Opening game pressures and “butterflies” make for a quick draw by repetition in Game 1 which was a little disappointing to be sure, as I was preparing for a five or six hour slugfest resulting in a decision. As history will probably confirm I may have been hoping for too much. Likewise, if wishing for two or three notable games is setting the bar too high, I may have unrealistic expectations of the match. We shall see.
Anand vs Carlsen: World Championship match thread
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There seem to be a lot of people predicting a 'drawfest' after only the first game. But, isn't it understandable that at this point they're playing a bit cagey because they're feeling each other out? Question is: who's better at blitz? Because surely, sooner or later, whichever player is less confident in blitz is going to have to start pushing for wins.
I imagine Anand's 2..g6 was a surprise for Magnus, and 4..c6 as well. Then White has a big choice: to play c4 & sacrifice a pawn, or not.
Sacrificing the pawn with c4 would not be a typical position for Magnus but Anand (& his second Leko) know those positions well.
But without c4 by White Black gets a very solid position, even if he plays the Nbd2 I'd prefer to Carlsen's Nc3. Little danger for Black.
I remember Anand played this in his 1994 NYC candidates match against Romanishin, who played c4 & drew one & lost one. Can be quite sharp.
First games of big matches are often tentative. Both get a half point but it's great to start any event with an easy draw with black
Anand & I drew first 8 games of our 1995 world championship match. But then, boom! Next 4/5 were decisive & the match was basically over.So do not get too depressed with a slow start. Of my 7 world championship matches, 5 started with draw in first game."
~ Garry Kasparov via twitter.
Remember, do not get too depressed! 
They just made over 100,000 for this game. Its about 2.5 mil for maybe 12 games split between them.
Carlsen's Nc3 is just a mistake, after which Anand probably has a slightly better position.
Anand just decided that he would rather force a draw than play for a win with black, which is why he played Nd5.
Where can i see game 1, I'll be online for game two, but... I'd like to see the first game..
They do not care about the money, its about the title.
You are all so childish.
If Someone Offered You 3:1 Odds, in Favor of Carlsen, Who Would You Take?
- My money would be on Magnus. (33%)
- The smart money would be on Vishy. (27%)
- Those odds are about right, so I'm not sure. (7%)
- I'm a chess player, I don't have any money. (33%)
Thank you! 1644 votes cast
Match starting soon
Caro Kann
Nov 10, 2013
0
#214
Anybody have a good video link for today? I'm only seeing computer renditions.
Lol @ "Start your engines"
David, the official Fide site has video of the players.
Nov 10, 2013
0
#216
Please share the link? I am clicking on everything I can find that says video, and have yet to come up with the goods.
Edit: now someone gave me the direct link that works:
http://chennai2013.fide.com/fide-world-chess-championship-2013-live
http://chennai2013.fide.com/fide-world-chess-championship-2013-live/
But I do still like the chess.com coverage, as the commentators on fide are catering to beginners.
At least we got something sharp this time :)
I'm just dissapointed that Anand chose Nd5 in that interesting position, Qa5 Qb3 Be6 did seem to cause white at least some slight difficulty.
Yeah, I agree totally.
He certainly seemed to have some initiative, at least. He should have made Carlsen work for the half-point. I dont think Carlsen made the draw, Anand did, after a dozen moves he knew he was having an early night.