NEWS
MATCH REPORTS
STAT SHEET
DIARY
SLIDE SHOW
PEOPLE
DEAR REDIFF

Anand loses marathon battle

Vishwanathan Anand went down to FIDE world title holder Anatoly Karpov after a marathon game of 108 moves, one of the longest ever in a world championship encounter, in the first game of the FIDE world championship title bout.

Karpov, whose backup team comprises 15 members including a host of chess grandmasters, showed the value of weeks of preparation as he pounced on a small mistake from Anand to put the pressure on his opponent. For his part a tired-looking Anand, coming off a gruelling, fortnight long battle in the qualifying tournament, defended superbly but positional disadvantage coupled with the further handicap of playing the black pieces told on the Indian grandmaster.

Karpov, not surprisingly, opened with his much favoured queen pawn, and Anand responded with the Meran variation of the queen's gambit. The game followed a textbook pattern until a novel knight sacrifice from Karpov threw the game open on move 17.

The knight for three pawns gambit from the defending champion saw the usually fast Anand plunged in deep thought, consuming time on the clock as he tried to figure out a reply. In the end, he opted for a rook sacrifice that, according to experts analysing the positions on their computers, was defective.

However, when it looked all over for Anand, the Indian pulled off a superb move on 29, at a stage when his resignation looked imminent. Karpov was forced to sacrifice his queen for two pawns, and Anand picked up the tempo of his play, to comfortably cruise past the first time control. However, the three pawns surrendered earlier, plus the two pawns exchanged for the queen, meant that Anand was heading into the end game considerably behind his opponent in terms of pawns on the board -- and, in the final analysis, that proved the difference between victory and defeat.

The battle resumes on Saturday, when Anand has the advantage of playing white. Experts, however, indicate that Anand, visibly tired after the elimination round in Groningen, further tired after the marathon first game, might not have enough time on his hands to rest and recoup in order to be at his sharpest when playing white, against an opponent reknowned for his defensive skills.

For readers interested in following the battle live, we provide a link to the relevant site.