The 16th?

Magnus Carlsen is seeking to become the 16th world chess champion in a line that includes such giants as Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov. The $5 million World Chess Championship will be a clash between the reigning Indian world champion Viswanathan Anand (defending champion from the World Chess Championship 2012 and twice winner of the coveted Sportsman of the Year title in India) and the young Norwegian challenger. It will be held under the auspices of Fidé, the World Chess Federation, from 9 to 28 November in Chennai. There will be 12 games — one per day, with days off for rest — plus a 13th and final shoot-out day on 28 November if the championship is tied after 12 games.
 
Anand first won the world title in 2007 and has defended it three times since then against the world’s leading grandmasters, Kramnik, Topalov and Gelfand. He now faces his most severe challenge, since Carlsen is the highest rated player of all time.
 
This week’s game is a blindfold clash between the two rivals from the Monaco series.
 
Anand-Carlsen: Blindfold Game, Nice 2009; Sicilian Defence
 
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 d6 4 0-0 Bd7 5 Re1 Nf6 6 c3 a6 7 Bf1 Bg4 8 d3 This is a relatively quiet line against the Sicilian but quite popular. 8 … e6 9 Nbd2 Be7 10 h3 Bh5 11 g4 Bg6 12 Nh4 Nd7 13 Ng2 h5 14 f4 hxg4 15 hxg4 (see diagram 1) In this position the moves 15 … Bh4 and 15 … Bh7 (as in Larsen-Hansen, Esbjerg 1997) have been tried previously. To me, moves that block the open h-file seem illogical. Black’s rook on h8 is poised to threaten the white king, so why impede its action? Carlsen very sensibly — and according to the principles laid down by the first official world champion, Wilhelm Steinitz — prefers to prepare queenside castling.