5 things Brendan Rogers got right in the Merseyside Derby.

This is a counter story to the previous article titled, "Five Mistakes,Brenden Rogers made in the MerseySide derby" . The earlier article was a listing of the wrongs. This article will try to bring out the positives from Liverpool view of the Merseyside derby.

1. Playing Joe Flannagan

Maybe the headline, should have been, "Not playing Sissoko". Joe Flannagan provides the width and the crosses that Sisoko does not. It was very brave of Rogers to play this youngster in a match of this magnitude, especially in his unnatural position.  He must have tried it in training of course. Full credit to him.

2. Super-Sub Daniel Sturridge

It was an easy decision to leave Sturridge, who was recovering from an injury suffered in the mid-week friendly with Germany, on the bench for the Merseyside derby. Then again maybe not so easy, as he is an integral part of the SAS combination that has been terrorizing the premier league this season.

Either way, his impact on coming on, was immediate, scoring from an indirect free kick at the dying embers of the match.

3. The Final Surge from deep.

The frentic last 10 minutes of the game had everything expected from a derby: passion, desire and high drama. Liverpool having led for most of the game, were now trailing and needed an equalizer.  Rogers had his boy throw everything but the kitchen sink at Everton to get it. Boy, the neutrals did not want the match to end. It was pulsating end to end stuff. The change in tactic from Rogers, earned the point. Prior to the Everton going forward, Liverpool were pressing with a high line, thereby exposing themselves to counteracts.  Rogers deserves credit for shifting the game plan to providing early balls into the box from deep.

4. Match, Set Pieces.

Liverpool's proficiency in set pieces this season, cannot be over emphasized. A lot of their goals have come from dead balls situations and in the derby, all three liverpool goals, yep, you guessed it, were from such situations. That is due to great work on the training ground.

5. A Winning Mentality

This item is not a filler. Rogers has instilled a never say die in the liverpool team. Even in the Arsenal loss, it was evident from the way, they still kept searching for a equalizer. Many teams would have lost hope and given up. But not the Reds these days, the comeback is indicative of their desire this season.

5 Mistakes, Brendan Rogers made in Merseyside Derby.

Since the start of the new season, Liverpool seems to have got its groove back, figuratively speaking, oscillating between first and second position in the league. This is due to the managerial astuteness of Brendan Rogers coupled with  his January signings of Daniel Sturridge and Coutinho, who have been bargains that have helped lead the charge for a champions league spot finish this season. 

Fast forward to the Merseyside derby, which is usually one of the fiercely contested games in soccer history.  It is renown for its high octane battles with its attendance sending offs. High drama, controversy  are usually expected. But it is the job of the manager not to be caught up with all the emotion. Afterall all, it is he, who must keep a level head in order to make the necessary tactical decisions to influence the game in his side's favor.  To be clear, I am not one to be casting aspersions on Brenden Roger, who is one of the best managers in the premier league and is miles ahead of me in  the understanding of the game. Having said that, there are a few things that could have been done a bit better.

1. No foil for Lukaku

Lukaku is known for his physical play, and the strength that he brings in his game. But it was odd, that Sakho and Kolo Troure-two centre backs, who have provided a physical match for him, were left on the bench. That decision was responsible for Lukaku, ending up as man of the match, with two goals to his tally.

The game against Arsenal also showed the side of Rogers that is willing to let his opponents play as along his side does. That is counter productive, except one believes his sides attack is much sharper.

Juxtaposed with his win earlier in the season against arch-rivals, Manchester United, makes my point exactly. In that game, Liverpool were very well organized because they understood the threat, the Red Devils carry.

2. 12 minutes of chaos

A period of about 12 minutes in the second half, Everton had over three chances to level the score line.  Rogers did not react on time, thereby allowed the inevitable equalizer. It got worse when Everton took the lead for the first time in the game, after Rogers made an attacking substitution, reliving Lucas from his defensive duties.  One would have thought, that the manager should first address the waves of Evertonian attacks, by bringing in defensive reinforcements, before trying to extend the lead. Also, the practice of trying to out-score opponents should be discouraged rather the Reds, when they take the lead should be better at killing off games.

3. Big boys sometimes need a rest.

Great Players like Gerrard are indispensable to any team. But in the derby, it was obvious that he was still reeling from the mid-week friendly with Germany. He was caught in possession several times, his missed clearance gave Lukaku, the penalty like chance to level the scores to 2-2.

Also, Coutinho should have been substituted instead of Lucas.

With three games to play next week, Rogers must rotate effectively, even if it means putting match winners on the bench.

4. Henderson on the right.

Henderson is a player that divides opinions. Just observe the reactions to Alex Ferguson's comment in his book, "Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography". He is a very hard working player but provides little in terms of creativity, so why continuously play him on the right when his high work rate is better suited for a more central role? In the derby, Glen Johnson, a left back, provided a much greater threat from the flank than the player in front of him in formation.

5. Frailty At Set Pieces

Liverpool has conceded more goals from set pieces than from normal play. This trend needs to be wooded on, if the aspiration of a fourth place finish is to be realized. Ironically, scoring from set pieces is the Reds' strength. Maybe, they could try what the Gunners did against in their match and defend much higher up the pitch when defending in direct free kicks. 

Magnus Carlsen: Redefining Chess.

Chess is a draw. Everyone must have heard that adage. Unfortunately it comes with a proviso- with accurate play from both sides. However, what constitutes accurate play is debatable. It could be a matter of style,  based on chess heuristics gathered over years or adjudicated by one's favorite chess engine. 

From the first move to the last, each pugilist must thrive to play the best possible move to achieve equality. Of course this is a near impossible task even for the strongest engine or grandmaster. Such is the complex nature of Chess. That there are an infinite number of possible moves, each leading to different paths.

For instance, Rybka, touted for playing human-like positional moves, was the strongest chess program a few years ago, but now, the Houdini, with a penchant for creating imbalances in positions, is on top of the chess engine ladder. Even if computers were to solve the game like it did checkers, the human element- the propensity to err, is always there to provide the final result.

From Paul Morphy,Fischer to Kasparov, great champions were trailblazers in re-defining how the game was played in their era. Paul Morphy showed his more "romantic" peers that there was another way. Also, Kasparov's dedication and work in the opening phase of the game, lead the way to a future were Grandmasters tried to out-prepare each other with chess engines and huge databases.

Magnus Carlsen, like his predecessors, is also redefining how the game will be played in his era.  Rather than focusing on opening preparation, Carlen instead studies the part of the game that most chess players consider the least interesting - the end game. 

This can only be good for the game.  With Carlen proving that there was rich rewards lurking in that part of the game, Tournament Organizers,who in order to increase interest and viewership, had resorted to "coercive" measures to discourage short draws, would no longer need to try so hard to motivate chess players to fight to the bitter end. 

The world championship match between Anand and Carlen started out by four draws. Two of whom were  interesting played-out  draws.

Anand cracked under pressure in game 5, as Carlsen turned on the screw in a seemingly innocuous position. A position where ordinarily, most grandmasters would have agreed on an early draw. 

One would have assumed, it would be his relatively inexperience opponent that would be the first to break under the huge expectation of his pre-determined coronation by virtue of 69 point difference in elo ratings.

In game 6, we find Carlsen winning a theoretical drawn rook ending out of nothing. Of course, Anand, the world champion, was once again, an unwilling accomplice in the turn of events. 

Carlsen himself has also been a victim of end game pitfalls  as demonstrated by his loses to Ivanchuk in the Candidates  and Wang Hao earlier in the year.

It just illustrates the point that audience wants to see these positions played out. Years of excuses that this or that position, opposite colored bishops, rook endings are drawn are no longer enough. They want it proved ! By best play of course.

Video of Game six of the World Championship match between Anand and Carlsen

Battle Royale: Anand vs Carlsen

The stage is set for the upcoming Fide Chess World Championship match between current champion, India's Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen - a Norwegian former chess prodigy and the highest ranked chess player in the world.

It promises to be an exciting match. A clash of different styles. Carlsen's youth and energy versus Anand's vast match experience. Surely chess fans could not have wished for a better tie. Magnus Carlsen, the top ranked chess player  for over three years, is seen as the heir apparent to Anand's crown. And for many, the match might be just a formality in the transfer of the Chess mantle to the younger generation which Carlsen represents.

Both players started their careers as attacking players while Anand has kept some of that style as time went on, Carlsen completely evolved to a solid player with a preference for the end game.

The importance of the match cannot be over-emphazise. A victory by Anand who cement his place in chess history. Were Carlsen to emerge victorious, it would spark a frenzy of sponsorships and big money that the sport clearly needs.

Match Experience

No doubt Anand has a massive advantage over Carlsen in terms of match experience.

That experience consists of victories over very strong players such as : Kramnik, Shirov, Topalov. 

Match play against the same person is different from Tournament situation where one could focus one's energies in winning weaker players and drawing direct rivals.

A chink in Anand' armor has appeared lately; he seems to have become vulnerable to the younger generation creative and energetic play with recent loses to Nakamura,Wang Hao and a hoodoo with Levon Aronian.

Climate

The match is taking place in Anand's Indian home town of Chennai. No one is sure if there is any commensurate advantage to be got from playing at home.

Topalov lost his World Championship match to Anand on home soil.Earlier in the year, Carlen placed second in a tournament hosted in Norway. Unlike Soccer where vociferous fans can be an extra man providing that additional motivation, chess players are alone in the company of their opponents in quiet halls.

Ability to handle Pressure

The Candidates tournament showed that Carlsen was human after all. Who can blame him? He was touted as the clear favorite to coast to an easy victory and was even crowned in some circles based his impressive tournament results. The shock of meeting a Kramnik, playing his best chess in years, coupled with the trepid challenge of the bottom three of Radjabov,Ivanchuk and Grischuk, led to the high drama of the last round, where he could only crawl to the finish line when Kramnik was "kind" enough to reciprocate his loss to Peter Svidler.

Anand seems to cope with pressure better. The quick recovery to equalize in round 8, in his match with Gelfand in the World Championship in 2012 and the final round victory over Topalov in Bulgaria come as clear evidence that Anand is able to produce the goods at critical points in a match.

Head to Head

Anand holds a clear 6-3 advantage of his opponent. However  majority of those victories came when Carlsen had not become a top 5 player. In the last 18 months, Carlsen has the edge over the World Champion and has been slowly closing the gap. +5 -0 =8 to Carlsen in all formats, with +1 -0 =3 to Carlsen in classical time control.

Preparation

Magnus Carlsen does not focus much on opening theory. He relies more on his ability to outplay his opponent in the middle and end game. Carlsen has described his style as a crocodile waiting patiently for his prey.

Anand like other grandmasters, is extremely well prepared in the openings and is hardly surprised in that part of the game.

Though Carlsen's vast opening repertoire gives him the element of surprise. 

Also physical preparation and conditioning aids the mental prowess of a chess player. That is where Carlsen with youth holds a clear advantage over Anand.

Prediction

If Anand draws first blood, it would be interesting to see how Carlsen reacts. I fear that he might not recover in a short 12 game match. Carlsen would play his normal pragmatic chess and predictably justify his 69 point Elo rating over his opponent and secure victory.

The Official Site: http://chennai2013.fide.com

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by Chinedu Efoagui