World Chess Championship 2012
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| Viswanathan Anand | Boris Gelfand | |
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| status | Defending champion world champion since 2007 |
Challenger Candidates Tournament Winner |
| Age | 42 | 43 |
| Elo rating (May 2012) | 2791 | 2727 |
The 2012 World Chess Championship was held from May 10th to 30th, 2012 as a duel between the reigning world champion Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand , the winner of the Candidates' tournament , in Moscow . To determine the new world chess champion , twelve games were first played with normal thinking time . Since it was then a tie, the decision was made on May 30th in the tie- break . Anand won this with 2.5: 1.5 and successfully defended his title.
Candidates tournament
Anand had twice defended his title in competitions since his victory at the 2007 World Cup : in 2008 he played a revenge match in Bonn against previous world champion Wladimir Kramnik (6.5: 4.5), and in 2010 he defeated the winner of the candidate final and earlier FIDE World champion Wesselin Topalow (6.5: 5.5).
The regulations for determining the challenger at the 2012 World Cup were subject to frequent changes: According to initial planning, the winner of the 2009 World Chess Cup should have played a duel against the winner of the FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2010 , the winner of which would have qualified as a challenger. FIDE rejected this plan in favor of a candidate tournament with eight participants, which aroused violent protests from the players and the grandmaster organization ACP . At the beginning there was still a lack of clarity about the mode of execution, as both a round-robin tournament and a knockout tournament were under discussion. The latter was chosen. According to FIDE's first statements, the tournament should take place from March 1st to May 31st, 2011 in Baku , Azerbaijan and another country. After further changes, the tournament was dated from May 3 to May 27, 2011 in Kazan , Tatarstan , Russia at the end of November 2010 . Despite this change in the host country, Şəhriyar Məmmədyarov , who was nominated by the Azerbaijani Chess Federation, was allowed to keep his starting place.
Due to the long World Cup cycle and the conditions of qualification for the duel, namely the lack of transparency of the qualification criteria, matches that were too short and the lack of a break between the semi-finals and the final, the Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the beginning of November 2010 Candidates tournament declares that he would have qualified by his rating. Carlsen suggested round tournaments for future cycles. He was replaced by Alexander Grishchuk , who had finished third at the FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2010 .
| Qualified by | player |
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| Loser of the 2010 World Chess Championship |
 Wesselin Topalow
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| Loser of the 2009 Candidates Final |
 Gata Kamsky
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| 2008–2010 FIDE Grand Prix winner |
 Levon Aronjan
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| Second at the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010 |
 Teymur Rəcəbov
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| Winner of the 2009 World Chess Cup |
 Boris Gelfand
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| Two players with the next highest rating (average of July 2009 and January 2010) |
 Magnus Carlsen (waiver), replaced by Alexander Grishchuk (third at the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010 )
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Vladimir Kramnik
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| Nomination by the tournament organizer ( Elo rating over 2700 required) |
Şəhriyar Məmmədyarov
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The tournament took place from May 3 to May 27, 2011. The losers in the first round received 30,000 euros each , the losers in the second round each received 60,000 euros. The two finalists each received 90,000 euros regardless of the outcome of the competition.
Four games were played in the first and second round (quarter and semi-finals) and six games in the third round (final); the cooling-off time was set at 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting with the 61st move. If the duel is not decided after that, four rapid chess games should follow, in which a time limit of 25 minutes per game plus ten seconds per move should apply. If the stand is still undecided, two blitz games follow, each with five minutes to think about plus three seconds per move. This is followed by up to four more two blitz game duels in the event of a further tie and if it is still a tie (after ten blitz games), a last game would have been played in which White five minutes, Black four minutes, and both from 61. Train would have received an additional three seconds. If the game had ended in a draw , the black leading player would have been the winner of the match. The candidate tournament ran according to the following schedule:
| Quarter finals | Semifinals | final | |||||||||||
| 1 | Wesselin Topalow | 1.5 | |||||||||||
| 8th | Gata Kamsky | 2.5 | |||||||||||
| Gata Kamsky | 2 (2) | ||||||||||||
| Boris Gelfand | 2 (4) | ||||||||||||
| 4th | Boris Gelfand | 2.5 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Şəhriyar Məmmədyarov | 1.5 | |||||||||||
| Boris Gelfand | 3.5 | ||||||||||||
| Alexander Grishchuk | 2.5 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Levon Aronjan | 2 (1.5) | |||||||||||
| 6th | Alexander Grishchuk | 2 (2.5) | |||||||||||
| Alexander Grishchuk | 2 (3.5) | ||||||||||||
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2 (2.5) | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2 (4.5) | |||||||||||
| 7th | Teymur Rəcəbov | 2 (3.5) | |||||||||||
The high draw quota at this tournament was remarkable: of the total of 30 games with a regular time limit, no fewer than 27 ended draws, some after just a few moves. The President of the European Chess Association , Silvio Danailow, criticized this result and blamed the tournament mode for it and demanded that the Sofia rule should also apply to the candidates' tournament in future . He was countered that the goal of the players is to qualify for the World Cup, and in a competition over just a few games, any mistake could mean the end. Every player must have the right to choose the competitive strategy that he believes will be most successful.
Preparations
London was originally discussed as the venue for the 2012 World Chess Championship. After disagreements with the world chess federation FIDE , the English organizers withdrew their offer in February 2011. In August 2011, FIDE awarded the Moscow venue. The prize fund provided by the Russian patron Andrei Filatov , a private friend of Gelfand, amounted to US $ 2,550,000 , of which the winner 60 percent (US $ 1,530,000) and the loser 40 percent (US $ 1,020,000), provided that the decision in the twelve regular games would be made. Otherwise - and this happened - a 55% versus 45% split was provided in favor of the winner, which is about $ 1.4 million to $ 1.15 million. An offer from the All India Chess Federation to host the competition in Chennai , India , was rejected despite a higher bid.
On November 26, 2011, Anand and Gelfand signed the contract for their participation. The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow was chosen as the venue, and Ashot Vardapetyan was named as the main referee for the Armenians .
Twelve games were played with a classic time limit (120 minutes for the first 40 moves and 60 minutes for the next 20 moves). From move 61, the players were given 15 minutes to think about the rest of the game plus 30 seconds per move. In the event of a tie after twelve games, which actually occurred, four quick games (25 minutes time plus ten seconds per move) were played. Had this not brought a decision either, up to ten blitz games (five minutes to think about plus three seconds per move) would have been played, followed by a sudden death blitz game in which White gets a time advantage of five against four minutes, but has to win.
Anand's seconds Peter Heine Nielsen , Rustam Kasimjanov , Surya Shekhar Ganguly and Radosław Wojtaszek have already supported him in previous world championships. Gelfand worked with Oleksandr Chusman , Maxim Rodshtein and Pawel Eljanow in preparation .
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Balance before the start of the World Cup
Before the World Cup match, the opponents played 35 tournament games against each other, with Gelfand last winning a game against Anand in 1993; in the same year Anand had won against Gelfand for the first time.
| Balance before the start of the World Cup | |||||
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| Anand | draw | Gelfand | total | ||
| Classic | Anand knows | 5 | 10 | 0 | 15th |
| Gelfand knows | 1 | 14th | 5 | 20th | |
| total | 6th | 24 | 5 | 35 | |
| Rapid chess | 8th | 19th | 1 | 28 | |
| Blitz chess | 3 | 4th | 0 | 7th | |
course
The opening ceremony took place on May 10, 2012. The first game was played on May 11th, when FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumschinow symbolically made the first move for world champion Anand.
table
| Lot | date | White | black | Result | opening | ECO code | Trains | Anand | Gelfand | Live stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 11, 2012 | Anand | Gelfand | ½: ½ | Grünfeld Indian | D85 | 24 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Video 01 |
| 2 | May 12, 2012 | Gelfand | Anand | ½: ½ | Semi-Slav Defense | D45 | 25th | 1 | 1 | Video 02 |
| 3 | May 14, 2012 | Anand | Gelfand | ½: ½ | Grünfeld Indian | D70 | 37 | 1.5 | 1.5 | Video 03 |
| 4th | May 15, 2012 | Gelfand | Anand | ½: ½ | Semi-Slav Defense | D45 | 34 | 2 | 2 | Video 04 |
| 5 | 17th May 2012 | Anand | Gelfand | ½: ½ | Sveshnikov variant | B33 | 27 | 2.5 | 2.5 | Video 05 |
| 6th | May 18, 2012 | Gelfand | Anand | ½: ½ | Semi-Slav Defense | D45 | 29 | 3 | 3 | Video 06 |
| 7th | May 20, 2012 | Gelfand | Anand | 1-0 | Semi-Slav Defense | D45 | 38 | 3 | 4th | Video 07 |
| 8th | May 21, 2012 | Anand | Gelfand | 1-0 | King's Indian Defense | E60 | 17th | 4th | 4th | Video 08 |
| 9 | May 23, 2012 | Gelfand | Anand | ½: ½ | Nimzowitsch Indian | E54 | 49 | 4.5 | 4.5 | Video 09 |
| 10 | May 24, 2012 | Anand | Gelfand | ½: ½ | Sicilian Defense | B30 | 25th | 5 | 5 | Video 10 |
| 11 | May 26, 2012 | Gelfand | Anand | ½: ½ | Nimzowitsch Indian | E54 | 24 | 5.5 | 5.5 | Video 11 |
| 12 | May 28, 2012 | Anand | Gelfand | ½: ½ | Sicilian Defense | B30 | 22nd | 6th | 6th | Video 12 |
The games took place at 3 p.m. Moscow time . Since the score was even after the twelve games, the tie-break occurred on May 30, 2012 from 12 noon Moscow time. There were then played four rapid chess games, in which Anand defended his world title with a win with 2½: 1½ points.
Long games
1st game
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- Anand-Gelfand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 11, 2012
- Grünfeld-Indian Defense , D85
- 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Bb5 + Nc6 9. d5 Qa5 10. Rb1 a6 11. Bxc6 + bxc6 12. 0–0 Qxa2 13. Rb2 Qa5 14. d6 Ra7 15. Bg5 exd6 16. Qxd6 Rd7 17. Qxc6 Qc7 18. Qxc7 Rxc7 19. Bf4 Rb7 20. Rc2 0–0 21. Bd6 Re8 22. Nd2 f5 23. f3 fxe4 24. Nxe4 Bf5 ½: ½
Gelfand played the Grünfeld-Indian Defense for the first time in his career , against which Anand could not gain an advantage.
2nd game
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- Gelfand-Anand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 12, 2012
- Semi-Slav Defense , D45
- 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. b3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 0–0 9. 0–0 Bd6 10. Rc1 e5 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. e4 dxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Nf6 15. dxe5 Nxe4 16. exd6 Qxd6 17. Be3 Bf5 18. Qxd6 Nxd6 19.Nd4 Rfe8 20.Nxf5 Nxf5 21. Bc5 h5 22.Rfd1 Rac8 23. Kf1 f6 24. Bb4 Kh7 25. Rc5 ½: ½
In his first game with White, Gelfand could not get the world champion, who chose the solid semi-Slavic defense, in trouble.
3rd game
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- Anand-Gelfand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 14, 2012
- Grünfeld-Indian Defense, D70
- 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 0–0 8. Dd2 e5 9. d5 c6 10. h4 cxd5 11. exd5 N8d7 12. h5 Nf6 13. hxg6 fxg6 14. 0–0–0 Bd7 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. Ka1 e4 17. Bd4 Na4 18. Nge2 Da5 19.Nxe4 Qxd2 20. Nxf6 + Rxf6 21.Rxd2 Rf5 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. d6 Rfc5 24. Rd1 a5 25.Rh4 Rc2 26.b3 Nb2 27.Rb1 Nd3 28.Nd4 Rd2 29.Bxd3 Rxd3 30. Re1 Rd2 31. Kb1 Bf5 + 32.Nxf5 + gxf5 33. Re7 + Kg6 34.Rc7 Re8 35.Rh1 Tee2 36. d7 Rb2 + 37. Kc1 Rxa2 ½: ½
After the first day of rest, Anand played an anti-Grünfeld variant in the third game . A complicated position arose in which Gelfand sacrificed a pawn and achieved a draw through active counterplay.
4th game
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- Gelfand-Anand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 15, 2012
- Semi-Slav Defense, D45
- 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. b3 Bb4 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 0–0 9. 0–0 Bd6 10. Dc2 e5 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. e4 exd4 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 Nf6 15. h3 Bd7 16.Rad1 Re8 17.Nxd4 Rc8 18. Qb1 h6 19.Nf5 Bxf5 20. Bxf5 Rc5 21.Rfe1 Rxd5 22. Bc3 Rxe1 + 23.Rxe1 Bc5 24. Qc2 Bd4 25. Bxd4 Rxd4 26. Qc8 g6 27. Bg4 h5 28. Qxd8 + Rxd8 29. Bf3 b6 30. Rc1 Rd6 31. Kf1 a5 32. Ke2 Nd5 33. g3 Ne7 34. Be4 Kg7 ½: ½
Gelfand was again unable to gain an advantage with White against the Semi-Slav Defense .
5th game
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- Anand-Gelfand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 17, 2012
- Sicilian Defense ( Sveshnikov Variation ), B33
- 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Sa3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c4 b4 12. Nc2 0–0 13.g3 a5 14. Bg2 Bg5 15. 0–0 Be6 16. Qd3 Bxd5 17. cxd5 Nb8 18. a3 Sa6 19. axb4 Nxb4 20. Nxb4 axb4 21. h4 Bh6 22. Bh3 Qb6 23. Bd7 b3 24. Bc6 Ta2 25. Rxa2 bxa2 26. Da3 Rb8 27. Qxa2 ½: ½
Anand changed the opening and played 1. e4. Gelfand chose the Sveshnikov variant , looked again very well prepared and came to a draw without major difficulties.
6th game
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- Gelfand-Anand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 18, 2012
- Semi-Slav Defense, D45
- 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. Qc2 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Be2 Be6 9. 0–0 Sc6 10. Rd1 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Rxd4 Bc5 13. Rd1 De7 14. Bf3 0–0 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 Nxd5 17. Rxd5 Tac8 18. Bd2 Bxe3 19. Bc3 Bb6 20. Qf5 De6 21. Qf3 f6 22. h4 Qc6 23. h5 Rfd8 24.Rxd8 + Rxd8 25. Qxc6 bxc6 26. Re1 Kf7 27. g4 Bd4 28. Rc1 Bxc3 29. Rxc3 Td4 ½: ½
In another semi-Slav defense, Anand brought an innovation on move 14 that involved a pawn sacrifice . Gelfand quickly gave the pawn back and the position ended in a draw.
7th game
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- Gelfand-Anand 1-0
- Moscow, May 20, 2012
- Semi-Slav Defense, D45
- 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. c5 Nbd7 7. Qc2 b6 8. cxb6 Nxb6 9. Bd2 c5 10. Rc1 cxd4 11. exd4 Bd6 12. Bg5 0–0 13. Bd3 h6 14. Bh4 Bb7 15. 0–0 Qb8 16. Bg3 Rc8 17. De2 Bxg3 18. hxg3 Qd6 19. Rc2 Nbd7 20. Rfc1 Tab8 21. Sa4 Ne4 22. Rxc8 + Bxc8 23. Qc2 g5 24. Qc7 Qxc7 25.Rxc7 f6 26.Bxe4 dxe4 27.Nd2 f5 28.Nc4 Nf6 29.Nc5 Nd5 30.Ra7 Nb4 31.Ne5 Nc2 32.Nc6 Rxb2 33.Rc7 Rb1 + 34.Kh2 e3 35.Rxc8 + Kh7 36.Rc7 + Kh8 37. Ne5 e2 38.Nxe6 1-0
In the first game of the second half of the competition, Gelfand had white for the second time in a row. He tried another variant against the semi-Slavic defense and thus came to the first full point after Anand found no way to equalize in the middle game .
8th game
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- Anand-Gelfand 1-0
- Moscow, May 21, 2012
- King's Indian Defense , E60
- 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Ne2 0–0 7. Sec3 Nh5 8. Bg5 Bf6 9. Bxf6 exf6 10. Qd2 f5 11. exf5 Bxf5 12. g4 Re8 + 13.Kd1 Bxb1 14.Rxb1 Qf6 15.gxh5 Qxf3 + 16.Kc2 Qxh1 17.Qf2 1: 0
Anand wanted to repeat the variant from the third game, but Gelfand instead turned to the Samisch variant of the King's Indian Defense . On the 14th train, Gelfand made a miscalculation that led to material loss. After the 17th move he overlooked, he gave up. This is the shortest decisive game in a world championship.
9th game
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- Gelfand-Anand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 23, 2012
- Nimzowitsch-Indian , E54
- 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0–0 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. 0–0 dxc4 8. Bxc4 cxd4 9. exd4 b6 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. De2 Nbd7 12. Tac1 Rc8 13. Bd3 Lxc3 14. bxc3 Qc7 15. c4 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 Rfe8 17. Rfd1 h6 18. Lh4 Qd6 19. c5 bxc5 20. dxc5 Rxc5 21. Bh7 + Kxh7 22.Rxd6 Rxc1 + 23.Rd1 Tec8 24. h3 Ne5 25.Qe2 Ng6 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Rxc1 Rxc1 + 28.Kh2 Rc7 29.Qb2 Kg7 30. a4 Ne7 31. a5 Nd5 32. a6 Kh7 33. Qd4 f5 34. f4 Rd7 35. Kg3 Kg6 36. Qh8 Nf6 37. Qb8 h5 38. Kh4 Kh6 39. Qb2 Kg6 40. Qc3 Ne4 41. Qc8 Nf6 42. Qb8 Re7 43. g4 hxg4 44. hxg4 fxg4 45. De5 Ng8 46. Qg5 + Kh7 47. Qxg4 f6 48. Qg2 Kh8 49. De4 Kg7 ½: ½
Anand changed the opening and this time played the Nimzo-Indian Defense . Gelfand achieved a slight advantage, but Anand was able to hold the final with a rook and knight against a queen.
10th game
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- Anand-Gelfand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 24, 2012
- Sicilian Defense ( Rossolimo Variation ), B30
- 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. b3 e5 6. Nxe5 De7 7. Bb2 d6 8. Nc4 d5 9. Ne3 d4 10. Nc4 Qxe4 + 11. De2 Qxe2 + 12. Kxe2 Be6 13. d3 Nf6 14. Nbd2 0–0–0 15. The1 Be7 16. Kf1 The8 17. Ba3 Nd5 18. Ne4 Nb4 19. Re2 Bxc4 20. bxc4 f5 21. Bxb4 cxb4 22. Nd2 Bd6 23. Rxe8 Rxe8 24. Nb3 c5 25. a3 ½: ½
Anand opened like in the fifth game with the king's pawn and this time chose the Rossolimo variant against the Sicilian defense of Gelfand. The queens were exchanged early and on move 25, an evenly balanced draw was agreed.
11th game
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- Gelfand-Anand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 26, 2012
- Nimzowitsch-Indian, E54
- 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0–0 5. Bd3 d5 6. Nf3 c5 7. 0–0 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bd7 9. a3 Ba5 10. De2 Bc6 11. Rd1 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nbd7 13. Bd3 Da5 14. c4 cxd4 15. exd4 Qh5 16. Bf4 Tac8 17. Ne5 Qxe2 18. Bxe2 Nxe5 19. Bxe5 Rfd8 20. a4 Ne4 21. Rd3 f6 22. Bf4 Be8 23. Rb3 Rxd4 24. Be3 Rd7 ½: ½
In Gelfand's last game of White with a regular cooling-off period, Anand thwarted Gelfand's attacking efforts by swinging a queen. After an exchange maneuver there was a final in which a draw was agreed after a few more moves.
12th game
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- Anand-Gelfand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 28, 2012
- Sicilian Defense (Rossolimo Variation), B30
- 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. d3 Ne7 6. b3 d6 7. e5 Ng6 8. h4 Nxe5 9. Nxe5 dxe5 10. Nd2 c4 11. Nxc4 Ba6 12. Qf3 Qd5 13. Qxd5 cxd5 14. Nxe5 f6 15. Nf3 e5 16. 0–0 Kf7 17. c4 Be7 18. Be3 Bb7 19. cxd5 Bxd5 20. Rfc1 a5 21. Bc5 Thd8 22. Bxe7 ½: ½
Anand had prepared a deviation from the tenth game. He sacrificed a pawn again, but after Gelfand sacrificed two pawns, the game ended in a double-edged position that led to the draw final.
Tie-break
The tiebreak was broadcast live on television, where it is said to have been followed by 120 million people in India.
1. Rapid game
Rapid Chess Game 1
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- Gelfand-Anand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 30, 2012
- Semi-Slav Defense, D45
- 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 0–0 8. 0–0 e5 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. e4 exd4 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 h6 13. b3 Ne5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Re1 Re8 16. Bb2 Bd7 17. Qd2 Qf6 18. g3 Rac8 19. a4 Qf3 20. Be4 Qxb3 21. Teb1 Bxg3 22.Ra3 Qb6 23. Bxd4 Lxh2 + 24. Kxh2 Qd6 + 25. Rg3 Rxe4 26. Bxg7 Kh7 27. Rxb7 Rg8 28. Qxh6 + Qxh6 + 29. Bxh6 Rxg3 30. Kxg3 Bc8 31. Rc7 Kxh6 32. Rxc8 Rxa4 ½: ½
2. Rapid game
Game 2
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- Anand-Gelfand 1-0
- Moscow, May 30, 2012
- Sicilian Defense (Rossolimo Variation), B30
- 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. b3 e5 6. Nxe5 De7 7. d4 d6 8. Nxc6 Qxe4 + 9. De2 Qxe2 + 10. Kxe2 Bb7 11. Sa5 Bxg2 12.Rg1 Bh3 13. dxc5 dxc5 14. Nc3 0–0–0 15. Bf4 Bd6 16. Bxd6 Rxd6 17. Rg5 Nf6 18. Rxc5 + Kb8 19. Nc4 Re8 + 20. Ne3 Ng4 21. Ncd5 Nxe3 22. Nxe3 Bg4 + 23. f3 Bc8 24. Re1 Rh6 25.Rh1 The6 26.Rc3 f5 27.Kd2 f4 28.Nd5 g5 29.Rd3 Re2 + 30.Kc1 Rf2 31.h4 Tee2 32.Rc3 Bb7 33.Rd1 gxh4 34.Nxf4 Re8 35.Rh1 Rc8 36.Rxc8 + Bxc8 37. Rxh4 Bf5 38.Rh5 Bxc2 39. Rb5 + Ka8 40.Nd5 a6 41.Ra5 Kb7 42.Nb4 Bg6 43.Nxa6 Rxf3 44. Nc5 + Kb6 45. b4 Rf4 46. a3 Rg4 47. Kd2 h5 48. Nd7 + Kb7 49. Se5 50. Kc3 Be8 51. Nd3 h4 52. Re5 Bg6 53. Nf4 Rg3 + 54. Kd4 Bc2 55.Rh5 Rxa3 56.Rxh4 Rg3 57.Nd5 Rg5 58.b5 Bf5 59.Rh6 Bg4 60.Rf6 Rf5 61.Rb6 + Ka7 62. Rg6 Bf3 63. Rg7 + Kb8 64. Nc3 Bb7 65. Kc4 Bf3 66. Kb4 Bd5 67. Sa4 Rf7 68. Rg5 Bf3 69. Nc5 Kc7 70. Rg6 Kd8 71. Ka5 Rf5 72. Ne6 + Kc8 73. Nd4 Rf8 74. Nxf3 75. Kb6 Rb3 76. Rg8 + Kd7 77. Rb8 1: 0
3. Rapid game
Rapid game 3
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- Gelfand-Anand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 30, 2012
- Slav Defense , D12
- 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. 0–0 Bd6 10. h3 0–0 11. Qc2 Qe7 12. Rd1 Tac8 13.c5 Bb8 14.f4 Ne8 15.Rb1 g5 16.b4 f5 17.b5 gxf4 18.exf4 Nef6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Ba6 Rc7 21. Be3 Ne4 22.Rb2 g5 23.Rdb1 gxf4 24. Bxf4 e5 25. Bxe5 Nxe5 26. Rxb8 Ng6 27. Nxe4 fxe4 28. Qf2 Qg7 29. Kh2 Rcf7 30. Qg3 Nf4 31. R8b3 Qxg3 + 32. Rxg3 + Kh7 33. Rd1 Ne6 34. Be2 Rf2 35. Bg4 Nf4 36. Rb1 Rf7 37. Rb8 Rxa2 38. Rc8 e3 39. Rxe3 Rxg2 + 40. Kh1 Rd2 41. Rxc6 Ne6 42. Rf3 Rxf3 43. Bxf3 Nxd4 44. Rc7 + Kh6 45. Bxd5 Rc2 46. Be4 Rc3 47. Kh2 Kg5 48. Rd7 Bf 50. Rxa7 Rc3 51. Rc7 Kf5 52. c6 Ke6 53. h4 Kd6 54. Rc8 Ta3 55. Kg2 Re3 56. Kh2 Ra3 57. Kg2 Re3 58. h5 Re5 59. h6 Rh5 60.Rh8 Kxc6 61.Rh7 ?? Kd6 62. Kg3 Ke6 63. Kg4 Rh1 ½: ½
In the third game of rapid chess, Gelfand left out the winning sequel 61. Kg3 in a theoretically won rook ending.
4. Rapid game
Rapid game 4
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- Anand-Gelfand ½: ½
- Moscow, May 30, 2012
- Sicilian Defense, B51
- 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5 + Nd7 4. d4 Ngf6 5. e5 Da5 + 6. Nc3 Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxc3 8. Bxd7 + Bxd7 9. Bxc3 Da6 10. exd6 exd6 11. Qe2 + Qxe2 + 12. Kxe2 f6 13. b3 Bb5 + 14. Kd2 Bc6 15. Rad1 Kf7 16. Kc1 Be7 17. d5 Bd7 18. Bb2 b5 19. Nd2 a5 20. The1 The8 21. Re3 f5 22. Tde1 g5 23. c4 b4 24. g3 Bf8 25. Rxe8 Lxe8 26.Nf3 Kg6 27.Re6 + Kh5 28.h3 Bf7 29.Rf6 Bg6 30. Re6 Re8 31. Bf6 g4 32.hxg4 + Kxg4 33.Nh2 + Kh3 34.Nf3 f4 35.gxf4 Kg4 36.Ng5 Ta8 37.Re3 Kf5 38. Bb2 a4 39. Ne6 Bh6 40. Rh3 Bxf4 + 41. Nxf4 Kxf4 42. Bf6 Ta7 43. Re3 Be4 44. Lh4 axb3 45.Bg3 + Kf5 46. axb3 Ta1 + 47. Kd2 Ta2 + 48. Ke1 Ra6 49. f3 Bb1 50. Kd2 h5 51. Kc1 h4 52. Bxh4 Kf4 53. Bg5 + Kxg5 54. Kxb1 Kf4 55. Re6 Kxf3 56. Kb2 ½: ½
Reviews
Anand said in the press conference after the competition that it was a very close match. The loss in the seventh game hit him hard, so winning the eighth game was very important for his morale. Gelfand said that he missed a lot of chances in the tiebreak due to time constraints . Garry Kasparov already criticized during the competition that for the first time in World Cup history the two strongest players did not meet. In addition, the chess content of the games is unsatisfactory. Anand has apparently lost interest in the game and is only concerned about avoiding defeat. Although neither Anand nor Gelfand were among the top three in the world rankings in May 2012, world number two Levon Aronjan partially contradicted Kasparov: The two opponents are the strongest players due to the difficult qualification and the longstanding title defenses. Nigel Short , on the other hand, was critical of the performance shown in the competition. Anand was undoubtedly a genius , but he had played too conservatively and his age would make itself felt. Gerald Hertneck spoke of a "self-blockade" by both players, due to the fear of losing a match and the months of intensive preparation for the opponent.
literature
- Dániel Lovas: Anand - Gelfand Moscow 2012 - The Story of the Great Match for the FIDE World Chess Champion title . Caissa Chess Books, 2012, ISBN 978-615508001-2 .
- Karsten Müller : Gelfand-Anand 2012: Match for the World Chess Championship . Russell Enterprises, Inc., Nov. 6, 2013, eBook
Web links
- Rules for the 2010 candidate competitions (PDF; 309 kB )
- Candidate competitions: games at chessgames.com (English)
- Tournament report and games at chessgames.com. Retrieved December 11, 2012 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Regulations (PDF; 334 kB) on fide.com, accessed on August 8, 2011.
- ↑ New World Chess Championship cycle On: chessbase.com , June 24, 2007.
- ↑ The 79th FIDE Congress completed its session in Dresden On: fide.com , November 26, 2008.
- ↑ Magnus Carlsen withdraws from Grand Prix On: chessbase.com , December 5, 2008.
- ^ Levon Aronian: FIDE must reverse its decision! On: chessbase.com , December 6, 2008.
- ↑ Adams withdraws from Grand Prix cycle On: chessbase.com , December 11, 2008.
- ↑ ACP press release on chessbase.com, December 16, 2008.
- ↑ Presidential Board meeting 1st quarter 2009 On: fide.com , March 9, 2009.
- ↑ Fide Calendar 2011, accessed May 25, 2010
- ↑ FIDE Candidates Tournament split between two venues On: chessbase.com , October 18, 2009.
- ↑ FIDE press release, accessed on November 24, 2010
- ^ Carlsen's letter of November 5, 2010
- ↑ Top 100 Players July 2009 From : fide.com , accessed May 13, 2010.
- ↑ Top 100 Players January 2010 From : fide.com , accessed May 13, 2010.
- ↑ FIDE confirms pairings Candidates , Chessvibes.com, February 7, 2011.
- ↑ Rules & regulations for the Candidates Matches of the FIDE World Championship cycle 2009–2011 (PDF; 309 kB) accessed on May 9, 2011.
- ↑ FIDE press release of February 7, 2011, accessed on February 7, 2011.
- ^ Letter from the ECU President and FIDE reply
- ↑ Kazan: the aftermath , Chessvibes.com, May 28, 2011.
- ↑ London withdraws its 2012 World Championship bid , Chessbase.com, February 3, 2011.
- ↑ a b For the Russians, Gelfand is one of them . Interview by Harry Schaack with Mark Gluchowski . In: KARL , edition 2/2012, pp. 52–54.
- ↑ The last game ends in a draw , ZEIT ONLINE, May 28, 2012.
- ↑ Moscow wins bid to host 2012 World Championship ( Memento from March 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), Whychess.com, August 8, 2011.
- ^ Anand and Gelfand sign contract ( Memento of November 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), Whychess.org, November 26, 2011.
- ↑ Chessdom.com , May 10, 2012.
- ↑ Numbers according to FIDE Elo lists. Data sources: fide.com (period since 2001), olimpbase.org (period 1971 to 2001)
- ^ Anand versus Gelfand ( Memento June 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), Fide.com, accessed on May 12, 2012.
- ↑ Note: This corresponds to 1 p.m. in the time zone UTC + 2 , which was valid during the competition in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, among others.
- ↑ Note: This corresponds to 10 a.m. in German-speaking countries.
- ↑ For comparison: According to experts, between 6.65 and 7.35 billion people lived on October 31, 2011. Source: Spiegel Online: UN selects seven billionth people . October 31, 2011, accessed August 24, 2012.
- ↑ World Cup press conference: Views and Insights , Chessbase.de, May 31, 2012.
- ^ Gary Kasparov Press Conference Video , May 18, 2012.
- ↑ Top 100 Players May 2012. FIDE - World Chess Federation, May 2012, accessed July 9, 2012 .
- ↑ Levon Aronian says Anand vs.Gelfand game quite interesting , May 28 2012th
- ↑ 'Anand has become mentally old and this showed in his approach' , DNA India, June 6, 2012.
- ↑ KARL 29.2012,2, p. 24.