The passivity of the game could, in part, be attributed to the match situation. Anand was unable to break through with white pieces, but the draw would have bought him a certain measure of relief, coming as it did after successive losses in games five and six. "After the last two games, it is nice to break this (string of) results. I was hoping to press him a little bit but was not able to," said Anand after the game. On the other hand, each draw only pushes Carlsen, two points ahead with five games to go, closer to the title. Moreover, a comfortable draw with black pieces is always welcome. "I have the lead and this result suited me fine," was Carlsen's assessment.
For the third black game in a row, Carlsen responded to Anand's e5 opening with the solid Berlin defence. In each of these games, Anand has tried different responses early in the game, but has been unable to achieve the kind of sharp positions he has been looking for. Monday was no exception, as black had the bishop pair in exchange for the doubled c pawns, and came out of the opening with no visible weakness.
At around move 10, Anand could have chosen to castle on opposite sides and push a pawn avalanche towards black's king. It may not have proved a great success, but would at least have given Carlsen something to think about. However, both sides chose to castle long. Still, Anand had the option to set in motion a speculative attack, pushing his g and h pawns up the board, making use of fact that white's pieces could turn their attention to the king side a little more easily than black's. Anand's response was a bit tentative, pushing just the h pawn (16. h5) ahead to free up the file for his rook.
Source: www.indianexpress.com
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