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Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar
November 16, 2013
Chess Improvement, Daily News, General News, Major Tournaments, SPICE / Webster, Videos
12 Comments
hard to understand how Anand could have played Ra8
It’s hard to believe that a player on this level would lose two such endgames to GM Carlsen.Certainly Fischer, Capa,and Botvinnik(or GM Polgar’s considering her improvised analysis) would hold the positions..
As I get older, I find I have less ability to concentrate for long periods of time. I think it clear this is the real difference between Carlsen and Anand today- the younger man can just keep his focus sharp longer. Late game breakdowns have cost Anand both games.
In the sixth game, which many experts at some point thought would end in a draw, the challenger registered a decisive victory by playing one of most beautiful rook and pawn endings , initially with one pawn up and then sacrificing the extra pawn and yet another pawn !
In the sixth game, which many experts at some point thought would end in a draw, the challenger registered a decisive victory by playing one of most beautiful rook and pawn endings , initially with one pawn up and then sacrificing the extra pawn and yet another pawn !
Magnus is unbeatable in this tournament. His team is far superior than Anand’s. Anand team doesn’t have any answer.. 6-2 will be the final score..
By playing into level, but complex, endings which look to be on an even keel, Anand has been playing Magnus’ game for him. Anand has always had a relative weakness in boring positions, so I think he shouldn’t play into them so blithely. He shows to advantage when there’s plenty of life on the board. I think Anand shares a lot of traits with the great Paul Keres; I wonder if the World Champion ever particularly studied his play.
Magnus, on the other hand, looks more and more like the young Emanuel Lasker. Often, a win of his looks a little accidental; I suppose his key advantage is that he can keep his attention at full burn when the games gets dull.
What happened to the other female GM commentator? Thus far the high light of the match has been Gm Polgar’s commentary & analysis. U.S. chess had so much hope with her at it’s helm.
Rook and pawn endgames are very technical and complicated. If it’s not your speciality, and it’s move 60, calculating those is hard…you are too exhausted for the precision needed.
So, that is the chip in Anand’s armor that Carlsen is exploiting. Others have commented in earlier matches about Anand’s R+P endings, but it’s one thing to know it, another to be able to drive the position there. That is where Carlsen has succeeded. Both wins are due to faulty R+P endgames when players are tired.
How does Anand get open tactical positions that he likes?
Or the answer may be to strengthen his static position skills just like Kramnik improved on his dynamic play.
“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose” – Kris Kristofferson
Anand could go back to his old self, play fast and dazzling chess, worry free.
You can check the position after move 59 at this URL, with Crafty playing Black: http://tinyurl.com/krgo4w9
According to Crafty, it’s still a technical draw at move 60. The drawing line (just one of several) is:
60. b4 h3 61 gxh3 Rg7 62. Rc6 f3 (?) 63. Re6+ (!) Kd3 64. Rxh6 Rg2+(?)
65. Kh1 Kxc3 (?)
66. Rf6 Kxb4 (?) 67. Rxf3 Rd2 68. h4 +-
Not claiming that it’s the best line, but it seems to be sufficient. However, it’s not the kind of line that can be spotted over the board when you’re tired and short of time at move 60.
Crafty is rated only at 2500.There are so many free engines rated 3100+; Critter, Gull,Ivanhoe, Komodo, and Stockfish.