After the excitement of the second and third games, the next two games seemed almost prosaic in comparison. Carlsen went for his usual “playable position with no advantage” as White in Game 4 (it can be viewed here at the Chessbase site), playing a quiet line against the Sicilian, but was unable to achieve anything significant. As Black in Game 5 (now analysed here at Chessbase), Carlsen prepared a somewhat obscure line in the Queen’s Indian Defense and achieved equality. No short draws, but there was no real opportunity for either player to try for anything more.

Anand faces a significant challenge in the next couple of games, where he will be Black twice. If he can survive these games, he should gain a significant psychological advantage for the rest of the short match.