oh man what a slugfest! Not for the faint-hearted!

I took the metro home and settled down to restart watching the match, hoping for an exciting battle what with having seen e4 and the Sicilian an all...but was already 0.5 - 0.5 lol.

A little disappointed today. Not with the draw, they can happen any game, but with the length of the game. I know they are two technical players and we should expect technical draws but...this is the world championship! Someone please take a risk!

Great match today. Though draw

Just computerized games..What a shame...

We aren't allowed to complain anymore on chessvibes, we should watch wrestling instead.. i wish i did watch K1 instead of this noobfest

Candidates matches were crap, Wold tiltle match is crap too. It seems that match format is outdated and due to long cycles I doubt these two are the best players. Anand might have been the best in past but at the moment he cannot beat No.17 in the world. And No.17 cannot be credible champion.

What about 4 player round robin once in two years between the World Champion, World No.1, World Cup Winner and proposed Grand Prix Winner? With such kind of format we would have two games a day and players would need to score insted of trying to avoid lossess. Even if one game would be boring draw, the second one might be a fight.

This players doesn't deserve a rest day.

Pattern emerging in match: unexpected opening, opt for safe line to return to opening when better prepared, quick draw. Question is how many openings the guys have prepared. If the Sveshnikov appears again we may get more fight. Then again, if Gelfand surprises again with another opening we will probably see safe main line, good Black prep, and draw. The Wch is about money and career, not entertainment. Understood. Pity computers and prep have brought it to this though : ( . How about a new rule forcing both players to drink 12 espressos before every game?

If the prize fund was "winner takes it all" (or at least 75% of the prize ) , and using the Bilbao system (3 points for a win , 1 for a draw like in football ) coupled with a longer match (so more opportunities to make up for a loss or increase the lead ) , there would be far more incentives to play risky for both players

But in this match , losing narrowly having played with 0 risks earns you 1 million dollars at least , and there is no point taking too many risks in such a short match

Plus both players are extremely well prepared with black for equalizing and both very cautious with White .... generally speaking not a good omen for spectacle

So only thing left is the pressure that will build up in the last games on the mind of the players , i think this match will be decided by just one win or in the rapid session (which would be a shame ) .

I think the FIDE and Chess community should think about the future of chess if it wants to have more audience and sponsors in the years to come , somehow they have to find a way to encourage creativity and risk taking which are the only " human" thing left in chess IMO ...

the question is how : well for a start , make a victory far more precious , and a loss not that dramatic in the scoring system . Don't count draws in matches only victories , and enforce Sofia rules at all level ( If people are too lazy or don't like playing a drawn position , why do they play chess anyway , stating position is equal ) , so that everyone always presses until the position is mechanically exhausted

Perhaps it wouldn't change much to the current situation , but at least , the "fighting spirit" would be encouraged by the rules and the general audience would probably like it better

very dull games so far..I wanna see chessboxing

I can't wait to see who will be the next world champion of preparation.

Format match with today reality look like F1. This is not always the better driver that win but the one that have the best car.

This is why I praise more a event like raceofchampion where drivers compete with same car
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_of_Champions

The equivalent for chess is round robin...

Short, boring draws. No excitement at all. The official site coverage is a joke. Press conference is between uninteresting and shameful. Sitting there and answering with one words? C'mon guys, that's not fun.
Worst Wch match ever!!!

...and by the way Korchnoi was right: if you don't hate your opponent you don't want to destroy him at the board, and if you don't want to destroy him you'll play like this. Need more fighting spirit.

Actually I wonder whether the relatively cautious and risk-averse play has to do with the fact that the match is (relatively) long? Maybe both players are patiently waiting for one opportunity, one += position that can be converted ... . In shorter matches they (or at least the one who is more afraid of tiebreaks) have to take more risks earlier on. This doesn't mean that I would want a shorter match.
BTW the official site coverage may still be the best ever for a WCh match. It's rather natural that players don't want to answer questions such as [to Gelfand] "Why did you choose the Sveshnikov? Who was helping you with it?"

A good and interesting match. The players are doing their best to win a game, but that's not easy these days with all help from strong chess computers. Maybe we have to wait for the rapid games to see the first win.

If carlsen was there , I bet Anand will be motivated ! But playing against a lesser famous player .....?!

People who are CAREFULLY following the WCC games DO NOT UNDERSTAND CHESS.

What you mean Zeblakob ?!