WK Schaken 2012

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Gelfand: first blood
In the seventh game, the opponents continued their theoretical dispute in the Slav Defence. Boris Gelfand, who played White, was the first to move away from the lines that had been tried out before, opting for the most principled continuation, 6.c5. A complicated strategic fight ensued, with nearly all pieces remaining on the board. Experts note that the world champion did not play energetically enough and failed to equalise: Black’s main problem was his bad light-squared bishop, which never made it through the fence of black pawns. Gelfand skilfully built up pressure on the queenside and managed to penetrate his opponent’s camp with his pieces via the open c-file, putting Black in a very poor position. Vishy Anand’s desperate attempt to sacrifice a piece and launch an attack against his rival’s king brought no success, and he resigned on move 38. To recap, this is Gelfand’s first win against Anand in events with classical time control over the past 19 years – since 1993.

The match score is now 4-3 in Gelfand’s favour. The next, eighth, game will be played tomorrow, 21 May. Viswanathan Anand will play with white pieces.

http://moscow2012.fide.co(...)-gelfand-first-blood

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Op maandag 21 mei 2012 16:29 schreef OEM het volgende:
Dit WK was al een farce, maar het wordt nu wel een beetje lachwekkend.

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The eighth game of the match began exactly like the third one, which was the only game where Boris Gelfand was on the verge of defeat but still managed to survive.There’s no surprise that as soon as on move 3 Black moved away from the previous games. A pawn structure appeared on the board that is typical of Saemisch system of the King’s Indian, but there was a significant difference in the position of the pieces: both white knights were on the queenside. Trying to use this circumstance, Black decided to go for complications on the kingside, thus provoking Viswanathan Anand to push forward the g-pawn, which would weaken his king’s position. The world champion picked up the gauntlet and sharp play started where the opponents had to calculate a great number of lines. Gelfand miscalculated one of them: as he admitted, when making his move 14…Qf6, he hadn’t noticed the reply 17.Qf2!, after which Black’s position immediately became hopeless. Since he failed to find a defence against large material losses or a mate attack, the challenger resigned.

Anand regained the balance: after 8 games the score is 4-4. Tomorrow, on 22 May, the opponents have a rest day. The ninth game will be played on Wednesday, 23 May. Gelfand will play White.

On 21 May Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi, the Champion of Europe 2010, was the honorary guest. Grandmasters Alexander Grischuk and Alexander Motylev played a simul against children in the chess courtyard.

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Boris Gelfand: I played a risky variation



During the press conference, which took place immediately after the game, Boris Gelfand confessed that he simply failed to spot white's 17. Qf2. After playing 14...Qf6, he could only see 17. Qf4, after which white would have to play either 18. Bd3 or 18. Bh3. The Israeli grandmaster also considered the possibility of offering a losing exchange after a potential 15. Kc2 Nf4 16. Ne4 continuation. An interesting position appeared after 16... Re4 17. fe. “I played a risky variation and thought it would turn out okay, but I didn't anticipate White's last move. It's difficult to say where I could have played better. I think that, if this variation fails, then the whole concept is wrong. Of course, I could have just played Knight to g7 or f6 on the 14th move instead of Qf6, but then Black's position would have been worse after 15. h4.”

Viswanathan Anand admitted that he had seen the possible blunder as early as the 11th move, when he played pawn takes f5. “At first I had the same thought as Boris – that actually I had to go Queen f4, and then I refined it to Queen f2, and that's how it happened.” The world champion called move 7... Nh5 provocative as Black usually plays this move after 7... e6. He could have responded more aggressively and played 7. g4, but considered this to be too “committal”. “I played Bc5 taking advantage of the fact that had not played his pawn on e7.”

When asked how had they slept the night before, after game 7, the challenger said that he had slept very well – eight hours non-stop. The champion, on the other hand, said that it had not been his best sleep of the match.
Anand was then asked if his state of mind had changed following yesterday's game – if it would help him to get back to playing his usual game. “In general, I'd like to think that I'm playing each game quite hard, but it's clear these last two games are not like before – it's emotionally much more tough. I don't know if I played particularly aggressively today. I think it's just the consequence of this position and white needs to gain space,” he commented, “I mean, if I played well, I'm happy.”

When the world champion – who is known for his fast play – was asked why he had been using a lot of time in the games, the Indian grandmaster explained: “Well, in general, I would say it's much more evolutionary than something else that I've changed from one day to the next. It's happened quite gradually and, obviously, in World Championship matches, I tend to do it a lot more even. But then there's a lot to remember.”

The players were then asked whether they thought it was like the match was starting all over again, as the score was once again even, Boris Gelfand replied: “Well, I don't think it ever stopped! It's not 1985, when the match stopped and then started again.”

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Op woensdag 23 mei 2012 13:47 schreef tong80 het volgende:
[ afbeelding ]
[ afbeelding ]

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Op donderdag 24 mei 2012 16:32 schreef mitt het volgende:
Ik zou een echt toernooi veel gaver vinden.

Zo'n tweestrijd kan wel interessant zijn, maar niet met een Gelfand in de finale.

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Gelfand surprises already on the fifth move

Similar to the fifth game, Viswanathan Anand started the tenth game with 1.e4. The opponents once again played the Sicilian Defence, but on the third move the world champion veered away from the Sveshnikov variation, choosing 3.Bb5. Just two moves later Boris Gelfand showed a new plan – 5…e5, which resulted in an interesting position with mutual chances. Judging by how quickly the moves were made, the Israeli grandmaster had analysed this variation very deeply. Soon the queens were exchanged, the position simplified considerably, but, according to many experts, all three results of the game were still possible. Black’s position was weakened by doubled pawns on the queenside, but he had the two-bishop advantage. New exchanges followed, and the position simplified even further. On move 25 the opponents agreed to a draw.

The score is equal after 10 games – 5-5. Tomorrow, on 25 May, the opponents will have a rest day. The next game will be played on Saturday, 26 May. Gelfand will play White.

Today Edvard Radzinsky, the famous writer, historian and TV presenter, was the honorary guest of the match. The press conference was dedicated to the “Chess and Terror” theme. Radzinsky spoke about the unique chess set titled “Reformers Against Revolutioners”, which was created in commemoration of the tragic events of the second half of the XIX century, when tsar Alexander II was murdered by members of the People’s Freedom movement. Radzinsly dwelled not only on the chess set, which was a genuine masterpiece, but also on the controversial era in Russian history, when the government of Alexander II implemented radical reforms in the country’s economic and political system.

Three simuls were played in the chess courtyard. The 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov, the Champion of Europe 2011 Vladimir Potkin and Grandmaster Vladimir Belov played against children.

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During the eleventh game of the match, just as in the ninth, Viswanathan Anand once again selected the Nimzo-Indian Defence for Black. Even during the early stages, the world champion surprised his opponent with the rare move of 8…Сd7, forcing the contender to think long and hard about his next move. The opponents traded queens rather quickly and moved on to the multi-piece endgame. Once again Boris Gelfand held the advantage of two bishops, however his so-called “hanging pawns” in the centre came under fire from enemy rooks. On the twentieth move, the Indian grandmaster launched tactical operations in the centre, preventing his opponent from stabilising the situation and strengthening his advantage. Running out of time to think, Gelfand decided to simplify things after which their positions were completely equalised. On the twenty-fourth move, the opponents agreed to a draw.

Following the eleventh game, the score is even at 5.5-5.5. Sunday, 27 May, is an off-day at the match. The twelfth and final game with classical time control will be held on Monday, 28 May. Viswanathan Anand will play with white. If the score is still even after this game, the world champion will be determined by a tie break (in games with accelerated time control) on Wednesday, 30 May.

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Op woensdag 30 mei 2012 15:52 schreef tong80 het volgende:
Knap van Anand. Maar wel een onbevredigend einde.