World Chess Championship 2013

Draw after 65 moves

In this position, Carlsen (White) made probably his only big mistake of the whole match.
Carlsen played 30. exd6 here.
Which move would have won for White instead?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


In this position, Anand (Black) made the one best move that keeps the draw.
What did Black play?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

Carlsen wins after 28 moves

What is Carlsen's (Black's) only defense in this position?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


After 28. Nf1, Anand (White) had just made a decisive blunder.
Which move by Carlsen (Black) in this position had Anand overlooked?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

Dull draw after 33 moves

If Anand (Black) would have played 23. ... Qg5 in this position, it would have been a mistake.
How could White have exploited that?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

Dull draw after 32 moves

Carlsen wins after 67 moves

In this drawn position, Carlsen (Black) set up a nasty trap for Anand.
What move did Carlsen play?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


What would have been the only move for Anand (White) to secure a draw in this position?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


What was the only winning move for Carlsen (Black) in this position?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


How did Carlsen (Black) secure the win in this position?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

Carlsen wins after 58 moves

Black had captured on e3 with the knight.
How does Carlsen (White) recapture?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


How does Carlsen (White) respond to the threat on b3?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

How could Anand (Black) have preserved a draw in this position?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

Draw in 64 moves

Anand (White) had played 18. Ne2, which is an inaccuracy.
How did Carlsen (Black) exploit that?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


Carlsen (Black) played 24. ... Bc8 in this position.
What if he played 24. ... Be6 instead?
How can White respond?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


Which amazing resource did Anand (White) find in this position?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


What is White threatening here?
What would have been Carlsen's (Black's) best defense?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


In this position Anand (White) came up with an important move that helped him to equalize the position.
What is the best move in this position for White?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


With 56. ... Re6 Carlsen (Black) set up a little trap in this position.
What happens if White plays 57. Rxg5 here?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

Draw after 51 moves

Carlsen (White) played 7. Qxc4 in this position, grabbing the pawn.
Can White try a trick with 7. Nxe5 instead?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


After 21. ... Kh7 was played, in this position Black is posing a particular threat.
What is the threat and how can White fend it off?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


Carlsen (White) played 28. e3 here, which is a positional sacrifice.
What move could he have played instead to avoid that sacrifice?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


In this position, Anand (Black) played 29. ... Bd4.
Can he take the pawn on b2 instead to create a passed pawn?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


After Black took on d3, what is the best move for Carlsen (White) in this position?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


Anand (Black) played 37. ... Rd8 here, leading to a rook exchange and a drawn position.
Which move could he have tried instead to keep some winning chances?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

Draw by threefold repetition after 25 moves

In this position, Carlsen (Black) played the standard move 9. ... Bxd3.
What is wrong with grabbing the pawn on d4 instead?
What can White play after 9. ... Qxd4?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

Draw by threefold repetition after 16 moves

Which move was necessary for Carlsen (White) after Anand's novelty 12. ... Nd5?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +


In the game Anand (Black) played 13. ... Na5 in this position, which led to a draw by 3-fold repetition.
What else could he have played to keep Black's slight advantage?

Solution: + Show Spoiler +

Regular Time Control:
120 minutes for the first 40 moves of each player
60 minutes for next 20 moves of each player
15 minutes (+30 seconds increment per move) for the rest of the game

Tiebreakers:

4 games with rapid time control
(25 minutes + 10 seconds increment)

If after those 4 games the scores are still even, a maximum of 5 of the following matches are
played:
2 games with blitz time control
(5 minutes + 3 seconds increment)

If after 5 of those blitz matches the scores are still even, a sudden-death match decides the winner:

Sudden-death match (Armageddon):
White gets 5 minutes for the game, Black gets 4 minutes (3 sec increment after move 60);
White has to win the game to win the title, Black can also draw to win the title.
The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color.

"Carlsen will be ridiculously difficult to play against." - Viswanathan Anand

"Yes, I'm going to talk to him. I think he has some advice for me. It is true that Kasparov is not part of my team, but I will consult him before the World Championship. He knows Anand better than anyone. He beat Anand in a World Championship Match in 1995, Anand never managed to beat Kasparov in a long time." - Magnus Carlsen

"There is no such thing as an easy win against the World Champion. I think Vishy will be quite happy that he is the underdog. He’s got huge experience. As we saw there are problems for Carlsen, there are still clear problems. The match is for Magnus to lose, clearly, but it’s a 12-game match, and whatever you’ve got from the first nine games, may not count." - Garry Kasparov

"Age is part of it. For instance, I recognise that Carlsen is going to do certain things because he's 22 and there are certain things I can do because I'm 43." - Viswanathan Anand

"Taking into account historic parallels, I would perhaps support Anand because I have defeated him in the matches twice." - Anatoly Karpov

"I consider Anand a real World Champion, regardless of the fact that the win against Gelfand in the match wasn’t convincing at all." - Magnus Carlsen

"I believe Anand definitely has his chances. It is absolutely realistic. The only problem, I think, Anand faces is that he, this is just my opinion, is somewhat intimidated by Carlsen. He is scared of him, I would say." - Vladimir Kramnik

"Some people think that if their opponent plays a beautiful game, it’s OK to lose. I don’t. You have to be merciless." - Magnus Carlsen

"A lot of spectators no longer have any clue of what a player is going through at the board, because they're all sitting with, essentially, supercomputers, you would have to sit at the board and sweat and feel the fear of defeat or the nearness of victory to understand what goes through a player's head ... If you think it's that easy, switch off the computer and try and figure out a few moves on your own." - Viswanathan Anand