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Game two in the world title match between reigning champion Viswanathan Anand and challenger Magnus Carlsen also ended in a quick draw, leaving the match tied after two games. This time, the young challenger would be reckoned the moral victor since Anand was the one who headed for the safe haven of the draw.
The world champion opened with a King's Pawn (1.e4) and Carlsen responded with a surprising defence. He played the Caro-Kann Defence, which is not part of his normal repertoire - he hadn't played this in the last two years. It was also an interesting choice psychologically, since Anand had adopted the same defence on occasion and, hence, has played this position from both sides of the board.
The world champion was familiar with the position, of course. But he was clearly surprised by Carlsen's choice and he seemed a little unsure of the best course of action. Carlsen picked a side line, which is very sharp and not too popular. Anand spent a fair amount of time recalling prior analysis before he played his 12th move and he deviated from his own previous play on move 14.
On move 15, white seemed to possess some advantage in a highly complicated position. Then, black offered an exchange of queens, which could have been declined but only by going into a highly unclear position where both sides have strong attacks.
Rather than risk walking into prepared analysis, Anand decided to simplify. He exchanged queens going down into an ending, which looked more or less equal. He forced the draw with a rook manoeuvre, which either compelled a repetition from Carlsen or the taking of risks on the part of the challenger. Carlsen allowed the repetition rather than trying to play on. The peace treaty came on move 25. Carlsen had consumed just 25 minutes on the clock while Anand had taken over 40 minutes.
At the post-game conference, Anand said it was his turn to apologise for a truncated game. He said he thought it was the pragmatic decision to play safe, given that Carlsen was clearly well-prepared in a complicated position. Carlsen on his part more or less admitted that the final position was familiar to him - he was apparently in prepared analysis till the end of the game.
The two draws make this effectively into a 10-game match. Both players have displayed good preparation so far when defending with the black colours. Neither appears prepared to take big risks so far. Both players also now have an inkling about the thrust of the opponent's preparation. This could mean more ambitious efforts will be seen on Tuesday when they return for game 3, where Carlsen holds white again.
THE GAME SCORE
White: Anand, Viswanathan Vs Black: Carlsen, Magnus
World Championship Match, Game 2, Chennai 2013
- 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 e6. Carlsen picks an unusual sideline - more common is 7. -Nbd7 Play continued
- 8.Ne5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nd7 11.f4 Bb4+ 12.c3 Be7 13.Bd2 Ngf6 14.0-0-0 0-0.
- 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Qxe4 Nxe5 17.fxe5 Qd5
White can continue now with the highly risky 18. Qg4 Kh7 19. Kb1 when both kings are unsafe. Anand decides to simplify rather than risk getting caught in home brewed analysis.
- 18.Qxd5 cxd5 19.h5 b5 20.Rh3 a5 21.Rf1 Rac8 22.Rg3 Kh7 White was threatening Bxh6 and then he hits f7. 23.Rgf3 Kg8 24.Rg3 Kh7 25.Rgf3 Kg8 (½-½).
