Today as I made my way to Hyatt Regency for the first time in this World Championship match, I didnt know what to expect! After all, How different could it be to see the two champions battle it out on TV and in person? As I entered the viewing hall, It was pretty dark, like a movie theatre! In front of us was a stage which was well illuminated and on which was a table with a chess set and two chairs! Two huge screens on either side of the stage said 15 minutes to go before the game would begin. This was all very novel for me yet I didnt know whether it really was worth coming all the way here and not watching the match in the comforts of my home! All my doubts were just thrown out of the window when Magnus Carlsen entered the stage. Everyone in the hall game him a huge round of applause which he couldnt hear as the glass pane seperating the stage from the audience is sound proof!! However I was surely impressed by his look! Black jacket, black trousers, blacks socks and shoes, and white shirt, combined with the brown hair made him look very smart! I was beginning to enjoy myself! With 5 minutes to go for the game, enter the Madras Tiger!! Such were the thunderous applause that I am sure even the sound proof glass would have trickled a bit of noise on the other side! As the two champions shook their hands, it was truly a sight to behold. The hall was jam packed! 400 people on 1 side and 2 gladiators on the other. The glass pane in between was what differentiated us. While the people on the other side were restless talkative and excited, the two men on the other side were calm concentrated and fully focussed! Carlsen today began with c4! and the game soon transposed to a QGD and everyone expected the super sharp Marshall Gambit in QGD. However Carlsen instead of playing the very sharp Bd2, played the relatively lesser played Nc3. It has been known to theory that this move is not strong and that black can equalise with ease. But for Carlsen more than equalising or not equalising its all about not falling into a line prepared by Vishy. And that he achieved with great success today! He played an excellent Opening and came out of it with a small advantage. His bishop which stood majestically on e4 mocked its counterpart who was passively placed on d7! However Anand made one of the most brilliant Rook lifts I have ever seen with Rb5. This rook single handedly saved blacks entire position. With some very active moves like g5-h5-h4,Rd8and Rd4, Anand managed to completely activate his game. But just before time control i.e on the 39th move with just some 3 minutes on his clock, Anand made a mistake. 40 moves had been done and both players received an hour but the damage had been done. Anand had lost a pawn. He was on the defensive and as Anand started to think how to defend, we too as viewers started to analyse how Carlsen would win. With every minute of our analysis we could find some or the other way in which Anand was gaining counterplay! At that point we thought the game was still alive. As Anand made the move we had expected, Carlsen replied immediately. Infact the next few moves were made by Carlsen at a great speed and we soon started to realise the difference between us and the world No. 1. Without really any efforts, and truly I must say with total calm and confidence, Magnus overcame Vishys resistance. While one has to feel sad for Vishys loss, we cannot but overlook what a brilliant achievement was made by Magnus. From a seemingly equal position he outplayed the World Champion! This young lad is truly a special talent!! The score now stands at 3-2 in favour of Magnus. But there are still 7 more games to go and mind you that in game 6 and 7, Anand will don the white pieces. After the game, in the press conference one could see a very determined Anand. The same Anand who had come from behind in his matches against Topalov and Gelfand to grab the World title! But this time he faces the wonder kid from Norway! Will he be able to do an encore or will Magnus not give him an inch from here? Only time will tell!!
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 18:24:08 +0000
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