The common feature of the first two games of the World Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen in Sochi has been that play was decided in a major piece endgame consisting of a queen and rook each. I have often maintained that Emanuel Lasker (world champion from 1894 to 1921) has been the role model for Carlsen’s style. Lasker was the leading exponent of such refined endgames where manoeuvring and filigree technique was of particular importance.
In major piece endgames the slightest inaccuracy can spell either reversal of fortune or complete disaster, as we shall see from these extracts.
Anand-Carlsen; World Championship, Sochi (Game 1) 2014
I join the first game (diagram 1) at the crucial stage of the major piece endgame where Anand, having previously had the draw in hand, has now been driven back onto the defensive.
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