Impressions on Game 4, Anand-Gelfand world championship match, Moscow
Boris Gelfand has achieved what even Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov failed to do. Go four games with Vishy Anand in a world championship match and not drop a game. True there have been a couple of anodyne clashes but it's an achievement nevertheless. After four games the scores are level, with the same tendency - Gelfand's turn with the white pieces are fairly bland while the ones with Anand as white have been quite exciting.
After the tense struggle of the previous game, Game 4 was serene. Gelfand opted for the same setup seen in Game 2 and the theoretical duel continued. Anand essayed the Chebanenko and played swiftly and confidently.
The only noteworthy moment was in the early middlegame. By the 16th move, the d-file looked like Mount Road during rush-hour. Every single square on the file was occupied, jam-packed with rooks, bishops and pawns all going nowhere in a hurry.
Anand contributed by moving both his rooks creating a "T" across the board. Apart from aesthetic considerations - they were playing in art gallery after all - there wasn't much as the world champion engineered a series of exchanges which drained most of white's initiative.
It seems as if the Israeli challenger is adopting an asymmetric strategy, playing risklessly with white and trying to react aggressively with black. So far it cannot be said it has worked particulalry well. For example, in the Sofia match, Topalov repeatedly went for the so-called "Elista ending" which was dismissed by experts as not very critical. Even Anand's team in the pre-match preparation discounted it. That position however contained far more venom then the Chebanenko and indeed Anand succumbed after intense strain forcing the abandonment of the entire line. Gelfand hasn't come anywhere in getting that kind of slow, pythonic pressure.
However, assuming that this asymmetric strategy continues, then we can assume that Gelfand will try to close the match as much as possible, keeping level scores right till the final turn. Then he will hope for the tension to work in his favour, and he probably has one or two really good ideas up his sleeve. That will be when he plays them.
As Anand contemplates the view of the Kremlin from his top floor suite at the Kempinski Hotel, he has much to ponder upon. Game 5 will see him with the white pieces. Gelfand will probably repeat the Gruenfeld. We can deduce this because the Gruenfeld is a complex opening to learn and master. It wouldn't make sense to throw away all that work so the challenger will feel incumbent to keep at it.
As per the rules, the colours will "flip" at the midpoint which means that Anand has two blacks in a row. He may even feel adventrous and try to dial up the aggression in this passage of play.
