Two relatively bloodless draws left the world championship match evenly poised between defending champion Viswanathan Anand and Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand. There wasn’t too much excitement on the board in the opening games at the Tretyakov Art Gallery in the Russian capital. Both players seemed well prepared and in no mood to take risks. The draws were agreed relatively early, but both positions had been played out to sterile equality.
In the first game, Anand, playing with the white pieces, may have been surprised when Israeli GM Gelfand essayed the Grunfeld Defence for the first time in his career. However, the 42-year-old Indian GM sometimes plays the Grunfeld himself and knows the nuances. He chose a sideline, gambitting a couple of pawns. It requires precise defence from black. Gelfand, 18 months older to his opponent, found the best responses, taking a pawn and then returning it to liquidate pressure via exchanges. The position burnt out to a draw after 24 moves.
In Game two, Anand chose to defend with a solid Semi-Slav variation of the Queen’s Gambit. Anand has had employed a variety of defences against the queen pawn — and there was speculation as to what he would try in Moscow. Gelfand chose a mainline. Faced with a new move on the 14th, Gelfand opted for wholesale exchanges. This time, Anand found a precise defence to ensure that white didn’t keep residual pressure. The draw came on move 25.
In a short match of 12 games, it is unlikely either player will chop and change their basic opening choices too much. So far, they seem to have guessed right about each other’s repertoire. It may become a war of attrition if neither player can make a breakthrough with an opening surprise.
In the diagram, (Anand Vs Gelfand, Game 1, Wchps 2012), BLACK TO PLAY found the excellent defence 14. – Ra7! 15.Bg5 exd6 16.Qxd6 Rd7 17.Qxc6 Qc7 18.Qxc7 Rxc7 19.Bf4 Rb7 20.Rc2 0–0 Black exchanges queens leading to a draw in 24.
Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player