Pale Horse, Pale Rider wrote on 11/09/13 at 15:57:14:


Not a chance mate, did you look at the game, he was in trouble around move 10. If he was going for a draw he didnt make a very good job of it.

Carlsen will not be looking for opening battles, just to get a long game and try to squeeze out some wins.

I think Anand will have too much class for him though.

This was Anand's best chance winning a game, now he will suffer.

I think both players will be satisfied with today's result. This is the first long match that Carlsen has ever played. He wanted a draw to settle his nerves. He's comfortable playing for a win as Black. Anand equalised easily and perhaps even had a slight edge out of the opening, so Anand will be happy. 

While the match is hardly ideal, twelve games is long enough for the better player to demonstrate superiority most of the time. Carlsen has plenty of time to find some wins.

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Added:

I still believe Carlsen is likely to win by two points, but I have more reason to hope that Anand will surpass expectations.

I'm not sure wether Anand left preparation today or not. I think this has to be interpreted as a huge succes for Anand I think. Not only dictating a draw with black but Carlsen didn't have achance to create a complicated middle game position. Feels more like 0.4:0.6 than 0.5:0.5 ...

Keano wrote on 11/09/13 at 13:16:31:


Or he could play to win with Black too, as he tends to do anyway...

A short draw in game 1 today:

The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong . . . but that's the way to bet.  My money's on Magnus.  He's younger, hungrier, and higher rated.  

I don't think Magnus's lack of match experience will make much difference here.  They still have to play each game one at a time.  And Magnus doesn't seem to be the type to worry so much about match strategy that he psyches himself out.

I don't think the venue will matter either way.  These guys are both pros.

The best thing that Anand has going for him is that the match is only 12 games long.  That's too short to decide a World Championship.  If Anand can score earlyand hang on for a bit, that has the potential to change the whole dynamic.