Chess v
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Your support makes all the difference.Viswanathan Anand is a remarkable player. After losing on time to Gata Kamsky in the first game of his PCA world championship candidates final, he drew the second, rattling out all 44 moves in only 36 minutes, then won the third to level the scores.
Last year, in a Fide world title qualifier, Anand lost to Kamsky after being two games up with three to play. His collapse on that occasion suggested problems in coping with the high nervous tension of such a match. This time, with a lucrative title match against Kasparov going to the winner, the stakes are even higher.
Since playing too slowly and playing too fast can both be signs of bad nerves, it is easy to identify Anand as the man more likely to crack. But he is playing clearly the better chess so far, as the third game shows.
The Archangelsk variation of the Ruy Lopez, with 6...Bb7 and 7...Bc5, is considered rather outlandish, but has served Kamsky well in the past. In this game, Anand re-confirmed its dubious reputation. If Black has nothing better in the opening than allowing the doubling of his b-pawns with 14.Bxb6, the whole system looks fishy. Ultimately the weaknesses on d6 and b6 cost him the game. Kamsky's play from move 24 onwards is a series of ingenious, but increasingly desperate attacking attempts, and Anand kept his head under fire.
White: V. Anand
Black: G. Kamsky
1 e4 e5 30 Bg2 axb4
2 Nf3 Nc6 31 cxb4 Nf3+
3 Bb5 a6 32 Bxf3 Rxf3
4 Ba4 Nf6 33 Ra8 Bxh3
5 0-0 b5 34 Qxf3 Rxa8
6 Bb3 Bb7 35 Rc1 Rf8
7 Re1 Bc5 36 Qe2 Bd7
8 c3 d6 37 Rc7 Rf7
9 d4 Bb6 38 Rb7 Qa1+
10 Be3 0-0 39 Nf1 Kg7
11 Nbd2 h6 40 Rxb6 Qd4
12 h3 Qb8 41 Rb8 Qxb4
13 d5 Ne7 42 Ne3 h5
14 Bxb6 cxb6 43 b6 h4
15 Bc2 Nd7 44 g4 Bb5
16 Nh4 Qd8 45 Qd1 Qb2
17 Nf1 g5 46 Nf5+ Rxf5
18 Nf3 f5 47 gxf5 Be2
19 exf5 Nxf5 48 Qa4 Bf3
20 N3h2 Qf6 49 Qd7+ Kh6
21 Ng4 Qg7 50 Qe6+ Kh5
22 Nge3 Nxe3 51 Qe8+ Kg4
23 Nxe3 Rf4 52 Qe1 Bxd5
24 a4 Raf8 53 Re8 Bf3
25 axb5 a5 54 f6 Kh5
26 Rf1 Bc8 55 f7 Qd4
27 g3 R4f7 56 Re4 Qf6
28 b4 e4 57 b7 Bxe4
29 Bxe4 Ne5 58 Qxe4 resigns
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