Sochi (Russia): Viswanathan Anand failed to capitalise on a blunder by Magnus Carlsen and went on to lose the sixth game of the World Chess Championship, here on Saturday.
Carlsen, thanks to the lucky victory, surged ahead in the match for the second time and now leads 3.5-2.5 at the halfway stage, with six games still remaining.
At the same point last year, the Norwegian had taken a two-point lead at this stage and it was all effectively over for Anand.
The missed opportunity, which could have turned the tide of the match, came at a situation that was already difficult for the Indian chess wizard.
It was a Sicilian Kann by Anand, a shocker in itself as the last time this opening featured in a World Championship match was during the Garry Kasparov-Anatoly Karpov match in the 1980s when mostly it was Garry’s gambit on his opponent’s mind.
Carlsen got a stronghold on the position in quick time and gave little hope to Anand, which was a clear indication that the latter had gone for a wrong choice.
The queens got exchanged early in the opening, giving Carlsen a fine advantage to fight for victory.
The blunder by Carlsen was uncalled for as he had another move to reach the same position, which would have fetched a similar result in the game.
Asked about it, Carlsen said, “I was not poker faced at all. I could have reached the same position via a different move order but I made a mistake.”
Anand, on the other hand, appeared shattered at the outcome.
“Missing out on a winning opportunity is one thing, but Anand simply capitulated under pressure,” said Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta, who was watching the match from home.
Gupta noted that Anand could have proposed a better fight towards the end but simply lost when put under pressure.
