Chennai: Two moments from the fourth game of the World Chess Championship match, between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen, stand out in terms of quality, precision and courage.

The match is poised at 2-2, with all four games played till now drawn. Thursday is a rest day.

Grandmasters and commentators from around the world, restless after cautious draws in the initial two games, are in agreement that Carlsen and Anand have pushed the intensity of the struggle to higher plane in the third and fourth games.

Carlsen made the mistake of choosing a dynamic setup with white in the 3rd game. With him playing 13.Bb4, 20.Qb4 and 28.e3 Anand came into his elements pushing the throttle with 27…b5! But black didn’t have enough ammunition to make a mark on the scoreboard.

Facing the Berlin Wall over the board is every 1.e4 player’s nightmare, and it was Anand’s turn in the fourth game. As the opening unfolded, it was clear he had nothing special from his famous personal laboratory.

When Carlsen captured 18…Bxa2, it caused a buzz. Was the world champion justified in gambling a pawn for an initiative which didn’t seem to exist? Compensation was not clear, neither to the trained eyes, nor to chess engines analysing the position.

Jump to the 24th move – the adventurous bishop had taken a lengthy journey via b1 – f5 – c8, finally reaching its birth square. His two rooks too rested in their sheds a8 and h8.

In return, White had two powerful looking rooks on the open ‘d’-line, doubled up. And he had his two knights – the world champion, after all, loves his horses.

But all of them seemed to lack the required harmony and a necessary target. It was precisely at that time that Anand and Carlsen began their war dance, fighting with all their armoury.

When Carlsen uncorked 30…a5! his second Jon Ludvig Hammer couldn’t hide his glee, calling it as a show of ‘guts, calculation and technique’. Pushed to the wall, biting his nails and physically straining over the board, Anand was a picture of anything but composure.