Anand one victory away from title

The winter clock is just set back by one hour in Europe but whether Viswanathan Anand goes forward in taking the initiative to win the ninth game and settle the title issue once and for all is the curiosity matter in the ongoing World Chess Championship where the players will once again take centrestage for the 9th game after a day's rest.

Anand is just one victory or two draw away from retaining the title which he won at Mexico last year. Vladimir Kramnik is the one who will have to fight for initiative as he now just has a theoretical possibility of making a comeback.

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A daunting task if one is down 2.5-5.5 in a 12-game Match as he needs a 4/4 for winning the title and a3/4 for forcing a tie-break. Tough equation from any angle and judging by Anand's form, it appears a virtual impossibility.

Kramnik will play with the Black pieces today and it is a last chance to redeem himself. Kramnik's strength all along has been his handling of White pieces as victories with Blacks have been difficult for him though out his career. In fact the last time Kramnik scored a win with Black pieces was way back in 2006 when he beat Veselin Topalov in the 2006 World Championship Reunification Match.

In the last four games Kramnik plays two Whites and two Blacks. Forget about victory Kramnik has just had a slightly better position in the game only in the 8th game with White pieces but that too was not sufficient for victory.

The Russian is also psychologically down and it was all the more apparent with his quip when asked whether he should have continued in the 8th game with a slight advantage at the point where the players agreed for a draw." If I had continued, I would have probably ended up losing the game".

Anand on the other hand has surpassed all expectations and done nothing wrong. His Opening repertoire has been his most lethal weapon here and combined with his speed and tactical ability has pushed Kramnik totally out of reckoning. He has been sighting the board so well that he has seldom been pushed on the back-foot.

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The most positive aspect of Anand's play here has been his attitude in pressing for victories and taking initiative of the slightest advantage on board. One of the critical assessment of Anand by Europeans has been that he lacks 'killer instinct' but in this match the, 'Madras Tiger' as he is known here has shown that when he is on the prowl, there is no escape.

In fact in the 7th game when Anand was just two points away from the title, he refused a draw offer by Kramnik when the position interested him, which speaks a lot about his attitude. But in the press conference when he was quizzed on why he didn’t gun all out for victory and push cricket to the last pages, Anand smiled and replied: "I have no such intention and will play according to the logic of the position.’'

In all probability Anand will stick to the King pawn opening which has served him so well though out this Match and may not revert to his usual opening with the King pawn. Anand just has to stay calm and not overstretch and with time running out Kramnik has no choice but to overstretch even in the dullest of position in a last ditch bid to make a come back.

Anand on the other hand can afford the luxury of a crawl and might just make a dash for the title if the position offered scope. Whether he retains the title in one game or needs two, doesn't matter as long as he gets it.

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