two games, Anand is already behind with a tough loss with black in game two. He also had a shaky first game with white. If he does not turn things around now, it may be too much of an uphill climb to try to regain his title.
I expect a more aggressive Anand today. He realized that he cannot keep up with Carlsen in dry positions. Changes in strategy and changes in attitude are needed. As I said after game two, he must play the position and not Carlsen. Just loosen the collar, take a deep breath, have fun, give his all and qué será será!
I am also doing interactive commentary on www.twitter.com/susanpolgar and www.facebook.com/polgarchess.
Anand – Carlsen (game 3)
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 Magnus opted for something safer
4 Nc3 Be7 5 Bf4 0-0 Typical position for Queen’s Gambit Declined
6 e3 Nbd7 7 c5 c6 8 Bd3 b6 9 b4 a5 10 a3 Ba6 11 Bxa6 Rxa6 12 b5 The players are cranking out these book moves in lightning speed. Anand is going for a sharp line instead of something more positional.
12…cxb5 13 c6 Qc8 14 c7 b4 15 Nb5 We are still in theory.
15…a4 It is interesting that both teams feel that this position is good for them. We will see which team did a better job preparing for this game. 16 Rc1 is the move here. But Anand is taking time for this move and he is biting his nails. Did he forget his analysis?
16 Rc1 Ne4 Anand has 2 choices, 17 Ng5 (more aggressive and less well known) and 17 Nd2 (more popular).
17 Ng5 It seems that Magnus is surprised by 17 Ng5. Perhaps he was expecting Nd2. Magnus has a few decent responses. 17…Nxg5 17…Ndf6 or 17…Bxg5. He’s taking time to decide how to proceed. Magnus has both hands over his face. He is in deep thought. Difficult decision to make on how to to continue this game.
If 17…Nxg5 18 Bd6 Ra5 19 Bxe7 Rxb5 20 Qxa4 Ra5 21 Qxb4 Ra7 22 Bxg5 Rxc7 23 Rxc7 Qxc7 is a possibility
Magnus after Anand played 17…Ng5
17…Ndf6 After about 30 minutes, Magnus chose the safer Ndf6. Wise choice if he can’t remember all the analysis. Anand can take the knight of e4 then Bd6 or even Qc2. White is slightly better but Anand also needs to decide how to continue.
18 Nxe4 Nxe4 Interesting choice for Anand here is 19 f3. Anand could not have asked for a better chance. This is super sharp. One mistake by either side and it’s over.
19. f3 has been played! Let’s see who remembers more home analysis 🙂 This is the 14th game between Carlsen-Anand in the past 2 WC matches. This is the best Anand got out of the opening so far in my opinion. The reason I said this is the best Anand got is because Magnus usually stays away from sharp theorical battles which clearly favor Anand.
19…Ra5 This is a possibility 20 fxe4 Rxb5 21 Qxa4 Ra5 22 Qc6 bxa3 23 exd5 exd5 24 O-O f5 25 Qxb6 Ra6 26 Qb3 Qe6 and White is better.
20 fxe4 Rxb5 21 Qxa4 Ra5 22 Qc6 Anand is up by more than 30 minutes on the clock. It’s not that Magnus doesn’t know this. But it’s clear that he has to recall what he knows, which is costing him a lot of time.
22…bxa3 Let’s be clear. Both sides know this line. But it seems that Anand remembers it better & Magnus has to recall what he knows.
23…Rxe5 And the best option for white here is 24 Qxb6. White has a lot to play for. Black’s position is cramped.
24 Qxb6 Anand took time for this move, which is the only move top maintain initiatives. Now the plan for Magnus is to put his f8 R on c8. Therefore Qd7 makes sense.
24…Qd7 Now 25 Qa6 to put pressure on the c8 square.
25 0-0 Anand got cold feet and went with a safer option. Magnus only option is to put his Rook on the c file to block the passed pawn.
25…Rc8 Anand has to try to work the c pawn. So the idea is to play Rc6 to stop the mobility of the black queen, then either double up the rooks and Qa6 or move the other Rook to the b file.
26 Rc6 Time will be a serious factor soon. Magnus has about 25 minutes for 15 moves or so without increments. Not an easy task in this position. The problem for Magnus is there is really no “good” plan. And he cannot just sit because Anand can improve his position.
26…g5 27 Bg3 Another option is Be5 to provoke f6 then back to g3.
27…Bb4 A very interesting idea from Magnus. White cannot take the bishop because his rook of c6 is hanging. The idea is Ba5 to attack c7 pawn. Magnus is very clever. He is making Anand calculate this out. He is making it complicated for his opponent 🙂 White is clearly better but has many options to continue: Ra1, Rc2, Qa6 or even Qb8. What to do, what to do? 🙂 Not a good sign. Anand shook his head a few times. I think he’s shocked by Bb4 from Magnus.
28. Ra1 This is the best option at this moment and Anand found it. 7 minutes for 12 moves for Magnus without increments. This is getting serious!
28…Ba5 This is a bad move as 29 Qa6 and white is close to winning.
29 Qa6 Bxc7 Another bad move. Now 30 Qc4 and white wins easily.
30 Qc4 I expect resignation to come soon. Impossible to hold this position.
30…e5 31 Bxe5 No chance to save this.
31…Rxe5 32 dxe5 Qe7 Now Rc5 or Rc1 and white will soon be up a rook.
33 e6 This also wins easily.
33…Kf8 34 Rc1 1-0 Magnus resigned. The scored is tied up at 1.5 – 1.5.
anand sir have to play proactive
By far the most exciting game among this year’s two and last year’s championship games between these two. Good to see anand’s preparation and choice of lines.
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thanks for ur updates ..
this is the aanand’s come back , the way he plays… As an Indian I wish him to win tis game….
thank u for your great website and interesting coverage of the wcc.
Would it be possible to remove this endless list of chessdom/chessarena relay frames?
It freezes every Browser i use. My PC (3GHz, 2GB Ram) might be a bit old. Nonetheless this is one of the very few sides where this is a problem.
This is one of the most important events in the history of the game, if Anand can pull this one off, he will be the greatest in the history of the game.
Vinayak Joshi, India
This is an event with tremendous historical value. If Anand can pull this one off then he will be the graetest in the game.
Although VISHWAnathan Ananad Sir is down by a point,let’s just not forget that he’s a five time World Champion.And,in his career,he’s played against the greats like Kasparov,Karpov,Kramnik and many of this stature.He certainly has a lot of experience.He’ll definitely make a comeback.Let’s see how Magnus responds…
Zsuzsa kivel tartasz? 🙂 Who is your favorite?
Move 23 is Rxd5….
Is white having chance to win this game?
Its now time for vishy’s blunder of the day
Wasn’t 28. Be1 a good option ?
Susan, Magnus has about 5 min for 11 moves now. What happens if he fails to do so ??
What a comeback by anand! Brilliant!!
Anand is truly a Phoenix 🙂
Anand wins!!!!!!!
Anand is my world champion
Congrats,Anand.Well deserved win. Now don’t lose grip.Finish Carlsen.
Dear Anand
My heartiest congratulations to you. Think positive like this, you have all the chess wisdom. Apply yourself and it will be good in all reasons
This reminds me of the 2012 championship match when Anand made a comeback
Excellent analysis Susan!! Congrats Vishy!
MAY LORD VINAYAKA THE OMNIPOTENT INDIAN ELEPHANT GOD INSPIRE ANAND FURTHER TO WIN MORE GAMES AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP!– MVR IN INDIA
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moderator Pl allow me to post this message to my Guru prof S G bhat
Respected Prof s g bhat sir, Remember this is Sanjay Kulkarni kindly send yr details to sanjay@jaymach.co.in
It is obvious that Anand finally got past his pride and called Nakamura for help. About time! Now that Nakamura is involved, maybe Anand has a chance in this match. But he better listen to Nakamura and not question his advice.
Waddup
Irrespective of the result of this match, this game is one for future chess books – brilliantly played by Anand.
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Good to see Anand finally break through against Carlsen. After the first two games, I was afraid we were simply replaying last year’s match.
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All 3 games were wonderful. I wish Anand converts his new found touch to wins the tournament. Indian pride at stake, come on Anand India is behind you.
All 3 games were wonderful. I wish Anand converts his new found touch to wins the tournament. Indian pride at stake, come on Anand India is behind you.
Great, insightful commentary.
However, do you still feel that 25. 0-0 was “Anand developing cold feet and playing safe”. I feel it was a combative move, as it brought out the other, passive rook into action, and it helped build the pressure even if did not participate in the violence later.