Anand shows he can drag Kramnik into complications
Game three in the World Chess Championship match at Bonn headed quickly into uncharted territory. Vladimir Kramnik opened with his normal Queens Pawn (1.d4) scotching speculation that he would start with an opening surprise. Viswanathan Anand responded with the same Slav Defence that he had used in Game 1.
However, unlike the first game, Kramnik did not avoid a sharp battle this time heading into a Semi-Slav Variation, which is a specialty of both these players. Kramnik plays it often with both colours and Anand plays it regularly with black and is certainly prepared to face it with white. As the name would suggest, the Slav originated in Kramnik’s homeland and every Russian schoolboy is taught to play it.
By move 10, it was obvious that Anand was willing to take big risks, as he did in Game 2 to induce tactical complications. He initiated a capture-recapture sequence where both players serially sacrifice a knight. So far, it was book but no verdict on who is better. Anand won in 41 moves.
The world champion imbalanced the position further by heading into an obscure sideline with his 14. – Bb7. After 30 minutes thought, challenger Kramnik responded with the normal recommendation when he played 16. Rd1.
On move 17.— Rg4, the Indian GM uncorked a new move. He had spent just 10 minutes showing that he is clearly still inside preparation. Kramnik has spent almost an hour and is possibly in a mildly unfamiliar territory.
The position is absolutely imbalanced, although material is equal. Black has a shattered pawn structure and an exposed king, along with active pieces. White has a more solid pawn structure but his king is also exposed.
The programs preferred white until move 17 and after that it’s near-equal. It’s a very dynamic balance where both sides have compensatory advantages and disadvantages. This is the kind of situation where catastrophic errors can occur because both sides have to balance attack and defence very precisely.
The contours of the match so far seem to suggest that Anand has a coherent theme — he will try and drag Kramnik into wild complications. Thus far, it is honours even. Let’s see where today goes.