After two exciting games, there was a rest day on Monday.
@harikadronavali: “Rest day could be bliss for players, but boring day for spectators.”
Do you have a problem with rest days, @reachsvara? “Problem with Rest Days? ‘Armchair generals’ H.A.V.E to theorise, vomitting absurd ideas!”
@poisondpwnpress: “What on earth am I supposed to do for the next 14 hours? I need Carlsen – Anand in my life.”
Well, you can play a game yourself for a change, like the journos do in Sochi. There is nothing else to do in this ghost town.
@chessvibes:“Norwegian journalists in Sochi playing chess over the board or with @PlayMagnus. Yep, #chessfever”.
I found a nice tweet by @FabianoCaruana on the rest day: “I read that I’m “helping” Anand for the match. Good to know – I think neither of us were aware of that.”
India? Norway? No boundaries in the chess world! Kudos to these two tweeters:
@einargausel: “Mixed feelings about Carlsen – Anand. As a Norwegian I want to see Magnus do the bizz, but the middle-aged man in me is rooting for Vishy.” @gauravm333.”As an Indian I’m for Anand, but the 23-year-old self of me is for the Norwegian star.”
But now …. let us have a look at game 3. The tweets will do the talking….in 5 acts + encore.
Act 1: The opening
What do you expect, @garylanchess? “Looking forward to the game later and I expect 1. e4 this time and predict an exciting draw”.
Teymur Rajabov, aka @rajachess: “1.d4 and probably no Gruenfeld by Carlsen”. @reachvsara: “Magnus shifting to QGD as expected – being a point up, why play Grunfeld and why show blood to a shark!?”
@yelenadembo: “Time to check the old Steinitz games”.
@nigelshortchess: “I guess you all want some witty explanations about what is going on. I have no idea. Heavy theory, that’s all”. @anishgiri: “Same strategy from Magnus as in Chennai, a surprise in the first game and the ultra solid opening to follow…”. @yelenadembo: “By the fast replies of both sides, it is clear that they are nowhere near the end of their preparation”.
@fabianocaruana:”Everyone is saying this is a solid line for Black. But…. isn’t that a white pawn on c7?”
Act 2: Critical moves
@harichess: “Qa6 is such an easy move with engines running 😀 in my opinion 0-0 is more human”. @rajachess:“0-0 is not bad in general,is just bad compared to Qa6 I think!”
@chesscampeona: “Computer is a constant word I read in tweets during a “human” World Championship Chess match.”
@Jonathan_Rowson: “26…g5!? Magnus ventures a delayed and reversed Grob, but possibly 25 moves too late?”
@chessindianet: “Vishy pondering. His eyes tells the story so far”
Act 3: Time trouble
@rajachess: “Carlsen’s time is ticking slowly for Indian fans,and extremely fast for fans of Carlsen”. @ChessIndiaNet: “20 minutes left for Carlsen to make 15 moves in a tough position .. and its going to get tougher with every move”. @dilipvanaman: “Its official Magnus is in time trouble ? Can he find the Houdini route ?” @ChessVibes: “Carlsen has 10 minutes left for 13 moves. He’s not in time trouble often. How will he deal with it, under this pressure?”
@Unudurti: “World championship games decided by time´trouble leave their scars on the players…and spectators too!”
Act 4: The end
@tejasvimohanram: “Veni Vidi Vishy! Game3 looks like in the bag”. @OlimpiuUrcan: “A gentle reminder to those who celebrate prematurely: “Remember, Remember, Twenty-First of November.” (Chennai, Game Nine)”. @EtienneGoud: “Anand is playing fantastic today. Note that the position after 28.Ra1! is close to zugzwang. Was very hard for Magnus not to blunder there.”
@nigelshortchess:” In a parallel with yesterday’s game, it looks like it will be decided by a blunder after sustained pressure”
(Screenshot by @DeepMikey, www-chess-tigers.de)
@Chess24.com: “Sopiko: “Judging by Magnus’ face he’s not happy” Peter: “There’s no reason to be happy…”
Talking about Sopiko: @SagTan:“Sopiko is so cute, I could sack 9 queens !”
@Jonathan_Rowson: “Vishy wins! Powerful opening,precise calculation, good technique,excellent time management. He played,dare I say it, like a World Champion.”
@fabianocaruana: “Looks like Magnus forgot or mixed up his prep,because this was all widely known a year ago. Anand may make an early comeback”.
@Unudurti: “Magnus forgot that old Indian adage, when a tiger grows old, he turns into a man-eater”.
Act 5: Congratulations
@AnishGiri: “Vishy wins the third game of the match in Sochi. This is now a fact of Russian history too!” @humanlyAsshole: “I have never been as happy in recent time as i have been now. The Vishwanath Redemption”. @lladini: “I would love to see Vishy right now, when the door closes after him on the lift and he is finally alone”.
@JcKnight2: “The Tiger slayed Thor. The Tiger slayed Thor. To all haters, Anand is back so expect a fight. Vishy all the way.”
@reachvsara: “That sheer joy only an Indian can feel, how this brilliant & ambitious man has brought happiness with his feats”.
@gauravschandel: “Just when I thought Vishy is down and out, he comes with a bang. Best news I’ve heard all day!”
@karthikPMO: “Great show in Game 3, Vishy! You indeed brought “Anandam” to all your fans! Millions are praying for your success!”
@aravindganesh: “Carlsen- Anand is like that of Arjuna-Karna battle. Now don’t ask me who is Arjuna & who is Karna….
@jenshahade: “Adorable to watch Vishy try so hard not to smile. What a sportsman!”
Encore
@FSTIMJP: “To be fair, MC’s play over the board today would probably rank as among top five-ten worst in modern history of WC matches”.
@SilvioDanailov: “If Magnus Carlsen wants to enter in theoretical battles he needs much better seconds than @PHChess.Losing clearly the opening duel so far.”
@Cassiopee:“Although a big MC fan,delighted with today’s result, if only for the interest of the WC. He is but human after all!”
@ChessNinja: “Trivia Dept: In the last 5 world championship matches the winner of the 2nd decisive game won the title. 8 of last 9. Weird”
@bennedik noted: “Tripling on a file seems to be quite strong.”
@occupyc5: “Suddenly @TarjeiJS has to reset his ‘Anand hasn’t beated Magnus’ in 1000 years line :)”
The last tweet of the day is reserved for the world’s number 2 on the rating list:
@fabianocaruana: “Today was a must-win for Anand. He exposed Carlsen’s weakness, scored a crucial victory & brought intrigue back to the match”