Well yeah, it should still be a draw if black stays passive, but if he allows white to regroup with Ke3 Bd1 Be2 and then SOMEHOW allows b4-b5, suddenly he has a lot to worry about, because N on c6 is absolutely perfect, not only closing all the files but also preventing some sort of f5 because of e5 square. If black allowed b5 suddenly the knight is quite out of place, where can you put it? d8 is just super passive, while a5 supported by b6 is again quite out of play. Still a draw most likely, but then black actually has to work for it IMO

I think g4 was a slight mistake giving topalov some chances.

One line now might be 31...Na7 32.Rxc8 Nxc8 33.a5 Na7 34.Ba4 Nc6 35.Bxc6 bxc6 36.e5 and white wins. So better not to exchange the rooks I think.

Anand should just keep the rooks on, and I predict a draw.

sucks that the h-pawn is on h5 though :-x

well black can pretty much NEVER trade rooks here, b v n should def be winning most of the time for white.

with rooks on I don't really see a way for white to improve.. I guess I would again play some Bc4 --> Be2 and look from there.

wowzers, I completely missed Rc5 possibility.. Interesting.. e5 seems the move? but then after Bd5 black might be in trouble, or not?

yeah maybe I should stop talking and go to sleep in general, I don't see absolutely anything..

with a draw here, topalov is in serious trouble in the match. Anand gets white the next 2 games.

wow, getting interesting!

And now black is a bit better!

Draw

1/2-1/2 wp Anand!

Wow Anand made so many moves I didn't expect at all. I wonder if the GM commentators were the same, or if I just suck at these positions.

Nice defending.

Go Anand!

I'm sure you don't suck RT, maybe your moves would work too!

What is the state of 1.e4 in this match and in top level chess? Will Topolav eventually make the switch in game 8 assuming he doesnt equalize the score in the next 2 games?

This has been an extremely exciting match to follow... I don't see Anand losing anymore... and it actually seems his game 1 loss was simply a fluke, a blip in his memory of home preparation.

Black has a number of just incredibly solid defenses against e4. Particularly the petroff, berlin and sveshnikov. If black is strong and looking to just draw, it's not going to be rather difficult for white to disagree. While black cannot really obtain a draw against d4 so easily. This is coming from a GM friend, and not me.

i got a little bored with this game. (am i too fish? )
i think (and hope) now comes anand's 1.e4

So basically (your GM friend) you're saying that there are forced lines against 1.e4 that obtain equality and it will be a long stretch for white to produce any new ideas in these lines worthy of earning a full point.

He's not here now. That was from a previous conversation. I think the gist was more along the lines of it simply being that black obtains really rock solid positions. It's not like in the Marshall Attack where we recite 30 moves of theory and draw after a forced repetition, but rather that black can really fairly easily just snuff alot of white's practical winning chances in many defenses against e4.

I mean I think we're all saying more or less the same thing, but I'm just disagreeing with the connotation of 'forced lines'.

about tiebreaks:

rules says: 12 game match. If tied, 4 rapid games of 25 min+incr. If tied, they add 2 blitz games, 5 times if needed (so max 10 blitz games).

I know its not gonna happen, but if tied, this happens:

the players shall play a one sudden death game. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. The player with the white pieces shall receive 5 minutes, the player with the blackpieces shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.

I never saw something like that before. I was wondering, what color would be better to choose?

One thing I always thought was that theory in those games was so much better established since 1. e4 goes back it seems a bit further then 1. d4 - lots of Italian Games and so forth whereas serious 1.d4 seemed to be a bit newer in the realm with more possibilities.

But what do I know - I'm only 1500

Let the fun begin!

Bg5 - Anand deviating first yet again.

h6 - decision point: Bxf6 or Bd2 trying to prove that h6 was weakening.

Bxf6 Qxf6 Nd3 - trying to get access to d6 or b6 to eliminate the Bc8. Qe7 would prevent that, but the bishop pair cannot be kept in any case.

Is white in any rush to regain the bishop pair? the one on c8 isn't doing much. On the other hand the g2 bishop being unopposed could be devastating

Ba7
Qa4 - Anand still playing fast! What was wrong with the Nd6 idea? Maybe it was simply too cheap. With Qa4-b3 he keeps up the pressure for a long time.

I don't think the position after nd6 nc6 nc8 rac8 was really problematic for Black, this way Black has some trouble completing development