Learning from GM Viswanathan Anand
Indian chess is in its pre-eminent phase in this 20th century. This is because of many people like IM Sagar shah and several people behind chessbase India. For now, Amongst Indian chess players, There are 76 Grandmasters (GM); 124 International Masters (IM); 18 Woman Grandmasters (WGM), including some who also hold the higher IM title; and 42 Woman International Masters (WIM) as of January 2021, according to FIDE, the International Chess Federation.
Some prominent are Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi, who defeated the world champion, GM Magnus Carlsen.
This blog belongs to the pioneer of all these masters, One who bought India into world ranking through his skills and hard work. He is non-other than the first GM of India, GM Viswanathan Anand. Vishy is 5 times world chess champion.
So to cover a match of Vishy, It's a substantial task to bring one exceptional game since, He had played with all the generations, including Kramnik, Kasparov, Magnus, and new prodigies.
So after looking at all his matches, I thought to go into detail about this match since it shows how powerful and dominant Viswanathan Anand is.
The following match was a 23-move massacre on board where Vishy did not give any chance to his opponent GM Levon Aronian.
The game was played, In 2013 in the Tata steel chess tournament. GM Magnus describes this game as the game for the ages. Let's see why.
you will see the whole game in the first and last of the blog. So, at last, you know the purpose of each move.
The Complete Game-
The Game-
In this game, Levon goes for the queen's gambit, and Anand defends with a semi-slav defense.
So the first few moves are very obvious.
1.d4-d5 2.c4-c6 3.Nf3-Nf6 4.Nc3-e6 5.e3-Nbd7 6.Bd3 (opening theoratical moves)
Now as the bishop develops on d3, Anand decides to gain tempo by attacking the bishop, so he plays dxc attacking the bishop.
bxc4 takes the Aronian. Anand again gains tempo by b5 attacking the bishop. Bishop goes back to d3, and Anand centralizes the bishop with bd6.
In chess, we have a concept called over-extending. It seems Anand is extending his pawn on the queenside. He is not pushing without reason. He has enough potential in development so that he can create an attack.
Now as good professionals, They both castled on the kingside and bought the king to safety.
Now in this position, before going further, you should know that the game of chess works on strategy. The parties have developed their pieces now what is their plan I will tell you in short,
Levons plan-
To create a battery and potentially an attack on the h7 pawn.
Anands plan-
To create a robust c5 break and then build up the attack.
So as we know the plan we now have an idea, of what the next moves will be. So Aronian plays Qc2 creating a battery. bc7 by Anand preparing rook c8. If c5 is played, the bishop diagonal will be open.
Levon plays a3, stopping further push, and may be preparing for b4 himself. Rc8 plays the Anand as planned.
So, who will break first is the question to see now.
Levon plays Ng5, creating the third attacker on the h7 pawn.
So "three pieces are attacking you," says Levon as Anand calmly plays c5.
Levon, shocked at his moves starts his attack by Nxh7.
Now Anand plays Ng4 attacking Levons h2 pawn.
This is a very positional point, so let's see what moves we have.
For Nxf8-
Looks very obvious that we are getting Rook and a pawn for knight then why not take it? Here is why,
This is mate in few moves.
For h3-
Safe move. But then Anand asks are you sure about it?
So this is not the best move either.There is a d5 move, suggested by the engine. The position, Gets complicated so Aronian didn't want to go there and he dismissed this move.
In the end, he decided to block bishop diagonally with f4. Anand now takes cxd4. Levon captures by exd4
Here Anand creates a masterpiece of the chess game that would be remembered for years to come. You cant guess the move Anand played in this position let's see, I give you a puzzle for the next few moves and see if we can play like Anand.
Guess the move Anand played by moving the piece on the board.
Don't worry if you didn't get it in this position Anand plays bc5. Shocking move right here is why its a genius move,
If dxe5 then,
Here white doesn't have mobility, and pieces are stuck.
So Levon understands this and tries to eliminate some pieces by offering trade and plays be2.
Here is second puzzle what move will Anand make now,
I told you this is an artist creating their masterpiece. Anand here plays what looks impossible Nde5.
Three pieces are hanging at the same time. Here Anand uses what we call Tal's principle which says, "Even two of your pieces are under attack offer a third one because when it's their move, they can capture only one of them."
Here there are 4 moves and 3 of which are bad and one which is seen in the game let's see all of them
dxc5 line-
fxe5 line-
h3 line-
So Levon calculating all this mating line, Finally decided to play bxg4 as planned, taking one attacker out.
Anand again doesn't care and plays bxd4. king moves to h1. Now, Nxc4 capturing the bishop.
Here, Levon couldn't find anything down, so took the rook by Nxf8. Now Anand closes the door of the last possibility for Levon by playing f5. Queen cannot reach the king since the diagonal is closed. Ng6 plays Aronian blocking h4. Qf6 slides the Vishi. h3 plays Aronian thinking the knight would retreat. Qxg6 plays Anand. Qe2 by Levon trying the last possible chance. Qh5 plays vishy. Qd3 saving the h3 pawn is played by Levon.
Now for the last time win the game and find the move Levon will resign because after this move mate is unstoppable
Congratulations! If you got it and if you don't, be3 it is. A silent killer blocking the queen's path Levon simply doesn't have any moves and resigns.
Here is game again to have a look now see if you understand it more easily after knowing the ideas.
As you have witnessed, GM Viswanathan Anand's creativity on board. He is one of the smartest and strongest GMs in India and is inspiring many enthusiasts in this sport. The contribution vishy has done to INDIA is remarkable and we all love him for that.
Things to note in this match-
1- Creativity.
2- Understanding the relative value of pieces.
3- Building an attack.
4- Piece coordination.
Comment down if you got the puzzle or any questions regarding line I will make sure to answer you.
Finally a blog dedicated to our inspiration,
GM Viswanathan Anand
