By Eric Morrow
Chess Corner
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After the first nine games of the 12 game World Chess Championship, the match is tied. Both World Champion Vishy Anand of India and his challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel have scored one win, while the remaining games have been drawn. Gelfand won game 7, but Anand bounced back in the next game with the shortest win in world chess championship history: 17 moves.
DIAGRAM 1
This week’s position is from that game. Anand is white; Gelfand, black. Gelfand has just snatched white’s rook on h1. Anand made Gelfand pay the price. How?
Black’s queen has a limited range of movement: the e4 to h1 diagonal and the g1 square. Only the f3 square is safe. The h1 square where the king sits is open to immediate assault by white’s rook on b1. This is why Anand’s move queen to f2 traps the black queen.
DIAGRAM 2
Now white is prepared to move its f1 bishop to d3 and win the queen for a rook. There is one escape route for black’s queen, but it also loses.
Black replies with knight to c6, threatening knight to d4 check, which can draw or win. White thus captures the knight with its d5 pawn and black captures white’s new pawn on c6 with its queen.
DIAGRAM 3
White now has two pieces for its rook and a powerful attack is brewing against black king-side. An easy win for a world champion like Anand. This is why Gelfand resigned after white’s queen moved to f2.
If the match remains tied after 12 games, the players will play a series of speed games in the tiebreaker. If they are still tied, the title remains with Vishy Anand.
