Former World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand, fought to defend his title against Magnus Carlsen.
The games are annotated by Mark Crowther – used with permission.
You can click/tap on moves to see an instant diagram popup.
Round 1 – November 9 – Draw
A relatively “boring” first game, with only 16 moves in one hour and a half of gameplay. The game started with a Réti opening continues into Fianchetto Grunfeld. After 13 moves, Anand saw the opportunity for repetition, forcing a draw.
Round 2 – November 10 – Draw
Another mild disappointment. Just 25 moves in one hour. Anand was again forced into a situation he did not like: “Today it’s my turn to tender a slight apology. I am sorry about the decision but I decided to be a bit prudent today.” leading MG Hikaru Nakamura to comment “I am not feeling inspired by the start of the WC match in India. One thing Kasparov always understood is that chess needs to be a show.“
