A miracle win for Drawnik tommorrow would add some excitement to the match. This is what I suggest for drawnik (who deserves to lose for his drawnik ways ) Anyway he needs to call his eligitmate father Kasparov beg for forgiveness and get some mental coaching and some prep work suggestions and\or send Anand a computer virus

LOL

It "shouldn't" as in it probably won't, or it "shouldn't" in the ethical sense?

Probably both.

<Kramnik: This was the first time I had a slight advantage, so it was quite pleasant. Anand's 10...Bxb5 was an interesting novelty (or at least a novelty to him). 11.Nb3 was the principled move but he didn't like it. He got nothing special in the game, and it was equal after 12...Nc6. 14...Rd8 would have been equal, but after 14...Rg8 White was better, and after 19.Re1 Black's position was dangerous. White has at his disposal the e5 and f5 breaks, for example, but Anand found a few accurate defensive moves - 19...a6, 20...Kf8 and 21...Rg6. His 22.g3 was slow and not in the spirit of the position, but he couldn't find a way to attack. Black's Qd4 + Rd3 construction was shaky, but it also interfered with White's coordination, and then all Black needed was to get the other rook into play and then he's OK. That said, he thought that 26...Qc5 was better than 26...Rd8, as the former would not allow Qh5. In the final sequence, he wanted to bring his pawn or king to h6, but never found a way to make it work - he's never in time - so he took the perpetual.

Anand: After 14...Rg8 15.f4 he knew he had done something wrong, and then had to choose between various setups where he's worse. He thought bringing the king to the queenside would be too slow, and felt that 19...a6 was forced. 20.Nd5 was very interesting and dangerous, but because only major pieces would be left maybe he can survive. White was better the whole game. Anand was happy when he found 21...Rg6, noting that if 22.f5 exf5 23.exf5 Rg4 Black would be in fine shape. He discussed various attempts to exploit the Qd4/Rd3 construction, including in positions where White's rook is on e1. So (my particular move reference, not his) 21.Na2 Qd8 22.Nc1 Rd7 and White hasn't made progress, because to achieve anything positive he'll need the knight back on c3. So Black's position was worse but defensible, and the last accurate move was 32...f5, after which it's a draw.

Q & A:

A couple of people asked Kramnik about playing on at the end with Kh3 with the idea of Rg2. Kramnik replied that it was an option but that he'd probably lose. (The second time, understandably growing tired of suffering fools, said approximately "my situation in the match is not so good but not to lose like an idiot". Having vented, he let the questioner save face, adding that he understood the question and had of course considered the ideas.) Specifically, he tossed off the following lines: 39.Kh3 Rd3 and tehn Black's king runs out, shedding the h-pawn but gaining big counterplay. Or Black can defend with ...Qc5-e7. Also, if instead 39.h4 Rd3 40.Rf2 Qc5 and ...Qe7, or 40...Kf8-e7 with counterplay for the pawn. Or at the end, in response to the suggested 40.Kh3 Rd3 41.Qg5+ Kg8 42.Rg2 Qc5 43.Kh4 Qe7 44.Kg5, Kramnik noted 43...Ne7 instead "and maybe White will get mated". (Around here came the "lose like an idiot" remark.)

click for larger view

This was an interesting moment in the game, since Kramnik seemed to be preparing the f5 advance, and Anand's last move is positively baiting him to play this; it doesn't seem to work. Apparently, Anand mentioned in the press conference the line 22.f5 exf5 23.exf5 Rg4 in which Black should be fine. Two other options were:

23.Rxf5 Rd2 and White's position is falling apart: 24.Qf3 Ne5 25.Qh3 Rdxg2 26.Qxg2 Rxg2 27.Kxg2 Ng4, aiming for Ne3 (28.Nd5 Qxe4+).

I think it is an insult to Anand to say that he is not the World Champion because he won it in a tournament. What a ridiculous statement! Botvinnik won the World Championship in a tournament, in 1948. Why? Because Alekhine died in 1946, and there was no clear successor.

So, in an unclear situation, where the effort to unify or clarify is needed, a tournament is not inferior to a match. I know it has been messy, but I think Anand has been upset at all the speculations that he is the World Champion ONLY because it was a tournament, and not a match. That belief is ridiculous, given Anand's strengths as a player and competitor.

So I sense a little "fire" in Anand, an extra spark of motivation, a moral strength to silence all his critics, with a convincing win.

It is also a sign of weakness on Kramnik's part that he has had to say what he said about Anand having the title. If you are strong and confident, you do not have to say that you "lent" Anand the title. Please!

Anyhow, I am sorry if I have offended anyone with these statements, but I have tremendous respect for both players.

As for Kramnik's position in history, who am I to judge? He is in the middle of his chess career, and it is too early to judge him, because he is still in the process of perfecting his chess, and possibly being at the top for a while.

Aside from this, beating Kasparov in the year 2000 was a monumental achievement. Kasparov is like our modern era's Alekhine, with an ultra-universal and dynamic style, and an iron will. It is not Kramnik's fault if Kasparov did not play at his best level in 2000. Rather, it is partly due to Kramnik that Kasparov did not play at his best. For when you sense strength in your opponent, you lose a bit of your own. The same way that Anand is making Kramnik look bad right now, Kramnik made Kasparov look bad in the year 2000. Among modern masters, Kasparov has the highest winning percentage, and yet he could not win ONE GAME against Kramnik in 2000. Again, a monumental achievement by Kramnik, no matter what anyone says.

Right now Anand is playing better. Maybe next time Kramnik is playing better. Who knows? Sometimes priorities change... what if a player wants to start a family, and devote his time to something else?

Or what if a player starts a family, and that gives him more fulfillment and joy, more inner peace, and he starts playing better?

Going back to Anand shaking hands, he almost does not look at Kramnik when they shake hands. He does not want to break his concentration, which might be already in the game about to start...