Begs the question:
Is the title worth more than “the finger?”

1.e4! From Vishy is very accurate so that he can get forcing lines from almost every opening therefore imposing his style on the match.

It may very well be Anand's lunge in the end that delivers the killshot.

Magnus may get more adventurous than he should, ruffled by the score, placing too much trust in Thor, not wanting to bore, feeling the demand for more, impatient to gore.....discounting the skills of the matador...

And game o'er.

And game o'er.>

Unless one agrees that 20 draws out of 44 played is "a lot"

Hardly

Whats fascinating is there were 24 wins

But the general point is that if you look at GM games you will find that most of their games are draws. In tournaments they tend to take draws with players about their own strength and target the lower rated players. This doesn't happen as automatically as that but it is a general pattern. The draws of such players are also often very exciting and or interesting games.

I've actually forgotten what I originally commented on: but what I liked about the 1960 and 1961 matches was that there were a lot of very interesting games by both players (whereas in the recent fest the games were relatively dull).

Carlsen tactics of boring Anand to death were or was a good one. Anand didn't play like the Anand of old. He looked a bit like a whipped dog. But in the opening rounds Carlsen looked like he had been whacking his dick all night as was trembling and dropping pieces and he played like a pansy...that is when Anand should have gone for his guts but Anand played a bit passively after that: until it was too late and he uncorked the f3. That was a great game: chess is not about being sound it about will power and luck.

I think Game 2 was more important than first appears due to fact that Anand passed on the Advance variation. Who knows, maybe he thought Carlsen had something prepared and wanted extra time to prepare something himself. Well, we saw what happened: Carlsen didn't offer another Caro-Kann and Anand spent the rest of the match butting his head against the Berlin. And so Game 2 served its purpose: Carlen secured a draw with the Caro-Kann, erasing one of Anand's precious "Whites"

The ultimate match highlighting draws has to be Karpov vs Kasparov 1984: Karpov-Kasparov World Championship Match (1984)

40 draws in 48 games

Now thats a lot of draws

Yes I could see that: in Anand's book he points out how stressed he was in hsi amtch vs. Kasparov, and indeed he had real chances to take it to Kasparov but the psychology worked in Kasparov's favour. But I think Anand was at that stage = or better in ability but a bit less experienced... and Carlsen did well to get over that early stage.

<I think Game 2 was more important than first appears due to fact that Anand passed on the Advance variation. Who knows, maybe he thought Carlsen had something prepared and wanted extra time to prepare something himself. Well, we saw what happened: Carlsen didn't offer another Caro-Kann and Anand spent the rest of the match butting his head against the Berlin. And so Game 2 served its purpose: Carlen secured a draw with the Caro-Kann, erasing one of Anand's precious "Whites" >

Yes. But the Advanced - what about the Panov-Botvinnik? I have, as well as that and the Advanced, played the 2 knights. Fischer did a few times. I know Kasparov played both the Panov and the Advanced at diff. times.

<The ultimate match highlighting draws has to be Karpov vs Kasparov 1984: Karpov-Kasparov World Championship Match (1984)

40 draws in 48 games

Now thats a lot of draws >

I played through all the games in that match. I read some of the controversy about it also. I recall it when it happened. Karpov was ahead on points. At the time he was the best player in the world and Kasparov couldnt make progress.

I then played over the next match but Kasparov didnt really looks hugely better than Karpov either. In the game where he made a nice sac it was clearly as basic blunder due to fatigue by Karpov.

It was a nice one by Kasparov by the way: and what he did, he suddenly and dramatically swung around to face all the watching fans and media, made dramtic sac, swung back with his very expressive face, clearly "saying":

I suspect that this quick draw in game 2 against a Caro-Kann cost Anand the match in 2013 just as a quick draw in game 2 against a Caro-Kannit cost Spassky his match against Karpov in 1974, amd for similar reasons.

I suggest that in this respect the Madras match was almost a carbon copy of the 1974 Spassky-Karpov match.

It is possible that Kramnik was right to say that Anand was afraid of Carlsen.

One reason for Anand to listen to Kramnik is that Anand might have then found a remedy eg to play objectively, as Carlsen would play.

This meant playing game 2 as Carlsen would have played it, not granting an easy draw but using White's greater space to place some pressure on Black.

Who knows but that this quick draw in game 2 caused Anand to miss a win in game 3.