Draws in Games 7 and 8

After the two decisive games, we are back again to uneventful draws in games 7 and 8 of the 2013 World Championship Anand-Carlsen match. Anand looked cautious after his two losses and Carlsen seemed satisfied to get closer to the title. Both games were Ruy Lopez, Berlin variation, where both players tried it in black and white!

Exciting Draws in Games 3 and 4

After the quick draws in the first two games, the 2013 World Championship Anand-Carlsen match is getting more exciting. In game 3, Anand with black took the initiative and had winning chances after pushing Carlsen queen to the corner. The game eventually reached a dead drawn position, but they kept playing till the last pawn, maybe due to fans complaints about the earlier short draws!

In game 4, it was the opposite! Carlsen with black had the winning chance, after a pawn sacrifice from Anand that had little compensation. Anand defended well and was able to come with some smart moves to reach a drawn ending.

Second Game also Quick Draw

The second Anand-Carlsen game in the 2013 World Championship match also ended in a quick 25-move draw. This game started with a sharp opposite-side castling Caro-Kann, but then also ended in repetition. Anand had a chance in move 18 to play for an attack with 18.Qg4, but instead exchanged queens and simplified the position to an equal ending.

This was the critical position of the game, where white could have played for a win.

Quick Draw in First Game

The 2013 World Championship match between Anand and Carlsen started with a quick 16-move draw. Carlsen playing white started with a slow non-theoritical opening and Anand responded effectively, reaching a draw by repetition in a solid position. This is a good start for Anand holding easily with the black pieces.

Svidler wins Russian Super Final

Svidler won the Russian Championship Super Final after defeating Nepomniachtchi in the rapid playoffs. Nepomniachtchi was able to catch Svidler after beating Kramnik in the last round, while Svidler was drawing against Karjakin. We will show the final round draw, which is an instructive game on how to use the extra pawns to compensate for an exchange. 

Caruana ties for First, but misses Qualifications

In the last round of Paris FIDE Grand Prix tournament, Caruana had to win in order to qualify to the 2014 World Championship Candidates, but instead he had a short draw by repetition. This result favors Shakhriyar Mamedyarov who would qualify instead.

Some believe he should have avoided repetition in the final position and continued with other move, even it would have been so risky.

Carlsen winning Sinquefield Cup

Carlsen only needed a draw today against Aronian to win the first Sinquefield Cup, while Aronian had to win. While pushing hard for a win and getting a good chance towards that, Aronian lost the initiative and ended up losing. 

The interesting move was after Aronian played 30. ... Rd4 offering an exchange and Carlsen responded with the brilliant move 31. Ne1!!. Few moves later Aronian should have repeated moves and taken the draw but instead he was looking for a win, when his position was getting worse.