One year ago, when Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and India’s Viswanathan Anand faced each other for the World Championship chess title, Anand failed to win a single game and thereby lost the championship match. Now they are meeting again in a repeat encounter.
The first game of this 2014 match which is ongoing in the Olympic village Sochi, Russia, ended peacefully, in a draw. The two players were imaginatively testing the waters, as boxers frequently do. Come the second round, however, Carlsen came out with guns blazing. The Norwegian grandmaster refused to make peace as he did in the first game, concentrating instead on victory. Anand defended accurately against Carlsen’s ingenious attacks until he blundered and resigned. The Norwegian world champion has a way of grinding down his opponent until he blunders, especially in drawn games. Carlsen had