WCC2012-12: Backlash on short draw
Gelfand and Anand square off in last game of the match. Tension was high and building before an unexpected ending occurred. Photo by Anastasia Karlovich.
The angst was high amongst the fans, commentators and journalists alike and the Anand-Gelfand match ended in another short draw. The defending champion actually offered a draw a pawn up with an imbalanced position, not testing the challenger. Have elite players become too trusting in the technique of their peers? Perhaps.
“We are here to play the match, we are not here to entertain spectators. We don’t have to play out the moves; commentators can explain that.”
~Boris Gelfand
This game looked to be a strategic coup for Anand and he prepared a slightly improved version of the Rossolimo he trotted out in game 10. Anand sacrificed a pawn early, but would get fluid play against black’s cramped position. Gelfand got into horrible time pressure wading through the morass of variations and decided to return the pawn. He ended up losing another and the chess world was bracing for what is known as a “walk-off” win for Anand.
Anand defended his position by stating, “We really had a tense struggle and agreed to a draw only when we understood that a game wasn’t going anywhere”. Gelfand was a bit more defensive: “We are here to play the match, we are not here to entertain spectators. We don’t have to play out the moves; commentators can explain that.”
This comment got a lot of sarcastic remarks including the fact that the commentators were none to happy to explain the result to the fans. ICC Commentators GMs Suat Atalik and Alexander Yermolinsky were critical of the draw, and frankly disappointed. In the Twittersphere, a torrent of comments were posted by many of the top chess website personalities.
Vladimir Kramnik was shocked at the draw offer by Anand saying “I don’t see any reason for White to offer draw.” He further stated that Anand’s draw is “one of the strangest decisions I ever saw.” Six-time Russian Champion Peter Svidler was critical of Anand for offering a draw in such a position and thought the world champion could play on a few more moves with “no risk”. The game had tremendous imbalances and Grandmasters of old would have no doubt played this further.
What is clear is that both players are perhaps tired and their nerves are starting to fray. Both were seen catching glances at the other and Anand looked visibly nervous. The pressure is on, but Anand is a world-renown rapid player and this matchup should favor him. The match will begin Wednesday with Gelfand starting with white in a four-game match.
Score: Anand 6 – Gelfand 6
Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik speaking here with GMs Maxim Dlugy and Joel Lautier. He was very critical at the draw offer by Anand. Photo by Alexey Yushenkov.
Analysis by GM Gilberto Milos.
|
2012 World Chess Championship (Game #12)
|
Official Site: https://moscow2012.fide.com/en/
Drum Coverage: https://thechessdrum.net/blog/2012/05/10/2012-world-championship-anand-vs-gelfand/
I CANNOT RECALL A MORE BORING WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH THAN THIS ONE. THE PLAYERS SHOULD BE FLOGGED.
They are both boring personalities.
It is time for the likes of Carlsen, Aronian, Nakamura to fight it out for the title.
These are the guys that will attract the attention that the Fischer-Spassky, Kasparov-Karpov matchups used to enjoy.
“We are here to play the match, we are not here to entertain spectators. We don’t have to play out the moves; commentators can explain that.”
~Boris Gelfand
…but at least in other games and sports you can play and entertain at the same time and when things ‘aren’t played out’ it’s because somebody already clinched (as in a 4 game sweep in a 7-game series or a straight-sets victory in tennis) not in order to draw! Chess is the only game where players ‘clinch’ a draw LOL! And all games and sports are watched for entertainment. Furthermore, entertainment value is directly proportional to the money that players earn! Gelfand is there to record games for the annals of chess scholarship, not to entertain. A cold reality. Imagine if NBA players thought that way: ‘I’m here to put my plays on tape for future players to study, I could care less about the spectators’
Actually, if I recall correctly, I read that world champ Tigran Petrosian changed his play style a little bit to entertain people. His chess was noted for extreme defense and prophylaxis, but when enough people expressed how little entertainment value there was, he actually introduced some semi-exciting ‘enticements’ into his game. In other words, even though he stuck with the defense, prophylaxis, and drawish play, he started making moves that intentionally invited his opponents to attack–just to entertain people…
Interesting conversation but what is wrong with a draw?? I once read or heard that GM makes bad moves to confuse their opponent as to their true intent. I suspected if the opponent is not fooled the game will end in a draw barring error. I respect the senior age of the two combatants and would not draw conclusions of a different match results based on the upcoming youth movement. Speaking of style of play reminds me of a story about two bulls on a hill looking down on a herd of cows. The young bull say let’s run down and grab a cow (pawn analogy ). The older wiser bull shook his head and said young bull save your energy and walk down since we need to grab them all. Before we are accused of age discrimination (not wanting to see two old geezers) we should respect what they have accomplished. After saying this, YES, I would like to see or even pay to see a head up series between Anand vs. Carlson.