Gentlemen, start your engines !
Impressions on Game 1, Anand-Gelfand world championship match, Moscow
Here we are, two years almost to the day since we last left you. It was the climax of a titanic struggle between Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov for the crown. A struggle which ended in decisive triumph in the final game of the conflict with Anand smashing through after a series of critical errors by the Bulgarian.
In the intervening years, FIDE embarked on a search for the "Challenger". A gruelling contest held in Kazan, Russia last year threw up Boris Gelfand of Israel as the unlikely victor. Starting as the lowest ranked of the assembled super-grandmasters, the Israeli showed iron endurance and ice-cold nerves, his unblinking approach dominating all comers. And so, the stage was set for a showdown in storied Moscow, amidst the glory of the Tretyakov gallery, that monument to the Slavic soul.
It was a quiet start to Anand's third title defence. The previous day, in the Vrubel Hall, Anand had literally 'drawn' white, a twist on the traditional 'drawing of the lots'. The challenger to his throne would have to defend himself with the black pieces.
Gelfand came early to the board, and paced around anxiously. It was the apotheosis to a career begun more than 30 years ago, in snow-bound Minsk, the capital of Belorussia, which was where he had pushed his first pawn. Anand came exactly a minute before the opening bell and with a quick handshake they were off.
Before the game, fans were much exercised on the opening choice. Would Anand return to his old love, pawn to king four ? Or would he stick to queen-pawn openings which had brought him so much success.
In the end, Anand played "d4", the queen-pawn. It may be speculated that Anand's team has done so much work on it over the last four years that it was sensible not to change.
It was Gelfand who offered the first surprise by opting for the Grunfeld defense. Interestingly, the first game in Sofia was also a Grunfeld but with Anand operating it. That game was a fast, brutal encounter which saw black shredded by a attack on his king.
This time around, things were different. For starters, Gelfand was playing the Grunfeld after a decade. Anand, uncertain of the depth of his opponent's "prep" opted for the Exchange Variation, a solid choice.
The game proceeded evenly until Anand deviated with a rare pawn thrust in the centre. Gelfand sank into deep thought - but in the end found the right continuation, reacting accurately. Anand's "d" pawn was heading straight into the heart of the black defence. At this point, Gelfand's queen couldn't resist grabbing a quick snack, snapping up Anand's corner pawn. There was a susurrus of interest in the 100+ journalists in the press-room. Had the challenger miscalculated? After a long think, Anand lunged forward with his d-pawn hoping to catch Gelfand's uncastled king in the middle. The black defenders chopped off this impudent attacker but the dying pawn was replaced by the white queen looking to pry open the king.
But the challenger had seen the threat and despatched his rook to "secure the perimeter" as they say in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Gelfand's queen rushed back to defend her embattled mate. Both queens left the board and the storm had passed. Indeed, the balance had shifted slightly. Gelfand retained the twin bishops, their raking fire threatening to spill all over the board. Anand decided to steer the game into safe waters, avoiding the enfilade from Gelfand's deadly duo of prelates. The world champ was also fully aware of the terrors that an endgame contained, with his rival's a-pawn poised to hurtle down the tarmac in its quest to be reborn as a queen.
And so, the game was agreed drawn after 24 moves. Gelfand has done well and tomorrow he has the white pieces. On the other hand Anand's preparation with Black has been exceptional. There might be quite a fight on our hands tomorrow.
