Carlsen-Anand World Championship Match 2014 Game 8. Queens Gambit Declined: The name of the opening itself evokes the names of past great masters like Capablanca, Alekhine, Tartakower, Rubinstein etc who contributed tremendously to this system. Then there were modern masters like Kasparov, Karpov and Kramnik who have added their own flavour to this venerable opening. It has been played so many times in the history of chess that it would be quite foolish to think that someone could actually add something unique to its rich treasure in the twenty first century- 2014 to be precise! But there comes a young Norwegian who unleashes a powerful novelty in exactly that opening, in a very important World Championship clash and then plays through the first half of the game as if he has rehearsed the moves many times at home and even has the audacity to take a small nap during the game! :) It was a brilliant idea by Carlsen who introduced this concept of playing Re8!? followed by Be7!? today. As Peter Svidler mentioned after the game, Magnus has made an important contribution to the opening theory in general. But at the same time it would be quite foolish to assume that Magnus will use it again in this match. As rightly pointed out by Nigel Short in a tweet that went viral on the web : Looks like a typical condom variation from Magnus: to be used once and thrown away. Magnus simply blitzed his moves almost till move 22. When the time came for him to think, the danger had already passed and the draw was on cards. A few more moves were made by both sides and a draw was quickly agreed. Though a draw doesnt look like a substantial result for the praises I am showering on Magnus, you need to appreciate the fact that Anands main advantage of playing with the white pieces was easily neutralized by his opponent today. Opening preparation was one area in which it seemed Anand was stronger than his rival. But Magnus proved it in game 7 and now once again in game 8 that he can fight Vishy in his own backyard. Thats precisely the reason why I feel that Anands chances of making a comeback in this match are dwindling. If Magnus is White he somehow miraculously manages to exchange the queens in the opening in just about every game. In the endgame he is simply a virtuoso who cannot be defeated. Anands only chance is to play sharp lines but that too is being thwarted because Carlsen is coming up regularly with all these surprises in the opening. In game 2 Magnus played 4.d3 against the Berlin, in game 7 he allowed the Berlin. In game 3 he played the QGD 6...Nbd7 variation, in game 8 he played the 6...c5. In game 4 he played the 3.g3 line against e6 sicilian while in game 6 he played the Open sicilian. Why isnt Anand changing his lines? In my opinion it is time for Anand to call the shots in the opening. He has to surprise Magnus before the Norwegian can do it! Day after tomorrow the Indian Ace has the black pieces. Now the colour really doesnt matter for Anand, I think. He has to play aggressively and go all out. It will be extremely difficult, I guess, but in order to get himself mentally prepared he has the much needed rest day tomorrow! Lets all take some rest tomorrow and come back rejuvenated on the 20th of November 2014 to witness the 9th game of this historical World Championship Match. For the indepth analysis of game 8 click on the link below: sagarteacheschess.blogspot.in/2014/11/carlsen-anand-world-championship-match.html
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:37:58 +0000
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