June 26, 2012

Anand - Gelfand Match 2012!

So You Missed the Legendary World Chess Championship Match 2012??? Don’t Worry!! You are in for a Treat!! Let me take you through this Awesome World Championship in my very own Olala way!


Anand - Gelfand Match 2012!
By Rakesh Kulkarni



After Years of Experience, Months of Preparation, Weeks of Tension and nervousness + Excitement, Days of Sleepless Nights!!

Finally The Moment has Arrives, The Decides the CHAMPION!!
Millions of Supporters!! Thousands of Well-Wishers!! Hundreds of Friends and Relatives! With Their Team of Second’s!!
12 GAMES!!
2 PLAYERS!!
1 TITLE!!
 “THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2012!!”


The World Chess Championship 2012 is being staged in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, between the current World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India and the winner of the Candidates tournament Boris Gelfand of Israel. The match is over twelve games and lasts from May 11 to 30. The prize fund is US $2.55 million, the winner getting $1.53 million (60%), the loser $1,02 million (40%).







Besides the Title and the Money, The World Champion will take home both of these Beautiful Trophies!!
The Players!!
Viswanathan Anand :
The World Champion Viswanathan Anand of  INDIA, at 42, has Stopped Playing for the Last 6 Months. Locked up with his Team of seconds’ preparing hard. REAL HARD! His Last Tournament being an Average Result at the London Chess Classic in December 2011.He is not the Same Player he used to be in his Formative years, but, is Still Very Strong and Unmatched in a Match (one on one) Format. He looks to repeat his Performance at Bonn, Sofia and Now in Moscow! He is now looking to win his 5th World Title!! Across the Chess World, and Especially in Indian Chess Circles, He is Expected to Roll Over his Challenger! He is the Hot Favorite to retain his Title!!
                                                                                  
Boris Gelfand :


The Challenger, the Candidate, Grand Master Boris Gelfand of Israel, at 43, is Slightly Older to his Opponent, But, He Earned Himself, the Right to Challenge the World Champion. An Established Top 10 GM for the Last 20 Years, Always known for his Hard Work and his Depth of Preparation, Boris Peaked! He Showed Nerves of Steel, as he beat his Much Younger Opponent GM Alexander Grischuk of Russia in the Last Game of the Classical Games in Kazan Last Year. He is tipped to Give Anand a Run for his Money and is expected to Show his Deep Preparation. Though, He isn’t the Favorite, He has the Motivation, the Inspiration!! Surely; this is NOW or NEVER for Boris!!
All You Need to Know About the Players :
The World Championship:
Out of a Possible 12 Classical Games; with Alternating Colors
If tied, 4 Games of Rapid Chess;
If Tied, 2 Games of Blitz Chess;          
If Still Tied, 1 Armageddon Game with Draw Odds for Black.
“THE STAGE IS SET!!”
The Wonderful Glittering “Tretyakov Gallery” In Moscow, Russia is the Place to be!!
The Chair’s, The Lighting is checked. The Table is perfect!! 32 Wooden Pieces are waiting to be moved!! Thousands of Journalists and Media Representatives, The Live Game Commentators, The Live Audience and Supporters From Both Sides Flock the Wonderful Playing Hall.


Now, Let the Games Begin!!
 Before the Start of the 1st Game at the 2012 FIDE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP Between World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India (White) and GM Boris Gelfand (Israel) at Tretyakov Gallery,Moscow,Russia
In the 1st Game, The World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India has the White Pieces against the Candidate Boris Gelfand of Israel.
The 1st Games Edges out to be a Dull Affair. Pieces come off the Board Pretty Soon and the Draw is agreed.
After 6 Games, the Score is still Tied (3-3) With the News, Internet and Everyone talking about these 6 Dull Draws. The Match Looks Dead, uninteresting and Boring to the General Public and Event to Many of the GM Commentators Analyzing and Commentating on the Game, Live and on the Internet.



It Seems that Boris has something up his sleeve, before the start of the 7th Game
But, Suddenly WE have Game 7!! The Challenger, Gelfand, Has a few Chances. He doesn’t stretch the Position taking Extra Risks, But plays Slowly, building up the Pressure. He Invades the “C” File. Vishy, has 16 Minutes to Make 16 Moves, he Cracks. Gelfand invades. He WINS!!


All of a Sudden, The MATCH IS ALIVE!! People See Blood. The Champion is Hurt. Gelfand Suddenly Becomes Everybody’s Favorite.


As Anand Himself Admitted, “It was never the same after the 7th Game. If I Draw My Next Game with White, I will Just have 2 More Chances (Games 10 and 12) to Try and Put Pressure on Boris with the White Pieces. So, I had a Talk With GM Peter Hienne Nielsen (of Denmark, and Anand’s Trusted Second for Many Years). He Suggested me to be calm, Relax, he also Said, They (he and all the Seconds) were going to Work the Whole Night and come up something Against The Grunfeld. I still Just Couldn’t Sleep that Night. Luckily, the Next Game changed it all”.





Game 8!!


Anand is All Prepared. But, Gelfand Smelling Home Preparation, deviates. Unknown Theory Leads to an unusual Position. Anand has foreseen a Trap on the 11th Move, that 6 Moves Later, Black is Just Clearly Lost. To his Surprise, Joy and Amazement, Gelfand Plays all the Moves and Finally Overlooks Anand’s 17)Qf2 and Falls for his Devilish Trap. Anand Laughs Inside!! Gelfand Sticks out his Hand in Resignation! 17 Moves!! FLAT! The Scores are Level!! What a Comeback!! The Shortest Win Ever at a World Championship Game!!




Gelfand Visibly upset during the 8th game




An Awesome comeback!! Vishy Anand, with a Smile at the Press Conference after the 8th Game!





With The Match Slated for an Excited Finish, The Last Four games are 4 Hard Fought Draws. With Anand, Being Lucky in Game 11, as he was Slightly Minus after the Opening, But Gelfand Went for a Material Advantage, and Anand Soon Figured out a Water-Tight Fortress!! And the match ended in a Draw!!


Game 12 – Anand, Having the White Pieces, Plays 1)e4 and Again Repeats the Rossolimo against Gelfand’s Sicillian. Anand Tries; Gelfand Defends! The Last Game of the Classical Games Also Ends in a Draw!


After 12 Games in Classical Chess Ended with a Score “6-6”, and Failed to Determine a Clear Winner; 4 Rapid Games Were Going to be played. Rapid Games means Each Player Has 25 Minutes + 10 Seconds per Move for the Entire game.





Bring on the Rapid Games!!!


If Anand, was a Favorite In the Classical Games, he was a Much much   Bigger Favorite in the Rapid and Blitz Games. Anand, Known to be the Best Rapid Player of the World for the last 20 odd Years, Surely Knew that His Practice of Playing Thousands of Blitz Games a Day at the Tal Chess Academy in Chennai as a Small Kid, was Going to help!! J


Game 1 Rapid – Ended in a Draw, After Anand Managed to Equalize With Black. Just When Things were seemingly Unclear, Anand Managed to keep his Usual Calm and Poise, and played out the Ending to a Perfect Draw!!





Game 2 Rapid :


 Anand, Plays the White Pieces. He Plays a Line Prepared by his team. He gets ahead on time and He gets a Slight Edge from the opening. He Wins a Pawn. Gelfand Starts Playing aggressively. He Shows Compensation for the Lost Pawn in Huge Development Advantage and Anand’s King is lacking a proper Shelter. Anand Somehow manages to Defend, and Keeps the Extra Pawn despite Gelfand heroics of finding the Best Moves throughout the Game. The Position is simplified. Anand is a Healthy Pawn up and has a Significant Advantage on the Clock. Anand Manages to Swindle Gelfand in Time-Trouble, and Reaches a Won Rook and Pawn vs Rook Ending!! Gelfand Doesn’t Doubt the Technique of the World Champion, and stretches out his hand accepting Defeat! Anand is in the Lead for the 1st Time in the Match!!





Game 3 Rapid :


Anand Surprisingly Doesn’t Choose a Solid Line and Goes for a Sharp Variation which has Chances for Both Sides. Patient build-up by Gelfand, increasing pressure, forces Vishy to have a Bishop blocked on b8 by his own Rook on c7. Gelfand Shows tremendous Play and is Clearly Winning. Nerves?? Blind spot?? Overlooked?? Anxiety?? Gelfand Overlooks a Simple Continuation, which would have guaranteed him an Extra Piece. Anand Survives the Storm. They Play on! Fighting Like Champions. The Goes Back and Forth Several Times. Suddenly, Gelfand When Anand is Close to Making a Draw, he Blunders. Gelfand is Again Winning. But, Returns the Favor. The Game inches itself to the Draw!!


Phew!! What a Game! A Brilliant Game by Both the Sides!





Game 4 Rapid :



Anand knows it! He has been there, DONE That!! He needs a Draw, to retain his Title. He has The White Pieces, He Chooses a Slightly dull and Equal Position without Queens, after 10 Moves. Throughout the Game and Even After, Anand regrets his Opening Choice, but his Nerves Won over him and he Played it. The Opening guarantees Gelfand a Slight but an Ever-Lasting Edge. Only Gelfand can press and he is [laying for 2 results. Gelfand tries to create Something out of Nothing. Anand, Wisely is looking to Liquidate the Position as much as Possible. Gelfand, seems to Running out of Opportunities, and Chances. He looks to Go All out, with a King Advance. With Limited Pieces, Anand Can’t Attack Gelfand’s Much Advanced King. All the Tactics Favor White, Gelfand Has No Option but to Retreat. Chances are almost gone; Time is Running out! The Ticking Clock! Gelfand knows it all Over and Tries one Last Trick. Anand, Thwarts all his Attempts and Can go on to Win the Game Allowing his Opponent Some Chances, but thinks it’s too Much a Risk. He Quickly liquidates the game to a Slightly Better Rook and Pawn Ending for Himself. Gelfand, Looks Devastated, Dejected, Tired, knows It’s all Over!! He Says The Word’s, Anand was Desperate to Hear from the Start of this Final Rapid Game. Gelfand Says, “I Offer to Draw”, an offer Anand and 160 Million Indians Following Online are Glad to Accept!! The Game Ends in a Draw. The Match, a Victory for the Indian Warrior!!  “8.5-7.5 “

The Last Game ends in a draw! And Viswanathan Anand, is the World Champion Again!!


At The Closing Ceremony, Viswanathan Anand With the Beautiful Trophy

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhanov Awarding the Title to World Champion Viswanathan Anand of INDIA!!


Anand is the “WORLD CHESS CHAMPION 2012!!” He Retains his Title. He has Now Won the World Chess Crown For the 5th Time!! He has Now Won the World Championship in Each and Every Format Including (Tie-Break in a Match Format)!!
A Nation Erupts!! Anand is Delighted!! His Team is Elated!! His Achievements are shown for the Next 24 Hours on Every News Channel Broadcast in India. The Following Day, Newspapers Dedicate an Entire Page or 2 to Anand!!  The Title Stays back where it belongs!!