In chess, in world championship matches, a player can reveal himself to his opponent by his choice of opening move. Four games have been completed so far at the time of writing, and each ended in a draw. But not tame or lifeless draws. Anand grasped a minuscule edge in the third game but refused to venture forth adventurously into no man’s land, preferring to endorse the safety first rule. At one time Anand’s two Bishops controlled much of the board, and he could have won a pawn the analysts say, but he didn’t go for it. Carlsen manned the fort expertly, and any thoughts the world champion entertained of making him uncomfortable, were quickly dissipated. In the first two games, 
a 16 move and 25 move draw, I would imagine the two players were testing the waters, to use a popular metaphor in sporting circles; as if to say, the hostilities would come later.
In the fourth game Carlsen won a pawn and this time it was Anand’s turn to wrestle the draw from the Norwegian ace. I was following the game live on the internet and felt at one time that Anand was certainly in trouble. Did Anand miss the intrepid 18..Bxa2? Yes he did! He lost a pawn to the Norwegian. But realistically, Anand measured his man well and in turn neutralized his efforts for further dynamic play.
He survived through cunning and perseverance. At the usual press conference following the game, Anand admitted that he slipped, and did not find the most accurate move in the position in which he was brought to book. In the two games with White, Carlsen played the Reti opening, demonstrating that he is determined to impose his will on the match. Anand had no difficulty nullifying his endeavours, and perhaps it may be worthwhile for Carlsen to undertake a different approach if he wants to ruffle his opponent. In his two games with Black, Carlsen employed two separate defences, in an effort I would submit, to keep Anand guessing.
A sampling of his winning tactics and overall strategy?
In the movie A Bronx Tale starring Robert De Niro, a mob boss bar owner asks an unruly group of bikers to leave his bar. They refuse, and the mob boss does a strange thing. He locks the doors and says, now you can’t leave. In the same breath I say to Nathoo, now you can’t play!
In his 1995 match against Garry Kasparov of Russia, Anand faced three different first moves with Black in the first four black games. The fourth one was also a shift as Kasparov opted for a Scotch game in the Ruy Lopez. And Kasparov was Carlsen’s one time trainer!
I expect the match to be a brutal orgy of chess hostilities. Anand has given notice that the title belongs to him and that he has no intention of retiring.
For his part, Carlsen believes that he is the finest chess player on planet earth, as his FIDE rating has demonstrated, and that he journeyed to Chennai to take the title away from Anand. Carlsen reminds me of the time when Mike Tyson was fighting Michael Spinks for the heavyweight boxing title of the world. A sports reporter asked the question, “Mike, how would you be approaching this fight?” And Tyson gave a classic answer: “With bad intentions.’’ The rest is history!
