The move 1.e4 is no surprise for Gelfand
In the fifth game of the match the World Champion changed the opening and played 1.e4. The challenger was ready for such a development and immediately played 1…c5. The Chelyabinsk Variation of the Sicilian Defence was played out very quickly. On the 20th move, a technical position with bishops of opposite colours appeared on the board, and as soon as the 26th move was played, the opponents agreed to a draw. The match score is equal – 2.5-2.5. Tomorrow, on the 18 May, the sixth game of the match will be played with Boris Gelfand having the white colour.
Official website: http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/
Armour is so far stronger than weapons
The opponents continued their Slav Defence duel that started in the second game of the match. White was the first to deviate from the previous game and managed to get the so-called two-bishop advantage in the middlegame. After a series of exchanges, the game transformed into an ending with somewhat better chances for White. In the resulting technical position, the game could have had either of two results: a draw or a victory for White. It turned out, however, that the white pieces were not sufficiently well coordinated and that the bishop's advantage over the knight was not enough for a win: with precise play, Viswanathan Anand built a "fortress" and deflected all threats. A draw on the 34th move.
During the press conference, Boris Gelfand noted that there were no critical moments in the game as such, but the question was whether White would manage to gain an advantage or Black would find a clear way to equalise. "Even though I got the two-bishop advantage, the coordination between the pieces was not very good, so Black did not have any major problems." The opponents considered the possibility of going into a knight against bishop endgame after 32. Rc6, but concluded that the white king lacked the tempo to occupy square d4, so White's chances in this variation were also minimal.
The challenger showed the position after 18…h6, which produced a great aesthetic impression on him. At that moment, each square on the d-file was occupied by black and white pieces, Black's rooks were on squares c8 and e8, and the whole array resembled a T-shaped figure that is rarely seen on a chessboard.
Assessing the situation in the match after the first four games, the world champion said the match was just developing and the rivals were still trying each other out. "You don't really want to start doing evaluations, but so far it's a pretty tough match," commented Viswanathan Anand. Boris Gelfand refused to give any assessment of individual parts of the match and stressed that any analysis was pointless until after the 12th game.
Asked by a journalist what scenario the players would have preferred during the game and if something had gone wrong at some point, Gelfand answered jokingly: "Well, of course I would have loved my opponent to choose some doubtful variation that I know well. Then I would have used a strong novelty and won the game, say, by the 20th move. I would be too naïve to count on that, however, so of course one has to be ready for any course of events." The match score is equal: 2-2. May 16 is a rest day for the opponents, with the fifth game to be played out on 17 May. The world champion will play with white pieces.
Official website: http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/
Round 4 Photo Gallery
Perpetual check saves the challenger
In the 14th move Boris Gelfand sacrificed a pawn in order to mobilise his pieces. Viswanathan Anand managed to rebuff all his opponent's threats with some precise moves and got some serious chances to win. In the 32nd move the chess players moved to a heavy piece ending in which White's extra passed pawn was very dangerous. However, in the 34th–35th moves the World Champion played inaccurately, after which both of Black's rooks penetrated into the opponent's rear, and Gelfand declared a perpetual check. A draw on the 37th move. The score for the match is level – 1.5-1.5. The fourth game in the match will be played tomorrow, 15 May.
Official website: http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/
Photo Gallery of the 3rd Round
THE SECOND GAME OF THE FIDE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP IS DRAWN
The second game of the FIDE World Chess Championship Match was played on 12 May in the Engineering Building of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
Today the rivals did not bring any big surprises to each other, having played a relatively new, but a very solid variation of the Slav Defence. After Black's 14th move Boris Gelfand thought for a long time and finally chose a line which led to an endgame with a slight edge for White. According to Gelfand, a seemingly sharper continuation 15. Bg5 would actually have resulted in an equal position. At the end of the game a few precise moves helped Viswanathan Anand to get sufficient counterplay. On the 25th move the challenger offered a draw, which the champion accepted. The match score is equal - 1:1. Tomorrow is the rest day. The next game will be played on 14 May.
The FIDE World Chess Championship Match between World Champion, Viswanathan Anand (India), and challenger, Boris Gelfand (Israel), is taking place from 10 till 31 May 2012 in the Engineering Building of the State Tretyakov Gallery. The organisers of the match are FIDE (the World Chess Federation) and the RCF (the Russian Chess Federation). The initiator and sponsor of the match in Moscow is the Russian entrepreneur Andrey Filatov (co-owner of N-Trans Group). Other sponsors of the competition are businessman Guennadi Timtchenko, as well as the Ladoga charity foundation, NVision Group the company Novatek and Academician A.A. Raspletin Almaz-Antei OJSC SHDB.
Official website: http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/
THE FIRST GAME OF THE FIDE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP IS DRAWN
The first game of the FIDE World Chess Championship Match was played on 11 May in the Engineering Building of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
The World Champion played white. The two contenders immediately engage in open combat. Boris Gelfand chose an opening that was unusual for him, while Viswanathan Anand responded with surprise after surprise, playing a fairly rare but subtle variation. The challenger reacted in the most radical way: he took a flank pawn, thus subjecting his king, which remained in the centre, to a certain risk. Black rebuffed all threats with precise play and forced a transition to an ending that was somewhat better for itself. However, the assessment of the position did not depart much from parity, and literally within a few moves the contenders agreed to a draw.
At the press conference Boris Gelfand attributed his decision to the fact that he could not see any specific ways for Black to fight for an advantage. So the challenger, who has successfully entered the game and will play white six times during the rest eleven games, is retaining a certain moral advantage.
The video from the players' press conference is available at the match official web site - http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/
Round 1 Photo Gallery
On the 10th of May the opening ceremony of the World Chess Championship Match took place in Mikhail Vrubel Hall of the Tretyakov State Gallery. Mr. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, FIDE President, Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich, Chairman of Supervisory Council of RCF and Ms. Irina Lebedeva, General Director of the State Tretyakov Gallery welcomed the participants and guests. Also present were Mikhail Gorbachev, the 1st President of USSR, Aleksandr Zhukov, Chairman of Russian Olympic Committee and the 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov.
The drawing lots procedure was conducted by the Chief Arbiter Ashot Vardapetyan in an original style, underlining an indissoluble connection between chess and the world culture. The easels with "paintings", diagrams of the previously played games by Anand and Gelfand in the 90s, were set up on the stage. One diagram showed the victory of the current World Champion, another one of the challenger. Two wooden boxes with brushes and paint inside were prepared for the Grand Masters. The right to choose was given to Anand as to the World Champion. Both players stepped to their own diagrams, dipped brushes in the paint and left their autographs on the "paintings". At that moment the spectators could see that Anand signed with white paint and Gelfand with black one. So, in the first game the current World Champion will play white pieces.
The opening ceremony was preceded by a press-conference. The Grand Masters revealed who will be their seconds. Peter-Heine Nielsen, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, and Surya Ganguly will help Anand. Aleksandr Khuzman, Maxim Rodstein and Pavel Eljanov will help Gelfand.
Opening Ceremony Photo Gallery
Press-conference Photo Gallery
The first game of the match will begin at 3.00pm on 11 May. Full schedule on the official website.
Drawing of lots procedure
Anand left white autograph on his "painting"
And Gelfand left black autograph on his "painting"
Press-conference
Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand inspect match venue
In accordance with the match regulations for the chess crown, the World Champion and the Challenger for the title conducted an inspection of the match hall in the Engineering Building of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
The ceremony was attended by Chairman of the Management Board of the Russian Chess Federation Ilya Levitov, Chief arbiter Ashot Vardapetyan, Match supervisor FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos, Appeals Committee Chairman Kurt Jungwirth, FIDE Vice President Israel Gelfer, Assistant to the FIDE President Berik Balgabaev and Chairman of the Israeli Chess Federation Moshe Slav.
Both chess players were satisfied with the match venue and organisation. After inspecting the match area, Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand gave an interview to channel "Russia-24".
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