By Venkatachari Jagannathan
Chennai, Nov 10 (IANS): World Chess champion Magnus Carlsen's style of play may be dry and not greatly entertaining but that does not mean his moves lack dynamism and creative ideas, say experts.
The 23-year-old Norwegian plays a wait and watch game. Wait for the opponent to make a mistake or grind slowly, tire out the opponent in a long end game.
An Indian chess player had earlier told IANS with astonishment: "I wonder whether Carlsen has a chess engine/computer inside his head. He plays exactly those moves suggested by chess engines."
A middle-aged player adopting such a style is understandable. It is baffling to see such a style from the 23-year-old world champion, said a senior chess player here.
Even grandmasters term Carlsen's style as dry.
However, not many agree with that view entirely.
"Carlsen doesn't play the most entertaining chess that often, but one should not exaggerate. His games do contain dynamism and creative ideas. One can't be number one in modern chess without being an all-round player," World No.7 and a grandmaster Anish Giri told IANS.
According to him, it is not Carlsen that one should be worried about.
"Magnus will steer his opponents toward positions they are uncomfortable. He does not mind getting almost nothing out of the opening, as long as his opponents are out of the elements. The reason is Magnus believes that he can beat anyone. He does not care for fancy wins," Susan Polgar, a four-time women's World chess champion, told IANS.
"He only cares that he wins every game, if he could. Not many people have this kind of self confidence," she added.
As to Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand's chances of rebounding in the title match following his defeat against Carlsen Sunday, she said: "He (Anand) cannot allow Carlsen to get inside his head. If he can do this, he can bounce back. Right now, he is making mistakes he normally would not make against others. He is allowing Magnus to psyche him out."
"Anand is a fighter and I hope that he will fight. He cannot be timid. He cannot allow Magnus to steer the game towards the type of positions he likes," she added.
Polgar also said that Anand has nothing to lose at this point. Win, lose, or draw -- he should fight like a champion, one game at a time.
Anand has not been the favourite, and even less so after Sunday's second game loss. But with 10 games to go, there is hope among his fans, Giri said.
Indian grandmaster Deepan Chakkravarthy said Anand needs just one win to change a lot in this match.
"The real picture of the world title match will be known only after the sixth or seventh game," Chakkravarthy told IANS.