Sochi G11: In dramatic finale, Carlsen retains title

11/23/2014 – The game was all the fans could hope with dramatic play throughout. Vishy Anand played the Berlin to groans but after a critical 23…b5! the situation looked very promising. Whether due to nerves or fatigue, he followed this up with a dubious plan that gave up the exchange with no obvious counterplay. This was the death knell as Magnus Carlsen capitalized. Express report.

 

Sochi G11: In dramatic finale, Carlsen retains title

11/23/2014 – The game was all the fans could hope with dramatic play throughout. Vishy Anand played the Berlin to groans but after a critical 23…b5! the situation looked very promising. Whether due to nerves or fatigue, he followed this up with a dubious plan that gave up the exchange with no obvious counterplay. This was the death knell as Magnus Carlsen capitalized. Express report.

FIDE World Chess Championship Carlsen-Anand 2014

Round Eleven

The game started with a predictable opening: a YABB (yet another boring Berlin). However things took a turn for the better for Anand, and very soon after, for the worse! A brilliant pawn push with 23…b5!! didn’t quite put Carlsen against the ropes, but it signaled that Black had his own attacking chances!

A packed room with GM Negi Parimarjan, Chris Ward and Rustam Kasimdzhanov doing
commentary while Garry Kasparov shows up to see the action live on http://www.playchess.com

Svidler and Nepomniachtchi commenting on the game when suddenly…

Magnus’ reaction to b5!!

The problem was that Anand grossly overestimated his position. The follow-up exchange sacrifice on b4 was, to put it simply, overly optimistic and Carlsen gladly gobbled the offering. Black’s position was unable to support the passed pawn, and all Carlsen needed to do was reduce material to put Anand in grave danger.

White’s play after being up the exchange was precise and accurate, not afraid of calculating variations and finding ‘only’ moves to retain a decisive advantage. At the end, the Challenger’s position could not hold together any more and Carlsen emerged as the defending World Champion!

Carlsen, Magnus2863Anand, Viswanathan2792World Chess Championship 20141123.11.2014Robot 8

1.e4 e5 2.f3 c6 3.b5 f6 4.0-0 xe4 5.d4 d6 6.xc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 f5 8.xd8+ xd8 9.h3 d7 10.c3 h6 11.b3 c8 12.b2 c5 12…b6 13.ad1 e7 14.fe1 c5 was eventually a draw in Anand-Nakamura, 2010. 13.ad1 b6 14.fe1 Played after a ten minute think. It’s possible that Carlsen was not entirely familiar with this position specifically and already started to figure out how to place his pieces. 14.d5 a5 15.d2 e7 16.e3 Kokarev-Leko in the Russian team championship earlier this year. The game was drawn without much happening. 14…e6 15.d5 g5!? An interesting approach. This move severely weakens f6, but Anand claims that he can live with a knight there. On the other hand, on g5 Black protects f4, essentially cutting off reinforcements to the e5 pawn in the future. Also the pawn majority has been successfully halted. 16.c4 b7 17.h2 a5 18.a4 e7 19.g4 g6 So far Anand has played a very nice Berlin. His position is good, but of course White’s central domination and extra space allow him to be at least equal. 20.g3 e7 21.d2 hd8 22.e4 f8 23.ef6 b5‼ A bomb shell! This incredibly unexpected move comes with beautiful timing. The pawn cannot be taken or White already risks standing worse. 24.c3 The strongest idea for White is to ignore the pawn, but now Black’s position is quite strong. 24.axb5 a4 25.bxa4 xa4 allows Black to attack the weak c4 pawn and gives him control (for now) of the open a-file. Black is already better and it is not clear how White will hold his position together. For example: 26.c1 f4! 27.xf4?! gxf4+ 28.xf4 d2! 24.cxb5 c6! 25.bxc6+ xc6 and now it is White’s b3 pawn that is a big issue. The knight on d5 is destabilized which means it must retreat, exposing the weakness on b3. 26.e3 xb3-+ 24…bxa4 25.bxa4 c6 26.f3 db8?! Played after a 22 minute think. This idea of playing Rdb8 is not bad per se, but its follow-up is not nearly as good. 27.e4 b4 Black sacrifices the exchange, obtaining the pair of bishops, a passed pawn, and fixing his structure on the queenside. Overall he has good chances of obtaining compensation, but not for the full exchange unfortunately. 27…b3 28.b1 ab8 29.xb3 xb3 30.c1 is playable for both sides, though White does have some annoying pressure against a5. 28.xb4 cxb4 28…axb4! If Black wanted to sacrifice the exchange, he absolutely had to back it up with activity. The only way of doing so was activating his rook on a8. 29.h5 The main issue for Black is that his position is still very solid, but it does not have an active way of making progress. If White keeps trading, and trading, and trading, eventually the extra exchange will just be an extra exchange. b7 30.f4 gxf4 30…d7! Was an interesting resource, but White would have an ace up his sleeve. 31.f5 xa4 32.fxg6 fxg6 33.hf6 c2+ 34.d4 xd1 35.xd1 c6 36.d7! And ignoring the pawn attack no d5 grants White a huge initiative and two monster passed pawns. 31.hxf4 xf4?! This only helps White. 31…c6 32.xg6 fxg6 33.f4 xc4 34.xg6 c5 was rather bad, but better than the game continuation. 32.xf4 xc4 33.d7! The activity of the rook is starting to make itself felt. Black cannot dislodge this intruder. a6 33…c6 34.d4! a2 35.c1+ b7 36.d7 only makes things worse. For example: c8 37.d5 b3 38.c3! b2 39.xa2 bxc1 40.xc1 and Black’s position is simply falling apart, starting by the f7 pawn. 34.d5 c6 35.xf7 c5 The material difference is too big. Anand is clawing for activity, but White’s next stroke ends it. 36.xc7+! xc7 37.xc7 c6 37…b3 38.d5 b2 39.e6 and the powerful pawn on b2 is not going anywhere. 37…xc7 38.c1 instantly loses. b3 39.xc4 b2 40.xc5+ and Rb5 next, right on time. 38.b5! xb5 39.axb5+ xb5 40.e6 b3 41.d3 e7 42.h4 a4 43.g5 hxg5 44.hxg5 a3 45.c3 The last accurate move, and now Black cannot hold his pawns together anymore. 45.g6 a2 46.g7?? b2=

Anand started to realize his position was not good after sacrificing the exchange

Stockfish sees mate, as does Komodo, which has a quaint way of showing it (+250)

Game, match and title: a subdued Anand in the press conference.
When asked if he considered retiring after this loss, his answer was a firm “no”.

Chief press officer Anastasiyia Karlovich,
who did an incredible job throughout the event

“I feel happy and relieved” the defending World Champion: Magnus Carlsen!

We will be bringing you a full coverage of the press conference and the player’s reactions to the match in a future report.

Score

Game:
Rtg
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
Score
M. Carlsen 2863
½
1
0
½
½
1
½
½
½
½
1
6.5
V. Anand 2792
½
0
1
½
½
0
½
½
½
½
0
4.5

Summary of round eleven for Indian readers by Niklesh Jain

कार्लसन जीते !! फिर बने विश्व शतरंज विजेता !!

मुझे आज समझ नहीं आ रहा की किस तरह इस मैच के बारे में आपको बताऊँ । सबसे पहले तो युवा मेगनस कार्लसन को पुनः विश्व विजेता बनने के लिए बहुत बहुत बधाई । वो शायद पहले ऐसे विश्व विजेता जो अपने खेल से सामने वाले को परास्त नहीं करते बल्कि अपने असाधारण अचूक खेल से सामने वाले को कोई मौका ही नहीं देते उन्हे परास्त करने का और फिर सामने वाला खुद ही गल्तियाँ करना शुरू करता है और कार्लसन मशीनों की तरह उसकी गलती को उसे दंड दे देते है । आनंद आज शानदार खेले और फिर अचानक समय के दवाब में गलत चालें चलते चले गए । शायद इस महान खिलाड़ी पर उम्र का प्रभाव अब दिखने लगा है । पाँच बार के विश्व चैम्पियन यकीनन अभी भी दुनिया के सबसे बेहतरीन खिलाड़ियों में से एक है पर विश्व चैम्पियन के हकदार अब मेगनस उनसे भी ज्यादा है ये अब उन्हे मानना ही होगा । क्यूंकी आनंद हर बार इस प्रतियोगिता में दवाब के क्षणो में बिखरते नजर आए है । पर हाँ आनंद की पिछले बार की हार से लेकर इस विश्व चैंपियनशिप के अंतिम मैच तक उन्होने एक बात हमेशा के लिए साबित कर दी की इंसान को कभी हार नहीं माननी चाहिए वो वाकई एक शेर की तरह लड़े । उन्हे अपने इस शानदार प्रयास के लिए और उनके इस जज्बे के लिए सलाम । खेल एक बार फिर बर्लिन ओपनिंग में खेला गया और आनंद ने आज अपनी तैयारी और शानदार चालो के मिश्रण से खेल को एक ऐसे स्थान पर ला दिया था जंहा से वो बहुत मजबूत नजर आ रहे थे और उनका हारना तो लगभग असंभव ही लग रहा था पर अचानक 23 चाल पर कार्लसन की एक थोड़ी कमजोर चाल के जबाब में आनंद ने जैसे ही b5 जैसी शानदार चाल चली अचानक खेल में एक चमक आ गयी पूरी दुनिया के बड़े दिग्गज खेल के विशेषज्ञ इसे अपने अपने हिसाब से आकलन करने लगे आनंद ने कुछ बहुत बेहतरीन चालों के मिश्रण से कुछ देर के लिए लोगो को उनकी जीत के बारे में भी सोचने का मौका भी दिया। ट्वीटर पर तो जैसे बड़े ग्रांड मास्टरों के ट्वीट की बाढ़ सी आ गयी थी और होती भी क्यूँ न बात विश्व विजेता के तय होने की जो थी । पर इसके बाद अचानक आनंद जब Be7 चल कर कार्लसन को और दवाब में ल सकते थे उन्होने अचानक बहुत सोच कर अपने हाथी को कार्लसन के ऊंट के बदले कुर्बान करने का ऐसा निर्णय लिया जो शायद किसी और के लिए तो शायद काम कर भी देता पर कार्लसन के खिलाफ ये उनकी सबसे बड़ी और आखिरी गलती साबित हुई ।मै शायद आज आनंद की जीत के बारे में लिखकर गर्व महसूस करता पर यकीन मानिए आनंद भी अपनी बादशाहत को इस नए युवा अभेद योद्धा के हाथो सौंपकर आज नहीं तो कल संतुष्ट जरूर होंगे ।आनंद को भी उनके आने वाले समय ओर कार्यो के लिए शुभकामनाए भारत को आप पर गर्व है और हमेशा रहेगा ।कार्लसन को जीत की पुनः बहुत बहुत बधाई दोनों खिलाड़ी जमकर खेले और शतरंज दुनियाँ भर में और प्रसिद्ध हुई इससे ज्यादा एक शतरंज प्रेमी को क्या चाहिए ।

उम्मीद है आपको हिन्दी के लेख पसंद आए होंगे ….

आपका निकलेश जैन

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