Bonn (Germany): Defending champion Viswanathan Anand of India scored the first victory in his title match against Russian Vladimir Kramnik with a third game that saw both players take off the gloves and go at each other with gusto.
After a dull draw in game one and a complex but civilized draw in Game II, the two engaged in play they described as "complicated," but that description hardly catches the flavor of Friday's game.
Anand, playing with Black, opted for the super-sharp Meran Variation of the Semi-Slav Defence, which Kramnik avoided in Game I.
Anand's 14th move, a bishop to b7, was a novelty at this level of play. Afterward, Kramnik said, "I have my doubts about it but practically it is quite interesting."
Kramnik had castled kingside but Anand had the half-open g-file and a bishop on b7 to attack while his own king was stuck in the center.
Kramnik also had connected passed pawns on the queenside, which would be decisive in most end games.
But before the end game, the gods have placed the middle game.
Computer analysis suggested that White had a clear advantage but the difficulties facing a flesh-and-blood player were considerable. Kramnik said afterward, "It's a mess but I wasn't worse."
On move 18, Kramnik temporarily sacrificed a piece. But when the fireworks ended and the dust had cleared, Anand's king had crawled to relative safety on h6 while Kramnik's king remained dangerously exposed.
Materially, Kramnik had two extra pawns — but, as they say, you cannot take it with you.
Anand said that after his 28th move, "it's starting to become unpleasant for him."
Kramnik could have better defended from that point on, though it's not clear whether he could have saved the game. Kramnik's 32nd move was definitely a mistake. After that, Anand said, "his position starts to break down."
Kramnik decided to give up his queen in a last desperate attempt at counterplay. He made it to the time control but resigned a hopeless position on move 41.
Anand will have White in game four on Saturday.
Before the game, tournament organizers abandoned their attempts to enforce a 30-minute delay on rebroadcast of the moves on rival Internet sites.
The 12-game match is scheduled to continue through October 31. If Kramnik and Anand are tied after 12 games, November 2 is set aside for a series of rapid and, if necessary, blitz games to decide the winner.
The purse of euro1.5 million ($2.04 million) is to be equally divided between the two, regardless of who wins.
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