Topalov on top

Veselin Topalov kept his cool to trounce Gata Kamsky in the Special Candidates match.

SO it came to pass that Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov carved out an impressive victory over his American opponent, Gata Kamsky, in the Special Candidates match in Sofia, Bulgaria, last month.

  f_29veselin.jpgWith his win, Veselin Topalov has earned himself a match with reigning world chess champion Viswanathan Anand.

The match did not even last the full length. Although both players were tied at 2-2 after four games (the halfway stage of the match), Kamsky’s play collapsed immediately after that. He suffered two losses in the next three games and gave Topalov an unassailable 4½-2½ lead in the match.

Where I left off last week, Kamsky had just lost the fifth game. When the sixth game was drawn, it gave hope to Kamsky’s team that he could still draw level again in the final two games.

Then came the seventh game. What started out quietly soon evolved into a complicated game. It was touch-and-go all the way but in the ensuing complication, Topalov found the correct answers while Kamsky lost his way. In the end, he had to admit defeat not only in this game but the match as well.

What caused Kamsky’s game to collapse? Although he was almost a hundred points below Topalov in the Fide rating list, the American grandmaster was by no means a weak or inexperienced player. One only need remember that in 1995/96, he was already challenging for the world chess title. Then he stopped playing for 10 years. Despite coming back into the game in 2005, could this long layoff from chess have affected him?

One thing was for sure: Kamsky was a victim of his own time trouble.

Often in this match, he left himself with precious little time to complete his moves before the time control.

Getting into time trouble in complicated positions is a sure-fire way to lose all your advantage in the game.

For instance in the second game of this match, Kamsky was down to only eight minutes on his clock to play the remaining 25 moves. He did not even manage to last a further 25 moves.

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The other observation I made in this match was that both players were not afraid to sacrifice one or two pawns to get dynamic play for their pieces. That was what made this match exciting for spectators.

Now that Toaplov has won the match, what comes next?

According to the World Chess Federation regulations, he has earned himself a match with India’s reigning world chess champion, Viswanathan Anand.

This match is supposed to be played sometime in the second half of this year.

It’s going to be another great match and I think, looking at the fine form that Topalov is showing, Anand is going to have his hands full in defending his world crown. That will be his problem. For us, it will be another chess feast. Can you wait that long?

In the meantime, here is the second game which the Bulgarian won.

White: Gata Kamsky (2725)
Black: Veselin Topalov (2796)

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Bc5 5. Nxe5 Nxe4 6. Qe2 Nxe5 7. d4 Qe7 8. dxc5 Nxc5 9. Nc3 Ng6 10. Qh5 c6 11. Bg5 f6 12. Rae1 Ne6 13. Bd3 O-O 14. Bd2

This is what I meant by the players being not afraid of sacrificing pawns.

For the pawn he had given up, Kamsky’s position looked so much better than Topalov’s: he had the pair of bishops but more importantly, there were open lines towards his opponent’s king.

14….d5 15. f4 Qc5+ 16. Kh1 d4 17. Bf5 Rf7 18. Ne4 Qd5 19. Bxg6 hxg6 20. Qxd5 cxd5 21. Nd6 (see diagram)

Kamsky seems to be on top in this position but Topalov has a lot of resources.

His next move takes over control of the c-file.

He wasn’t afraid of 22.Nxc8 Raxc8 23.Rxe6 because he felt that there would be enough counterplay for him after 23…Rxc2. 21….Rc7 22. c4

Unfortunately, this was the result of Kamsky being desperately short of time on his clock. It would have been better to accept the piece sacrifice as mentioned earlier.

Now, after 22. c4, Topalov gets to keep his extra pawn and he presses home his advantage.

22….dxc3 23. Bxc3 d4 24. Bb4 Bd7 25. Rf2 a5 26. Ba3 b5 27. b3 b4 28. Bb2 Ra6 29. Ne4 Rac6 30. Kg1 Rc2 31. g3 d3 32. Rd1 f5 0-1

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