March 25, 2014
PUNE: "I didn't manage to understand either him or me! I was simply unable to execute my strategy."
Viswanathan Anand has not overstretched his positions but whenever he has got the opportunity to attack, he has not gone into his shell.
March 25, 2014
PUNE: "I didn't manage to understand either him or me! I was simply unable to execute my strategy."
Viswanathan Anand has not overstretched his positions but whenever he has got the opportunity to attack, he has not gone into his shell.
Viswanathan Anand was at his succinct best despite not being in the mood to talk about his mistakes during his World title defence against Magnus Carlsen of Norway in Chennai last November.
That was then. Now, Anand's critics and his rivals in the ongoing World Candidates tournament in Khanty Mansiysk (Russia) are struggling to understand Anand.
The first nine rounds of the eight-player tournament have given the Indian's career a third wind (the second came during Kramnik's annihilation in Bonn in 2008). He has capitalised on almost every opportunity while his main rivals – Aronian, Kramnik and Topalov – have played below their levels.
As a result, it's now Anand's tournament to lose with five rounds to go. Unless he plays badly, he is just too good a player to let go of the decisive advantage of 1.5 points. A situation which seemed unimaginable in November – winning a rematch with Carlsen – is now within the realms of delightful possibility.
Anand has managed to find his comfort zone in a majority of games and played risk-free, solid, subtle, principled chess. He has not overstretched his positions but whenever he has got the opportunity to attack (vs Aronian in the first round and against Topalov in the ninth), he has not gone into his shell.
He has certainly confused his opponents with unpredictable yet balanced approach. He stared hard at Aronian in the first round and accepted Topalov's bait of the Sicilian Najdorf with timely strikes in the ninth. And yes, draws after all are not bad if you are unbeaten in the tournament and others are unstable and losing crucial games.
Top seed Aronian, now 31, has been a big letdown for his fans. His 19-move draw against Anand in the eighth round was a clear indication that his mental makeup doesn't permit him to be world champion.
If Garry Kasparov had lost to Anand in his previous game, he would have certainly come hard on his opponent in the next game. Going for perpetual checks with just one pawn from either side of the board was either sheer miscalculation on the Armenian's part or showed lack of stomach for fight.
Defeats against Topalov and Karjakin have put Kramnik under severe stress. And if he aspires to win the tournament, beating Svilder and Anand with two successive whites from the 10th round onwards will be important.
There was an air of uncertainty over Anand's participation in the meet. But now, his rivals have to chase a player who is +3 (difference between number of wins and losses) with five rounds to go!
Courtesy: TNN
