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Gelfand-Anand g6 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. Qc2
6… c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Be2 Be6 9. O-O Nc6 They’re cranking out moves at lightning speed.
10. Rd1 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Rxd4 Bc5 13. Rd1 Qe7 They played 13 moves in 9 min! Both are well prepared. Gelfand deviated on move 6.Qc2.
Anand is sacrificing the d5 pawn with excellent compensation as the white Bishop on c1 is not develop and will have a hard time getting out.
14. Bf3 0-0 White can take the d5 pawn. But he’ll have a hard time getting the Bishop on c1 in play. I don’t see Anand in danger at all.
14…0-0 is a change from the usual 14…Rd8 to defend the d5 pawn. Facing a novelty, Gelfand is thinking. I think he must take with 15.Nxd5.
Here is one sample line: 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 Nxd5 17. Rxd5 Rac8 18. Qd1 Rfd8 = to +=
Well, they actually played it 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 Nxd5 17. Rxd5 Rac8 But now Gelfand is thinking about where to put his Queen.
Oh well, Gelfand is giving back the pawn. Now they will have symmetrical pawns structure and soon a draw 🙂 18. Bd2 Bxe3 19. Bc3 Bb6
We basically have a drawn game after 30 min of play. It’ll be a long nearly 2 day off 🙂 Gelfand will play on due to better piece placement.
All kidding aside, White still have a very small edge thanks to his B on c3 and R on d5. But Anand will have little problem holding.
Perhaps they can agree to a draw soon and go have an early dinner with Kasparov who is in town (probably to protest against Putin) 🙂
20. Qf5 Gelfand of course is playing for 2 results as he has no risk of losing. Perhaps they’ll play a little longer and join Kasparov for desert 🙂
We can joke about these quick draws but both players are so well prepared. They equalize with Black fairly easily. Hard to make a dent.
This is a huge credit to both team of seconds, as well as Houdini, Stockfish, Rybka, etc. I vote for 12 games of Fischer Random if tied 6-6.
20…Qe6 If white trades, it is an easy draw. So 21. Qf3 keeping the game alive a little longer.
Black played the most logical 21…f6 to neutralize the Bishop on c3. Gelfand opted for 22. h4 instead of doubling his rooks.
“Vishy – He lost motivation.” – Kasparov.
“Vishy – He’s sliding downhill” – Kasparov
Is Kasparov right about his brutal assessment of Anand? Is it fair for him to make those comments while match is still in progress?
22…Qc6 The idea is to try to trade down. More pieces off the board = easier draw.
Gelfand is marching ahead with 23. h5. Now one of the Rooks will go to d8 to simplify the position.
Possible line 23. h5 Rcd8 24. Rad1 Rxd5 25. Rxd5 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Bxd8 27. Qxc6 bxc6 =
23.. Rfd8 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Qxc6 bxc6 =
When Gelfand brings his rook to the e file, Anand can simply play Kf7 to stop the rook from getting to the 7th rank. Draw to come soon.
I expect the players to shake hands soon. Perhaps one of them should have hired Kasparov to be his second? 🙂
26. Re1 Of course Black has to play Kf7 to prevent rook to e7.
GM Stuart Conquest: “Is today’s Gelfand-Anand game still in play? I stopped watching.”
27. g4 Bd4 Once again, Anand is calmly trading off pieces. Gelfand is trying to make something happen but it is unlikely going to happen.
How do you evaluate the match so far? Vote here: http://poll.pollcode.com/1jol
28. Rc1 Bxc3 29. Rxc3 Rd4 and they finally agreed to a draw.
Don’t forget about the Kamsky – Nakamura show down in 3.5 hours. If Kamsky wins, he wins the US Championship. LIVE game right here.
Wow isn’t it great learning what moves the world’s leading players have memorised before the match.
Not only that but all that hard memorising to ensure they can draw within an hour and have the rest of the night off.
And someone stumped up a million bucks as a PRIZE! Wow I wonder how long this gravy train can last
As long as there aren’t a million (less the jobless you) ignorant people more 😉
Here comes another draw…initiated by Anand’s queen exchange. Great job Anand. Play to draw, not to win.
Wow! Susan’s idea of Fischer Random if 6-6 draw is good,except that in this fast paced world ( not a good thing really ), 6 more games of F.R. may not be feasible. H’ever it is still a good idea and needs to be considered. Perhaps if the rapid games too are drawn then a Fischer Random game instead of Armageddon or Blitz?
Amar
Hi Susan Polgar,
Well,both the legends were good at this game.
Its a very healthy sign that “Anand” had begun to play his natural game and ready to come out of the books & preparation,if situation demands.
This particular game shows that, once “Anand” decides to step in for an offensive play( In Chess game)then the pressure aboard on the opponent’s shoulders not on his.(Anand)
To me,this day,Anand’s time and energy were totally intact – played his natural game,turned the pressure,on to the opponent,though opponent tried his best to shoulder the pressure on “Anand”.
Cool.
“Gelfand” too,was good at his play that led to draw – Very nice.
“Anand” has fine aces – all that he needs,is to employ it.
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
The only one that lost the motivation to keep playing is Kasparov
The only one that lost the motivation to keep playing is Kasparov
Hi Susan Polgar,
My second post at this title.
Well,”Kasporov” is a gentleman,who knows that anybody, who steps out of their limits are staking their fame and respect to slide,I hope he never intend to intentionally slide – may be his comment about “Anand” is a slip of his irrelevant emotion.
Cool.
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
The problem with this match is it is too long. If they shorten it to 6 games we go right on to the more exciting blitz games where anything could happen. Once you see the first two games of this style format you see it all. Shorten the match up to a weekend and have it in some large soccer stadium.
One thing from Kasparov’s comments is clear — he is no politician. He is in a wrong profession right now. He will never win elections, in Russia or anywhere else.