World Chess Championship: Vishy Anand’s nerves weren’t up to it, his chess was

Soon after Game 11 of the World Chess Championship ended, Viswanathan Anand made his way to the press room. He explained his thoughts about the game before the floor was thrown open to the journalists. And the first question made everyone grimace a little. It had to be asked but perhaps not as bluntly. “Mr Anand, after this loss, have you considering leaving chess?” Anand, calmly looked up and with a hint of a smile, said: “No.” Almost instantly, the gathered journalists burst into applause. It was a moment that revealed how highly Anand is regarded in the world of chess. In victory, as in defeat, he remains a class act. The frustration he would have felt after losing Game 11 despite having the opportunities to push Magnus Carlsen was perhaps great. A missed move, a sacrifice that went wrong and then the subsequent crash – it must have all hurt… much more than any of us can imagine. “I was happy with some things. I did much better with white (than in Chennai). But I would have liked to do better with black. In the end, I have to admit, he was better; he was the superior player. His nerves held up better,” said Anand. [caption id=“attachment_1818487” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  What does the future hold for Anand? FIDE[/caption] “It was a bad gamble and I was punished. My nerves were the first to crack. To be honest, the match situation allows him a certain degree of comfort. He was more stable,” the Indian GM further added. But then again Sochi was nothing like Chennai. In Chennai, Carlsen had pretty much destroyed Anand and it was done in such a comprehensive manner that Anand, in his own words, later said that he needed a few months to get over it and another couple months more to throw himself back into chess. Sochi was different. From Game 1, Anand showed that he was prepared to challenge Carlsen. The game ended in a draw but the Indian GM showed he was prepared to take a few risks. However, just when we thought that the old Anand was back – he blundered in Game 2, succumbing to the intense pressure exerted by Carlsen. To the world at large, this was a return to Chennai. Game 3 though, saw Anand at his best. The former World Champion simply out-prepared Carlsen and virtually won the match out of the opening. The Norwegian tried to fight back but he couldn’t. The match was level again. Another two draws followed and then we had the double blunder game. Carlsen blundered first and almost sucked his breath in when he noticed. As he noted the move, you could almost see him grimace. But Anand was so lost in the moment – that he simply failed to notice. He made a blunder of his own. To make things worse, he realised his blunder and never got over the moment. If Anand had spotted the error, he would have gone a piece up and been in a prime position to win the game. But he didn’t and the rest as they say is history. For this point on, Anand was trailing, the countdown had begun and the pressure began to tell. Sochi will probably be remembered from Anand’s perspective as a match of missed opportunities. He would play splendidly in the opening phase, get to a point where Carlsen would be in some trouble and then miss an obvious line or get his calculations wrong. The Norwegian would fight back and then under pressure, Anand’s nerves would crack. A lot of people following the game with the help of chess engines would wonder how the Indian GM would make such errors with regularity but almost all of them take pressure too lightly. “70% of moves could be made by any competent player. 25% by any Grandmaster. That last 5% or 1%, under pressure, that’s championship chess,” Kasparov tweeted after Carlsen had sealed the World Championship. And truer words have not been spoken. Perhaps what also helped Carlsen was that he just matches up well to Anand’s game. “The Berlin defence has been his main opening for years. For a long time, I have thought that it suits me with both colours,” said Carlsen, before essaying a quick nod to Anand. “I can still improve. For sure, he played better than last time. He pushed me to the end,” he added. After his win in Chennai, Carlsen’s answers had betrayed arrogance. But this time round, even he knows that he should count himself lucky. For Anand, this might be his last time at this level. The future generation – Fabiana Caruana, Anish Giri, Sergey Karjakin, Alexander Grischuk, Hikaru Nakamura and more – are ready to take over. But the loss might allow Anand to play the chess he really wants to… without being burdened by a schedule or by expectations. Vishy Anand’s nerves weren’t up to it, but his chess was. He took risks and they didn’t come off but it was still a whole lot more than he managed in Chennai. And who knows what this might lead to. As Carlsen said later, “I didn’t think Anand would play after Chennai but see how he came back. So I wouldn’t venture to guess who it will be next time (in 2016). But it is a long time ahead.” Some Anand fans might say, time enough for Anand to figure out a way to beat Carlsen.