Anand needs a draw

In the last stages of the world championship match, Vladimir Kramnik has started game 10 as well as he could have possibly hoped. After 21 moves, the Russian challenger has a clear advantage with the white pieces against Viswanathan Anand.

However, Kramnik will have to convert that edge into a victory and follow up by winning the next two games in order to force a tie-break. Can he do it, one move at a time? He certainly had winning chances in game 9 where Anand had to find ingenious resources in mutual time-trouble to head for a draw. Kramnik looked distraught at the post-game conference where Anand admitted that he thought he was lost at some stage.

In game 10, the champion adopted a more stable Nimzo Indian Defence compared to his earlier, riskier choices like the Meran and the Vienna. Kramnik seemed to be well prepared and had a tangible edge on move 18 when he played the first new move. The Russian had the bishop pair on an open board and generally more active pieces.

However, commentators on the game suggest that it is actually quite significant since the white bishops are raking black’s pawn weaknesses. It is also a typical “Kramnik position” in which he loves this sort of clear technical advantage.

Anand decided to play actively by sacrificing material, jettisoning a pawn on move 21, to pull the game out of rational paths. Kramnik temporised, refusing to grab material immediately, looking to cement his positional edge instead. Anand is behind in time as well, having spent well over an hour while Kramnik has only thought for 35 minutes.

While Kramnik has to win the match situation also lays its own burden on Anand. The defending champion has to curb the risk-taking that worked well for him earlier and the danger is that he could err too much on the side of safety and go passive.