Anand’s crisis

A disturbing pattern has emerged in the games of world champion Viswanathan Anand. As White in the Ruy Lopez he has begun to disregard in serial fashion the precept that ownership of the bishop pair, against two opposing knights or knight and bishop, tends to confer a major advantage. Not only do the bishops act together as a scything weapon, they also permit the player in possession to decide if and when to trade for an opposing minor piece.