During the press conference, which took place immediately after the game, Boris Gelfand confessed that he simply failed to spot white's 17. Qf2. After playing 14...Qf6, he could only see 17. Qf4, after which white would have to play either 18. Bd3 or 18. Bh3. The Israeli grandmaster also considered the possibility of offering a losing exchange after a potential 15. Kc2 Nf4 16. Ne4 continuation. An interesting position appeared after 16... Re4 17. fe. “I played a risky variation and thought it would turn out okay, but I didn't anticipate White's last move. It's difficult to say where I could have played better. I think that, if this variation fails, then the whole concept is wrong. Of course, I could have just played Knight to g7 or f6 on the 14th move instead of Qf6, but then Black's position would have been worse after 15. h4.”
Viswanathan Anand admitted that he had seen the possible blunder as early as the 11th move, when he played pawn takes f5. “At first I had the same thought as Boris – that actually I had to go Queen f4, and then I refined it to Queen f2, and that's how it happened.” The world champion called move 7... Nh5 provocative as Black usually plays this move after 7... e6. He could have responded more aggressively and played 7. g4, but considered this to be too “committal”. “I played Bc5 taking advantage of the fact that had not played his pawn on e7.”
When asked how had they slept the night before, after game 7, the challenger said that he had slept very well – eight hours non-stop. The champion, on the other hand, said that it had not been his best sleep of the match.
Anand was then asked if his state of mind had changed following yesterday's game – if it would help him to get back to playing his usual game. “In general, I'd like to think that I'm playing each game quite hard, but it's clear these last two games are not like before – it's emotionally much more tough. I don't know if I played particularly aggressively today. I think it's just the consequence of this position and white needs to gain space,” he commented, “I mean, if I played well, I'm happy.”
When the world champion – who is known for his fast play – was asked why he had been using a lot of time in the games, the Indian grandmaster explained: “Well, in general, I would say it's much more evolutionary than something else that I've changed from one day to the next. It's happened quite gradually and, obviously, in World Championship matches, I tend to do it a lot more even. But then there's a lot to remember.”
The players were then asked whether they thought it was like the match was starting all over again, as the score was once again even, Boris Gelfand replied: “Well, I don't think it ever stopped! It's not 1985, when the match stopped and then started again.”
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