Anand however turned out to be excellently prepared even for that rare line that he couldn’t have possibly expected! He went for the most principled line and put Carlsen under real pressure. At those moment he must have regretted his bluff. But black’s position was solid enough and even though he suffered, Carlsen managed to draw.

This game shows that Carlsen still has major problems when playing black. I don’t think he’s hoping he’ll be able to hop around using different openings in every game (similar to Leko’s opening strategy in his match with Kramnik). Anand’s excellent preparation doesn’t make it easier for him, but with Peter Heine Nielsen on board he should be able to find a way to a reliable opening choices. This does raise the question what the hell were they working on during the preparation camps before the match, but that’s for them to answer.

Now Carlsen has two whites in a row, so it’s his chance to turn the momentum in his favour.

Here’s today’s game with detailed comments: