[zasanya]

Game 5 25.....h5 Will Karlsen grind out one of his characteristic wins?

[zasanya]

zasanya, on 2013-November-15, 06:16, said:

Game 5 25.....h5 Will Karlsen grind out one of his characteristic wins?

oops will the admin move this thread to watercooler?

[JLOGIC]

boom boom. Rooting for Carlsen cuz I got him laying 2:1. He is also great for chess, just grinds these drawn middle/endgames into wins like they're nothing.

[gwnn]

Mods please correct the thread title? Anand seemed to be quite confused at the press conference, saying that Rd4 was the decisive mistake and so on. Of course it's very complicated but it's a very unusual state he is in, not one I've seen.

[paulg]

gwnn, on 2013-November-15, 15:06, said:

Mods please correct the thread title? Anand seemed to be quite confused at the press conference, saying that Rd4 was the decisive mistake and so on. Of course it's very complicated but it's a very unusual state he is in, not one I've seen.

I'm not a chess player or regular viewer, but I was amazed that they were taken straight from the board into the press conference. Is that normal?

[JLOGIC]

It must be hard psychologically to just get pwned in a position like that. Not like it's some amazing tactical combination in a super sharp position or some sick novelty/preparation, you just get slowly outplayed.

[JLOGIC]

paulg, on 2013-November-15, 16:02, said:

I'm not a chess player or regular viewer, but I was amazed that they were taken straight from the board into the press conference. Is that normal?

Yup. It's pretty lol to watch the pressers after a decisive result or even a draw that was a blown win at chess tourneys.

[JLOGIC]

Anyone stay up watching this? Magnus is magnusing...

Anand played really interesting novelty causing a massive Carlsen tank but inexplicably he started playing defensively and allowed him to regroup...now it is a drawish middle/endgame with Carlsen having a slight edge, feels like a win imo

[gwnn]

I agree mostly but there's not even a slight edge for Carlsen I think (yet)...

[JLOGIC]

Better pawn structure = the kind of edge that MC routinely converts imo.

[gwnn]

I didn't realise the e-pawns would get isolated, but still it's very hard to imagine him making any progress with the heavy pieces on... I know he's Magnus but mostly he does his magic in rook and minor piece endgames.

[gwnn]

OK I should clearly stop posting in this thread.

[paulg]

gwnn, on 2013-November-16, 08:21, said:

OK I should clearly stop posting in this thread.

Just shows what pressure does.

[JLOGIC]

gwnn, on 2013-November-16, 08:21, said:

OK I should clearly stop posting in this thread.

All the GMs thought it was def a draw so don't feel too bad

The thing about Carlsen is he plays on forever and makes consistently the strongest practical moves, I would guess he is even better than an engine in these endgames in terms of finding practical winning chances. Carlsen is like 100 points higher rated than Anand. His strength is endgames and it's probably one of Anands weaknesses. On top of that, Carlsen is much younger and probably has far more stamina. It would not be surprising to me if Carlsen was like 160 points stronger in these type of positions towards the end of the game, and the way he plays Anand must go on and on finding the one or two good moves/plans forever. Eventually he is bound to make one or two small errors against someone who understands the position so much better than him, is less tired than him, and is setting traps all over, and then voila it is all over.

Objectively no doubt it was drawn but it is just the kind of position Carlsen always seems to win with that formula. It is sick to watch, too bad I always fall asleep for the endgame, 3:30 AM start time for CST in USA is brutal haha.

Betting on Carlsen looking like it was free money though. Will Anand retire after this?

[Thiros]

gwnn, on 2013-November-16, 08:21, said:

OK I should clearly stop posting in this thread.

That's up to you, but please feel free to post as much as you like in this one:

http://www.chessgame...ss.pl?tid=81142

(It means having to register for the site but that is free and takes seconds)

[gwnn]

I already have an account there but I don't post. I prefer to troll around on chessbomb, those guys just always crack me up

Of course Carlsen can create something out of nothing but Anand was quite awful today. There was no reason to play Qg3 and then messed up once or twice in the rook endgame too. I know Carlsen is unparalleled in the endgame nowadays but 2+2 vs 2+3 with the more active rook should be an autodraw by him. I mean Anand defended so tenaciously in game 4, it's just a huge difference between his performance between that game and this one.

[zasanya]

Game 7 drawn . Surprisingly Carlsen did not continue in his favourite style . I mean 5 pawns on the board 2 pieces too. If it had been the game 1 i am sure he would have played on for 100 moves! Or perhaps he does that only in rook and pawn endings. With a huge lead no risks seems to be the idea. All over bar the shouting unless in the remaining games Anand somehow manages to exchange rooks and keep all other pieces on the board. lol

[zasanya]

Carlsen opens ....e4 and anand allows ruy lopez and BERLIN?

[gwnn]

Well, Carlsen did beat Anand in the "other" Rossolimo or Moscow variation against the Sicilian last year. Still I really thought Anand would go c5...

[gwnn]

Awesome opening! I play the f3 Nimzo often with white and there's always a big mess on the board (and usually I lose). It's fascinating to see it played by people who actually know what they're doing!

People who maybe don't follow chess so often should check out Anand-Wang Hao 2011: http://www.chessgame...ame?gid=1604385 with the same variation and an amazing positional piece sacrifice by Vishy.