impressive game

Impressive win for Anand!

Now lets see what Danailov has prepared...

WOW! what a game, Anand played a great game...

didn't I say so? lets resume draw theories now!
Eyjafjallajokull!!!

Can someone tell me what is Anand's effective rating post this win in round 4. It looks like he has really been working towards this w.ch. match and conserving his energies in linares, etc. which impacted his ratings.

However the best part is the equanimity with which he has taken everything in his stride as if to say : Bring it on! Can handle anything.

If he wins this he will certainly smash all doubting thomases about the identity of the supreme champ of chess.

Just had a quick look. I think the play of Topalov looks to optimistic. Like he forgot to check what changes he was giving Anand and was only looking at his own pieces..

But I'm no grandmaster, so what do I know... ;-)

Nice game. Looking forward for more of this stuff!

The first game really looks very old and forgotten. As Anand mentioned it, he simply mixed up the moves and got woken up. Since then his focus is very strong and I hope it stays. If he holds his next game as black, he will then have two successive whites in the 6th and 7th game and he can hope to get one win out of those two and seal the match pretty much.

ANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND !!! :D :D :D :)

Catalan is not Topalovs game though.

The actual advantage (win) after Nxh6 was pretty deep according to the engines. No shame that he missed it...

O.K. it's a bit silly, these regulations about draw offers and/or handshaking, but I think there no point insisting too much during the press-conference.
The ambiance doesn't seem too bad until now (so better to keep it that way)
But now that Anand crashed his opponent in the fourth game...who knows? :)
I'm very curious about the next video.

The Champ proved who's the best.

As Illescses said on of Anand on chessfm: "He's sees everything" :-)

fourth game is the best so far. amazing stuff from Anand!

There is a rest day as well. Watch out !!!!! Danailov will go into deep preparation and you never know what will come out.

About the draw circus, I'd say Topalov was indeed slightly annoyed, if not ashamed about it in game 3.

I tend to think that Topalov is actually fundamentally a nice guy, he was only unlucky to cross Danailov's path. He would not be the first player that got his career marred by this guy.

Ponomariov also tasted of Danailov's poor managerial decision when he was driven into refusing a match with Kasparov (!) for a ticket to the World Championship crown (if I remember correctly, the excuse was the schedule of a rest day). If that was not a terrible career move, I wonder what is.

Anand rains on Topalovs parade, but I think it will stay exciting till the end. Vesko will find his way back into the match. Wonder who will get the first point with black...

It is an exciting match with great games. The psychological aspects are still sorting themselves out though. Anand's jab at Team Topalov about the arbiter and handshakes was a nice little snub. Shows that Anand is mentally strong even with all the issues at hand. Topalov isnt going to be happy but there are still 8 more games so its a long way from over.

. Right now I see Anand's team as being the one with a better match strategy. While not totally new since kramnik used it as well it shows that Topalov hasnt corrected his problems from the Kramnik match and stuggles when in positions that are chaotic.
It will be interesting to see what team topalov does if Anand goes up +2.
Remember Anand also gets back-to-back white pieces in games 6 & 7.

After this match I would REALLY like to see a book similar to Kramniks tournament book from his match.

@Tony: If the writer Anand acts like the player Anand - following in Kramnik's footsteps - we'll have to wait for a trilogy to be complete: Kramnik had match wins against Kasparov, Leko and Topalov. Anand won against Kramnik, might win against Topalov and then would have to face ... maybe Carlsen.

Or he could include his tournament victory at the Mexico WCh? In any case, the book chapter on his trip to Sofia has already been written!!?

Thomas: Kramnik did not win the match against Leko. And against Topalov he only won after a play-off. The book on the three matches was written by Barejev and Levitov, not Kramnik. But an excellent book it is, for sure.

Another Anand's win and we're gonna have a scandal!! I'm juts curious what's gonna be this time! You never know with the sinister danailov.

Really a great game. I think the best so far.

Anybody knows how far was the home preparation? They needed more time than game 1, but nearly the same number of moves. The crushing move was even 23. Nxh6 and in the first game 24. Nxf6. So all could be home analysed?

What was the error of Topalov in this game? Really 20. h6? For me it is not possible to find a real error, but it just seems lost after 23. Nxh6.

Go on like this Vishy!!!

Where did Topalov go wrong? I don´t see the point of 20... h6 (and it allowed the knight sacrifice later) but the engines say the real mistake is 22... Rad8 (suggested is 22... Nc5).

my engine wanted to play 20... Qe7 and 22...f6 with only one pawn less.

@Thomas
Anand also had match wins against Karpov and other players as well. He did poorly against Kasparov but thats was in Kaspy's prime when he was beating everyone.

My feeling is that after Anand wins this match he should make plans to retire. Play a match with Carlsen in the next year or two for media and excitement purposes and a last big payday. Hate to say it but if he waits until 43 to play again he will lose. Anand can do a lot more for building chess in India than he could playing now and maybe even straighten out the FIDE mess!
Anand for FIDE president!!

Topalov should have offered a draw after 26....., Rxd6 hahahaha!!!!!

Is Topalov not in form? he played not many games before the match.

what should Topalov play next time with black? closed catalan? grunfeld?:) or kingsindian?

yes right he should play 1.d4 Nc6 ! best move.

@nep See the analysis. ;-)

This is how I lose. If Danailov wants, I can play a couple of rounds and let Topa rest up a bit. Are we certain it was Vishy who had to drive in from Frankfurt?

go get him Tiger!

I am afraid that Danailov might be starting to have some pretty deep thoughts about toilets these days.

If it becomes -2, he will probably try something.

Is Kramnik Anand's secret second?

Botvinnik retired also late and played well, so Anand can play long time.

Game of the year

secret second?? no, maybe Kramnik is Anands secret chess idol:))

Joke of the match: "I like the way the two black Nights protected each other at the edge of the board, when white Queen is in h6".
Anand had steel nerves and made no mistakes in the knight sac.
What a game.

@chess: "secret second?? no, maybe Kramnik is Anands secret chess idol:))"

Are you kidding me? Anand can play like Kramnik (positionally) or Topalov (tactically) at will. Neither Kramnik nor Topalov has this versatility, although both are great players on their own right. So what's this BS about Kramnik being Anand's secret chess idol? If anything, Anand should be both Kramnik's and Topalov's idol.

Carlsen watches and waits, feeding his hunger! Madras Tiger is on the menu!

@noyb: "Carlsen watches and waits, feeding his hunger! Madras Tiger is on the menu!"

Well, may be in 3 years. But today, it's more probable that Carlsen will end up in Madras Tiger's menu in a match.

These are early days still. Hope Anand doesn't get tired by the time he reaches half way stage. The games are very tiring indeed. Nigel short said Anand must have prepared awfully lot for this. Any way the short games are advantageous for Anand.

so to play like Kramnik and Topalov was not enough for Anand to beat Kasparov. ok but Anand is now stronger than 1995.

Anand knew in advance that Topalov would be no match for him. So to make it interesting he decided that all his novelties must involve moving a piece to a3?!

Considering the pressure of a WC game, it indeed was an excellent play by Anand.

@chess: "... Anand is now stronger than 1995"

Not only stronger, more importantly, he is way more experienced in match situations now than he was in 1995.

and 1995 all games were played 1.e4
today all games 1.d4:)

ops, better most games.

Yesterday I wrote the following comment:

"Apropos “Psychology”: Yesterday´s unexpected move “15. Qa3!?/?!” by Vishy Anand reminds me of Bobby Fischer´s surprising move “11. … Nh5?!/!?” in the 3rd game of the WCC match 1972, which turned out to be the “turning” point of that titanic battle. Tomorrow the continuation of Anand´s “specific” match strategy could really follow!"

Today I would like to add: The unexpected and surprising (new?!) move "10. Na3" in the 4th game of the WCC match 2010 is the (very) continuation of this assumption, hopefully!

In the press conference video nr 4 it sounds as if the cameraman is breathing heavily.

That was one of the best world championship games ever! I don't understand the complete nonsense about Anand still being in his preparation when he made the piece sac on move 22. He'd already used an hour of his time by move 17. You don't use that much time when you're in your preparation.

I think, objectively, both players are about equal. If they meet each other in a tournament, I won't be able to make any predictions on the outcomes. In a match like this, however, I think Anand has a better chance because of his versatility. Topalov can play a great positional chess, and we've seen that from time to time. However, he is ideologically committed. While his commitment to attacking and active play is admirable, it does limit his play. While he is a very strong player, in a situation where facing against another equally strong player in a match like this, this self-imposed limit might tell.

Well, all this talk doesn't diminish Anand's achievement. Great games from the World Champion! I especially enjoyed game 3 and 4.