Kasparov
Slightly better
Anand
Kasparov
 
Anand
 
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
1
2
4 turns without comments
3

Kasparov stays true to his opening approach, going for the fianchettoed bishop. But he does hold back on pushing the pawn to the right of his king too early, which landed him in trouble the last time.

00:08 Bb2
3
4
2 turns without comments
4

Anand is looking once again to build an imposing pawn center.

00:02 f6
5
6
3 turns without comments
6

Anand has played a little timidly here, keeping his light-squared bishop inside the chain. But he still has the healthier position due to his strong center.

00:08 e6
7
1 turn without comment
7

Anand protects his knight, cutting out Kasparov's option to trade and inflict doubled pawns on him.

00:06 Bd7
8
10
6 turns without comments
11

Things have improved quite a bit for Kasparov here, as Anand finds himself with doubled pawns on the right hand side that could hurt him down the line.

00:06 g3
11
14
7 turns without comments
15

Nice move, as Kasparov has found a sequence that is going to force trades that will leave Anand's king a little exposed!

00:09 dxc5
15
17
5 turns without comments
18

Anand has gone for a super messy sequence, but it's looking very scary for him with Kasparov's rook so aggressively posted on the seventh rank.

00:11 Rxg7
18

Kasparov has a brilliant sequence

To offer a bishop trade, to deflect it and then bring the queen into the center instead of recapturing the bishop! But that's super difficult to find in a blitz game...

00:15 Bxe3
19

Kasparov misses his chance, and now Anand can come in and grab the pawn on the right hand side. Game balanced once again!

00:51 Nd3
19
1 turn without comment
20

??BLUNDER??

A big mistake from Kasparov, as now Anand can bring his knight into the center with huge pressure against Garry's position!

00:06 a4
20
23
7 turns without comments
24

Both sides missed their chances, and now it looks like we could see a draw with both kings quite weak and vulnerable to perpetual checks.

00:02 Qxh7
24
25
2 turns without comments
25

??BLUNDER??

A losing mistake by Kasparov, as he trades down into a losing queen endgame!!

00:07 Rxe7
26
30
10 turns without comments
31

Kasparov has a perpetual check after a misstep by Anand, but it's not easy!

00:02 Qd8+
31
32
2 turns without comments
32

Anand blocks the check! He's back to winning!

00:04 Qc6
33
34
4 turns without comments
35

Kasparov loses on time!

Anand had a winning position, but he did not need to find the killer move as Garry Kasparov's flag falls just a split second before getting to play his final move.

Vishy Anand will be feeling relieved to end the match on a high note, with back-to-back wins in today's blitz portion. Though he may also be left more than a little frustrated that his eventual breakthrough came just after the gates had closed and Garry Kasparov had sealed the title.

Nevertheless, it's nice to see Vishy ending the match on a high note as he and Garry are seen on camera discussing some of the earlier games of the match, the fire for chess still very much alive.

As a commentator, it's been wonderful to get the chance to follow two players who have had such an incredible impact on the game. I hope that it's been a fun one for you too, and we'll see you again for the next Clutch Chess tournament later this month, featuring four superstars of the modern game: Magnus, Hikaru, Fabiano, and Gukesh.

See you there!

00:09 Bc1

The Finale!

Clutch Chess: The Legends is about to conclude, with only one final blitz game remaining as the players prepare to do battle for a whopping $8,000 in bonus money.

With the pressure off, Vishy Anand finally struck with his first win of the match in the first blitz game of the day. Can he build on this momentum, and end the match on a high note?

A win here would see Anand lose the match by a narrow margin of two points, while tying the total bonus money accumulated. Kasparov will be sure to fight hard to avoid this, as he will not want to end his dominant match performance with back-to-back defeats.

Hope you have all been enjoying the chess over the past few days, one more game to go!