After Game 7 marathon, Viswanathan Anand climbs back on board

At the end of a marathon, everyone – from the winner to the last-place finisher – is tired. There’s mental fatigue, there’s muscle ache and there is an urgent need to just switch off and recoup. Game 7 of the Magnus Carlsen-Viswanathan Anand match-up was chess’ equivalent of a marathon and when the players come out for Game 8, mental fatigue will be a huge factor. Carlsen pushed, as he had every right to, with white. It was a Rook + Knight vs Rook endgame and precisely the kind of situation that draws out mistakes from black. Given the blunders that Anand made it Game 6, it was the perfect opportunity for Carlsen to exploit whatever little perceived weakness he felt was there. [caption id=“attachment_1808239” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Viswanathan Anand defended for over six hours against Magnus Carlsen. FIDE[/caption] This was how Carlsen plays. He doesn’t offer a draw, he fights to the bitter end, he plays to win. It showcases his will to win. This is his nod to Bobby Fischer, who once said: “Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent’s mind.” In fact, Komodo 8, the recently released engine, claimed that on move 67 the game was already drawn! But pressure has no impact on engines, but it can do dangerous things to the oppenents sitting across the board. Anand calculated well and by move 77, all of white’s pawns were off the board. That left the Indian GM with a Rook and two pawns vs. Carlsen’s Rook and Knight. But at the end of the 122-move, six-and-a-half-hour game, Anand looked deeply satisfied. He had not only kept Carlsen at bay but he had also avoided making mistakes, he took direct lines and his bishop sacrifice was quite gutsy as well. More than anything it showed that the Indian GM had somehow managed to put the dreadful Game 6 behind him and in a match, that is a huge plus. The longest game in a World Championship match so far remains the game between the legendary players Korchnoi and Karpov in Baguio 1978. It was draw in 124 moves. The press conference after the match showed that Anand felt he came out better – he showed Carlsen that he could hold out, he showed it wasn’t 2013. “Anand, were you annoyed by Carlsen playing on for so long?” Anand: “No, not particularly” “Not even a bit?” Anand: “No” Carlsen’s point of view was typical of him. It wasn’t dirty – as some might think. What’s dirty about trying to win? “Not the plan to tire out Anand for tomorrow. But as long as there’s a chance, he has to fight,” said the Norwegian in the press conference. After the game, World number two, Fabiano Caruana tweeted: “I once had to defend rook+knight vs rook against Karjakin for 100+ moves,and it wasn’t much fun. It’s normal to play this out.” Once again pointing out that it wouldn’t have made sense for white to offer a draw and also drawing attention to how well Anand did. A loss here would have made a comeback very difficult but as things stand, Anand has more than just a chance. He has three games with white in the final five and he has managed to put the Norwegian under pressure in each game with white. That is something that Carlsen will be well aware of. In fact, it might also mean he would be under extra pressure given how Anand dominated the opening phase in Game 3 and went on to claim an easy win. Any novelty that takes Carlsen out of his preparation early will be a big plus for Anand. Anand has opened with 1.d4 in all his game but they have all developed differently. In almost all games, Anand has come out better but barring Game 3, Carlsen has managed to equalise and the Indian would love to change that today. Carlsen still holds the aces in this match but Anand’s three white games are an advantage that he will want to hold on to.