Anand, Gelfand explain Game 12 Draw
Meanwhile, a little more on Game 12 of the Anand-Gelfand match. They had played the Rossolimo variation of the Sicilian Defence. Unlike the previous game when this system was used, the world champion managed to provide a surprise, sacrificing the pawn with e5 on the eighth move. Boris Gelfand thought long and hard before finding an interesting solution – on the tenth move he voluntarily returned the material and then sacrificed another pawn in order to reveal the position and activate his pieces. The challenger’s decision proved to be justified as he was well compensated. Anand agreed that he was lacking the sufficient resources to fight for an advantage, eased the situation in the centre, and on the twenty-second move the opponents agreed to a draw.
Following Game 12, the score is equal at 6-6. According to the rules, the players must now play a tiebreak: four games of rapid chess (25 minutes until the end plus 10 seconds per move). If they finish with a score of 2-2, a match of two blitz games will be played (5 minutes plus 3 seconds per move). If the score is still even, another match of two blitz games will be played (in total no more than 5 such matches). If the winner is not determined from these 10 games, the decisive Armageddon will be played.
At the press conference, Boris Gelfand had explained why he had spent so long on move 10…с4. The challenger said that moves 7.h4 and 10.Nd2 by White were simply excellent and made Black's task “very difficult”. “I was trying to figure out the best way to play at that moment because, if you make one wrong decision, it may already be too late. I realised that I needed to activate my bishops at any cost.” Boris Gelfand also explained that, if White had refused to exchange queens after 12...Qd5, then Black would simply have exchanged the “bad” white-squared bishop on c4.
Viswanathan Anand confirmed that he wanted to surprise his opponent in the opening, which he was able to do. But he noted that the challenger responded very handily to this. He also said that 10...c4 was the right move to make, insofar as Black had to play quickly in order to avoid getting into a bad position. He wasn't sure, however, if he should have gone for the continuation with an extra pawn, as Black was fully compensated with two bishops and open lines on the queenside.
When asked if he could have exploited his time advantage and continue the game, the World Champion explained that there weren't enough pieces on the board to play for the win. “It's very easy for Black to play after 22.Се7 Кре7, and I didn't see any reason to continue the game.”
Both players said that they hadn't considered what colours they would choose for Armageddon, if it should come down to that. They also could not remember the rapid chess score between the two.
Viswanathan Anand confirmed that he wanted to surprise his opponent in the opening, which he was able to do. But he noted that the challenger responded very handily to this. He also said that 10...c4 was the right move to make, insofar as Black had to play quickly in order to avoid getting into a bad position. He wasn't sure, however, if he should have gone for the continuation with an extra pawn, as Black was fully compensated with two bishops and open lines on the queenside.
When asked if he could have exploited his time advantage and continue the game, the World Champion explained that there weren't enough pieces on the board to play for the win. “It's very easy for Black to play after 22.Се7 Кре7, and I didn't see any reason to continue the game.”
Both players said that they hadn't considered what colours they would choose for Armageddon, if it should come down to that. They also could not remember the rapid chess score between the two.
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