There’s no dead drawn position against Magnus

Viswanathan Anand hands Carlsen 2-win lead after Game 6 loss
For the second time in two games, Anand blundered after four-and-a-half hours of play to squander games that could have been defended to clinch draws
Aniek Paul
Kolkata: The world chess championship match is all but over for Viswanathan Anand after he lost the sixth game on Saturday—the second in a row—handing his Norwegian challenger Magnus Carlsen a two-win lead at the half way stage.

The lead is almost unassailable considering the strength of Carlsen, who in tournament play has been the strongest player for over two years now, according to experts. This match can technically be won by the margin of even one win.

Anand, the reigning world champion since 2007, described his loss in Saturday’s game as “a heady blow” as Carlsen pulled a trick from under his hat to outsmart the Indian grandmaster in the fifth hour of play.

For the second time in two games, Anand blundered after four-and-a-half hours of play to squander games that could have been defended to clinch draws—a sign of ageing, according to experts.

Anand is 43, whereas his challenger is only 22, turning 23 at the end of this month. He now looks set to seize the world title by then, but will not be able to beat the record of Garry Kasparov, who remains the youngest to become the world chess champion at 22.

Carlsen said he wanted to “capitalize” on his win on Friday, knowing that Anand would be under pressure to equalize. Widely viewed even before the match began as the world champion in waiting, Carlsen set a “little trap” and “fortunately” for him Anand “fell for it”, the Norwegian said.

“There’s no dead drawn position against Magnus,” grandmaster Susan Polgar, said on Twitter. “He made something happen from nothing.”

About Anand’s situation in this match, she said on Twitter, “not over” but he has “a very big mountain to overcome”.

Full article here.