Odin
Slightly better
Anna
Odin
 
Anna
 
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h

Game 5

Anna vs Odin

Commented by: IM Tor Fredrik Kaasen

1

Odin starts with King pawn up, fighting for the center!

00:02 e4
1

Sicilian defense

00:04 c5
2

Odin moves his Knight out, fighting for the center. This is the main move in this position.

00:31 Nf3
2
1 turn without comment
3

Odin plays the open Sicilian- fighting for the center- and opening up for his Bishop. This is the most ambitious way to play.

00:13 d4
3

Anna captures the pawn as Odin`s pawn attacks it.

00:04 cxd4
4
5
3 turns without comments
5

Sveshnikov variation- Anna repeats same variation as in game 1 and 3

00:03 e5

This move places a pawn right in the center, fighting for central squares. However, it also weakens some squares, making it a slightly risky variation.

6
8
5 turns without comments
8

Anna moves her pawn forward, threatening to win a Knight on the next move! So Odin will probably move his Knight forward.

00:04 b5
9
1 turn without comment
9

Anna moves her Bishop out, defending against the deadly pinn that Odin had created.

00:05 Be7
10

Odin gives away his Bishop for the Knight of Anna. In general, the Bishop is slightly better then a Knight. But Odin`s idea is that when the Knight of Anna is gone, his central Knight will not have a defender of the central square!

00:07 Bxf6
10
1 turn without comment
11

Odin moves his pawn forward, trying to attack Anna`s Queenside!

00:14 c4
11

Anna attacks the Knight of Odin while not allowing Odin to break up her Queenside pawns.

00:04 b4
12
1 turn without comment
12

Anna castles, improving her King and her Rook. It's a smart move to make!

00:05 O-O
13
14
4 turns without comments
15

Odin moves his Queen up, preparing for a long castle

00:17 Qd3
15
16
2 turns without comments
16

Anna goes for the attack on the Queenside- trying to open files.

00:05 b3
17

Odin keeps the Queenside closed—this is very typical. You do not want your opponent to have open files so they can attack you where you are weak!

00:16 a3
17

Anna gives an unpleasant check- asking Odin how to react to it. Lets see how Odin deals with it!

00:07 Qa5+
18

Odin offers to exchange the Queens- as he tries to resolve the problems caused by Anna`s preparation!

02:57 Qc3
18

Anna accepts the Queen exchange!

03:03 Qxc3+
19

Odin recaptures the Knight so that he can keep his pawn structure solid.

00:18 Nxc3
19

Anna is putting a lot of pressure!

00:29 Nd4
20

Odin goes for the long casting. Odin King seems safe enough, but the main problem for Odin is that Anna`s Knight is firm in the middle of the board!

00:35 O-O-O
20

Anna makes an improving move with her pawn, giving her Bishop more room to play with. In addition, it plays with the idea of breaking Odin`s pawn center with a pawn break. That's a strong move!

06:23 g6
21

Odin moves in with his Knight, mirroring Anna`s strong central Knight! From here, it controls a lot of squares!

05:28 Ncd5
21

Anna TAKES oDIN`S kNIGHT, BUT MAYBE SHE COULD HAVE WAITED`?

.

02:49 Bxd5

Anna felt the pressure from the Knight of Odin, but the problem was that Odin had another Knight that would go right back to the central square, so this Bishop capture did not give Anna anything- but it gave away the Bishop pair. Not such a big mistake, though.

22

Of course, Odin recaptures with the Knight- as the central knight is the hope for Odin in this position!

03:06 Nxd5
22

Anna moves her Bishop to the best square- preparing to move it to a better square in the future!

04:55 Bd8
23

Odin takes the initiative in typical fashion, putting some pressure on Anna`s center. But the engine says maybe he is not entirely ready for this!

06:19 f4
23

Anna fights back for the initiative- answers fire with fire!

02:26 f5
24

Odin moves his flank pawn forward, trying to open files towards Anna`s King!

13:50 h5

However, because the Queens are exchanged here, the impact of a more exposed King will be significantly reduced. Still, many pieces are on the board, so both players should watch out for their King.

24

Anna captures Odin`s pawn in the center and says: I am a pawn up!

17:21 fxe4
25

Odin captures Anna`s pawn to open up for his Rook and has weakened the King of Anna slightly.

01:51 hxg6
25

Anna recaptured naturally as the pawn was hanging.

00:45 hxg6
26

Odin activates his Rook, trying to regain the pawn that Anna has just taken. How will Anna keep her extra pawn now?

00:40 Re1
26

Anna moves her Knight away from the center- but it now attacks Odin`s pawn- Anna is trying to stay a pawn up.

12:53 Nf5
27

Odin defends the pawn that Anna just attacked.

02:38 Rh3
27

Anna captures another pawn; things are heating up!

01:54 exf4
28

Odin recaptures his pawn- he wants to take Anna`s pawn on the next move- if allowed!

01:14 gxf4

Anna wonders how she can make the most of that at this moment; she is a pawn. But she is now close to being down to her last 10 minutes.

28

Anna moves her Bishop out, attacking the Rook of Odin!

08:45 Bh4
29

Odin, however, does not seem to think there is anything wrong with capturing Anna's Central pawn. What does Anna have in store now?

01:08 Rxe4
29

Anna has lost her pawn advantage- momentum seems to be going odins way

01:07 Rae8
30

Odin finds the most annoying move for Anna; the pressure is building up!

01:00 Bd3

Anna`s pieces are now not so well coordinated- she needs to watch out not to blunder something!

30

Anna exchanges off Odin`s Rook.

08:38 Rxe4
31

Odin recaptures with his Bishop and keeps the pressure.

00:08 Bxe4
31

Anna moved her Bishop away, as it was under pressure. But she is a bit passive now!

00:37 Bd8
32

Odin exchanges his Bishop for Anna Knight. Odin hopes his central Knight will prove stronger than Anna`s Bishop. Let's see if he is right!

09:52 Bxf5
32

Anna recaptures with her Rook, trying to keep it active. She will now try to activate her Bishop sometime in the future.

00:31 Rxf5
33

Odin is now bringing his King closer to the action. As we are in the endgame, the King should actively participate in the action!

03:57 Kd1
33

Anna offers to exchange the Rook!

01:46 Rh5
34

Odin declines the exchange of Rook and instead goes for a counterattack on Anna`s King.

02:58 Re3
34

Anna moves her King quickly up, defending against the tricks of Odin for now!

00:13 Kf7
35

Odin makes a good move- going after Anna's weak undefended pawn.

03:59 Nc3
35

Anna gives a check!

00:41 Rh1+
36

Odin moves his king away as it were standing in check!

01:40 Kd2
36

Anna pushes forward- creating counterplay with her pawn!

00:52 g5
37

Odin wins a pawn at the edge of the board! But his Knight is misplaced now!

00:33 Nxa4
37

Anna makes a move with 3 seconds left!! Gives a check again.

01:09 Ba5+
38

Odin moves forward with his King.

01:55 Kd3
38
40
4 turns without comments
40

Anna defends her strong pawn!

00:58 Bd2
41

Odin is a pawn up now!

00:23 Rxb3
41
44
6 turns without comments
44

Anna moves her Bishop and keeps her strong pawn. Both players are playing well here in this tense endgame.

00:31 Bd2
45
48
8 turns without comments
49

Odin spots a tactic! Tricky for Anna now!

01:37 Nxd6
49

Anna blunders in difficult position

01:15 Rc6
50

Odin makes natural move, but maybe not the best chance.

00:48 Nf5
50
54
8 turns without comments
54

Anna finds the best defence

00:24 Rc6
55
56
3 turns without comments
56

Anna seems to be very close to a draw now!

00:37 Rc6
57

Odin plays on!

01:57 Rd4
57

!!GREAT MOVE!!

00:46 Bxa3
58
69
24 turns without comments

Once again, the game started as a Sveshnikov Sicilian. Anna was well prepared, blitzing her moves and gaining an edge on the board. She was better in the middlegame but started to use much time, and the momentum switched. Odin was pressing from there on, and he kept the pressure until the very end, but after Anna's tough defense, she was finally rewarded with a draw! Odin missed some chances, but Anna`s fighting spirit must be the main story of this game, getting that draw in the end! Stay tuned to the last game of the Anna vs Odin match, starting in 1 hour.

And we have a draw!

Heroic defense for Anna, the draw is in the bank now!

Odin will try to trick Anna, but this is an easy theoretical draw here.

Soon the last pawn is taken, and the draw is clear!

Anna has found the defense all the way now- Odin just has some final tricks here- but we moving towards a draw.

Odin is up a pawn, but the problem for him is that his pieces are a bit clumsy. But do not be fooled by the engine- this is not an easy draw for Anna. But she is fighting really well so far!

Anna is in a really difficult endgame now- Odin has a chance to win the match here!

Odin plays on! The tense endgame continues.

Are we going to see a repetition of moves?

Anna now has 1,5 minutes, so her time situation is improving.

Odin has won a pawn, but because Anna has the most dangerous pawn here, she has compensation. But when you are playing on seconds, there is little time to calculate; intuition takes over!

Anna is now in severe time trouble- but her position is objectivly okay! This can go both ways!

I believe the last moves have been going in favor of Anna; she now has a very active Rook and can try to attack some of Odin's weak pawns. Though the engine still thinks it is balanced.

We now have an exciting endgame- it looks pretty balanced, but there is still a lot of play left!

Even though the engine thinks Odin's advantage is minimal, the situation is critical for Anna because of the time and momentum change. In addition, she needs to deal with an unpleasant position.

Anna is now down to 22 minutes, while Odin has 34. However, Anna's position is good, though it is not obvious how to continue here.

Anna, who got off to a great start on the clock and the board, is now taking a long time to think. She is trying to understand how to deal with Odin`s flank attack strategy. But she needs to watch out so that she will not again land herself in time trouble—the clock ticks very fast!

Odin is taking considerable thought here, taking 13 minutes and counting! Odin seems unsure how to meet this strong counterattack by Anna exactly.

The opening phase of the game has been an excellent success for Anna. She has more time than she started (because the players get 30 seconds for each move they make), which is helpful as she often struggles with time pressure. Furthermore, Anna is in a better position because her knight in the center looks very hard to deal with for Odin!

The players are playing really fast because it is the same variation as played in rounds 1 and 3. Let's see if the players have prepared something special for this game!

Odin seems to have mixed something up in his preparation, as Anna is better here! Anna is totally in her preparation—Odin is in trouble!

The game is about to start!

Welcome to round 5 of the Anna vs Odin match! So far, The match has been thrilling, with not a single game lacking in excitement. Yesterday's drama saw Odin almost winning in game 3, but Anna's resilience turned the tide, leveling the score. Anna's performance in game 4 was exceptional, but Odin's experience prevailed, and Odin ultimately took the whole point. With the score at 2.5-1.5 in Odin's favor, the final day is a make-or-break moment. Who will hold their nerve and emerge victorious on the final day of the Anna vs. Odin match? The action kicks off in 30 minutes, right here in the Take` Take` Take app!