Anand – Carlsen game 1 with my commentary LIVE!

Anand – Carlsen (LIVE commentary by me)

1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 g6
3 Nc3 d5

Magnus decided to surprise Vishy with the Grunfeld. This is very interesting as it is clear that Magnus is in a fighting mood right from the start in game 1 with black.

4 cxd5 Nxd5
5 Bd2 This has become a new trend of late.

5…Bg7
6 e4 Nxc3
7 Bxc3 O-O
8 Qd2 Nc6
9 Nf3 Magnus is spending a lot of time here. It means that Magnus has to try to recall his preparation as he is not really a Grunfeld expert. On the other hand, Vishy moved quite fast. This makes me believe that Vishy anticipated this.

In the game Moiseenko – Nepomniachtchi, black opted for 9…Bg4. Nepom is known to be a good friend of Magnus and helped him in the past.

9…Bg4 has been played. He followed what Nepom played.

Anand looks very calm and relaxed, unlike in Chennai.

10 d5 Bxf3 This is a very sharp game right from the start. Vishy has to score first against Magnus to have a chance. If he plays “safely” against Magnus as in Chennai, Magnus will outlast him.

11 Bxg7 Kxg7
12 gxf3 Ne5

13 0-0-0 This move came very quickly. Vishy is still in his preparation. I like White’s position. It is a position which Vishy needs in game 1. Black is still OK but must be careful.

Vishy’s 13th move is definitely home prep. The usual option is 13.Be2. Magnus is now down by 30 minutes on the clock. White has to be very happy as he is still in preparation while black has to figure things out on the board.

In a world championship match, it is very important to gain psychological advantages. When I played my match against Xie Jun in 1996, I played 1. e4, something I did not do since my early childhood days. The purpose is to throw off my opponent, to cause my opponent to think and guess what I prepared for. It may not help you win the game, but it definitely disturbs the opposition mentally.

13…c6 Magnus spent a lot of time for this move. Now Vishy has to decide how sharp he wants to take this game. He has 3 choices: 14. Bh3, 14. f4 and 14. Qc3. Tough decision. This is why Vishy is thinking.

14. Qc3 Vishy chose 14. Qc3 and not 14. Bh3 or 14. f4

14…f6 Now 15. Bh3 will stop the threat of Rc8

Vishy is being very cautious here. He is taking his time. Even though he wants a sharp game he doesn’t want to overpush and lose 1st game. That would be devastating.

15 Bh3 Magnus’ position is absolutely fine. He got out of the edgy opening phase without any damage. 15….Qb6 is logical here. Connects the Rooks and goes after the f2 pawn.

15 cxd5 Vishy has to decide how far he wants to push. If he wants to make a bold statement then 16. f4.

I somehow do not feel that this game will end in a draw. Both players want to make a statement. Who will blink first? It is important for Vishy not to be indecisive. If he wants a sharp game, go all the way. Otherwise, it may backfire.

16 exd5 Vishy is still up by about 20 minutes on the clock.

The plan is clear. White is going forward on the Kingside while black is making a statement of the Queenside. White has a bad pawn structure. Therefore, he cannot allow black to simplify this position to go to an endgame. He has to keep pieces on the board and attack the King.

16…Nf7 This is a curious choice. The fans were screaming for 16…b5 🙂

17 f4 Eventually, white’s Bishop will land on e6 then the h4 will march forward.

17 Qd6 18 Qd4 Rad8 I think it is time for Anand to get his King away from the c file with 19. Kb1

Vishy learned from the first match in Chennai that he cannot beat Magnus with positionally grinding positions for 12 games. He has to create sharper games to have a chance. I know Vishy for nearly 3 decades. He was a sharp player in his younger days, and fast. He became an all around player later on in his career.

19 Be6 Qb6 Magnus wants to exchange Queens to head to endgame. Of course Vishy cannot allow this.

20 Qd2 As expected, it would be bad for white to go to the endgame. White has to stay focus in the middlegame with the idea of h4-h5 to open the h file.

20… Rd6 I still advocate the idea of getting the K out of the c file. King safety in this position is important.

21 Rhe1 Nd8 Vishy has lost his initiative. Black is doing well now. Vishy is thinking hard now. He understands that he is at the critical moment and he is in trouble. If 22 f5 Nxe6 23. Rxe6 Rxe6 24. fxe6 Rc8+ and black is better in this endgame.

22 f5 Nxe6 23. Rxe6 as expected. Vishy has nothing in this position. He has to switch gears to make sure he will hold this endgame.

23…Qc7+ 24. Kb1 Rc8 White has to pay attention to a possible Rxd5 down the line. The Norwegian fans are very happy that Magnus has stabilized the position and has a better endgame structure. Vishy tried. He even surprised Magnus. But not easy to take down the champ as he is very resourceful.

It is interesting to note that both Vishy and Magnus were aggressive players early on in their careers. But both are now all around players.

25 Rde1 Vishy spent quite a bit of time for this move.

25…Rxe6 Magnus responded almost instantly. Now 26. Rxe6 is a must.

26. Rxe6 as expected. As I coach, I steer all my students to an all around style if they want to get to next level. They cannot reach the top if they are single dimensional players.

26…Rd8 Black is only slightly better. But this is Magnus’ territory. He will torture white for hours.

27 Qe3 Now 27…Kf7 will cause 28. Qh6. White should be able to contain black. After the early excitement, this game tamed out and will likely head to a drawn 1st game.

Opposite psychological statement in game 1. Vishy made a statement with bold play. 2. Magnus showed that he can play any position, and he is invincible.

27…Rd7 28. d6 exd6 29. Qd4 Rf7 30. fxg6 hxg6 31. Rxd6 a6 32. a3 Qa5 Both players cranked out these moves at fast pace. The game is headed for a draw. Draw is the most likely and logical result. The question is when because black is Magnus and he detests draws.

33 f4 Qh5 34 Qd2 Qc5 Black is clearly trying to push the issue. He will try to grind and grind, hoping for inaccuracies from white. But objectively speaking, this is a drawn position.

35 Rd5 Qc4 Objectively speaking for all players without the name Magnus Carlsen, this is a drawn position. With him, you have to earn it. This is why players MUST be fit mentally and physically against Magnus. He tries to win in any position.

36 Rd7 Qc6 37. Rd6 Qe4+ 38. Ka2 Re7 Both players have about 6 minutes for 2 moves to reach time control.

39 Qc1 a5 I am not sure what is Vishy’s plan? He is making his position unpleasant for no reason.

40 Qf1 a4 Both players reached time control. Vishy is creating problems for himself. Magnus is happy to be able to push for hours in this position. This is not the position Vishy wants to be in against Magnus. He started out well but slowly faltered.

Even if Vishy can draw with white in game 1, Magnus got what he wanted, a chance to win with black. Not a good start for Vishy and his fans.

I personally saw Magnus play soccer and basketball with my own eyes. He has incredible stamina. He can play on and on. This stamina is what that makes Magnus a very formidable opponent in long games and matches.

Vishy already spent about 20 minutes on this move. He now realizes how uncomfortable this position is. One more inaccuracy and the position may no longer be salvageable.

41 Rd1 Another retreating move. The position is still holdable but Vishy has to play accurately. The body language from the players also changed. Magnus looks like a patient hunter while Vishy looks more cautious now.

41…Qc2 Vishy is kicking himself for the way how he handled the Q&R endgame. From a not so difficult draw, problems were self inflicted.

42 Rd4 The position is not lost, yet. But given the state of mind of Vishy, going from a good opening, decent middlegame, not overly difficult to hold endgame, to this, it is not a good start psychologically. Vishy needed a good start for a serious mental boost. 42… Re3 43 Rd7+ Kf8 44 Rxb7 Rb3 45 Rxb3 axb3+ 46 Ka1 Qxh2 This is quite intriguing.

42…Re2 First inaccuracy for Magnus. Now Rb4 and Vishy should be able to hold comfortably.

43 Rb4 An immediate response by Vishy. Now he can breathe a little easier.

43…b5 and now 44. Qh1 Rg2 45. Qf1 Unless I am totally missing something, Vishy is fine. Qh1 was what Magnus missed when he played Re2.

44. Qh1 and the game is headed for a draw again.

44. Re7 Magnus is not crazy. He cannot allow the 7th rank problem.

45. Qd5 Re1 46. Qd7+ Kh6 47. Qh3+ Kg7 48. Qd7+ 1/2 What a save by Vishy and what a miss by Magnus.

About 80,000 followed game 1 on this blog, my twitter, and facebook accounts, which is about half of the numbers of the Anand – Kramnik and Kramnik – Topalov matches.