The press conference in Chennai was interesting. Anand revealed his team of seconds (the only real surprise was Leko, who’s no longer alive, right?), and Carlsen’s facial expressions were interesting. When Carlsen was asked the same question, he declined to reveal his team. Let the jousting begin. I’ve seen Carlsen effusive in the past at press conferences, but not so much lately, including in St. Louis, and certainly not here. chessbase.com/post/wch-chennai-p … ws-reports
Carlsen came off as ungracious.
Leko: will the (anti-)Sveshnikov again figure in this match?
There has been speculation that Carlsen may receive help from Kasparov, Aronian, or both. Help from Kasparov would be a double-edged sword; help from Aronian would be enormous.
I would not be surprised if some combination of Kramnik, Svidler, and Gelfand are informally aiding Anand.
Game 1 is already a draw after 16 moves.
David A. Cole, USCF Life Member, Franklin, NJ
Strange beginning to the match…Carlsen sitting at the board waiting for Anand’s arrival, rare for Carlsen. (Perhaps it is appropriate in game 1 to allow the World Champion to arrive second.) Zero eye contact between the players. No handshake. Virtual circus surrounding the board, with the glass wall between the players and spectators being only a few feet away. Bobby has turned in his grave.
The official commentary was additionally strange. Four commentators, with the IMs Trent and Sachdev sitting in the center, with the two GMs, Polgar and Ramesh on the outside. Trent and Sachdev completely outperformed the GMs (in terms of interest), with the GMs replacing the IMs at the 1:15 mark. Trent is always solid and has a great deal of experience in this position. Sachdev was brilliant and saved the day. Chennai should have paid more attention to St. Louis, particularly in terms of presentation. The team is desperately missing a world class GM, say Short or Svidler.
The game itself was far more interesting for what it wasn’t than what it was. The moves will not be remembered in WC chess.
There was a handshake. I saw a picture. Maybe you missed it because it occurred as Anand entered instead of right before the first move. I don’t know what is considered “normal” for this sort of match.
Hm, I watched the video again. The only handshake was between Illyumzhinov, who made Carlsen’s ceremonial first move, and Anand. Perhaps the handshake was vicarious. Whether there was a handshake or not, the players are obviously friendly. Their chat after the draw agreement was long by any standards.
The players shook hands when Anand came to the board, where Carlsen had been waiting.
chess.com/news/its-on-carlse … ame-1-4263
I can’t tell, because the pictures are a series of stills, not a video, but it looks like it occurred a few minutes before the game actually started, so whatever video you saw may have omitted it.
Isn’t that pretty much what would be expected? The strongest players usually aren’t the strongest commentators. They know too much to be useful to the amateur audience.
Even in American football TV broadcasts, there is a main commentator with good general knowledge, and a color commentator who can fill in some GM-level specifics here and there.
Bill Smythe
And Game 2 is Drawn as well.
David A. Cole, USCF Life Member, Franklin, NJ
In the press conference this morning it was interesting that Anand admitted that he didn’t prepare for the Caro-Kann which is why he played this line. I wonder if Carlsen will play this against e4 again in the match?