Off-Topic: World Chess Championship 2013, Game 3

After yesterday's rest day Magnus and Vishy met again to play the third game of the world championship match. I don't know if Magnus saw his fans waving the Norwegian flag for him, but I'm sure they would have put a smile on his face.

There was a noticeably smaller media presence at the match at the Chennai Hyatt Regency Hotel today. It can't be expected that international newspapers can stay interested in chess for four days in a row. Especially not after two draws. The cameramen probably took enough photos in the first two days to use for the whole championship. If reporters want to write about the game they can clone the reports from news agencies. Only dedicated fans will be present for the whole match.

The first two days began with quick moves. Today both players slowed down from the third move on, showing that they were moving away from common theory and into uncharted territory. The first two moves were the same as the first game, but then Magnus played 3.c4 instead of 3.Bg2. Vishy's reply 3...dxc4 is a rarely played move that surprised the commentators. This drew out Magnus' queen to retake the pawn, and this became the problem of the whole game: what was Magnus going to do with his queen? Its advanced position became a liability as the game progressed, and whenever it was attacked it became a dilemma where to move it.

Carlsen, Magnus – Viswanathan, Anand
FWCM 2013 Chennai (3) 12.11.2013

1. Nf3 d5
2. g3 g6
3. c4 dxc4
4. Qa4+ Nc6
5. Bg2 Bg7
6. Nc3 e5
7. Qxc4 Nge7
8. O-O O-O
9. d3 h6
10. Bd2 Nd4
11. Nxd4 exd4
12. Ne4 c6
13. Bb4 Be6

This position, the first attack on the queen in move 13, highlights the problems. In my opinion it would have been better to advance the queen to c5, with the possibility of forcing a queen swap if it remained in danger. Instead of this Magnus chose the passive move 14.Qc1. I don't understand Magnus' following move, 15.a4. From this move on the pawn on b2 was lost, just waiting to be taken. A better move would have been 15.b3. From here on Vishy's position on the queenside improved steadily, and Magnus' queen had to flee to f4 in move 20.

14. Qc1 Bd5
15. a4 b6
16. Bxe7 Qxe7
17. a5 Rab8
18. Re1 Rfc8
19. axb6 axb6
20. Qf4 Rd8
21. h4 Kh7

In my opinion, Magnus' following move was a mistake. Playing 22.Nd2 cut off the queen's main escape route, and Vishy's following attacks forced it into the corner. There was a possibility of turning this into an advantage by doubling the rooks on the a-file and winning control of a8, but Vishy's constant pressure gave no chance for this to happen. The queen remained trapped in the corner until the rooks were exchanged in moves 36 to 38. By then it was too late. Magnus had no chance of winning. The best he could hope for was a draw.

22. Nd2 Be5
23. Qg4 h5
24. Qh3 Be6
25. Qh1 c5
26. Ne4 Kg7
27. Ng5 b5
28. e3 dxe3
29. Rxe3 Bd4
30. Re2 c4
31. Nxe6+ fxe6
32. Be4 cxd3
33. Rd2 Qb4
34. Rad1 Bxb2
35. Qf3 Bf6
36. Rxd3 Rxd3
37. Rxd3 Rd8
38. Rxd8 Bxd8
39. Bd3 Qd4
40. Bxb5 Qf6

Maybe the rook exchange was a miscalculation on Vishy's part. His advantage over the previous 20 moves had withered away. After playing 40...Qf6, which was the end of the first time control, Vishy offered Magnus a draw. Magnus declined, surprisingly. I don't know what he thought he could achieve. The two players made another 11 moves relatively quickly, finally reaching a position where checkmate was impossible due to insufficient material. Another draw, arguably a lucky escape for Magnus. For the majority of the game I was expecting his first defeat.

41. Qb7+ Be7
42. Kg2 g5
43. hxg5 Qxg5
44. Bc4 h4 
45. Qc7 hxg3 
46. Qxg3 e5 
47. Kf3 Qxg3+ 
48. fxg3 Bc5 
49. Ke4 Bd4 
50. Kf5 Bf2 
51. Kxe5 Bxg3+
½ – ½ 



Evidently Magnus Carlsen is something of a film fan. His favourite film is "Pulp Fiction". He has good taste. According to his father, Magnus wants to watch "The Hangover Part 3" this week. I haven't seen it. I hope he enjoys it. Or maybe he should just wave from his hotel window and hope that his Norwegian fans will drop their flag and wave back.