Equal music: No matter if it’s black or white

The first of these hypotheses suggests that the championship has “burst into flames”,as Grandmaster Nigel Short tweeted. The first game was a 16-move draw,the second lasted 25 moves,the third and fourth have lasted close to five and six hours respectively,going on for 51 and 64 moves. The first two games were comfortable draws,while Carlsen had to struggle to claim the half point in game three. The next encounter was even closer to a result,but this time it was Anand who was on the ropes. Does this mean that a result is around the corner?

GM RB Ramesh,official commentator of the match,says there is little by way of extrapolation that one can do. It doesn’t quite follow that the games from here on will be a logical continuation of the games so far,he says. In a title bout,there are no carry-overs. “Psychologically,they are very tough,so they can course correct easily. We can’t make such statements that because one game is long and close to a result,the next one will be,too. Each game is unique. What happens depends on the choice of openings and the positions they get out of it. The next game can equally be exciting or boring,” he says.

That theory busted,we have the second hunch to work with. White,playing first,is traditionally said to have the upper hand in chess. Statistics suggest that white wins slightly more often than black – if there is a result,then there is a 53 to 56 per cent chance that the winner played with white pieces.

The reason behind this advantage is that the first move advantage gives white a tempo. An inaccuracy by white will only result in the position becoming equal,but an inaccuracy by black will set him two tempi back,and this can translate into an inferior position.

Black magic

But in Chennai,both players managed to equalise fairly quickly with black in the first two games,while in games three and four,it was black that was closer to a win. Is black the new white,in match-play?

Says IM Venkat Saravanan,who has worked with Anand on and off in the past,“With engines and computer analysis,there is probably no such thing as first-move advantage any more.”

With a lot of home preparation,it has become easier for black to neutralise white,either through the choice of opening or by taking the game into obscure lines. “Normally black gets to defend,reacting to the game because white gets to move first. But here,(black’s success) maybe because black has been playing openings that white did not expect,” says Ramesh.

In the first game,Anand replied to white’s 1. Ne4 with a Neo-Grunfeld set-up,which he has not played before and the players settled for a draw barely out of the opening. With Anand playing white in the next game,Carlsen replied with the Caro Kann,an opening he has rarely played before. “Anand himself has played both white and black in Caro Kann and has good results. But Carlsen played a very rare sideline and maybe Anand was caught off-guard. He either had to take an unnecessary risk or settle for a quiet draw. So again,black’s opening was a surprise,” says Ramesh.

In game 3,Carlsen opened with 1. Nf3 again,but according to Saravanan,just played it poorly.

What about the fourth game then? The way it panned out was a bit of a mystery,says Ramesh. “I’m very curious. Carlsen played Berlin which was not unexpected. There have been several Berlin games played by Ludvig Hammer (Carlsen’s second) and I thought Anand’s seconds must have had a look. Anand played very fast even when he looked to be in trouble,so I thought he had prepared the line. But in the press conference he made it sound like he found moves over the board. But then again,such stuff they won’t reveal,” he says.

If the colours don’t matter,and both players are roughly equal as the scoreline suggests,has it been a better-than-expected showing from Anand or has Carlsen not brought his A game here? “Carlsen is not at his peak. He is making mistakes,missing a few things. Anand is not missing a lot and yesterday he came up with a lot of good moves,” says Ramesh.

But it is not as clear-cut as that. “Carlsen knows Anand may make a mistake in long games. It hasn’t happened yet,but that is what he is going for. If each game lasts six hours he will be satisfied,” says Ramesh.

Each player has got something in his corner. Anand may have played “slightly better” so far (according to Ramesh),but the longer games will favour Carlsen over the course of the match. The pre-match predictions that suggested a Carlsen romp (as indicated by the odds on betting sites) seem to be from a different past.