Magnus Carlsen with the 2012 London Chess Classic trophy | photo: Ray Morris-Hill

2012 in chess was, yet again, the year of Magnus Carlsen. The Norwegian prodigy finally surpassed Garry Kasparov’s highest ever rating, causing Sergey Shipov to remark in his review of 2012 at Crestbook: “He’s Kasparov’s heir – not Kramnik, Topalov or Anand”.

Shipov was answering questions posed by members of Crestbook’s Russian KC-forum, and the end result was a comprehensive account of the year. Topics ranged from the best games and moves to chess politics, with Shipov explaining why Kirsan Ilyumzhinov should go but Garry Kasparov shouldn’t replace him.

Shipov brings Daniil Dubov chocolate at Tata Steel 2013. He writes of his student: “Danya is growing slowly but surely. Slower than I’d like, but that’s how it’s gone. His path has been that of a worker bee, but that’s by no means intended as an insult. For instance, that was the path the great Alekhine followed. The only thing is that following it to the end, to the very top of world chess, is something very few manage.” | photo: Peter Doggers, ChessVibes

Shipov assessed the year for a host of top players and didn’t mince his words – concluding that Hikaru Nakamura is “not fated to rise higher and fight for the title” and responding to a question about the “disappointment of the year” with, “Anand. By a large margin.” (though Shipov did later provide an update in light of Anand’s current performance in Wijk aan Zee)

One player who drew only praise, however, was Magnus Carlsen. Some extracts:

On Carlsen beating Kasparov’s record

Carlsen has already been the world’s best player for a few years now. His leadership has become clear and undeniable. Magnus is made to dominate! The lacklustre performance of the official World Champion casts a favourable light on the Norwegian’s merits. The contrast between Anand and Carlsen is now so great that it’s impossible not to question the World Championship system. […]

Carlsen’s current rating achievements really are comparable to Kasparov’s peak, despite the significant rating inflation. Yes, the gap between Kasparov and the elite of his own day was greater, but at the time there weren’t as many strong programs to help with preparation as there are nowadays. The computer, like the Colt in the Wild West, has levelled the strength of the rivals. In our day it’s become harder to break clear of your pursuers.

That makes Carlsen’s achievements all the more impressive. He’s Kasparov’s heir – not Kramnik, Topalov or Anand – because he’s managed to become not simply the first among equals, but objectively and unquestionably the best.

All that’s left is a trifle – winning the title. Otherwise years from now Magnus’ current achievements will be almost forgotten.

Incidentally, I don’t consider Carlsen weak in the opening. It’s simply that instead of following the fashionable lines he seeks out his own paths. He skilfully chooses systems that come as a surprise to his opponents. Everyone has their own style. Their own strategy. Their own approach.

I really don’t see any weaknesses in the Norwegian’s play. He’s absolutely universal. The current Carlsen is the Spassky of the 60s, reinforced with all the chess knowledge accumulated over the last half century.

On whether Carlsen can cross the 2900 mark in 2013?

That largely depends on the speed of rating inflation. If the people Magnus can play a simultaneous display against become 2700 players, then why not?

But in the current state of affairs – unlikely.

On whether Carlsen is destined to win the Candidates Tournament?

I’m reminded of Agatha Christie’s wonderful work “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”. All the facts and all the clues pointed to Ralph Paton being the guilty man. But that was precisely why Hercule Poirot assumed Ralph wasn’t the murderer.

It’s the same here. Everything suggests Carlsen will win: his huge rating, convincing play, the energy of youth, the tournament format, the weaknesses of his rivals. But it’s precisely that predestination that forces me to doubt Magnus’ success. The sense of the inevitability of his upcoming success could play a cruel trick on the Norwegian. That’s happened more than once before with his predecessors. And Carlsen’s rivals, who no-one expects to win, will find it correspondingly easier to play. The weight of responsibility will be much lighter on them.

So while assessing the probabilities I’ll be careful. Yes, Magnus is the favourite, but not the sole and absolute favourite. Aronian, Kramnik and some third guy in dark clothes will also have real chances.

Don’t miss the full text at Crestbook!

KC-Review of 2012 with Sergey Shipov

Anand couldn't win the final game to avoid tie-breaks | photo: Anastasia Karlovich

The tie-break format is:

• A four-game rapid match, with a time control of 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment per player.
• If that doesn’t produce a winner then up to five two-game blitz matches will be played, with a time control of 5 minutes + 3 seconds per player.
• If five matches are played without a winner then the players will play a single Armageddon game, where White has 5 minutes to Black’s 4 but a draw will count as a win for the player with Black.

The links to Sergey Shipov’s live commentary - in English translation – can be found at the following page:

http://www.chessintranslation.com/live-game/

Game 11 drew some impressive kibitzers: here Max Dlugy, Mark Glukhovsky, Vladimir Kramnik, Dmitry Jakovenko and Peter Svidler | photo: Anastasia Karlovich

Vladimir Kramnik was talking to Yury Vasiliev, the chess correspondent of Russia’s most popular sports paper, Sport Express.

Vladimir Kramnik: The 11th game was one of the few moments in this match when Anand won the opening duel. It was hard for Gelfand to squeeze anything realistic out of the position. In a situation where one person is playing at the board while the second is following his computer analysis it’s hard to come up with anything. Anand was playing according to his preparation for quite a long time. While commentating I predicted the way the game went: Bf4, Ne5 – and the tension was diffused. Firstly, objectively speaking White didn’t have many ways to play for a win, and secondly, Black had almost an hour to spare. In such a situation Gelfand’s decision to bring an end to play was the optimal one.

Yury Vasiliev: What’s your impression of the match as a whole?

Well, it’s not over yet and you need to watch until the end. Clearly Anand isn’t in top form and his preparation hasn’t been the best, but nevertheless – it’s Anand, and it’s extremely hard to beat him. Lately, in boxing terms, he’s lost his punch, but his defence remains at an extremely high level. As for Boris, he’s pursued his strategy very purposefully, and his approach has been more thought-out. It strikes me that Anand is a little disconcerted, but the match is coming to an end and whoever wins will turn out to have been right. Remember the recent Champions League final: Chelsea were defending all game, but won. And what can you say? Yes, Bayern played better. But so what?

It’s the same story with a World Championship match – what matters above all is who achieves a positive result. So let’s wait and see who wins, and then we can lay all the blame on the loser. (laughs)

Judging by the logic of how the match has gone there’s a great likelihood that it’ll end in a tie…

If the start of the final game is calm, slow-moving and equal then the likelihood of a draw will be pretty high. A great deal will depend on the opening: who manages to surprise or catch out his opponent. If one of the players gets pressure “for free” then the chances of a win will be dramatically increased. It’s one thing to defend in the middle of the match when failure doesn’t mean it’s all over but something else entirely to play in a situation when a single mistake can cost you the last two years of your life.

Which scenario for the last classical game strikes you as the most likely?

My prediction: no-one will take any particular risks. However, there are a lot of nuances. You can play very solidly, or you can give your opponent a chance to win in order to get chances yourself. There’s serious work ahead for Gelfand and Anand in choosing their opening strategy. Whoever outplays his opponent in that area will get real winning chances.

Even Gelfand, playing Black? It’s hard to imagine Anand will get carried away…

Yes, it’s hard to imagine, but after all you can play a little more sharply and provoke your opponent into getting carried away. There are a lot of nuances! It’s impossible to list them all: you can bluff a little, provoke a little, keep things tight. You can prepare for different scenarios: if he plays that then I’ll reply like this and make a draw. It’ll be possible to say more after the first 10-15 moves.

Nevertheless, if we hypothetically assume that the 12th “serious” game ends in a draw, who’s the favourite in rapid play?

Anand’s the favourite in that format against any opponent. It’s his thing. His game. On the other hand, Gelfand has in his favour the fact that he plays tiebreaks extremely well. If they were simply going to play a match in rapid chess then Anand would be the clear favourite, but Gelfand has a very good ability to concentrate at the essential moment, and he plays tiebreaks extremely strongly. So I’d say the question of who’ll win a tiebreak (if, of course, one takes place) remains an open one.

Source: Sport Express (in Russian)

The Russian commentary team during Game 11: GM Ilya Smirin, billionaire match sponsor Andrei Filatov and Kramnik. Smirin and Filatov both studied alongside Boris Gelfand at the Belorussian State Institute of Physical Culture in Minsk | photo: Anastasiya Karlovich

See also:

• Official World Championship website (where Kramnik will be commentating in English)
• Sergey Shipov’s live commentary on the World Championship to date
• Dana Mackenzie’s blog (where Shipov’s commentary on Game 12 will appear within around 2 hours of the end of the game)
• Chess in Translation’s Twitter account (which will have updates from Russian sources during the game)

Boris Gelfand started the day in high spirits... | photo: Anastasia Karlovich

...but Anand's 8...Bd7 gave him a lot to think about | photo: Vladimir Barsky/Eteri Kublashvili

The best way to read Shipov’s commentary (which first appeared in Russian at Crestbook) is in the game viewer at the bottom of the following page, where you can click on the moves and analysis to see the position on the board:

• GM Sergey Shipov’s live commentary on the 2012 World Championship

For those who would prefer simply to read the commentary, however, or for anyone having difficulty using the viewer, I’ve reposted the game below. One advantage is that you can see diagrams in the positions where Shipov included them. At the end of the text I’ve also embedded his video round-up of the game.

GM Sergey Shipov’s live commentary on:

World Chess Championship 2012, Game 11

BORIS GELFAND 1/2 – 1/2 VISWANATHAN ANAND

Hello, dear friends! This is Grandmaster Sergey Shipov commentating on the penultimate game of the World Championship match for you. The score’s still level and the stakes are incredibly high. The cost of each potential mistake is hundreds of thousands of euros and the title. Can you imagine what’s going on inside Boris Gelfand just now? Inside a man who’s never played such crucial games before and who’s never been so close to the chess Everest… I can, if only in miniature. Here what’s important is the contrast between the stakes that had existed before and those that are being played for now. I remember my first knockout World Championship in Las Vegas in 1999. At stake were sums which were an order of magnitude higher than those in my tournaments before then. Plus there was also the beckoning mirage of fame. So then, before the games I was literally a wreck [Shipov uses a colloquial Russian verb derived from "sausage"] – a culinary term, not a literary one, but it accurately reflects the essence of the phenomenon. I wasn’t myself. I couldn’t sleep calmly, or eat, or think about anything else. It was a real fever… And lots of the Russian players I encountered were in the same state when they found themselves in that new tournament for the first time. And now if you multiply all I’ve said by a factor of ten – you’ll get a vague idea of the whole weight that’s landed on Gelfand now. Of course, all of us dream of ending up in his position and fighting for the title, but on the other hand, the one described above, you wouldn’t envy him now. Will Boris withstand it without cracking? The games will show… There are only minutes left until the eleventh encounter begins. We expect the Nimzowitsch Defence and a fierce struggle.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 Yes, correct. The Nimzowitsch Defence.

4.e3 Again the Rubinstein System.

4…O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5

The players are quickly repeating the moves from the ninth game. The pawns have entered a clinch in the centre. The rapid death of the rank-and-file soldiers is inevitable…

7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bd7 But this is a local surprise! I’ve seen people bring out the queen’s knight to the d7-square, but the bishop… The move is, of course, a developing one, as the knight will later come to c6. Although other variations are also possible. Gelfand is, naturally, puzzled – he’s carefully studying the position that’s arisen. He’s remembering… In actual fact the move has been seen more than a hundred times, starting from the middle of the last century. Its instigator was David Bronstein, while in the new century it’s often been played by another outstanding offspring of the post-war Soviet Union – Viktor Korchnoi. You might say it’s the fashion of the 50s. The virtue of Black’s manoeuvre is that it’s only the sixth most popular. So for those who are playing White, including Gelfand, it’s not the first thing they prepare for… Vladimir Kramnik, who’s commentating on the official website, is using the long pause to talk about how chess players recover and maintain themselves during a game. He says you need to drink fruit juice and eat fruit and chocolate, supposedly to maintain the correct blood sugar level. Personally I preferred chocolate. Our Soviet chocolate. For example, “Vdokhnovenie” ["Inspiration"]. I recommend it! Meanwhile Anand has grown tired of waiting for his opponent’s reply – he’s left the stage. It’s a pity he’s unlikely to enter the commentary booth, as after all he might be able to add something of interest! The absence of Anand sitting opposite him isn’t helping Boris either. He’s behaving extremely nervously at the board, simply unable to take a decision. He’s clearly struggling with himself just now, almost without thinking seriously about the position… The burden is weighing on him more and more, while time is slipping away. Half an hour has already passed. Boris, pull yourself together! It’s time to play chess. White’s got a big choice: 9.a3, 9.Qe2, 9. Bd3, 9.Bd2, 9.h3 and lord knows what else. I suspect Gelfand is choosing between the first two options. When he’s not lost in introspection.

[In game 9 we saw 8...cxd4 9.exd4 b6 10.Bg5 Bb7 11.Qe2 Nbd7 and so on.]

9.a3 Probably the most logical and ambitious move. Black also has a choice, by the way.

[Against Bronstein people played 9.dxc5 here, but that's so toothless you don't even want to look at it.]

[For 9.Qe2 I've chosen the following example: 9...Bc6 10.Rd1 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nbd7 12.Bb3 Qa5 13.c4 cxd4 14.exd4 Qh5 - an interesting manoeuver, don't you think? - 15.Re1 Rfe8 16.Bf4 Qg4 17.Bg3 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Qxd4 19.Rad1 Qb6 20.Ba4 Red8 21.Bh4 Nc5 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Qxf6 Nxa4 and White soon organised perpetual check, Artur Yusupov - Sebastien Feller, Moscow 2008.]

9…Ba5 As I was saying.

[A little more common is 9...Bxc3 , for example, 10.bxc3 Bc6 11.Ne5 (11.Qe2 Nbd7) 11...Bd5 12.Be2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nbd7 (in ancient times people also played 13...Nc6) 14.Nd3 Rc8 15.a4 Ne4 16.Bb2 Nb6 17.f3 Nc3 18.Bxc3 Rxc3 19.Qd2 Rc7 20.Nc5 Nd7 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.a5 Rfc8 23.Rfc1 Bc4 and Black got a comfortable position, Yaroslav Zherebukh - Sebastien Feller, Paris 2010.]

[After 9...cxd4 it's hard to resist the tricky pawn sacrifice  10.axb4 dxc3 11.bxc3 Qc7 12.Bd3! - that occurred in the game Alexandre Lesiege - Viktor Korchnoi, Montreal 2004, and the grandfather of modern chess decided not to take the bait: 12...e5 13.Qc2 Re8 14.Nd2 Nc6 15.Ba3 Rad8 16.c4 Be6 17.Ne4 - but still couldn't equalise.]

10.Qe2 The correct choice. White is developing according to a known pattern with the inclusion of the moves a2-a3 and Bb4-a5. Who will that favour? That’s the suspense in this line.

[For 10.dxc5 Black had prepared 10...Bxc3! 11.bxc3 and rounding up the weak white pawns on the queenside.]

10…Bc6 Yes, such a rearrangement of Black’s minor pieces is now considered almost obligatory here.

[In case of 10...Nc6 11.Rd1 the bishop on d7 would be left passive and vulnerable.]

11.Rd1 The pressure from the rook can’t be ignored. The d4-d5 break might also be an option in some cases.

11…Bxc3 A novelty in the given concrete situation, but the exchange itself is banal.

[The main line was previously considered to be 11...Qe7, but Black couldn't be satisfied with the recent attempts. For example, 12.Bd2 Bb6 13.dxc5 Qxc5 14.b4 Bxf3 15.gxf3 Qh5 16.f4 Ng4 17.f3 Nf6 18.Kh1 Nc6 19.Rg1 and White had a strong initiative, Valentin Iotov - Nedelcho Cheparinov, Plovdiv 2004.]

[If 11...Nbd7 then it really was strong to play 12.d5! exd5 13.Nxd5, after which the a5-bishop feels betrayed. Here, in the encounter Rainer Knaak - Artur Yusupov, Hamburg 1991, Black took a risk: 13...Nb6, which was ultimately justified by White's weak play - 14.Nf4 (White would have got powerful pressure for the pawn sacrifice 14.Nxb6 Qxb6 15.b4! cxb4 16.Ne5 and so on) 14...Qc7 15.Ba2 Rae8 16.Bd2 Bxd2 17.Rxd2 Ne4 18.Rc2 Qe7 and it developed into a roughly equal and complex struggle.]

12.bxc3 Nbd7

So then, we’ve got the position from the Yusupov – Feller game, but with a pawn on a3. A minor nuance? Who knows, who knows…

13.Bd3 Boris is preparing to advance pawns in the centre. His bishops [elephants in Russian!] are kicking their hooves, yearning for space! Following the example of Artur Mayakovich and putting the light-squared “hoofed one” on b3, in the absence of a pawn on a2, would make no sense – the unstable position of the white pieces would be fraught with danger.

[It was no doubt also possible to start with 13.Bb2 However, there might be other possible careers for the c1-bishop. For example, after e3-e4 it could head to the right, let's say to g5.]

13…Qa5 Vishy is beginning to pester his opponent’s weaknesses on the queenside. In principle, it’s turned out that Black has completed his development first. He needs to extract some real fruits from that temporary advantage, as otherwise he won’t manage to equalise. The contrast in time spent is becoming ever more pronounced: 1:02 – 1:55. Anand’s got almost an hour to spare!

14.c4 Again keeping the bishop on c1. Cunningly played! I suspect the Champion will finally start to think.

[It would be interesting to find out what the Challenger didn't like about 14.Bb2 I couldn't immediately find anything clear and forced. Perhaps Black would go for simplifications with 14...cxd4 15.cxd4 (15.exd4 Qh5) 15...Be4! and then Black would start counterplay on the c-file... unless, of course, you could play the bold blow 16.Bxe4 Nxe4 17.d5! No, you shouldn't play like that.]

[In that case after 14.Bb2 you should immediately play 14...Be4!, for example, 15.c4 Bxd3 16.Rxd3 Rfd8 17.Rad1 cxd4 18.exd4 Rac8 with mutual chances.]

14…cxd4 A critical decision. Play is opening up and the c1-bishop will become powerful.

[Here as well he probably looked at 14...Be4, but some drawbacks were found.]

15.exd4

We’ve ended up with hanging pawns – simultaneously a strength and a weakness. If they manage to advance they’ll ensure an edge, but if Black manages to limit White’s activity, simplify play and pounce on the pawns, then…

15…Qh5 There it is, the foreseen switch of the queen to the kingside. Does it seem as though Black’s threatening to double pawns on f3? Personally, I don’t think it’s a real threat. Two bishops against two knights… for the third time in a row in the match – that would be interesting! And dangerous for Black. In such an open and dynamic position the knights are clearly weaker.

16.Bf4 Correct! Gelfand calmly completes his development. The activity of his pieces compensates for the potential structural weaknesses.

16…Rac8 Anand is placing his pieces attractively, although it’s not yet clear what he should do next. The time gap isn’t narrowing: 0:42 – 1:40. Time trouble is close, but only for one of the match participants… It seems he’s now deciding where to move the f3-knight – to e5 or d2? From the point of view of simplifications and a draw the first would be more reliable. From the point of view of maintaining the suspense the second is better. A third path probably isn’t bad either – 17.a4 and then 18.a5. Having a wide choice isn’t always a good thing, my friends. You’re beset by constant doubts and a lot of time and effort goes nowhere.

[From the point of view of exchanging on f3 and playing the e6-e5 break it looked more logical to play 16...Rfe8 For example, some kind of routine manoeuvre like 17.Rac1?! would be met with 17...Bxf3 18.Qxf3 (18.gxf3 e5!) 18...Qxf3 19. gxf3 e5 with equal chances.]

[While 16...Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Qxf3 18.gxf3 led to a persistent edge for White in the ending. He'd next switch to the queen's flank and advance the a3-pawn.]

17.Ne5 In practical terms Gelfand’s choice is understandable. With so much less time he decided not to take a risk.

[In case of 17.Nd2 e5! we'd get very interesting complications, which are hard to analyse to a clear conclusion even with a computer on hand. There might follow: 18.dxe5 Rfe8 19.Qxh5 Nxh5 20.Be3 Rxe5 (worse is 20...Nxe5?! 21.Be2! Nf6 22.Bxa7!) 21.Ne4! (it looks dubious to play 21.Bxa7 b6) 21...Ra8!? (very dangerous is 21...Bxe4 22.Bxe4 Rxe4 23.Rxd7) 22.Bc2 Bxe4 23.Bxe4 Rxe4 24.Rxd7 b6 - it seems Black can hold this endgame - 25.c5 Nf6 26.Rb7 bxc5 27.Bxc5 a5 and so on.]

[If  17.a4 then I suspect Black would have played 17...Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Qxf3 19.gxf3 Rfd8 and in concrete variations he manages to put pressure on the white pawns. For example, with Nd7-b8-c6.]

17…Qxe2 18.Bxe2 Nxe5 19.Bxe5 Rfd8

The position that’s arisen is a little better for White, but Black has a huge safety margin. For a real struggle for victory White lacks a pair of knights on the board – that pair which was just exchanged. Without the joker-knight it’s hard to pose his opponent practical difficulties. It’s not easy to create new weaknesses.

[The immediate knight raid 19...Ne4 could have led to a new round of complications - 20.d5! Ba4 21.Re1 - Black hardly needs such adventures.]

20.a4 The good thing about the position for Boris, apart from the advantage of the two bishops, is that it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make a serious blunder. There are obvious useful manoeuvres and no problems at all. It looks obvious to play a4-a5, f2-f3, Kg1-f2 and then it’ll be clear what you should undertake next. However, Black isn’t obliged to stand and wait… For almost the first time in the game Vishy is having a serious think. It’s not hard to predict his move – I’d say it’s a 90% likelihood that his knight will be set in motion.

[Incidentally, I'd have started with 20.f3, so as not to think about the Nf6-e4 jump. However, there would then have followed 20...Nd7 21.Bg3 (worse is 21.Bf4 e5! 22.dxe5 Re8 with obvious equality) 21...Nb6 and Black blockades the a4-square.]

20…Ne4 There it is. A cultured chess player isn’t going to wait around to be completely squeezed. The knight’s threatening to come to c3, and if White plays Ra1-a3 he has to deal with a blow on a4 – either immediately, or after including the move f7-f6.

21.Rd3 This looks unattractive, but it’s functional.

[The variation 21.Ra3 f6 22.Bf4 Bxa4! really was good for Black - 23.Re1 (23.Rxa4? Nc3) 23...Bc6 24.f3 Nd6 25.Rxa7 Nf5 26.d5 exd5 27.Bd3 g6 - White has compensation for the pawn, but no more.]

[And 21.Bg4 would almost certainly have led to a repetition of moves - 21...Nf6, and you have to return the bishop to e2, as there's no advantage after 22.Bh3 (or 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.d5 Bd7 and so on) 22...Nd7 23.Bf4 Nb6 with a double attack, while after 24.d5 Black coolly plays 24...Bd7]

21…f6 By chasing away the enemy bishop Black is weakening the d4-point and, perhaps, preparing the cunning switch Bc6-e8-g6. Strangely enough, the struggle is still extremely concrete and fierce.

22.Bf4 The only move. If the dark-squared bishop was exchanged for the knight White would end up on the defensive.

22…Be8

As expected. This isn’t the only continuation, but it’s the most logical one. No-one is any longer interfering with the rooks putting pressure on the white pawns. A capture is threatened on c4, and so far I can’t come up with anything other than c4-c5. However, each pawn advance in the centre carries a strategic risk. Food for thought, but there’s no longer any time to have a serious think: 0:26 – 1:08.

[It was also necessary to look at the continuations 22...Nd6 and 22...b6, but one game isn't enough.]

23.Rb3 It’s obvious the Challenger is striving to avoid complex, calculating play – which makes sense, given Boris really is in time trouble now. He’s nervous, and he doesn’t trust his calculations.

[Strictly speaking, White could have continued to fight for a win, but to do that you'd need to make N accurate moves: 23.c5 Bg6 (somewhat duller is 23...e5 24.dxe5 Rxd3 25.Bxd3 Nxc5 26.Bc4+ Bf7 27.Be2! with a persistent edge for White) 24.Rc1! Nxf2 25. Rb3! (White would be underweight after 25.Kxf2 Bxd3 26.Bxd3 Rxd4 27.Ke3 Rxa4) 25...Rxd4 26.Rc4 (26.Be3 Nd3 27.Rcc3 Nf4!) 26...Rxc4 27.Bxc4 Ne4 28.Bxe6+ Bf7 29.Bxf7+ Kxf7 30.Rxb7+ Kg6 31.Rxa7 Rxc5 and Black holds the balance on account of his active pieces, despite White's outside passed pawn.]

23…Rxd4 24.Be3 The position is being unloaded. Exchanges bring us closer to a peaceful outcome.

[I doubt Gelfand even considered the capture 24.Rxb7, although it's not that straightforward: 24...Nc3 25.Bg4! Bf7 26.g3 g5 and instead of resigning, White continues the struggle with 27.Re1! Re8 (27...gxf4 28.Rxf7! Kxf7 29.Bxe6+) 28.Rxf7 Kxf7 29.Bh5+ Ke7 30.Bxe8 gxf4! - true, from a position of weakness.]

24…Rd7 Of course you couldn’t give up the b7-pawn.

At this point the players AGREED A DRAW. There might have followed: 24…Rd7 25.Bxa7 Nc5 (it doesn’t do any good to play 25…Rd2 because of 26.Kf1! with the idea of f2-f3) 26.Rb2 Nd3 27.Bxd3 Rxd3 28.Rxb7 Bxa4 29.Rb4 (29.Rxa4? Rd1#) 29…Bc6 30.Be3, after which the peaceful outcome of the battle would be even more obvious.

Well then, Anand managed to neutralise Gelfand having the white pieces without the slightest difficulty. A huge role in that was played by his timely opening surprise. Everything new is, as we know, something old that’s been well-forgotten. And Boris had forgotten the variation with 8…Bd7. He impressed, however, conducting a solid game and even maintaining a slight edge, but he’d expended so much time and energy that he couldn’t really make a convincing attempt to play for a win. The draw was a fair outcome of the simplifications and cultured manoeuvres by both players. So then, the match score remains level: 5.5 – 5.5. All that’s left is a single, and perhaps deciding, game at the classical time control, in which the World Champion will have the white pieces. That will take place the day after tomorrow. This is me, Grandmaster Sergey Shipov, thanking all my viewers for your attention. On Monday, a tough day, I promise to work wonders! All the best! 1/2-1/2

After the game was over Sergey Shipov again recorded a video round-up of the day’s events (in Russian):

There was a clear message. Anand’s 8…Bd7! (Shipov’s exclamation mark) was a psychological blow that worked perfectly, but objectively it wasn’t a particularly good move. Shipov explained its effect:

Modern theory has grown so much that grandmasters are largely slaves to theory. They’re absolutely used to playing according to known methods and their own analysis in the opening, and if, god forbid, a grandmaster suddenly sees an unfamiliar move, especially at such a crucial moment, a chill goes down his spine. He imagines terrifying computer analysis by his opponent, and thinks he has to be on the alert, to restrain himself, and as a consequence the grandmaster starts to think, to doubt and to lose masses of time and energy – and usually in vain. That’s what happened today. In actual fact Boris Abramovich played extremely accurately, but terribly slowly. He lost a heap of time and energy and that was just what he lacked later to play normal chess on his own. If you could put a strong grandmaster from the mid-twentieth century in Gelfand’s place, say Petrosian, Keres, Smyslov, Polugaevsky or Spassky, there’d have been more chances of a win because those people wouldn’t have stopped to think for half an hour or forty minutes. They’d have calmly continued to play chess and they’d have had chances, because objectively Black doesn’t equalise here…

The lack of time came back to haunt Gelfand on move 17, when Shipov felt 17.Nd2! would have retained winning chances. By the end, however, it was Anand who had the more realistic prospects, and Shipov said than in the Champion’s place many would have tried to exploit Gelfand’s time trouble with 24…Nc5!?. He thought only Black could be on top in the ensuing positions.

The final classical game of the 2012 World Championship match takes place on Monday 28th May. Sergey Shipov’s commentary will be translated by Dana Mackenzie and appear at his blog within about two hours of the end of the game: http://www.danamackenzie.com/blog/

You might also want to follow the Chess in Translation Twitter account, where I hope to provide quick updates from various Russian sources (including Shipov’s commentary) during the game: http://twitter.com/ChessinT

Anand bounced straight back | photo: Anastasia Karlovich

The best way to read Sergey Shipov’s commentary (which first appeared in Russian at Crestbook) is in the game viewer at the bottom of the following page, where you can click on the moves and analysis to see the position on the board:

• GM Sergey Shipov’s live commentary on the 2012 World Championship

For those who would prefer simply to read the commentary, however, or for anyone having difficulty using the viewer, I’ve reposted the game below. One advantage is that you can see diagrams in the positions where Shipov included them. At the end of the text I’ve also embedded his video round-up of the game.

GM Sergey Shipov’s live commentary on:

World Chess Championship 2012, Game 8

VISWANATHAN ANAND 1 – 0 BORIS GELFAND

Hello, dear friends! This is Grandmaster Sergey Shipov, again at my post – in front of keyboards, mice, cats and monitors. The eighth game of the World Championship match is about to start, and the suspense has reached fever pitch. Anand finds himself in a tough situation – his play has been disjointed and his form is clearly far from ideal. However, there’s nowhere to hide as the title is slipping out of his grasp. He has to gather himself together and use his will power to become a dozen years younger and give all he’s got. After all, Vishy is immensely talented and for him there’s nothing impossible in chess. And his opponent seems to be beatable… Or at least he was! What Boris will be like now after his long-awaited victory is hard to say. Of course, success breeds self-confidence, it inspires you, but negative side-effects are also possible. For example dizziness, a loss of vigilance, underestimating your opponent, and so on. On the other hand, Gelfand isn’t a young man but one who’s upright and very serious. It’s unlikely he’ll commit serious errors… As for today’s encounter, then personally I expect the Gruenfeld Defence. I think the Champion’s team will have had sufficient time to prepare an antidote. There’s no shortage of sharp variations in that opening, so there’s scope for displaying your analytical talent and also creativity at the board. Finding himself if not on the brink of the precipice, then close to it, it’s unlikely Anand will start to be cautious and impose limits on himself. In any case, as White he needs to be ready for an all-out fight, sparing neither his opponent nor himself.

1.d4 No surprise.

1…Nf6 2.c4 g6 My premonitions didn’t fail me. We’re heading for the Gruenfeld Defence.

3.f3 Again that same Flohr-Alekhine variation.

3…c5 Boris is the first to leave the path marked out in the third game of the match.

[Back then we saw 3...d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Be3 and so on.]

4.d5

White seizes the centre. Here it’s possible to switch to either the Benko (Volga) Gambit or the Modern Benoni system.

4…d6

[The lively gambit 4...b5 has certain drawbacks in the given situation: 5.cxb5 a6 6.e4 d6 (6...Bg7 7.e5) 7.Na3 Bg7 8.Ne2 O-O 9.Nc3 e6 10.Bc4 axb5 11.Naxb5 exd5 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 Ra6 14.O-O and in the encounter I. Kovalenko - V. Zvyagintsev, Magnitogorsk 2011, Black didn't get the necessary compensation for the pawn.]

5.e4 Bg7 6.Ne2 A well-known trick that I used to like in my distant childhood. The king’s knight rather than the queen’s knight heads for c3.

[More common is the straightforward 6.Nc3, which leads to normal theoretical continuations: 6...O-O 7.Bg5 e6 and so on.]

6…O-O Gelfand hasn’t yet determined the direction of his counterattack. The b7 and e6 pawns are lying in wait.

7.Nec3 Anand has carried out the manoeuvre mentioned, completely ruling out any Benko ideas for Black. Now all that’s left is the undermining e7-e6. Or… The long pause in the Challenger’s play has forced me to fantasise a little, but so far I haven’t been able to come up with anything worthwhile. Surely Gelfand’s team didn’t only look at the banal Nb1-c3? That would be an obvious hole in their preparation…

7…Nh5

Nevertheless! I must admit I wanted to write about this alternative for Black, but I thought it was insufficiently solid – not something for a World Championship match. Black’s provoking a white pawn avalanche i.e. the obvious move now is the g2-g4 advance, after which it’s hard to come up with anything other than retreating to f6. And what do you get? Black will have lost one and a half tempos and given White the basis for an attack. An extremely risky strategy from the Challenger! As it’s not hard to guess, this is a novelty. Previously people played more simply and solidly.

[Of course the most popular move is 7...e6, for example, 8.Be3 (8.Bg5!?) 8...Na6 9.Be2 Nc7 10.a4 Nfe8 11.Qd2 f5 12.O-O Nf6 13.e5 dxe5 14.Bxc5 with an incredibly complex struggle in which Black came out on top, M. Sadler - V. Tkachiev, Enghien-les-Bains 1999.]

[Not so ambitious, but still within the bounds of our normal understanding of chess, is the continuation 7...e5, after which White generally applied pressure: 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 Qe8 10.g4 Nh7 11.Bd3 f5 12.Nb5 fxg4 13.Nxd6 Qd7 14.Nxc8 g5 15.Bf2 Rxf3 16.Be2 Rf4 17.Nxa7 Rxa7 18.Bxc5 Ra5 19.Be3 - it's hard to describe such play as dull, S. Slipak - A. Rodriguez Vila, Pinamar 2002.]

8.Bg5 Vishy didn’t go for it, but he made a perfectly sensible move. White doesn’t allow e7-e6 and in turn provokes Black into pawn jabs i.e. the f7, g6 and h7 pawns might soon abandon their familiar places. Boris is again having a long and hard think. It’s absolutely clear that already, on the eighth move, the grandmasters are playing on their own, without home analytical support. A rare occurrence for World Championship matches nowadays!

[If Anand had been his previous self he'd have quickly and confidently played 8.g4! And then, it seems, he'd have stopped to think about what to do after 8...Nf6. Perhaps he didn't like the undermining h7-h5? Although it's not entirely clear what would be wrong with the reply g4-g5. Another possibility: the Champion didn't like Black's plan of e7-e6, Nf6-e8 and f7-f5. But still, it's hard for me to believe that Black is playing on an equal footing here. For example, you could continue 9.Be3 with the idea of placing the pieces according to a well-known system: 9...e6 10.Nd2.]

8…Bf6 Every move is a cause for amazement.

[I looked at the more natural 8...h6, after which it looks logical to play 9.Be3 e6 10.Qd2, although it's true that for now the h6-pawn is safe - 10...Re8 and if 11. Bxh6?! there's the strong 11...Qh4+ 12.Kd1 Ng3 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Qe1 Rh8!]

[However, after 8...h6 9.Be3 e6 10.Qd2 Re8 White isn't obliged to rush into sharp operations. It's much stronger to develop gradually, for example with Bf1-e2 and 0-0. There's also the interesting idea of bringing the b1-knight to a3 and castling long...]

9.Bxf6

[Black had comfortable play after 9.Qd2 Bxg5 10.Qxg5 Qb6 11.Qd2 e5! - in the absence of dark-squared bishops it makes sense to put the pawns on dark squares.]

9…exf6

I’ve never seen something like this in all my life. Black’s pawns are doubled on the f-file, but his king’s knight is alive. Alive and still provoking the fire of the g2-pawn.

[There's one simple reason Boris didn't want to play 9...Nxf6 - he'd soon have to move his knight from f6 again, and perhaps back to h5. For example, if 10.Nd2 e5 11.Bd3 then it's hard to find something more natural than 11...Nh5! with the idea of f7-f5 and Qd8-g5. Here Black isn't doing badly, but psychological barriers are hard for people to overcome. You want to play logically and consistently...]

10.Qd2 The psychology of the Indian grandmaster is as transparent as glass. At the moment he doesn’t trust himself, so he’s striving to avoid sharp movements, preferring the methodical implacability of a steam roller to the deft thrusts of a fencer. The pawn remains on g2. White is completing his development according to plan. By the way, here as well it was possible to think about the system with Nb1-a3 and 0-0-0, after which it would be possible to attack without the slightest doubt about the rightness of your cause.

[It seems it was much stronger to play 10.g4 and then, for instance, after 10...Nf4 11.Qd2 g5 (11...Qb6 12.Na3) 12.h4! White has a strong attack.]

[Therefore after 10.g4 Black would have to play 10...Ng7 with f6-f5 to follow. And you know... I understand why Vishy didn't like that - he's not in the right condition to devise White's attack here. The play is very unconventional, although in actual fact White has a clear advantage. It looks good to play 11.Qe2 with the idea of Nb1-d2 and 0-0-0, while the complications with 11...f5 12.gxf5 gxf5?! 13.Rg1! are extremely dangerous for Black.]

10…f5 But the Israeli grandmaster is, on the contrary, feeling bold! Move by move he’s sharpening play, dragging his opponent into complications. Gelfand is striking while the iron’s hot – before optimism returns to Anand’s play. And he’s opening the centre before his opponent has evacuated his king.

11.exf5 White’s clearing out the centre.

[After 11.Bd3 you had to take into account 11...f4 and Nb8-d7-e5.]

11…Bxf5

[The check 11...Qh4+ doesn't look good, as after 12.Qf2 the exchange of queens is bad for Black, as afterwards he won't manage to take on f5 with the bishop due to g2-g4 (you also need to look at the bold 12.Kd1). And if 12...Qg5, with the threat of invading on c1, there's simply 13.Nd2.]

[I also looked at 11...Qh4+ 12.Qf2 Qe7+ and White won't repeat moves with Qf2-e2, Qe7-h4+, but simply develop without fearing any raids: 13.Be2 Nf4 14.O-O and so on. With an edge.]

[I also checked 11...Re8+!? 12.Kf2 Bxf5, and here it's extremely difficult to bring the calculation to a clear outcome. Here's my first attempt: 13.g4 Qh4+ 14.Kg1 Re1! 15.Qf2 Qe7 16.gxf5 (16. Ne4!?) 16...Qg5+ 17.Qg2 Qc1 and... White's in trouble! That means I was wrong and he needs to play more cautiously. But we've left that behind now.]

12.g4

Well done, Vishy! He’s nevertheless dared to start a war. He’s picked up the gauntlet, and his pistol… The move in the game is unlikely to win White a piece given Black has the exchange on b1 in reserve. What’s more important, though, is that White is squeezing out Black’s active minor pieces. The clocks show: 1.28 – 1.18. Boris just can’t pick a path. There really is something to think about here. The whole trick is that after Qd8-h4+ White won’t shield with his queen but will instead play Ke1-d1, and in case of Nh5-g3 the cunning pin Qd2-e1! would follow, winning a piece. It seems Gelfand has sown the wind and reaped the whirlwind…

12…Re8+ Also a check.

[So then, I considered the main line here to be 12...Qh4+ 13.Kd1! (much worse is 13.Qf2 Re8+ 14.Be2 Qg5!) 13...Bxb1 14.Rxb1 Ng7 15.Kc2 Nd7 16.Qe1 Qxe1 (less successful is 16...Qd8 17. Qg3!) 17.Rxe1 f5 - this ending doesn't look bad for Black. Of course he doesn't have complete equality, as the g7-knight is limited and the d6-pawn is weak, but life goes on.]

13.Kd1 And the same reaction from White! After the black bishop is exchanged on b1 the white king will comfortably locate itself on c2.

[After 13.Be2 Black would play 13...Qh4+ 14.Kd1 Bxb1 15.Rxb1 Nf6!, leaving the queen in an active position.]

13…Bxb1 There was no other way of saving the piece.

14.Rxb1 Well then, Black’s bold knight will have to return home empty-handed. The Challenger is sitting, thinking, grieving… Black’s activity in the centre didn’t bring success and now he’s worse. The Champion, on the other hand, is probably in a good mood. In principle Anand has always been more restrained at the board than Gelfand – he’s less temperamental and the mask of indifference on his face is more convincing. However, yesterday Vishy’s feelings were very clear. It was too bitter and painful a defeat…

14…Qf6

Wha-a-a-t? Boris is continuing to play riskily with the motto “Not a step backwards!”. It’s as if he has to win at all costs and won’t get another chance. Such sharp, provocative and here hazardous play is something I really didn’t expect to see from him. Black’s queen is heading to take the h1-rook and White is almost obliged to sacrifice it, as defending the f3-pawn with the bishop would allow the h5-knight to come to f4.

[The peaceful continuations 14...Nf6 15.Kc2 Na6 16.Rd1 or 14...Ng7 15.h4 gave White perhaps not a big, but a persistent edge.]

15.gxh5 Absolutely the only move.

15…Qxf3+ 16.Kc2 Qxh1 But will the glutton return from its raid?

17. Qf2 Exactly. Black’s queen is hobbled. Bf1-d3 threatens to catch it. There can’t be any doubt that Anand saw this possibility back when he played g2-g4. Gelfand, meanwhile, seems obliged to play 17…Nc6 now, saving the queen at the cost of a piece. Of course that won’t be a pleasant position, but at least he’ll manage to play on a little longer… BLACK RESIGNED! That was a catastrophe for Gelfand. I can only imagine the shock his supporters are in now…

Having had a closer look I realised that the resignation wasn’t premature. The variation 17.Qf2 Nc6 18.dxc6 Qxc6 19.Bg2

19…Qc8 (19…Qd7 20.Nd5!) 20.Rf1 Qf5+ 21.Qxf5 gxf5 22.Rxf5 is absolutely hopeless for Black. Well, Anand managed to level the scores incredibly quickly and easily. By the way, at the press conference just now Vishy confirmed that he’d seen the finale of the game in advance. Of course he got considerable help from Boris, who played the game too sharply, nervously and impulsively. You can’t operate like that in a World Championship match! It’s not the level for it… It seems my tentative suggestions in the introduction to this game turned out to be correct – Gelfand simply couldn’t mentally adapt to the role of being ahead in the match. The proximity of the desired summit sometimes puts much more pressure on a person than seeing it grow more distant. Now the situation has been dramatically altered. The score is level and a certain psychological edge has passed to the Champion… Thank you for your attention, dear spectators. You’ll agree that the match has ceased to be dull and measured. From here on it’s only going to get more interesting! Working for you has been Grandmaster Sergey Shipov. Tomorrow we’ll all have a rest before we meet on Wednesday for the ninth game. All the best! 1-0

After each game Shipov produces a video where he reflects on the day’s events and goes into more detail, sometimes overturning verdicts he reached in his live commentary. Although knowing Russian would be a great help it’s still possible to follow much of the analysis without a knowledge of the language:

A few points:

1. Shipov came to the conclusion that 8.Bg5 was a perfectly good move and 8.g4 was far from clear (the Russian analysis of that line which he entered into ChessBase ends in the single word “a battle”).
2. After 10.Qd2?! (now it was time for 10.g4!) 10…f5! 11.exf5 Black was still fine, but 11…Re8+ would have been the best move in what Shipov described as “a sea of variations”. All the lines end in equality, though by no means lifeless equality.
3. After 12.g4! Black’s best reply was 12…Qh4+! when White is only slightly better. After 12…Re8+? Black’s hanging on.
4. 14…Qf6 was of course suicide, while 14…Nf6! would still have forced Anand to demonstrate a win. In general Shipov was bewildered by the way Gelfand played the game, and noted that Anand hadn’t been required to do anything out of the ordinary.

The next game, and indeed the last game, to be covered live here at Chess in Translation will be Game 11 on Saturday 26 May (we now know at least 11 games will be played!). You’ll be able to find it here:

• http://www.chessintranslation.com/live-game/

Games 9, 10 and 12 will be translated by Dana Mackenzie at his blog:

• http://www.danamackenzie.com/blog/

As he lives in California, where the games start at 4 am, he’s not planning on translating the commentary live, but it should be available around a couple of hours after each game ends.

Evgeny Potemkin is well-known for his roving video reports on Russian chess events. Restricted in his access to the players and commentators at the World Championship match itself, he hit on the idea of paying a visit to Sergey Shipov in his Moscow flat. What followed was an intriguing glimpse into the workshop of perhaps the world’s best live chess commentator.

Shipov gets some help analysing the position...

Despite the rigours of live commentary – you can read my translation of Game 2 here at Chess in Translation – Shipov managed to give a series of impromptu interviews, where he touched on topics ranging from the role of openings in chess to the question of having anti-draw rules in World Championship matches (Shipov: “there can’t be any limitations”). Below I’ve translated some of the highlights from Potemkin’s videos, which he posted at Crestbook’s KasparovChess forum.

1. Searching for Sergey Shipov

For those who’ve never been to Moscow (like myself!), Potemkin’s first video gives a real impression of the life of the sprawling metropolis. With exactly 21 minutes remaining until the start of the game – as he tells us in his running commentary – he rushes from the Yugo-Zapadnaya metro station in southwest Moscow towards the huge nearby block of flats where Sergey lives – he doesn’t actually get there in this video, but you certainly get a feel for the surroundings!

2. Three computers aren’t enough

After making it to the flat Evgeny conducts an interview with Sergey before the game begins:

It starts:

Potemkin (0:00-0.48): So then, I’m in the inner sanctum of the chess internet, in the commentary room of the extremely well-known grandmaster, and in my view the best commentator, Sergey Shipov. Why the best? I’m not saying that because I’ve come counting on a cup of coffee… although I am counting on one in any case. So Sergey, what have we got today? Today’s going to be a kind of experimental filming session. We want, or rather I want, to follow the birth of the commentary of a real commentator and not one, let’s say, like me or someone else.

Shipov (0.48-1.20): Well, everything in this world is relative. We’re all only “real” relative to someone else, but here’s how it happens. Three monitors, three computers, three mice, keyboards everywhere. I sit here and click something on each in turn. That’s how you get the commentary. There are lots of windows open on all the computers. By the way, I used to do commentary with a single computer and now I just can’t imagine how on one computer, especially an old one, especially a weak one, you could manage to do everything in time. Three aren’t enough for me now.

Sergey goes on to talk about the live commentary on the official website, which takes place largely without computers. Although he says it’s doable (he experienced it as the chief Russian commentator for the 2011 World Cup), he wonders if it makes sense, for instance, to have commentators discussing possible moves in openings they’re unfamiliar with – when it’s theory you simply need to know, and could quickly check in a database.

Sergey explained it's wrong if "every amateur with ChessBase" knows more about the opening than the commentators. Evgeny: "Every amateur with ChessBase?!". Sergey: "Every STRONG amateur" - and he makes the gesture you see above!

If you only watch one quick fragment of the above video I’d recommend the following moment when Sergey is about to take a sip of his coffee…

Potemkin (3:49-3:51): I’ll share a secret with you. I don’t know if you go onto the internet or not…

Shipov (3:53-4:00): I almost choked! Do I go onto the internet?? I don’t leave it. I go to sleep at night and I’m still on the internet.

Do I go onto the internet?

Towards the end of the video Potemkin asks about Fischer Random Chess and when World Championships matches will be held in that game. Shipov explains they’ve already taken place at the now-defunct Mainz Chess Classic, and notes they were won by very strong grandmasters (Aronian, Svidler, Nakamura…), before adding that it didn’t help when playing Garry Kasparov (for a time Shipov acted as a regular blitz sparring partner for Kasparov):

Shipov (6.04-6:12): I played a few games with Kasparov in Fischer Random Chess and realised that while I can struggle against him in normal chess in Fischer Chess it’s absolutely impossible.

3. Filming, welding pots and playing chess

After the game’s begun Potemkin continues to talk to Shipov. The video above starts with Evgeny saying, “No doubt that was Anand or Gelfand phoning you”! The game is still in its early stages and he asks how far ahead the players are looking, which soon leads into a wonderful monologue on the role of openings in chess:

Shipov (0.59-1.22): For now I don’t think either Anand or Gelfand are thinking or calculating at all. They’re recalling, choosing, considering – wondering where there might be an ambush, and which of the already prepared variations it’s best to choose. They’re watching each other carefully for reactions and so on. For now it’s a game of cat and mouse and there’s actually no calculation at all.

Potemkin (1.22-1.52): Can it be said that this chess is in no way the chess that was invented half a millennium ago. The game going on now is one of brains, of brain power, of memory power, of computer power, a game of that sort, but not the chess played by the Shahs of Persia or Iran.

Shipov (1.52-2.51): Yes, it’s a completely different type of chess, but it’s a question of craftsmanship. For instance, when you, an all-seeing eye, film a chess event using your magical camera you also have the same elements of preparation. You don’t think what button you need to push to turn it on, what you need to do to get a close-up or zoom out, what angle to use, where there’s light and shade, who you should talk to and for how long. Those are elements of craftsmanship, and you don’t think about it. It’s the same with chess players. In the opening for us some things are like that on switch, zoom and so on. We look on it as something we’ve known for a long time. And in any field, be it filming, welding pots or playing chess there’s always that element of craftsmanship and knowledge. It’s absolutely inevitable. You might regret if, of course – that we can’t sit down to play chess and start to create from the first move, knowing nothing – but such is life.

Demonstrating how a cameraman zooms

4. The Tower of Babel

The next video is perhaps of most interest for the start, which shows Sergey hard at work – who knows how long the commentaries would be if he didn’t only type with one finger of his left hand!

A Tower of Babel, but not yet the letter T...

Evgeny suggests a bet on whether Boris Gelfand will play 11.dxe5 or 11.exd5, but Sergey objects that he knows the position and there’s no point betting on theoretical positions. In his explanation of the current situation he already talks about a “Tower of Babel” (or Babylon) on the d-file, which was completely blocked with 8 pieces. That phrase made it into the live commentary on Game 4! Gelfand himself remarked on the “letter T” in the press conference after the game.

5. Boris earns his keep

This video takes place while Gelfand’s started to think about how to reply to Anand’s novelty, 14…Nf6. Shipov spends a while explaining the situation on the board (which mirrors his live commentary on the game), and concludes that Gelfand has a lot to think about. Flashes of the love of word play that is such a feature of his commentary (and a challenge/torture for translators!) then appear:

Shipov (1.12-1.15): Yes, there’s a lot to think about. It seems Boris Abramovich is going to have to earn his keep. (literally: “won’t eat his bread for nothing”)

Potemkin (1.16): He’s eaten it.

Shipov (1.17-1.22): Ah, instead of eating his bread, he’s earning his bread at the board. Or rather he’s ploughing and sowing his bread…

Sergey comes up with a better idea

Shipov then has difficulty working out what the times are and goes on to point out that the live coverage should show at least three things: 1) the position on the board, 2) the times on the clock and 3) the players at all times. Since Game 2 the first two problems have been resolved, though no doubt the majority of chess fans agree with Shipov when it comes to the long art interviews and advertising breaks that interrupt the coverage.

6. Kasparov puts on a show

Fifteen minutes later, with Gelfand still thinking about his 15th move, Shipov discusses the position and then reflects on the time different players like Gelfand, Kramnik and Kasparov take to make moves they’ve already looked at in their preparation:

Shipov (2:09-2:32): Now Gelfand is faced with some concrete problems. On the other hand, top-level chess players are such cunning creatures that you can never know for certain what they do and don’t know. For example, when in Kazan Gelfand thought for almost 40 minutes about one continuation in that game against Grischuk it later became clear that he’d looked at it all before. (the move in question was 17.Rd1 in the final encounter of the 2011 Candidates Matches – see Shipov’s commentary on that game)

Potemkin (2.34-35): He was pretending for 40 minutes?

Shipov (2.36-3.11): No, he was considering some nuances, subtleties. He’d looked at the plan itself, but perhaps he was clarifying some of the concrete details. That depends greatly on the chess player. Kramnik won’t, for example, think for 20 minutes never mind 40 minutes about something he’s already looked at. He’ll play quickly. Kasparov, on the other hand, might do that. With Kasparov a position could be absolutely familiar to him but he’d think for 20 minutes, look at it, make various gestures, and it seemed to everyone that Kasparov was creating and coming up with something at the board. In actual fact, however, it was a one-man performance based around the creative process.

7. For the sake of the spectators you sacrificed the title…

In this final video Sergey Shipov expresses his view that Sofia Rules have no place in World Championship matches, and that the players must totally ignore the audience. It starts, however, with Evgeny filming Sergey’s two cats.

A well-trained chess cat

The position on the board during this video is after Gelfand’s 19.Nd4. Anand eventually went on to play 19…Rfe8, with Shipov writing in his text commentary:

A surprise. I really didn’t think the Champion would allow his bishop to be exchanged. It’s a concession, even if only a small one.

In the video you can see that Shipov had indeed been sure that Anand wouldn’t allow his opponent a bishop v. knight ending, though of course the outcome of the game was unaltered:

Shipov (1.01-1.37): The bishop will now clearly go to g6. I suspect Anand is thinking here exclusively out of politeness, so as not to traumatise his opponent by playing too fast. It’s clear Vishy won’t give up the bishop for the knight. He’ll retreat the bishop, for example to g6. In general, I don’t see any real points of attack for White. The players no doubt see there’s plenty of time on the clock, and it’s no problem to play such a position – my prediction is that in about 15 or perhaps 25 minutes a draw will already have been agreed.

Potemkin (1.37-1.40): Sergey, I don’t recall. Are they forced to play 40 moves?

Shipov (1.40-2.23): No. The World Championship isn’t an exhibition match or a super-tournament for the spectators. This is a fierce fight for the title, so there can’t be any limitations. I think that if the participants in the battle for the title want to agree a draw on the 10th move, if they both consider that favourable, they’ve got the right to do that and absolutely – I’ll say a terrible thing – absolutely without thinking about the spectators, because it’s a fierce fight for the title. No prisoners are being taken, and just imagine – for the sake of the spectators you went for some unnecessary complications, lost a game and gave up the title. Then in your old age you’ll recall that for the sake of the spectators you once sacrificed the title. It’s hard to come up with something more stupid than that.

"For the sake of the spectators you once sacrificed the title..."

I’ll be translating Sergey Shipov’s commentary on Game 6 of the World Championship LIVE on Friday 18th May: http://www.chessintranslation.com/live-game/

Sergey’s commentary on the first game can be found at the dedicated Chess in Translation page for the World Championship match (also accessible from the “Live Games” drop-down menu above):

http://www.chessintranslation.com/anandgelfand2012/

That page contains more information and will also be the home of the future commentary. The latest game (or a link to it) can be found at the Live Games page:

http://www.chessintranslation.com/live-game/

The following interview, which I translated from Russian into English, first appeared at WhyChess on 23 December, 2011:

Note: all of Shipov’s commentary can now be found on the following dedicated page: http://www.chessintranslation.com/aroniankramnik2012/

The eagle-eyed (or even the not so eagle-eyed!) will have spotted it’s again become very quiet here at Chess in Translation. That’s largely because I’ve recently been working much more closely with ChessVibes, including writing a number of reports and articles there this month:

• Jakovenko claims European title in dramatic finish
• Ilyumzhinov turns 50, signs agreement with Azerbaijan
• Russian Team Championship gets underway
• Morozevich blunders but bounces straight back
• Russian Team Ch: Economist can afford to be generous
• Russian Team Ch: All set for a thrilling finish
• Russian Team Ch: Karjakin stars as Tomsk claim gold (including an interview with Peter Svidler)

I’m now also going to be providing live translation of Sergey Shipov’s commentary on the upcoming Kramnik – Aronian match in Zurich (see this ChessVibes preview for all the information). Shipov of course needs no introduction for readers of this site, and is unquestionably the master of the difficult format of live text commentary. He manages to combine instruction and insight into the thought processes of the players with humour and a real literary talent – a wonderful supplement to the ubiquitous computer analysis.

You can find all the previous live commentary by Sergey Shipov available at Chess in Translation here (there are also special game viewers for Bilbao 2010 and Tata Steel 2011), while I last translated his commentary on Biel 2011 for WhyChess (one game each round has commentary except for Round 10).

Kramnik – Aronian begins at 15:00 Zurich time (14:00 London, 09:00 New York) on Saturday 21st April. Sergey Shipov’s commentary will appear in Russian at Crestbook, and in English at ChessVibes. Don’t miss it!

For a number of years Bartel appeared to have reached a rating ceiling at a little over 2600, with much of his time devoted to launching and editing the excellent Mat chess magazine (from which I’ve translated a number of articles for Chess in Translation). It was his friend Radosław Wojtaszek who was the first Polish player after Michal Krasenkow to break through the 2700 barrier, but now Bartel is close to matching that feat, with 2700chess.com recently quoting his live rating as 2691.8.

The podium of the 2012 Polish Championship: 1) Mateusz Bartel 7/9, 2) Bartłomiej Macieja 7/9, 3) Kamil Mitoń 6.5/9 | photo: Sylwia Rudolf

It now seems less of an anomaly, therefore, that Bartel has performed so well at the Polish Championship. He first won in 2006, and has now completed a hat-trick in 2010, 2011 and 2012, despite the higher-rated Wojtaszek having competed in each of the last three events. As Bartel commented in an interview for a Polish newspaper in the run-up to the tournament:

As usual I’ll be satisfied with a place on the podium, and I’m aiming for second place – that’s the same thing I thought last year and two years ago. I still haven’t won a silver medal at the Polish Championship despite always trying to get one. Actually, though, I’ve been quite happy with those last two “failures”!

After his third “failure” in a row, Leszek Kropisz conducted an in-depth interview with Bartel for his “Chess Curiosities” blog. The first question was whether hard work was the explanation for Bartel’s remarkable run of success:

Mateusz Bartel: Yes, I think work lies behind every success. However, in chess it often turns out that it’s the result of work that was done much earlier. In my case, I think, a lot depended on work I’d done in the run-up to… last year’s Polish Championship, and also a little later in the period from April – June 2011. At the time I barely played at all, but that meant I was able to train. That bore its first fruit in a truly pleasant series of 62 games without a loss, followed by winning two strong tournaments.

Leszek Kropisz: This time round the defence of the Polish title might have put you under pressure, particularly after your success in Moscow. Did you feel that?

In my case it ended up being exactly the opposite – I didn’t feel any pressure at all, as after winning in Moscow even a poor performance would have been understandable. So my play was relaxed and much quicker and riskier than usual – which paid dividends.

Did you believe that over the course of a single year you’d be able to increase your playing strength so significantly? I recall last year you said you were trying to catch up with Radek, had seen what the work done by a top player looks like and would try to implement it yourself. Can we judge that to have been a success?

It looks that way. I learned a lot from Radek, and also from Bartosz Soćko and Grzegorz Gajewski – as I had the pleasure of training with all three of them last year. Each of them has skills I don’t possess, and working together with them made it possible to get a closer look at what they do well. Whether I’ve significantly increased my playing strength is something that’s hard for me to judge. What pleases me most is that I’ve finally managed to stabilise my results – I’ve had fewer big setbacks. That’s certainly had an effect on my rating.

Bartel goes on to give the following game-by-game account of his victory. You can play through all the games (and the win against Fabiano Caruana at the Aeroflot Open) in the viewer below:

Game viewer by Chess Tempo

Game 1: Bartel – Olszewski (1 – 0)

For many reasons this was one of the toughest games of the Championship. Firstly, it’s always difficult to get into the swing of a tournament. Secondly, my opponent is very strong (a year ago Michał ended up in 10th place and was fighting for a medal until the last game), and thirdly – due to fatigue. After an interesting encounter I managed to win the game due to my opponent’s mistakes in time trouble.

Game 2: Moranda – Bartel (0 – 1)

In this game, not for the first time in my life but for the first time in the tournament, I got a little lucky. Although I’d prepared well I didn’t have a good understanding of the nuances of the position, and after a strong manoeuvre (Bd2-c1-b2) my opponent was better. I then compounded that by losing my way and after 21.Bxd5 Wojtek had a much better position. Subsequently, however, I managed to escape by giving up the exchange, after which Wojtek started to play very inaccurately. We finally got an ending where I was down an exchange but had threatening pawns, and my opponent didn’t manage to find an effective defence. At the end there was a Rook + Bishop v Rook ending, but in a version where White was bound to lose.

Tablebases reveal that with perfect play White could have held the ending with Rook + h-pawn v. Rook + Bishop. His last chance was here, after 67...Bf4. 68.Rd8! was the only move to draw, while after 68.Kd1 Bartel didn't give Moranda any more chances.

Game 3: Bartel – Macieja (1/2 – 1/2)

This game didn’t go well for me – true, I surprised Bartek with the move 3.g3, after which he fell into a more or less 35(!)-minute think, but after that Black didn’t have any problems even for a moment, and I was actually the one who had to try and avoid defeat.

Game 4: Wojtaszek – Bartel (0 – 1)

Wojtaszek and Bartel in good spirits in the previous round | photo: Sylwia Rudolf

One of my best games at the Championship and one of the best of my life. I surprised Radek in the opening (he certainly didn’t expect the move 3…dxc4), but then he quickly showed that it’s hard to surprise him – I didn’t particularly know the plan of Ne2-g3 and then h4-h5. Luckily for me, Radek played 13.0-0 instead of 13.Qg4 and after 13…Qh4! it turned out that Black has the wind in his sails. After that Radek also played the unimpressive 17.Qa4 (17.Qf3 was better), and after 20.Nxd5 he ran into 20…Rf5!. At that point White’s position wasn’t yet lost, but it was worse and defending such a position, especially in time trouble, was very difficult. I played that game well and didn’t allow myself too many inaccuracies, so I also didn’t make Radek’s task any easier.

20...Rf5! here turned the tables - after any other move White is on top.

Game 5: Bartel – Mitoń (0-1)

By far my worst game at the tournament. The cause of the defeat was very simple – when I played 16.b4 I simply gave up a pawn, as I hadn’t seen that on the 17th move Black has the defence Bd4!. Although Black’s position wasn’t yet won by that point he already had an advantage. After that Kamil didn’t give me the slightest chance of complicating matters and claimed a deserved win.

Here Bartel had missed 17...Bd4! - the knight fork on e2 prevents White from winning a piece.

Game 6: Soćko – Bartel (0-1)

As with the game against Radek this was one of the best games of my life. I managed to play a positional piece sacrifice against a player I have very bad results against. It’s always nice to win such games and the effect wasn’t even spoiled by the fact that after the inaccurate manoeuvre Bd8-b6 White could have saved himself with 30.Qxh3.

Bartel decided to "punish" the risky 16.g4 with 16...Nfxe4!? 17.Bxe4 Nxe4 18.Rxe4 f5 19.gxf5 Bxf5. Computers still slightly prefer White, but Bartel was in his element!

Bartel gave a detailed commentary on this game at Chess-News (also available in Russian).

Game 7: Bartel – Bulski (1-0)

My opponent was in good form at the Polish Championship and confirmed that by how he played this game. Although initially in the opening he played the rather dubious 8…Ba3, for a long time after that he made the best moves. In typical fashion I got a bit carried away when I gave up two pawns, and after the strong 18…d3 and 19…d2 I was on the verge of defeat. The computer claims Black would have been close to a win if he’d played 22…Nd5, but during the game that wasn’t easy to find. Later Krzysiek strove for unnecessary simplifications and the result of that was an ending where I was better. Just when it seemed as though the game was going to be a long one Krzysiek played the suicidal 36…b5. After that White was within touching distance of a win and it was always getting closer. When the rook ending arose White should definitely win, although my opponent’s resignation was premature – I’d still have had to make a few precise moves.

Bartel's position is hanging by a thread. Here 22...Nd5! is the move that gives Black a clear edge. Bulski instead played 22...Bg6.

Game 8: Kempiński – Bartel (1/2 – 1/2)

I always slip from Robert’s grasp at the last moment. The grandmaster from Gdansk frequently gets a much better or won position against me, but with surprising regularity he then fails to win. On this occasion, in the spirit of a few previous games from the Polish Championship, I left a pawn en prise. The sacrifice was absolutely unnecessary and Robert ended up with an extra pawn. True, I had some kind of compensation on the light squares, but it was extremely elusive. If Robert had gone for 31.Nc2 I’d have been on thin ice. After the move in the game the situation was simplified and there was quite a smooth transition to a clearly drawn ending.

Game 9: Bartel – Markowski (1 – 0)

Recently I’ve had very good results against Tomek – perhaps chaos on the chessboard is a good method to use against the five-time Polish Champion? I decided to keep to that strategy and complicate play as far as possible. I played a very dubious opening and no doubt got a worse position. However, it only required a few inaccurate moves from Black and allowing White to play f4-f5 for White’s attack to become threatening all of a sudden. The climax of the game and the Championship was visually appealing – first giving up a piece on g6 for the attack, and then the decisive blow of giving up the exchange on b6.

Bartel finished a fine attack with 27.Rxb6! Rxb6 28.Bxd5+ Kh7 29.Qf5!. It's either mate or 29...Qxg6 loses the queen to 30.Bg8+.

Play-off: Bartel – Macieja (1 – 0)

As a 1-1 score would be enough for me (if the two 25-minute games proved indecisive Bartel’s better tiebreakers would give him the title – CiT) I could allow myself more freedom than my opponent. You could see that in the opening – Bartek knew more about the English Opening than I did and said himself that he knew a path to a drawn ending. However, he wanted to play for a win in the first game and that proved fatal. Although he had a good position, ultimately – due to time trouble – he went wrong. I then got an ending with a material edge. I didn’t convert it very convincingly, but I nevertheless managed to get the win, thanks to which the second game was unnecessary.

A tense final-round draw against Anton Korobov allowed Bartel to claim first place at the Aeroflot Open and a ticket to Dortmund | photo: RCF website

Let’s return to the Aeroflot Open, where your win against Fabiano Caruana had a worldwide resonance. How did it happen? Where did the brilliant Italian go wrong? Perhaps you were perfectly prepared for that opening?

I think Fabiano lost the game in his head. My unexpected draw offer on move 10, combined with my opponent rejecting it and immediately going on to make a number of poor moves, meant that the Italian rapidly found himself in an unpleasant situation. No doubt he wanted to beat me, but the situation on the chessboard quickly became “one-way traffic”. After that he faced an uphill struggle psychologically, and he didn’t cope with it – the result was a miniature, a painful loss. I think that’s the worst game Caruana’s played in the last couple of years.

Here Bartel played the quiet but lethal 22.Bg5!!. Caruana resigned, as it turns out there's no good way of dealing with the threat of Be7.

What do you think about Bartłomiej Macieja, the silver medallist?

Bartek was probably the greatest surprise of this Championship. Recently he’d seemed to be taking a more relaxed attitude to chess, but this Polish Championship really mattered to him. (Macieja may have been extra-motivated after criticism from some sections of the Polish chess community for recently playing – and doing well in – a series of relatively weak events in Central and South America. It was also suggested that lower-rated World Junior Champion Dariusz Świercz should have been chosen in his place for the Polish team at the European Team Championship – CiT)  He was decently prepared for the games and you could see the energy and will to win in his play. Of course Bartek got into his usual time trouble, but on this occasion it didn’t deprive him of a single point. His score of 7 out of 9 was absolutely deserved.

And Kamil Mitoń, the bronze medallist?

I’m glad Kamil ended up with a medal – after all, he’s one of our best players and he’d never stood on the podium before. He started badly with two draws, but after that Kamil won the next three games in a row, including against me. To be honest, he didn’t really give me a chance, although some of the guilt was mine as I simply handed him a pawn. At +3 Kamil played confidently and he added another plus without any great difficulty. Kamil can have some regrets about the game against Bartek Macieja – no doubt he could have squeezed more out of it. In that case he’d have been fighting for first place to the very end.

You’re still the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Mat”, so it seems that hasn’t got in the way of your success. Are you planning to stay in that role?

As I’ve already mentioned more than once I currently don’t have a lot of work to do at Mat – I’m mainly writing articles. The “dirty work” is done by Michał Rudolf. I’ve been trying to help him out but that doesn’t take me a lot of time, and certainly much less than it once did. As I love what I do I treat it as a hobby – so yes, I’ll remain the editor-in-chief of Mat.

What’s your assessment of the Polish Chess Federation board after three years in power?

It can’t be anything other than very positive. Of course, the Federation could and still can do more – that’s always the case. However, the leap that’s been made in the last three years is very significant. There’s still a lot to do and they can’t rest on their laurels, but the facts are indisputable – more and more serious companies are cooperating with the Federation, we’ve got good Polish Championships, the Federation has an impressive headquarters and they’re trying to help (teach) the regional federations to acquire sponsors. Next year we’re going to have the Men’s European Championship and the European Team Championship in Poland. Finally, we’ve got the Wojtaszek COMARCH Team (a project where the Polish-based global IT firm Comarch is sponsoring cooperation between Wojtaszek and some of Poland’s most promising young chess players – CiT). There’s a lot more that could be mentioned. I think even the results of our players – Darek Świercz’s World Championship, Radek finishing runner-up in Europe and seeing his rating jump, or my recent results are also partly down to those in charge and the good atmosphere they’ve created.

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov attended the closing ceremony and played chess against Tomasz Sielicki, President of the Polish Chess Federation, Deputy President of the ECU and a keen amateur player (Elo: 2011) | photo: Sylwia Rudolf

In your opinion, which Polish players have the greatest chance of reaching the so-called super-grandmaster level of 2700+?

I don’t want to talk about individuals. In actual fact, many players at grandmaster level are capable of making a leap. It all depends on whether someone’s willing to get down to working hard or not, and whether they’re able to draw conclusions from defeats, and so on.

What are your next chess plans? Are you going to concentrate only on the July super-tournament in Dortmund?

I’ll start thinking about Dortmund after the European Championship, which is going to take place soon in Bulgaria. Then I’ll also play a few games in the Polish and Czech Leagues and no doubt also in Lublin (although it’s not yet clear what the tournament format will be this year). (Last year Alexei Shirov won a strong 8-player round-robin tournament – CiT) And then Dortmund…

At what point in your life did you finally decide to devote yourself to chess?

I think the key was winning the Polish Championship in 2006. Towards the end of 2005 I wasn’t sure whether it was worth keeping playing chess. The success in the Polish Championship in Krakow motivated me first to take a break from my studies and then to undertake training sessions, as a result of which I jumped to 2600. After that there were a lot of ups and downs, and overall I stood still for a few years, but now I’ve made some progress. I hope it isn’t over yet.

Do you treat chess only as a sport, or is it also relaxation – occasionally playing games for fun with friends?

For me chess is a contest. So playing for fun doesn’t really interest me – yes, I can play with friends “to relax”, but always to win.

Which books would you recommend for someone trying to raise the level of their chess and improve? Do you have any general advice about playing technique that you could share with your fans?

There are so many books that you could recommend hundreds of them. It’s worth picking up Kasparov’s books – in general, they’re all wonderful. From the point of view of openings Marin and Avrukh are wonderful authors. You can’t forget about tactics either, but for that almost every book is good.

Do you still play on the internet?

Barely at all, of late. My desktop computer broke and I don’t want to connect mice to my laptop :)

What can we wish the new-old Polish Champion for 2012?

A Polish medal at the Olympiad in Istanbul. A medal for the men, to be more precise. (The Polish women’s team won silver medals at the 2011 European Team Championship in Greece – CiT)

In that case I wish you a medal at the Olympiad and thank you for the interview!

Standing out from the crowd... | photo: Sylwia Rudolf

Links:

• Interview above at Leszek Kropisz’s website (in Polish)
• Kropisz’s interview with Bartel after the 2011 Polish Championship (in Polish)
• Extensive interview with Bartel by Marek Cegliński for the Rzeczpospolita newspaper (in Polish)