My counter play did not work, says Viswanathan Anand

Chennai: Defending champion Viswanathan Anand today conceded that his counter play did not work well in the fifth game of World Chess Championship match that the Indian lost after a long and typical grind against challenger Magnus Carlsen here.

"Somehow my counter play did not materialise. There are many continuations, Rd4 was the decisive mistake," said Anand, who played with black pieces today, in the post-game conference at the Hyatt here. 22-year-old Calrsen, who drew the first blood after a tentative start to his campaign, said he was quite happy to have gone one up with seven games to go. "It was a relatively interesting opening. I have some strategic advantage, like the better Bishop and a better pawn structure, it`s not huge," said Carlsen who took a 3-2 lead in the 12-game match. "It was kind of messy but I am happy. But winning one game does not mean I have won the match. It means I have to work harder," the Norwegian world number one said. Anand, who will have white in the sixth game tomorrow, appeared only a little nervous in the press conference that`s mandatory to attend for both players. There was the usual calm on his face that showed determination. "Anand makes some small minor mistake and it accumulates in to a win for Magnus," said former women world champion Susan Polgar who is a part of the commentary team here.