GM Viswanathan Anand - GM Magnus Carlsen

Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, (7)


C18: French, Winawer, Advance variation

1.e4 e6 Carlsen is not a big player of the French Defence - but it is now real big surprise as he has used it from time to time. The big difference is that Anand's response will be well known to him, as the Indian has never changed in his career how he plays against the French. 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 The French Winawer sees White's pawn structure damaged - but in return, he has lots of space to rapidly develop his pieces menacingly on the kingside. But it is a double-edged sword, because If the attack fails, then, long-term, Black has he better endgame prospects with his solid and intact pawn structure. 6...Nc6 7.Qg4 g6 8.h4 h6 9.h5 g5 White has a big space advantage and all the early running, whereas Black has to play with great caution - but that said, again the point is that if we get to an endgame scenario, Black's better pawn structure is the ace in the hole. 10.f4 Qa5 11.Bd2 f5!

The only game in town for Black - the point is that it is bad to capture with 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.Qe2 gxf4 as it all works out in Black's favour with his better development. 12.Qg3 g4 13.dxc5 I believe the more testing line is 13.c4!? 13...Nge7

White's pawn structure on the queenside is shot to such an extent that Black can afford to ignore the automatic recapture for now and just concentrate on developing his pieces - after all, those crippled queenside pawns aren't going anywhere. 14.Bd3 Qxc5 15.Ne2 Na5 16.Qf2 Anand could have kept the queens on the board with 16.Be3 - but in seeking to trade the queens, Carlsen's position easies considerably, which would have pleased the Norwegian as this plays to his strengths. 16...Qxf2+ 17.Kxf2 Bd7 18.a4 Stopping the somewhat awkward ...Ba4 (or even ...b5) and looking to bring the dark-squared bishop back to life via Bd2-c1-a3. 18...Kf7 19.Rhb1 b6 20.Bc1 Nec6 21.Ba3 Nd8 And now Carlsen comes up with his own imaginative redeployment of his pieces, with the plan Nd8-b7 to prevent Anand from playing Bb4 (and Bd6), to support ...Rhb8 looking to play ..a6 and ...b5 to expand on the queenside. 22.Bb4 Ndb7 23.Nd4 Rhb8 24.Nb3 Nc4!? It is clear that Carlsen needn't have played such a committal move - but it is also clear that he is "playing for the team" by looking to complex the position and taking advantage of the fact that Anand lacks tournament praxis and is not as sharp and alert as the "Tiger from Madras" was in his pomp. 25.Bxc4 dxc4 26.Nd4 Rc8 27.a5 Anand wants to blockade the game out - but a critical little slip spoils his chances of doing so. 27...b5 28.Rd1 Be8 A strategical retreat, as long-term Carlsen is looking to hit the h5-pawn, thus tying down Anand's knight to defending it. 29.Ne2 The critical line looked to be 29.a6!? Nc5 30.Kg3 Heading to h4 to protect the marooned h5-pawn before Black can get in ...Ne4+ preventing this. 29...a6 30.Rd4 Rd8 31.Rad1 Rxd4 32.Rxd4 It is a complex position where, if all the rooks come off, Black could well emerge with the better endgame. But more than that, prolonging the game and making it more complex seems to tire out Anand, who takes his eye off the ball. 32...Bc6 33.Rd2 g3+! A cunning pawn sacrifice from Carlsen that stretches the game out longer with more complexities that Anand has to deal with. 34.Kg1 It may well be safe to capture with 34.Nxg3 but the game takes a sharp turn after 34...Rg8 35.Rd1 Rg4! 36.Ne2 Rxg2+ 37.Ke3 Rh2 38.Nd4 Rh3+ 39.Kf2 Be8 40.Kg2 Rh4 41.Kg3 Rxh5 where the engine tells you that, despite being a pawn down, the position is equal as it is not easy to get the Black rook back into the game - but the realities of the heat of battle would have thrown some doubt into Anand's head, so he ops instead to try to keep things solid. 34...Rg8 35.Nd4 Rd8 36.Bd6?! Anand begins to wobble, and this is all that Carlsen needs to now dominate the position. What was needed was a cool head and 36.Re2! Be4 37.Re1 and Black has nothing. 36...Be4! Now the position begins to reach critical mass for White - and Carlsen would be in his element here, as his tactic of complexing the game is now beginning to pay dividends.

37.Bb4 Rd5! The threats are now mounting for Anand, as Carlsen plans ...Nd8-c6 with White's position on the point of imploding. 38.Kf1 Nd8 39.Ke1 Nc6 40.Ne2 Rxd2 41.Kxd2 Bxg2 42.Nxg3 Bf3 43.Ke3 Bd1 44.Kd2 Bg4 45.Ke3 Anand is just hanging on here - but the game has taken its toll on the Indian veteran with another slip-up.45...Ke8 46.Kd2 Ne7 47.Bxe7 Kxe7 48.Kc1?? A sure sign that the prolonged struggle has exhausted Anand, who makes a monumental error that should have decided the game here and now - he simply had to play 48.Ne2! Bxe2 (Alternatively, if 48...Bxh5 49.Nd4 Be8 50.Ke2 where, despite being a pawn down, the Black king can't get through to key c5 square, so the White king heads over to the h-file to hold the passed h-pawn and a draw) 49.Kxe2 Kf8 50.Ke3 Ke8 51.Kd4 Kd8 52.Ke3! (It is so easy to go wrong here in this complex K+P ending, as 52.Kc5?? Kc7 53.Kd4 Kc6 54.Ke3 Kc5 sees Black winning) 52...Kd7 53.Ke2 Kc6 54.Kf2 Kc5 55.Ke3 b4 56.cxb4+ Kxb4 57.Kd4 c3 58.Kd3 Kxa5 59.Kxc3 Kb5 60.Kb3 a5 61.Ka3! and we have a drawn K+P endgame, as White cunningly leaves the c-pawn on c2 so that Black has to waste time to capture it, allowing the White king the time to track round to the kingside. 48...Kd7 49.Kb2 Kc6 50.Ka2 Kd5 White's position is on the verge of total collapse - but the ending is still tricky. 51.Ka3 Kc5 52.Kb2 Bd1 53.Kc1 Bf3 With Anand's knight rendered impotent, having to constantly guard the h5-pawn, Carlsen simply has to find the right way to engineer ...b4 winning.54.Kb2 b4? A tad too hasty. It is a complex position where nuanced manoeuvres are needed, and the accurate way to win was 54...Bc6! 55.Ne2 Be8 56.Ng3 and only now 56...b4! 57.cxb4+ Kd4! and the Black king waltzes in to e3 to pick-off the f4 & e5 pawns for a simple win. 55.cxb4+ Kd4

Carlsen probably can't believe that he's not winning, and avoids the "automatic recapture" 55...Kxb4 56.c3+ Kxa5 57.Kc1 Kb5 58.Kb2 Kb6 59.Kb1 Kc6 60.Kb2 a5 61.Ka3 Kc7 62.Ka4 Kb6 63.Ka3 Kb5 64.Ka2 Bc6! 65.Kb2 Be8 where the engine can't quite see right now the ending horizon with no entry squares for the Black king and, with careful play, White holds for the draw. 56.c3+ Kd3 57.b5! Somehow, it looks as if Anand has snatched a draw from the jaws of certain defeat - but there's still more twists to come in this game! 57...axb5 58.a6 Kd2 59.a7 Bd5 60.Nxf5??

The complexities of this game could well have exhausted Anand, who mixes up his moves in a complicated ending. The drawing line was 60.Nf1+! Ke2 61.Ng3+ Kd2 (The endgame backfires on Black if he plays 61...Kf3?? as now 62.Nxf5!! exf5 63.e6! is winning for White) 62.Nf1+ Ke2 63.Ng3+ Kd2 and a draw. 60...exf5 61.e6 By getting his variations mixed up, Anand has missed the big sting in the tail. 61...b4!! 62.e7 Hopeless was 62.cxb4 c3+ and the Black pawn queens and then mates. 62...bxc3+ 63.Ka2 c2 64.a8=Q Bxa8 65.e8=Q Be4 66.Qd8+ Bd3 67.Qd4?

(see diagram) The final twist in this exhausting and enthralling game. To draw, Anand had to play 67.Qb6! c1=Q

(The key difference in the game between putting the queen on b6 rather than d4 is that if Black again avoids the stalemate by under-promoting to a knight, there comes 67...c1=N+ 68.Ka3 c3 69.Qxh6! and the extra tempo to capture the pawn makes all the difference. 69...c2 70.Qc6 Be4 71.Qc4 Nd3 72.h6! Nxf4 73.h7 Nd3 (Bad is 73...Ng6?? 74.Kb2! and White is easily winning) 74.h8=Q c1=Q+ 75.Qxc1+ Kxc1 76.Qa1+ Kd2 77.Qd4 and this position is a draw with no way for Black to make progress with the f-pawn and also avoid lots of queen checks) 68.Qe3+!! and a stalemate. This is what Anand was angling for in the game - but to his horror, he discovers that there's a subtle difference now by putting his queen on d4. 67...c1=N+!! It was only now, as Carlsen reached across the table to grab a knight, rather than a queen, did it finally dawn on Anand that with the under-promotion, he was losing rather than having a stalemate/draw. 68.Ka3 c3 69.Qb6 The loss of a move is the difference between drawing and losing for Anand. Such is (chess) life. 69...Ne2 70.Qxh6 c2 0-1 Anand resigns, as this time 71.Qc6 c1=Q+ 72.Qxc1+ Kxc1! 73.h6 Nxf4 and the knight tracks back to g6 next to cover the h8 queening square.