Anand wins in just 17 moves of World Championship Game 8

Anand wins in just 17 moves of World Championship Game 8

Mark Crowther - Monday 21st May 2012

Viswanathan Anand struck back to level his World Chess Championship match against Boris Gelfand following his defeat the previous day. This leaves them tied at 4-4 with just four games to go. Anand won in a most shocking manner defeating Gelfand in just 17 moves which I believe may be the shortest decisive game in world title history (other than defaults). Gelfand went for a razor sharp line where just one miscalculation could change the assessment completely. Why he did this rather than play solidly is just one of a few interesting questions raised by the game. Other questions such as did Anand really play that well? and What was it about this position that was so deceptive that Leko and Nepomniachtchi overlooked the winning move on commentary just as Anand was about to play it? Gelfand had many lines to calculate. He'd been looking at a double edged exchange sacrifice if Anand had played 15. Kc2 with 15...Nf4 16. Ne4 Rxe4!? but Anand chose a different line completely, one that both had to calculate much earlier (Anand had seen the outline before playing 11. exf5). "I had the same thought as Boris that I had to go 17.Qf4 then I refined it to 17.Qf2." - Anand. "I just didn't see the last move 17.Qf2" said Gelfand about the move that won his queen and forced immediate resignation. Photos, quotes and IM Malcolm Pein's annotations below.

Gelfand resigns in just 17 moves to Anand after an oversight. Photo © | http://moscow2012.fide.com

Why so aggressive from Gelfand?

Ian Nepomniachtchi. http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/.

Ian Nepomniachtchi arrived in the commentary box with Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam and Peter Leko for the game with the position on the board after white's 14.Rxb1. He and Leko weren't in much doubt that black had done well out of the opening and they were looking a 14...Qf6. 15.Kc2, probably the only move...." - Leko. Leko also preferred 9.Be3 strongly over Anand's 9.Bxf6. However Neponiachtchi also had something more pressing on his mind, why was Gelfand playing so aggressively?

Boris Gelfand

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 14.Rxb1

Ian Nepomniachtchi: First of all I should say about very strange opening choice from Gelfand. Normally when you win a game with white and play the next game with black, especially if it's a World Championship match you should try to play more solid in my opinion. But maybe yesterday Boris felt there was something wrong with his opponent, he's not so confident, and that's why he's trying to use it as much as possible so he was aiming for very sharp lines, some Benoni, so he rejected Gruenfeld which was in the 3rd game and looks like he was trying, at least before the game to aim for a second win in a row. But really he is very close because Viswanathan Anand played some very strange moves in the opening, especially this 9.Bxf6 and 10.Qd2 allowing Gelfand to open the e-file and now his position is maybe not collapsing but very unpleasant.
After the game Nepomniachtchi returned to his theme: "What's wrong with sensible play?"

I wonder if Gelfand decided that he felt the time was right to up the ante in the hope of nearly finishing the match off with a second win in a row. Perhaps even calculating that even if he lost he still had a reasonable chance in the match as a whole. It isn't wholly certain he was wrong that calculation. Anand admitted to not sleeping well before the game and said that "If I played well I'm happy." leaving open the question as to whether he did play well.

Anand during game 8 http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/.

Question to Anand: I spoke to several Grandmasters and they said yesterday's defeat would probably shake you up and as a result you will start playing in your usual strength. Do you think something has changed after yesterday's game?
Anand: I don't know, in general I'd like to think that I am actually playing each game quite hard but it's true sometimes ... it's clear these last two games are not the same like before, emotionally much more tough. I don't know if I played particularly aggressively today, I think it's just the consequence of this position, white has to gain space like this. Especially with f3-g4 you're always fighting against his knight on f6 or g7 and so on. If I played well I'm happy.
Question to both How did you sleep last night?
Gelfand: "I slept excellent, 8 hours non-stop"
Anand: "Not my best sleep of the match."

Was the decisive move that easy to see?

Gelfand's problem was that what he played seemed to be both attractive and logical. It may be that there was something suspicious about his whole setup.

Ian Rogers asks a question at the press conference. http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/.

Ian Rogers: When you played Re8+ did you have the feeling that somehow you ought to be better in that position? Did that maybe lead you to find this 14.Qf6 idea?
Boris Gelfand: No I think that I had to calculate a lot of lines because white has other dangerous options in the game. Like even 13.Be2 is not so simple. And 13.Kd1 Qf6 if this [the winning idea] doesn't work 14.Kc2 Nf4 15.Ne4 I intended to sacrifice an exchange on e4 which is not so clear also but I had to calculate variations and unfortunately I miscalculated.

Boris Gelfand

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 16...Qxh1

Boris Gelfand talking with Anand after his resignation. http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/.

Boris Gelfand was asked What did you miss?
Gelfand: I just didn't see the last move 17...Qf2. This seemed to be a very risky game and I calculated different variations like 17...Qf4.
Gelfand: The whole concept of black's play was quite unpleasant if one of the variations fails then we have to reject the whole line and after 14...Ng7 [mistranslated as Qg7 but the only move that makes sense with his comment] black has an unpleasant position all the same.

Anand: I'd seen some time before that it was a blunder. I even saw this when I played 11.exf5, around about then, I was just calculating these lines and I found this trick. I had the same thought as Boris that I had to go 17.Qf4 and then I refined it to 17.Qf2.

Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam and Ian Nepomniachtchi. http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/.

Peter Leko and Ian Nepomniachtchi didn't even see the winning move 17.Qf2 on the move before Anand played it.

Nepomniachtchi: "Maybe we're missing something really brilliant. I can't see the point. Maybe he's trying to play Nb5 but now...."
Leko: "The good thing for Boris if he listens to my commentary is that I was also missing it." Leko on Anand's winning idea.
Nepomniachtchi: In this match he didn't need to switch to the equalising mode, he already equalising in every game. In the first part of the match he was already trying to equalise with the white colour as well.

IM Malcolm Pein annotates

Anand,Viswanathan (2799) - Gelfand,Boris (2739) [E60]
WCh 2012 Moscow RUS (8), 21.05.2012
[IM Malcolm Pein]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 c5

[3...d5 Game 3 where Boris nearly lost. Now we have a Benoni]

4.d5 d6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Ne2 0-0 7.Nec3

Boris Gelfand

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 7.Nec3

An eccentric looking development which has appeared recently. It has its points. After Black plays e7-e6 and exd5 White plays c4xd5 and the knight on b1 goes via d2 or a3 to the ideal square c4. Otherwise Na3 clamps down on b7-b5

7...Nh5

Boris Gelfand

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 7...Nh5

A move to make the opponent fall off his chair. The first time I saw this sort of move was in 1985 when John Nunn brilliant outplayed Alexander Belyavsky. However that was after White had played h3?! preparing to kick a Ne5 with f2-f4. It probably inspired to me to play a random Nh5 against Glenn Flear at Brussels and then against Max Dlugy at London Peace 1986 in different variations of the King's Indian Saemisch. The general point is White is developing very slowly so Black might seek counterplay very fast. Also my idea at the time was that after g4 Nf6 White has some difficulties with his king as 0-0-0 was not practicalI. I guess that applies here because White is far away from 0-0-0 However Vishy comes up with an imaginative solution.

[7...e6 Sadler-Tkachiev 1995]

8.Bg5

[8.g4 Nf6 Where is white to put his king? he is certainly four or five moves from castling queenside]

8...Bf6!?

Boris had evidently decided Vishy was potentially vulnerable

[8...h6 9.Be3 e6 10.Qd2 exd5 11.Nxd5 Nc6 12.Nbc3+/=; 8...f6!? 9.Be3 f5 10.exf5 Bxf5 11.g4?! Bxb1 12.Rxb1 Nf4 With counterplay for Black]

9.Bxf6

[9.Be3 was Peter Leko's recommendation in this position.]

9...exf6 10.Qd2

Boris Gelfand

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 10.Qd2

Now a subsequent g2-g4 would force Black to take with the g6 pawn after f5 so I guess he should play it now and he does

10...f5 11.exf5 Bxf5

[11...Qh4+ 12.Kd1 Bxf5 13.g4 Bxb1 14.Rxb1 Ng7 15.Kc2 f5 Is very hard to evaluate the computer's 0.00 is irrelevant to a real game, it's sharp and unclear]

12.g4

Boris Gelfand

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 12.g4

12...Re8+ 13.Kd1 Bxb1 14.Rxb1

Boris Gelfand

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 14.Rxb1

14...Qf6??

Losing by force. Boris had only considered 17.Qf4 below which had been Vishy's first thought before he saw Qf2

[14...Nf6 15.Kc2 Na6 16.a3 Nc7 17.h4 Feels comfortable for White but he has to watch out for a quick b5; 14...Nf6 15.Kc2 Nbd7 16.Be2 And given that Black cannot establish a knight on e5 as f4 comes White should be somewhat better as he can play h4-h5]

15.gxh5

[15.Kc2 Nf4 16.Ne4 Rxe4 17.fxe4 Nd7 Was considered by the commentators 18.Rg1 g5 19.h4 h6] "I saw this but I didn't take it seriously" Leko on gxh5

15...Qxf3+ 16.Kc2 Qxh1

Boris Gelfand

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 16...Qxh1

17.Qf2

The queen will be trapped after Bd3

[17.Qf4 Qg1!; 17.Qf2 Nc6 Computer Is the only way to carry on 18.dxc6 Qxc6 19.Bg2 Qd7 20.Nd5 Kf8 (20...Qa4+ 21.b3 Qxa2+ 22.Rb2 Qa5 23.Nf6+ Kf8 24.Bxb7) 21.Nf6]

1-0

Boris Gelfand

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 17.Qf2

Gelfand stops the clock. http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/.

Gelfand resigns. http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/.

WCh Moscow
Anand, Viswanathan	-	Gelfand, Boris	½-½	24	D85	Gruenfeld Defence
Gelfand, Boris	-	Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	25	D45	Anti-Meran Variations
Anand, Viswanathan	-	Gelfand, Boris	½-½	37	D70	Gruenfeld Defence
Gelfand, Boris	-	Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	34	D45	Anti-Meran Variations
Anand, Viswanathan	-	Gelfand, Boris	½-½	27	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov
Gelfand, Boris	-	Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	29	D45	Anti-Meran Variations
Gelfand, Boris	-	Anand, Viswanathan	1-0	38	D45	Anti-Meran Variations
Anand, Viswanathan	-	Gelfand, Boris	1-0	17	E60	King's Indian without Nc3

WCh Moscow (BUL), 11 v - 31 v 2012
Name	Ti	NAT	Rtng	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total	Perf
Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2791	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	1	.	.	.	.	4	2727
Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2727	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	0	.	.	.	.	4	2791

http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/world-chess-championship-2012