| Apr-01-18 | | Ulhumbrus: The computer evaluations suggest that 37...g6?? is a blunder which loses immediately. On 38 fxg6+ hxg6 39 Nxf6 Black's king can't place himself in check and so cannot recapture on f6 supported by an X-ray defence from the rook on c6, in the way that another piece may be able to. Examples of guesses as to the reasons for the blunder include fatigue, excitement, time trouble, and a combination of things. |
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| Apr-01-18 | | ChessHigherCat: <Ulhumbrus: The computer evaluations suggest that 37...g6?? is a blunder which loses immediately. On 38 fxg6+ hxg6 39 Nxf6 Black's king can't place himself in check and so cannot recapture on f6 supported by an X-ray defence from the rook on c6> It really only loses a pawn because after 39...Ke7 40. Nxe8 Kxe8 but I guess Anand considered the position resignable |
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Apr-01-18
 | | Richard Taylor: Wasn't Black in a bad way in any case? That is often a cause. I think that re blunders, they occur much more frequently at high level chess than people think and I myself seem to specialise in them. Reshevsky wrote a book on blunders and so on by great players and he put himself in but also Fischer and many others....No one is immune. I saw a game where Carlsen blundered against Caruana. He was on the Black side of a Berlin I saw the move instantly....Fatigue takes a part. I think that defense (or prophylaxis) and the elimination of as many of those simple or basic errors would have meant I had been possibly 100 points higher. Mind you I was never in my life ever going to be very good at chess. But I can thus extrapolate how people make errors or blunder as we say. Lasker kept saying in his Manual (which as a boy I loved reading but my father said he kind of just liked talking a lot in it but I still liked it, it made me feel I might somehow become as good as the great man!!).... But he used to say things such as 'ceteris paribus' (I studied Latin so that was o.k. even for a teenager) and more importantly: "In chess, as in life, we are all duffers." 'Duffer'. Not a word used much these days but I love it (obviously the translater's addition unless he wrote it in English, not sure). But the lesson is there. Great as he was, he realised human limitations. This sort of thing interests me more than the actual games. The people and their lonely struggle at the chess board interest me... |
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| Apr-01-18 | | JPi: There is no blunder here. More and less a miss evaluation. The slight superiority of N to B was predictable but wasn't obvious the impossibility to give black d pawn a life. For if 28...d5 29.Nd4 and 30.Rde2 wins a pawn with a fitness remaining pawn structure. |
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| Apr-01-18 | | The Kings Domain: Sterling play by MVL, he dominated the game from start to finish. His 11th move is a nice touch that set the tone of the game. |
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| Apr-01-18 | | Zhbugnoimt: A and lost this game because he didn't analyze the position deeply enough. He clearly prepared everything and had at least a slight recollection of it up to move 21. But that is where his knowledge stopped, and he had to start thinking. The issue is that it's much easier for White to think after 21.f4. White is strategically better with his grip on the dark squares and more mobile K-side pawns, and the play is so natural that MVL was able to play perfectly until the end of the game. Being strategically in trouble, Anand's salvation lay in the tactical shot 21...e5! 22.fxe5 Qc4! Threatening ...Qa2. After 23.c3 Qa2 24.Nc2 fxe5 the engine gives equality. 23.Kb1 looks more logical, but the issue is 23...fxe5 24.Qxe5? Rce8 25.Qg3 Rxe1+ 26.Qxe1 Rf1. The point is that when you're strategically in trouble, you have to look for tactics to equalize. If those tactics aren't there, you have a long and dreary defense ahead of you... |
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| Apr-01-18 | | Zhbugnoimt: I'm not saying 21...e5! 22...Qc4! was anything close to easy; it's an engine tactic that is extremely difficult for any human. I just think that Anand wasn't worried enough at that point |
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| Apr-02-18 | | Ulhumbrus: An alternative to 25...Rb8 is 25...Bf7 preparing to advance the d7 pawn without delay |
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| Apr-02-18 | | CTOJAH: What if 15.Bb3 ?
Queen has to move and White grabs a free Knight ! |
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| Apr-02-18 | | ChessHigherCat: <CTOJAH: What if 15.Bb3 ?
Queen has to move and White grabs a free Knight !> It doesn't win a piece but it's playable: 15...Nd3+ 16.Kb1 Qxd4 17.cxd3 |
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Apr-02-18
 | | chancho: It's unfortunate that Maxime did not make it to the candidates tourney. But hopefully 2020 will be the year. |
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| Apr-02-18 | | ChessHigherCat: <chancho: It's unfortunate that Maxime did not make it to the candidates tourney.
But hopefully 2020 will be the year.>
Not on my watch!! Just kidding, I think he's one of the best and the brightest, together with Aronian, but apparently there are factors like endurance and obstinacy and maybe resistance to sleep deprivation that play a major role in winning these things. |
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Apr-03-18
 | | PawnSac: < chancho: It's unfortunate that Maxime did not make it to the candidates tourney.
But hopefully 2020 will be the year. > Hopefully. He has been one of my favorite players for the last 6 years. i had hoped he would make it this time around. but... |
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| Oct-14-18 | | qqdos: <Zbh> It looks as though Anand did prepare this line and he has now even won the Chess Informant 137 Theoretical Novelty award for his 11 ...Rc8! Well done MVL for finding his way through to a full point. |
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| Sep-02-21 | | DouglasGomes: 21... e5 leads to slightly better endgames for White after 21... e5 22 fxe5 Qc4 23. Qb4 Much more forcing:
21... Qc4 22. Qxd7 Bf7 23. Nxe6 Rfe8 24. f5 Qa2
The imminent Qa1+ leads to perpetuals. |
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Kibitzing
