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Vishy pips Rebel in classic chess

Vishy Anand finally touched something close to his normal form, and pulled off a win in the final game of the 8-match series against chess programme Rebel 10.

Though outclassed in the blitz chess, the Indian grandmaster and current world number two came back well in the two classical games that ended the series, drawing the first and winning the second, to take that segment 1.5-0.5.

Overall, the Dutch programme, written by Ed Schroeder, took the eight match contest 5-3.

In the final game, Anand was on the black side of a Queen's Indian Defence, with the programme shifting into the Petrosian system, named after former world champion Tigran Petrosian.

A flurry of captures towards the end phase of the opening ended with Anand accepting a knight sacrifice and the computer going on to take a rook and three pawns for two bishops. Black had the better part of the development, and by move 32, was firmly in control.

By this point the machine was also getting into time trouble, while the Indian had plenty on his clock. Schroeder, finally, threw in the towel on move 38, and Anand left the hall to loud applause, though he was to say later that he didn't think he had played his best chess on the day.

If there is one thing the contest proved, it is that human beings are at a disadvantage playing speed chess against computers, where the latter's quicker speed of processing data comes to the fore. In the classical format, however, humans with their ability to think not only in terms of powers and pawns, but also to figure values for active and passive pieces into their gameplan, have the advantage over the linear thinking computer.

In fact, both games of the classical variety underlined this difference between the two types of opponents. On both occasions, the computer went strictly by its own logic, which hugely favours a power to a pawn, and tends to ignore the dangers of a positive pawn buildup by the opponent as the game heads into the end phase.

Game 8, Classical format, White: Rebel 10; Black: Vishy Anand, Queen's Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Qc2 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Nd7 9.e4 c5 10.Bf4 Qc8 11.Bb5 a6 12.Bxd7+ Qxd7 13.Ne5 Qc8 14.Qd3 b5 15.Qf3 Bd6 16.Nxf7 Bxf4 17.Nxh8 Qc7 18.Qh5+ g6 19.Nxg6 hxg6 20.Qxg6+ Qf7 21.Qxf7+ Kxf7 22.g3 Bh6 23.f3 cxd4 24.cxd4 Rc8 25.h4 Rc2 26.g4 Be3 27.h5 Kg7 28.Rd1 a5 29.d5 exd5 30.Rh3 b4 31.axb4 axb4 32.f4 Bf2+ 33.Kf1 Bc5 34.Ke1 d4 35.e5 Rc3 36.Rh2 b3 37.h6+ Kh7 38.Rb2 Rebel 10 surrenders.