Out of book position may result in errors

The climactic Game XI of the world chess championship started with an opening that was a surprise perhaps to everyone except the participants and maybe, even to them! Anand, needing only a draw to secure the title, opened with 1.e4 for the first time in the match.

Vladimir Kramnik who normally prefers to defend against the Spanish Opening or with the Petroff chose the razor-sharp Sicilian Najdorf, which is part of Anand’s normal black repertoire.

In response, Anand eased into the 6 Bg5 variation, which is not uncommon but not part of his normal white arsenal. By move 9. the duo had reached an unusual but not unknown position. By move 12, they were out of “book”. Kramnik found a new, daring idea and Anand made an equally interesting riposte.

By move 13, both players have spent close to an hour guaranteeing time trouble fairly soon. The position is absolutely unclear and they both seem out of book. Black has a wrecked pawn structure and an exposed king. In compensation, he has an extra (trebled) pawn and the bishop pair. White has some initiative and attacking chances.

The programs assess this as probably equal but as in so many games during this match, it is very dynamic equality. The game appears to be heading for a decision with Anand having decided to meet Kramnik head-on in the desire for complications.

The Russian challenger has to win this and the next game to drag the match out to a tiebreaker. After playing passively and losing Game X, the Indian champion appears determined to play in his normal aggressive style.

While this may be commendable from the psychological point of view, it is undoubtedly a high-risk method to conduct a game when “draw odds” are in hand. Given imminent time trouble and high tension, many errors could occur before we see a result.

Just before going to press, the game did end in a draw. With this, Anand has retained the world chess title.