A not occasional situation happened yesterday in the game between Viswanathan Anand and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the 8th round of Norway Chess 2022. Anand played 22.Qb5 and resigned out of blue.
The Azerbaijani was approaching the table obviously confused with Anand’s decision, asking him: “Why?” what can be seen from the live camera from the venue.
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In the post-game interview, Shakhriyar explained he also thought that 22.Qb5 played by Anand is the best move on the position. He didn’t see it was a bad blunder: “I thought 22.Qb5 is the best move in the position. He resigned a little bit… maybe… When he resigned I didn’t see the winning move. But problem is that when I came to a board I saw there is something going wrong. I mean, the faces of chess players can say a lot. And I think everyone saw this 22…Qf3 but only not me“. Replay the game here
Shakh added: “I mean 22…Qf3 is very tricky. Looks like it’s only check, not mate. I also thought first Anand is offering a draw, but I wanted to play. And when he said I resign, then I realized…“. See the complete interview below:
