World Chess Championship Tournament in India: Anand Carlsen - Game 1

Chinese philosopher Chuan Tzu dreamt that he was a butterfly, and on walking up, he did not know whether he was a man who had had a dream he was a butterfly, or a butterfly who was now dreaming he was a man!

We are in no better state than Chuan Tzu..., whatever it may be, the first move on board and a pinch on our forearm dispel the doubt - it is real!!

1...d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 c6 5.0-0 Nf6 6.b3 0-0 7.Bb2 Bf5 8.c4 Nbd7 9.Nc3 dxc4 10.bxc4 Nb6 11.c5 Nc4 12.Bc1 Nd5 13.Qb3

Just thirteen moves are made, we have already reached the end in this first game of this greatest sporting spectacle happening in our cricket mad country. The black knight and white queen have started playing an endless hide and seek game, in the corner of the board!

The game-1 is more satisfying for black than for white. I especially like the harmonious moves and placement of black pieces. Vishy post the queries making Magnus to answer.

The match has begun and begun well. Each and every game, why every move will be scanned extensively, compared, contrasted and would evoke millions of suggestions! The same position may be viewed differently at different times - after all everything is relative! Einstein's statement of relativity, "The laws by which the states of physical systems undergo changes are independent of whether these changes of state are referred to one or the other or two coordinated systems moving relatively to each other in translational motion", holds good here too (pardon me for the confusion!). Each and every move, every game would display interplay of various factors, some visible and comprehensible and many others which are unrevealing and incomprehensible.

Well, the point of contention here is that, we human beings are adept at approaching and dealing with issues, moves, etc in isolation. We are not so good at comprehending the harmony in both in our self, and the manifestations in nature! Opinions in millions raise, with each individual viewing things from his/her perspective, in isolation or in their own limited database of constituting components.

Notwithstanding the fact that the parts play an important role in composition, the works of art will have to be looked at from top -from the above - a composite view, which reveal the harmony, lest it will give a poor pixelated view as does a photograph viewed closely!

I am pleased with the harmony of black pieces in this game: it began well and ended well in this game! Forget the draw, there is a beauty in this brevity too!

Shiki's haiku goes thus:

"Roses:

The flowers are easy to paint,

The leaves difficult"

The artists have started painting a beautiful flower, let us await the unfurling of petals one by one!