World Chess Championship 2013 Viswanathan Anand vs Magnus Carlsen at Chennai Hyatt Regency: rb ramesh
.
Showing posts with label rb ramesh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rb ramesh. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Game 3 a Fighting Draw even as Carlsen "happy to survive" against Anand at World Chess Championship

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Defending champion Viswanathan Anand on Tuesday gave his Norwegian challenger Magnus Carlsen a scare despite playing with black pieces even though the third game of the World Chess Championship clash ended in a long-grinding draw.

The third game turned out to be a hard fought affair lasting 51 moves after a rather sedate start that had seen the first two games ending in draws without any real excitement.

Midway into the third game today, Anand appeared to have seized the initiative with some 'spot on' manoeuvres, but the world number one Carlsen saved the situation with his counter play.

Later at the post-game conference, Carlsen conceded that he felt "scary" though he averted the danger.

The Game 3 handshake: official website

"I was worse, and then I probably made it more worse. I missed some simple things in the middle game, may be I had enough play and it was not a disaster but it was scary," Carlsen said.

After the third draw on the trot, the deadlock continues with none of the two rivals refusing to blink so far, but what happened at the Hyatt on Tuesday was probably a clear indication that a rough battle is now shaping up.

The scores stand at 1.5 points for both players and the five-time world chess champion Anand will have the advantage of playing with white pieces in the fourth game tomorrow.

Carlsen showed his intentions of a bloody battle when, contrary to the popular belief, repeated the Reti opening.

"I was expecting that Carlsen would jump from one opening to another," said Grandmaster RB Ramesh, who is a part of the live commentary team here.

As is typical of the Reti opening, the changes to several set ups is possible. Carlsen went for a position akin to the English opening that was more of a Sicilian Dragon with colours reversed.

The Middle game took a major turn when Carlsen deviated his attention to the King side by a queen sortie but Anand was alert enough.

With some 'spot on' manoeuvres, the Indian world chess champion then seized the initiative pushing the white queen to the edge of the board only to see Carlsen avert the danger with his counter play.




As the game progressed, Carlsen got back in his groove and got his counter play in the form of a thematic central break through. Thereafter, the Norwegian was pretty much at ease as the game quickly changed shape once again.

Anand knew there was sufficient play for both sides when he allowed liquidation to a position that had Bishops of opposite colours. The Indian had a small weakness on the king side that could be easily covered.

"Obviously for black what he is getting is the two Bishops, if I can role my queen side pawns down I would be better," Anand noted in the post-game chat.

Anand won a pawn in the small tactical battle that ensued but it was not enough. Carlsen was quick to launch some threats and the Indian decided to go for further liquidation by trading the last pair of rooks on the 37th move.

Carlsen accepted the exchange offer and won the pawn with his next few precise moves and after that it was a completely drawn position on the board.

However, the players continued the battle almost till the last nail. It was just the two Bishops remaining on board when the players signed the truce after 51 moves.

In the fourth game on Wednesday, Anand will get his second white in the 12-game match that has Rs 14 crore as the prize fund.

If it were tennis, it's advantage Anand for now. -- PTI





Game 3 Moves PGN
[Event "FWCM 2013"]
[Site "Chennai"]
[Date "2013.11.12"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2870"]
[BlackElo "2775"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2013.12.11"]
[EventCountry "IND"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. c4 dxc4 4. Qa4+ Nc6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. Nc3 e5 7. Qxc4 Nge7 8. O-O O-O 9. d3 h6 10. Bd2 Nd4 11. Nxd4 exd4 12. Ne4 c6 13. Bb4 Be6 14. Qc1 Bd5 15. a4 b6 16. Bxe7 Qxe7 17. a5 Rab8 18. Re1 Rfc8 19. axb6 axb6 20. Qf4 Rd8 21. h4 Kh7 22. Nd2 Be5 23. Qg4 h5 24. Qh3 Be6 25. Qh1 c5 26. Ne4 Kg7 27. Ng5 b5 28. e3 dxe3 29. Rxe3 Bd4 30. Re2 c4 31. Nxe6+ fxe6 32. Be4 cxd3 33. Rd2 Qb4 34. Rad1 Bxb2 35. Qf3 Bf6 36. Rxd3 Rxd3 37. Rxd3 Rd8 38. Rxd8 Bxd8 39. Bd3 Qd4 40. Bxb5 Qf6 41. Qb7+ Be7 42. Kg2 g5 43. hxg5 Qxg5 44. Bc4 h4 45. Qc7 hxg3 46. Qxg3 e5 47. Kf3 Qxg3+ 48. fxg3 Bc5 49. Ke4 Bd4 50. Kf5 Bf2 51. Kxe5 Bxg3+ 1/2-1/2

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

World Chess Championship Celebration Chess Events: Sai Krishna wins Tournament for Visually Challenged

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Wednesday, October 30, 2013
The All India Chess Federation is organising several chess events as a celebration to run parallel to the Anand - Carlsen World Chess Championship. One of these was the chess tournament for the visually challenged held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday.

The winner of the special chess tournament was 16-year-old Sai Krishna with a perfect score in ten rounds. The Tamil Nadu (Indian state of which Chennai is the capital city) State Chess Association has done much to popularise chess for the visually challenged. 

Sai studies in Class XI at the St Louis School for the Blind. Sai is a regular chess player and said, “I am happy and delighted to win the tournament. It is even more special because the tournament was conducted in honour of World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand’s match."
“Participating in tournaments (open, age group) on a regular basis has helped me sharpen my skills. I have won state meets in U-16 and U-14 categories. This has helped me win today.. I had a good start, but towards the end I had to work hard as I faced stiff opposition from K Muthuraman. But my experience came in handy in the end,” said Sai.
Sai studies at the Chess Gurukul. “My growth as a chess player is thanks to my coach Grandmaster RB Ramesh. I practise regularly at Chess Gurukul and have been improving with every passing year. My aim is to be the first blind IM from Chennai,” said Sai. WGM Aarthie Ramesh, who coaches at Chess Gurukul, has a word of praise for Sai. “He is very talented and a good chess player. Despite his condition he is able to take part in regular tournaments. He is able to grasp and understand moves,” she said.

Sai takes pride in being part of the Indian team that took part in the Blind Olympiad. “It was great to play the tournament. Individually I came sixth and as a team India came eighth,” said Sai.

Special braille chess boards were used for the tournament with 76 participants. 

Sai loves chess and has been playing from the age of five. He has won several chess tournaments from a tender age and has taken part in National Chess Open events. Sai Krishna is the National B Chess Champion 2013 for the visually challenged and has represented India at the World Junior Chess Championships in Sweden and Greece.

Monday, October 21, 2013

Anand will have to Change Strategy vs Unpredictable Carlsen at World Chess Championship: GM RB Ramesh

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Monday, October 21, 2013
World Chess Championship 2013 GM interview - Grandmaster RB Ramesh - who gave India's youngest national chess champion last year - has said the result of the 2013 World Chess Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand will depend considerably on the chess support the two receive from their seconds. GM RB Ramesh was quoted in an interview given to New Indian Express this weekend. Here are the relevant quotes:

On the chess styles of Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen: Anand prepares very well and likes to get into a familiar position on the chess board while and putting his opponent into unfamiliar territory where they would be at a loss. Anand is more traditional (in his chess style) and tends to follow the main opening lines while Carlsen on the other hand is likely to play offbeat sidelines and look to neutralise Anand’s preparatory advantage. (Photos via Chess Gurukul - GM RB Ramesh and wife GM Aarthie Ramaswamy's chess school in Chennai.)




On Viswanathan Anand's strengths: He has got the experience of playing many matches against top class opponents like Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Gelfand and Veselin Topalov. Anand’s main strength is his preparation which has worked well against most opponents and his aggressive play as he has the ability to calculate the moves very well.

On Magnus Carlsen's strengths: Carlsen seems to have the mentality that there is too much opening theory and it is impossible to master all of that. So he relishes the challenge of getting his adversary to play unknown positions where his originality would come to the fore. The World No 1 has great fighting spirit and stamina and even in losing positions, he never gives up and tries some trick or other to get back on an even keel. Another key strength is his endgame where Carlsen tries to force a victory breaking down his opponents after putting them under relentless pressure until they make a blunder or cave in through mental fatigue.

On the challenge presented to Viswanathan Anand by playing Carlsen as opposed to Kramnik and Gelfand: Against players of his generation like Kramnik and Gelfand, Anand could play the principled main line openings since they play similar in that regard, but it won’t be possible against Carlsen who is unpredictable and may play different sidelines each time. Typically at the top level, GMs tend to split the point when they reach a position of no-advantage but for Carlsen, that represents just the start and he would enjoy the prospect of a long battle.

On who would win World Chess Championship 2013: Anand has not played very well in the last two years and slipped down the rating while Carlsen is on the way up (having broken Kasparov’s all-time high FIDE rating) and looks to be peaking at the right time. So, Anand would look to bring forth new ideas in opening to get into complicated positions and put pressure on Carlsen hence gaining an advantage while Carlsen would look to stretch the game and take him to new positions. The role of the seconds would be very important as they have to prepare for many sidelines too. I believe the player who is able to bring forth his strategy onto the board will ultimately triumph.

On Anand being a role model for Indian kids: He is a very nice person and has a very good sense of humour. He is also very articulate in expressing his ideas. Anand is very encouraging and whenever Indians win a tournament, he used to call them up and congratulate them. That motivates the young players a lot.

On his interaction with Anand in the past: When we were kids, we were inspired by his feats. Anand spent a lot of time abroad but when he came to Chennai, he would host a dinner for the promising youngsters. Due to a paucity of good books and training at that time, it was “education time” for us to clarify our doubts and we drilled him with a number of questions–some idiotic ones as well but he patiently answered all of us. That helped us understand the thinking of a Grandmaster and improve our game. Initially we were all focused on results but Anand used to tell us, “Chess should be fun” and that we should enjoy ourselves. Later we found that to be very true.