Anand switched to 1. e4 in Game 5, but it was to no avail, as Boris Gelfand was able to defend carefully in a Sveshnikov Sicilian to secure equality and hold the World Champion to a draw. At one point, computers gave Anand the slight edge, but most human commentators seemed certain that he never had enough to win, as even a full pawn might not have been enough to give him a truly significant advantage.

If you're beginning to get bored with the long string of draws, you're not alone. There have been plenty of complaints about the boring nature of the games, with only one game (the third) having real winning chances for one of the players. But if you're patient, there may be fireworks yet. I don't want to claim to be an expert on match strategy, but it would seem likely to me that Anand didn't switch to 1. e4 out of frustration; after all, he was able to gain something out of the opening in Game 3. It may well be that he's just probing for weaknesses and will try to get a decisive win  with one of his final three white games -- especially if he feels comfortable in his ability to draw as Black. Only time will tell: Game 6 is coming on Friday.

I didn't get a chance to update the blog yesterday, but if you were looking for updates on the World Chess Championship, you haven't missed too much. Today's Game 4 was never in much doubt, as Gelfand struggled to find any way to get an advantage against Anand's Semi-Slav.

Game 3 was a little different. Even if the result was the same, Anand definitely generated winning chances with White, and many analysts think that Anand missed a win in time trouble. That has to be a boon to those who are just waiting for Anand to break through and score in the match, as he has now easily come the closest to doing so thus far.

Wednesday is a rest day; Anand will be back again with the White pieces on Thursday. With the score tied 2-2, we're still looking for the first decisive result. However, this could easily prove to play out like a soccer match where the weaker team is trying to hold on to a draw; if Anand were to score, Gelfand might have to more aggressively fight for winning chances, which could put all three results into play during every game.

Another game, another relatively short draw. This one was slightly longer than in Game 1 -- Gelfand played his 25th move before ending the game -- but there was probably less play in it, with a draw always seeming the most likely result. Anand chose to play the Semi-Slav against 1. d4, and though Gelfand achieved a theoretical advantage, it was hard to call his edge anything but cosmetic. Of course, with the match still in its feeling out stage, the result wasn't too surprising. Some analysis of Game 2 can be found here.

Anand will be back with the White pieces on Monday after a rest day on Sunday. The final position, after White's 25th move:

Long matches -- especially at the World Championship level -- can sometimes begin with short draws as part of a feeling out process. Indeed, the first game of Anand-Gelfand ended in a relatively short draw too, but it was a fighting one, which might be a good sign for the chess to come. Anand played 1. d4 as expected, but Gelfand responded in a somewhat surprising manner by playing the Grunfeld, and even had a little pressure on the current champion for a while. That said, Anand was never in serious danger, and the game eventually petered out to a draw after just 24 moves. The final position:

For a few different takes on the game, check out the ChessBase recap of Game 1. Game 2 -- Gelfand's first opportunity with the white pieces -- will be played on Saturday.