[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Anand-Kramnik World Championship Match, Game 1: Live blogging

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Anand-Kramnik World Championship Match, Game 1: Live blogging
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1223990761.shtml


   (This post will be updated as the game goes along.)
   Initial reactions:
   8:55: Kramnik has White for game 1. I know this is reputed to be an
   advantage, but I think there's something positive about starting with
   Black. You get to take your opponent's best shot right up front, and
   once you've done it you're playing with a shot of confidence and house
   money for game 2. Further, at least in the old days, players would
   often waste game 1 in such matches just getting their head into the
   game. Why not let the opponent burn his White while you get
   acclimated?
   9:05: The game hasn't started yet - I wonder if they're going to do
   the 15-minute delay thing they do in Dortmund nowadays, or if this is
   just because all of the speechifying and such typically goes on at the
   start of an event.
   9:10: They're off! The game has started 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3, and I'm
   already scratching my head a little. Just about everyone automatically
   plays 3.Nf3 instead, so I'm trying to recall in what lines this makes
   a difference. But not for long: the players blitz out 3...Nf6 4.cxd5
   (Massive booing!) 4...cxd5 5.Bf4 Nc6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Nf3 e6 8.Qb3 Bb4 9.Bb5
   O-O, and then it slows down.
   This is really surprising. Kramnik's a great technical player and all,
   but the Exchange Slav is widely believed to give White absolutely
   nothing. I'm sure that Kramnik can play this as well if not better
   than anyone else in the world, but it's surprising to see him use what
   at least seems to be a fundamentally unprincipled approach with White.