Day 1:
Alex scores quick (0-1)
The very first game saw a critical opening and Alex won the strong side. Miki went into time trouble and blundered.
Alex, with a little help of an Inaccuracy by Miki held the 2nd game. The afternoon sessions were hard fought, but it seems both players had woken up by this time and no mistake was made.
Day 2-4:
Miki scores big (3-1)
The 2nd day mirrored the first day: This time Alex lost his weak side, and had a win in his strong side in the morning session, but he made an inaccuracy and Miki drew. The afternoon games were exciting, but flawless
On the next two days, Miki constantly played on a very high level, but Alex blundered once a day and Miki went ahead by two games.
Day 5-7:
Alex strikes back (3-3)
Just when it seemed, Miki was going to win big, Alex showed his ability to perform best when he is under pressure. On the next days, he played flawless, and Miki was under pressure several times. This phase of the match was on the highest level possible, and two innocent moves by Miki in seemingly harmless positions were mercilessly exploited by Alex to fine wins. First he sprang a prepared cook (ie novelty) on Miki, to which Miki did not find an accurate defense, and in game 28 he tormented Miki with the strong side of the infamous Skull cracker opening. In what seemed to be a rather uneventful endgame, one inaccuracy was enough to end in an endgame that Alex, renown for his endgame skills, won with surprising ease.
Day 8-10:
Miki unstoppable (6-3)
But in a match of 40 games it is very hard to play on the best level all the time. Maybe Alex was exhausted from his come back, maybe the age difference demanded its toll, or maybe Miki now just began to play at his highest level, but most likely a combination of all that paved the way for Miki to finally outscore his rival. In game 31 an opening was balloted that had recently been examined in GAYP play as an early vary to the standard Cross book lines, the Virginia Cross 1. 11-15 23-18, 2.10-14. The game confirmed the assessment that it is not as easy to play with white as it once had been thought, and with the help of Alex time-trouble Miki won on time, but the final position was a loss for Alex anyway.
This blow for Alex was not his last setback, as Miki caught him with new play in another critical opening (1.9-14 23-19, 2. 14-18) to which Alex found no accurate defense at the board.
The last blew came as Alex miscalculated complications in game 38 and it turned out that he a could not win back a sacrified piece as he intended.
Summary:
With a constant high level of calculation depth, Miki impressed the spectators. Combined with new play on many openings and strong endgame play Miki showed that he is indeed very versatile and deserves to be a World Champion.
Alex could not hold the same level over 40 games, but he showed that his theoretical knowledge, opening analysis, and endgame abilities are still as good as that of the World Champion. If only he were the younger player the outcome may have been different…
Games can be found under http://www.cdadamello.com/public/Tornei/2013/WCM2013/
Alex Moiseyev (USA), left, Michele Borghetti (Italy), right
