It’s clear Carlsen is forcing Anand into uncomfortable positions

Mind The Gap
The Anand-Carlsen title clash is a game-changer that not only pits generations but also contrasting styles of play against each other
G.S. Vivek November 22, 2013 | UPDATED 18:43 IST

The timer is ticking furiously. Viswanathan Anand, 43, stares at the pieces on the chessboard while taking a sip of green tea, which is served on his left side at the beginning of every game. Sitting in a sound-proof cabin with a one-way glass panel that looks like an interrogation room from a Hollywood film, Anand is oblivious to the simmering tension in Chennai’s Hyatt Regency Ballroom. A collective groan spreads across the viewing gallery, ending the silent anticipation of the crowd as Magnus Carlsen walks to his chair. Anand is within 14 seconds of a much-needed victory-by-forfeit in Game 7 of the World Championship. But Carlsen, his 22-year-old challenger who is already two games ahead, still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Going into the most anticipated world title clash in years, it had been three years since Anand had defeated the Norwegian World Number 1. The Tamil Nadu government pumped in Rs.29 crore to bag the hosting rights, seizing the 12-game match from Russia to give Anand home advantage. Chess fever has gripped Chennai, which is now adorned in jet black and pearl white. Images of the two Grandmasters (GM) compete for space with that of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on street hoardings. Pastries and cookies at restaurants resemble chess pieces. Visitors to Marina Beach are entertained over a game of caturankam (chess, in Tamil) where volunteers dress up as rooks and knights to jump squares. In the Hyatt lobby, enthusiasts occupy every couch or sit on the floor, spreading a board and then replaying Anand-Carlsen moves. Around the corner, children are busy solving chess algorithms for a digitally signed Anand coffee mug or T-shirt. There is a message board filled with “Good luck, Anand” in red and blue ink. On social media, #Anandcarlsen overtook #thankyouSachin during the first week of the match-remarkable in a cricket-mad country.

Despite the air of optimism, five-time world champion Anand is being hunted down in his own den. He lost Games 5 and 6-one of them with white pieces-to have the momentum snatched away from him. The 1990s prodigy, now 43, has met his match in a prodigy from the smartphone generation. After over a decade of dominance, the era of Anand, by all accounts, seems to be drawing to a close.

Regardless of the result, experts are foreseeing a transitional shift- away from Anand’s style of rapid openings-towards Carlsen’s style of forcing results with pawns by focussing on the middle- and end-game. Having learnt much of his chess from Internet chess clubs and Bent Larsen’s Good Move Guide-a book that offers multiple options for every move -Carlsen is an expert in positional play who remembers 10,000-plus games and opponents at any time.

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“It’s clear Carlsen is forcing Anand into uncomfortable positions, making him play to his strengths,” Hungarian GM Susan Polgar says. “Anand is not in the best of form. It’s not just his mental and physical preparation, but body language, confidence, everything. It’s remarkable that at this age he’s still the world champion, and has been there for so long. But his time may be running out,” she adds.

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