Magnus Carlsen takes Game 2 as Viswanathan Anand errs in third hour of play

For the second time in two days, Anand made unforced errors in the third hour of play, allowing Carlsen to pile pressure on him
Aniek Paul

Sochi (Russia): World chess champion Magnus Carlsen took an early lead in the ongoing world chess championship after he beat challenger Viswanathan Anand in the second game on Sunday, demolishing the Indian grandmaster’s defence in a little over three-and-a-half hours.

For the second time in two days, Anand made unforced errors in the third hour of play, allowing Carlsen to pile pressure on him. On Saturday, Anand survived a difficult position and held Carlsen to a draw with accurate defence, but on Sunday, he collapsed under pressure—the defeat described by some experts as self destruction.

“It’s a pity… I almost got back into the game and then threw it away,” Anand said, referring to his 34th move blunder which forced him to give up immediately. Asked about the inaccuracies in the third hour of play, Anand said they were not “catastrophic”.

“I was surprised and had to double-check,” Carlsen said referring to Anand’s 34th move, which, at this level of chess, was a shocker. Carlsen admitted that even his play on Sunday wasn’t the “most precise”, yet because of the substantial edge he had he managed to win in the end.

On Sunday, as the world celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Anand used a line play named after it—Berlin Defence—which is widely regarded as a solid defensive weapon. He got a comfortable position from it, but allowed things to slip out of hand from the 19th move, early in the third hour play. Carlsen and Anand are playing the second world title match in the space of a year.

The Norwegian, widely regarded as the best chess player ever, dethroned Anand as world champion in a match held in Chennai a year ago. Anand sprang back and secured the right to challenge him this year.

Most experts have predicted Anand to perform better this year, but an early loss of this nature could change the course of the match. “

Anand should have added a strategist to his team,” US grandmaster Susan Polgar said on Twitter. His problem is psychological, according to her.

Monday is a rest day. The match resumes on Tuesday with game 3, in which Anand plays white. The game starts at 5.30pm IST. “Nice way to end the weekend,” Carlsen said on Twitter soon after winning the game.

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Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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