ONE feature that anyone following the recent world chess championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov could not fail to notice was the absence of short draws. Yes, the two players did agree to draw seven of the 12 games but all of them were great fighting draws.
The games were hard fought all the way and the players had to prove to one another that they’d only agree to split a point when there was no more possibility of squeezing a win from the position.
Great fighting chess. That was what we all wanted to see when those two players came together in Sofia, Bulgaria. Of course, we know that Topalov’s uncompromising style would guarantee excitement in every game. He wouldn’t take a draw if he could help it. It was just not his style. It was aggression all the way.
However, Anand refused to let all that aggro affect him too much, if at all. He had such a universal style that he could absorb everything that his opponent threw at him and then he would throw everything back at the opponent.
The end result?
Twelve games that made worldwide spectators sit up enthralled from the first to the last move. Though I was only observing the games through the Internet, the feeling and excitement was exactly the same as the time I was watching Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman play onstage in Kuala Lumpur 20 years ago.
We marvelled at the resourcefulness of the players, applauded when they went for each other’s throat, and groaned when we noticed their mistakes. They are undeniably humans first, prone to making mistakes and other inaccuracies, and only chess gods second.
A lot of the fighting games in Sofia could be put down to a little-known chess rule that has become very popular lately at top-level chess events, but never employed before at the world chess championship level.
It’s known as the Sofia Rule, not because it was used in this match but because it’s generally accepted that it was first used in a top-level chess competition in the Bulgarian capital in 2005.
The Sofia Rule dictates that players could not draw their games by agreement. They could have technical draws through stalemate or three-fold repetition of position or the 50-move rule or through insufficient material, but that was all.
Other draws would only be allowed if the arbiter declared it as a drawn position.
The FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2009 series of tournaments did not even allow players to offer a draw directly. The draw had to be claimed with the arbiter, who was assisted by an experienced grandmaster.
At this world chess championship match, Topalov tried to impose the Sofia Rule on Anand during the pre-match negotiations. He would not talk to Anand over the board, he declared. He would also ignore any attempt by Anand to offer a draw by talking to him during a game. If there was any draw offer, he would make it through the arbiter.
This request was rejected by Anand because according to him, world championship chess should be played with world championship regulations, and the Sofia Rule had never been accepted in any world championship regulation before.
Of course, there could always be a first time but how could there be a first time when both players cannot agree to using the rule?
Nevertheless, despite Anand’s rejection of the rule, Topalov’s team insisted that they would use it unilaterally and effectively forced Anand to recognise it.
Anand’s response to this Sofia Rule was masterful. It was okay with him if Topalov refused to offer draws or accept draws.
Anand was prepared to fight it out with Topalov in every game, no matter how long they played, but even without talking to his opponent, Anand could still tacitly offer to repeat positions on the chessboard.
He was confident that if Topalov refused to accept such offers, it would make him continue the game and maybe, the pressure of trying to find the best alternative plans may force him into errors.
We saw that happen in the 12th game. At one stage, the two players could have played their queen and bishop up and down the board and repeat the position three times but Topalov baulked at that.
Drawing that game would mean extending the match into the tie-break which Topalov didn’t want, so he tried something else and he allowed Anand to break open the centre and train his guns on him.
Anand carried out an irresistible attack and Topalov had to recapitulate at the end. Final result: 6½ points to world champion Anand and 5½ points to vanquished challenger Topalov.