Candidates Final, Game 6: Gelfand Wins Game, Match, and the Right to Face Anand in 2012
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 11:01AM
Dennis Monokroussos in Anand, Candidates 2011, Gelfand, Grischuk

It was almost a must-win situation for Boris Gelfand, as Alexander Grischuk would have been a favorite had the match come down to rapid and possibly blitz games. Remarkably, Gelfand came through with a convincing victory, and by doing so he won not only the game but the match as well, and thereby qualifies for a title shot against Viswanathan Anand in 2012.

The first thing Gelfand did right was to avoid the English! Instead, the opening was a Fianchetto Gruenfeld, featuring a line that has become very popular over the past year or so. Grischuk had the first new idea, but Gelfand seemed to have a better feel for the particular middlegame that arose. Gelfand stood better, and when Grischuk chose not to play 23...f5 but allowed e4 and then d5, it was as good as over. White's forces rolled through Black's position, and it turned into a massacre.

So a big congratulations to the 42-year-old Boris Gelfand, who was responsible for two of the three classical wins (out of 30 games) in the event. He has shown once again that even if it's an exaggeration to say that life begins at 40, it certainly doesn't end at that age, either - as the "youthful" 41-year-old Anand knows as well.

Game (with notes) later.

Article originally appeared on The Chess Mind (http://www.thechessmind.net/).
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