barnaby wrote on 11/09/14 at 16:21:52:



Not over--I think that's grossly overreacting; it's easy for an apparent god to turn very human in an instant. Still, I think this is worse than just losing the opening game to Topalov, for example, because Carlsen's opening choices have been very bold.  "You seek a sharp opening?--here, go ahead, let's try the Gruenfeld and the Sicilian." "You don't want to face my Berlin? I am perfectly happy to face yours."  Got to respect Carlsen for that confidence. He's saying he doesn't need to force "the driest dust" on Anand, as the latter complained after the previous match; he's saying his strategy is just to overpower Anand by main force, period. And today he did.

I voted Carlsen +1 before the match; the bulk of the match still lies before us. I hope Anand strikes back as White soon as he did against Topalov.

I think it's ridiculous to write off Anand's chances after a defeat with Black so early in the match. If it had been with White it would be a different story. I think Anand needs to come out and fight now, hopefully he's prepared the Sicilian for this match and he'll use that in his next Black. 

It will be interesting to see if Carlsen sticks to the Gruenfeld on Tuesday, Anand's team will have something new prepared now. If Carlsen switches to the Nimzo Anand will definitely have something ready there as well.

If Anand loses with White in game 3 then it's over. Hopefully he can bounce back with a win or at least put Carlsen under pressure and make a draw. The big decision for Anand seems to be whether he's going to change his strategy with Black after what happened today. If he had drawn today I think he would continue to play the Berlin. After today though I think he should switch to the Sicilian and do whatever he can to keep the games ultra-sharp.

Edit in:

@IsaVulpes

This link: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/7928738/events/3553668

I'll be shocked if Anand can make a comeback and make this competitive now.   

I voted Carlsen +2 and it really looks like Carlsen has an enormous psychological edge here as well as just simply being the stronger player.  Anand can not count on Carlsen getting the shakes or nerves the way a Topolov would/could fold in similar situations.

I suspect the match is over, psychologically and competitively because if Anand cannot hold as Black with the Berlin?

Yikes.

ReneDescartes wrote on 11/08/14 at 21:16:28:


Well there's obviously still a lot of chess to be played and I could be wrong, but nothing about this game seemed at all different from the first match.  Anand played 1.d4 instead of 1.e4--big deal, the result was exactly the same: no advantage for White and only Carlsen pressing for a win towards the end.

I'm really hoping for Carlsen - Caruana in the future.  But for now I'll enjoy this match and hope that it's more competitive than the last go round.

I missed the game, so maybe this explains why I'm less pessimistic than most.

Anand played 1.d4 and clearly came to fight - right in game one. There was no tame draw or an attempt to play for a miniscule plus over equals position to open the match.

Relax everyone, just enjoy the match. 

I can't agree with Eric. Everything is still up in the air. It was a no-holds-barred fight worthy of the two best players in the world, and it ended in a draw. Nobody blinked, nobody blew it. It's not hard to imagine Caruana on the White side of that game, and he can certainly take points off Carlsen--as indeed Anand did in the rapid championships this year, leaving Carlsen literally sitting with his head in his hands. All it takes is a little pressure, and Carlsen hasn't exactly shown the ability to stand up under the most intense pressure.

I think of the Botvinnik-Tal matches, and of Botvinnik-Petrosian, which was drawn after 14 games. You don't know who's going to crack.

Pale Horse, Pale Rider wrote on 11/08/14 at 17:21:43:


Anand is the best defender from his generation of players (younger than Kasparov, older than Magnus more or less), so this wasn't too surprising to me.  I just don't see him ever putting serious pressure on Carlsen and winning a game, but we'll see.  Essentially I predict a repeat of the first match.

I thought that Anand was slightly better in the opening before Carlsen eqaliced and got the better endgame.