With just two rounds to go and scores level, Anand plays his last game with whites against Topalov today, and will look to gain a decisive advantage.
A surefire formula for success in cricket is to win the toss, bat first, put runs on the board, have the opposition under pressure. Viswanathan Anand can do that at the World Chess championship in Sofia in the next few days, and he doesn’t even have to worry about the toss factor.
“He will do much better than the Indian team in the West Indies,” quipped Nigel Short, analysing Anand’s chances against Veselin Topalov. “I cannot stick my neck out but he has the experience, ability and desire to win the match,” the former world championship challenger told DNA from Athens.
In the last set of two games (11th and 12th), the defending champion will start with whites first — something that is akin to batting first in cricket — and a full point on Sunday could give him a decisive advantage. It will then put Topalov under pressure to catch up in the final game on Tuesday. Anand has the resources to defend his lead with blacks.
One more pressing reason for Anand to clinch the issue on Sunday itself is his none-too-impressive record in the tie-breaks at the world championship. Although he is known to play fast — he is also the rapid world champion —Anand could not replicate his speed-play at the worlds in tie-break rapid games against Gata Kamsky in 1994 and Anatoly Karpov in 1998.
“I would not say tomorrow (Sunday) is his last chance but it is surely the best chance,” said Short. “In such a match, you can expect him to win with white pieces,” the English Grandmaster said.
Anand’s two wins have come with white pieces and he has been quite strong in defending with black pieces. His two losses have been because of blunders rather than any great imagination by Topalov. “He has played very high quality chess but committed a few blunders,” observed Short. If not for those cardinal errors, Anand perhaps would have sealed the match by now. So far, Anand has shown a lot of variety in opening and solidity in defense.
The other important factors in the last two games would be the openings. What opening Anand will choose is a point of immense interest. He has so far opted for d4, a surprise start that paid him rich dividends against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn in 2008, although in 90 per cent of his games, he starts with e4. In the 11th game, he can perhaps surprise Topalov with his usual King pawn opening rather than the Queen pawn. And with black pieces in the 12th game, Anand may go for Nimzo Indian.
Short, however, is not too concerned about the choice of openings. “It boils down to the play on the board,” the English GM remarks. “Anand has been playing safe chess as he seems to have lost confidence in his calculations.” One hopes the world will see the real Anand in the next two games - the champion who calculates the combinations better and faster than any chess player in the world.
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