1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Qe2 Bg6 10.e4 0-0 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qe3 Bg6 15.Ng5 (Instead 15.Bxg6 fxg6 16.Ng5 Re8 17.Qh3 Nf8 18.Qb3 and draw was agreed in Petrosian-Smyslov, 1980)
15…Re8 16.f4 Bxd3 (Possibly a new move. In a couple of other games, Black tried 16…Rc8 or 16…Nf8)
17.Qxd3 f5 ( Black had to stop the f4-f5 advance. After 17…Nf8 18.f5 White’s attack is very strong)
18.Be3 Nf8 19.Kh1 Rc8 20.g4 Qd7 21.Rg1 Be7 22.Nf3 Rc4 23.Rg2 fxg4 24.Rxg4 Rxa4 25.Rag1 g6 26.h4?! (Ng5! maybe a better choice as White maintains a dangerous attack!)
26…Rb4 (Topalov is pushing as White as expected. He created a dangerous attack on the Kingside. However, it seems that he made an inaccuracy on move 26 by playing h4 instead of Ng5. Now, it looks like Kramnik is holding an edge)
27.h5 Qb5 (now Black holds an edge as Kramnik is trying to trade Queens)
28.Qc2 Rxb2? (Rb3 is needed to attack the Bishop and slowing down White’s rampage on the Kingside)
29.hxg6! (Topalov is still attacking, offering to sacrifice his Queen! Now White once again has a dangerous attack and advantage. He may really pull it off in game 2!)
29…h5 (After 29…Rxc2 30.gxh7+ Kh8 31.Rg8+ Kxh7 32.R1g7+ Kh6 33.f5+ Bg5 34.R1xg5 wins)
30.g7! (now it comes down to who can calculate better. If Topalov can win this game, it may be the game of the year! Wow! This is truly an incredibly exciting game!)
30…hxg4 (After 30…Rxc2 31.gxf8Q+ Kxf8 32.Rg8+ Kf7 33.R1g7 checkmate!)
31.gxf8(Q) Bxf8?? (This is a losing move. 32.Rxg4 and Black can resign as there is no defense against a decisive advantage)
32.Qg6+??? (This move just threw away the win! What a shocking back to back blunder by both players!!)
32…Bg7 33.f5 Re7 34.f6 Qe2 35.Qxg4 (White still has an edge but big miss by Topalov on move 32)
35…Rf7 36.Rc1? (Qh5 with the idea of Rg3 is unstoppable. If Black takes with Qxe3, White would play Ng5 and game over. White is threatening fxg7 otherwise)
36…Rc2 37.Rxc2 Qd1? (This is helping King get to a better position. Gaining this tempo is not needed)
38.Kg2 Qxc2+ 39.Kg3 (White is clearly better but there is still a lot of work to do for White to convert this game to a win)
39…Qe4 40.Bf4? (40. Qxe4 gives Topalov a shot at winning as 40…dxe4 41.Ng5 41…Bxf6 42.Nxf7 Kxf7 43.exf6 Kxf6 44.Kf4 +-)
40…Qf5 41. Qxf5 exf5 42.Bg5 a5 43.Kf4 a4 (I am also watching the game now on ICC. This has been an amazing game so far. I think nerve is the reason why you see so many big blunders. However, no one can say that the game is boring. Topalov will continue to push forward like a mad bull. This reminds me of the Ali – Foreman boxing match. Will the outcome be different for the aggressor in this match?)
44.Kxf5 a3 (This looks like a draw even though Topalov still needs to be very careful. I do not see any chance for Topalov to win this position. This has been a horrible start for Topalov so far. He could have been leading 1.5 – .5 instead of the other way around)
45.Bc1 (Kramnik now has an edge. This is a real tragedy for Topalov. What an unfortunate turn of event!)
45…Bf8 (This is the best move. With this move, I find it very hard for White to hold on for a draw. This is truly shocking!)
46.e6 Rc7 (This is looking bad for White. I can’t even imagine what goes on Topalov’s mind right now. Wow!)
47.Bxa3 Bxa3 48.Ke5 (Topalov is still fighting hard but I cannot imagine Kramnik letting him off the hook here. It looks hopeless for White)
48…Rc1 49.Ng5? (White had to play Kxd5 to have small chance. Now 49…Rg1 and game over!)
49…Rf1 (Wow! 49…Rg1 would have been much stronger!)
50. e7 Re1+ 51. Kxd5 Bxe7 52.fxe7 Rxe7 53. Kd6 (What a series of moves! Kramnik had an easy win with 49…Rg1. Now, he has to earn it!)
53…Re1? (This is actually a blunder. The right move is 53…Re3! 54.d5 Kf8 55.Kd7 b5 56.Ne6+ Kg8 57.d6 b4 58.Nc5 Kf7 59.Kc6 Rc3 60.Kb5 b3 61.Na4 Rc2 62.d7 and White will win.)
54.d5 Kf8 (this is still better for Black. However, this is much more than what Topalov would have had if Kramnik played 49…Rg1)
55.Ne6+?? (I did not see all the lines for this game saving move 55.Kd7! at the time of the game. However, my instinct told me that Ne6+ was a blunder. It turned out to be the last blunder for Topalov. If he would have played 55.Kd7, a theorical draw could be achieved 55…b5 56.Ne6+ Kf7 57.Nd8+ Kf6 58.Nc6 Rb1 59.Kd6 b4 60.Kc5 b3 61.Kc4 b2 62.Kb3 Rd1 63.Kxb2 Rxd5 64.Nb4=)
55…Ke8 56.Nc7+ Kd8 57.Ne6+ Kc8 58.Kf7 (Here Rh1 is the only move to give Black chances to win)
58…Rh1 59.Ng5?? (Kd6 gives better chance. Now 59…b5 is over)
59…b5 60.d6 Rd1 (White is completely losing now. Too many blunders for Topalov!)
61.Ne6 b4 62.Nc5 Re1+ (This is the only move to win!)
63.Kf6 Re3 (Kramnik is finishing it off nicely! This reminds me of scholastic chess where whoever makes less blunders wins! Nerve is playing tricks on both of them now. This is an incredible set back for Topalov. He definitely should have been 1.5 – .5 and not 0-2)
64. White painfully resigned giving Kramnik a 2-0 lead with only 10 games left to play!
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
If Kramnik can win this game, it may be the game of the year 🙂
Why didn’t he play 32.Rg4+ Bg7 33.Qc7 (33-Rb1 34.Bg1, 33.-Qf1 34.Ng1), with threat of Qg7++ ?
Yeah, no excuse for not playing 32. Qg6??. maybe he expected 31. …Kxf8 and was prepared to play 32. Qg6 in response to that. Or he spent so much time analyzing the Kxf8 line, he didn’t realize Bxf8 opened up Qc7 as a possibility?
Or maybe he sees a complex, lengthy win through Qg6 🙂
Yes, indeed I’m wondering if 31.-Kf8 would have made any difference after 32.Qg6 – I don’t see a chance of survival for black. The threat of 33.f5 seems to devestating, and after 32.-Qe2 he can just play 33.Qg4, threatening
Qg7++
After 31.-Bf8, there is at least the hope white might blunder with 32.Qg6?? Although he might still be winning, who knows?
THis game is very interesting (posted at move 35).
I think Topy will blunder though. Cant believe he missed a mate earlier!!! EXCITING CHESS!
Mike from http://www.chesschitchat.com
indian territory , night to support at g5 cover f7 and h7 , B on g1 .. black would have to sarifice his queen .. to play two rooks for a queen .. with three pawns in the middle whites king escapes via ,g2- f3-e4-to d5…
Dear Susan,
Thank you very much for your wonderful commentary!
I have been following another commentary on http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3362 , done by your friends grandmasters:
20.g4 Seirawan on Playchess: “Very sharp game. There will be blood all over the board!”
Nigel Short on Playchess: “Pretty damned dangerous!”
“Short: Kramnik is a brick wall and yesterday Toppy broke his skull on it”
I am appauled by the way chess grandmaasters are commenting this game, as if they never made it out of elentary school and grew up on the streets. Don’t know, maybe I exaggarate.
Do you approve of this language?
I completely agree with the comments of an anonymous chess friend. What’s the point of dull comments of this sort, by Short and Seirawan?? They seem to be watching to many bad movies (or too much news).
Susan’s comments are much more interesting (and more civilized). Thanks, Susan!
Come on, this is a game of war! Bring on the uncivilized banter.
I didn’t know you were a boxing fan Susan.
“unfortunately, Kramnik now has an edge. This is a real tragedy for Topalov. What an unfortunate turn of event”
What’s wrong with Kramnik winning? Quite like his style of play!
🙂
Hope FIDE would stick to this traditional, mano-a-mano, match-play format rather that the San Luis style
white is lost..
Obviously FIDE wants Topalov to win
Susan great to see you watching the game on ICC. thanks for letting me know of your update here.
someone summed it up really well.
game has a few mistakes but it is super exciting game. I must say that Topalov really plays without fear. too bad he missed the mate on move 32.
this game really hangs on the edge on every move.
Susan: Thanks for the blog during the game. I tell the students in my chess club to look at it during play to gain a better understanding of what has happened so far.
Susan you are great! thx for all!
Greetings from Italia
It’s not a tragedy if Kramnik wins. In fact, it is very useful to remind the chess community in general, and Topalov in particular, that a world champion needs to play matches and not only tournaments. Playing like a mad bull is attractive to fans, but praticality need to be a part of champion’s character too. Whether he wins or loses, Topalov will learn valuable lessons from this match.
A while ago Topalov dismissed Kramnik as unworthy of playing against. Well, I hope he regrets these words now.
What a flat out classic! Even with the blunders (first K, then T, then T again!), a fun fun game! Poor Topy, he will slam his head against the wall for missing Rook takes with check, a move all of us would have played in 2 seconds in a blitz game. He was so locked in on getting his queen to g6, he just missed it at that moment, I think. What a super game!
Topalov’s play in this game is one step BELOW pathetic.
He has now officially qualified to play in the U1200 section of any tournament he attends. I bet he’ll even end up with a negative score once he plays in those too.
Same as after game 1, the comments began on how badly Topalov played.
Topalov played brilliantly. Anyone who doesn’t see that is just very weak. However competitive pressure can result in mistakes. And anyone who doesn’t know that has never been successful enough to know it.
What a shame. I hope Topalov can recover. The last thing I wanted to see was a blow-out by either side.
Hello,
How many times did Topalov came back to win tournaments after a bad start. He is an exceptionally bold and great player. Once again, don’t be surprised if he should bounce back. The same Short will fall in short of words then!
If Topalov can win tournaments including San Luis that had Anand in them, he can certainly dismantle Kramnik.
Whether Topalov or Kramnik wins, it doesn’t tell who the World Champion is. Ideally, they should have let Kramink play against Anand to challenge Topalov or should have had a three player round robin and let the first two play for the World Championship!
Can anyone say for sure that either Topalov or Kramnik WILL win Anand on such a 12 game showdown. A fair reply is it is hard to say because Anand is real good. After he lost that 1995 match against Anand, he has improved a lot and never had another shot at the title. Look at Jeff Sonas chessmetrics to see how good Anand has been in the last 10 years.
Sorry, the 1995 match was against Kasparov, obviously made a typo 🙂
Kramnik is Kasparov’s successor. By belittling Kramnik is belittling Kasparov.
What font do you use for the moves? I want to use it for my own website.
Hmm, Kramnik missed a tablebase win & Topalov missed a tablebase draw:
very humbling for humans….
After White’s 51st, Kramnik threw the win away:
6k1/1p2r3/3K4/6N1/3P4/8/8/8 b – – 0 1
51…Re3! ( Nunn Convention hereafter, except as noted) wins, but
Kramnik played 51…Re1.
One crucial line: 51…Re3! 52.Kd7 b5! 53.Ne6
Kg8!! (that’s one NC and one wow exclam) 54.d6 b4! 55.Nc5 Kf7! 56.Kd8
(56.Kc7? Rc3!) 56…b3 and wins
And Topalov reciprocated a couple moves later:
5k2/1p6/3K4/3P2N1/8/8/8/4r3 w – – 0 1
54.Kd7! draws: this I understand (although it’s far from obvious to me that this is the only drawing move). One critical line seems to be 54…b5 55.Ne6+ Kg8 (if 55…Kf7 56.Nd8+ followed by 57.Nc6) 56.d6 b4 57.Nc5 Kf7 58.Kc6! Rc1 59.Kb5! Rxc5 60.Kxc5 b3 61.Kc6! =
This is per the Shredder 6-piece database; because of my human intervention, I may be missing more logical moves, but the evaluation should be correct.
Bill Brock
Chicago
What a wonderful match!
I think these two games should elicit intelligent comments about the nature of human error in chess. While (some) commentators sit smugly in their chairs, GM-strength tactics monster computers in hand, and under no pressure, these two players sit at the board facing one another across the board – the real reality of chess!
Look at their ratings – these two players make fewer mistakes than anyone else in the world (or at least among the top ten). Think about that again – these two players sit in those two chairs facing one another for the world chess championship, because in a series of crucual games over the last ten years, they made fewer mistakes than anyone else. That’s fewer mistakes than Anand, fewer mistakes than Leko, fewer mistakes than even Kasparov!
Let me note I am not directing this diatribe at Ms. Polgar at all, and I believe it is fantastic that she is, in real time, evaluating moves and giving analysis and criticisms – she is taking the risks and sticking her head out there with good and intelligent instant analysis. But you posters – look at some of your remarks! – and then think again, that these two players make fewer mistakes than anyone else, that’s why they’re sitting there.
And that, in turn, should tell you something important about the nature of the human mistake-making machine…
tjallen54,
You’re correct. I’ve made my shares of blunders on the board as well. We all behave differently when face with extreme circumstances.
Topalov is a very nice guy and I feel very bad for him. But don’t count him out. He still has plenty of fight left in him.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Even though Topalov lost two games by going the maximalist route, I think he shouldn’t change his style. He is outplaying Kramnik consistently, and he’s not overreaching (cf. Fischer’s famous 29…Bxh2??).
In both games, Topalov traded material for initiative.
In both games, the decision was justified.
In both games, Topalov blundered from a superior position.
Chess is hard!
Bill Brock
Chicago
Thank You Susan
I just now went over the entire game after dinner with relaxing time to study the moves.
Great annotations. Great Game in many ways. Very hard fought. maybe there were some mistakes shown by my computer, but they played super well overall.
My heart goes out to Topalov, but I do believe that he can make a comeback. not easy. but he has done it in his 2 recent tournaments. He just might do it again.
Correcting the Nalimov 6-man database analysis (thanks to Shredder for making the Nalimov available and Antonio Torricellas for noting my numerous typos):
Hmm, Kramnik missed a tablebase win & Topalov missed a tablebase draw:
very humbling for humans…. (typos in following corrected)
6k1/1p2r3/3K4/6N1/3P4/8/8/8 b – – 0 1
53…Re3! ( Nunn Convention hereafter, except as noted) wins, but
Kramnik played 53…Re1. One crucial line: 53…Re3! 54.d5 Kf8! 55.Kd7 b5! 56.Ne6
Kg8!! (that’s one NC exclam and one wow exclam) 57.d6 b4! 58.Nc5 Kf7! 59.Kd8
(59.Kc7? Rc3!) 59…b3 and wins
5k2/1p6/3K4/3P2N1/8/8/8/4r3 w – – 0 1
55.Kd7! draws: this I understand (although it’s far from obvious to me that this is the only drawing move, even though the Nalimov DB says so). One critical line seems to be 55…b5 56.Ne6+ Kg8 (if 56…Kf7 57.Nd8+ followed by 58.Nc6) 57.d6 b4 58.Nc5 Kf7 59.Kc6! Rc1 60.Kb5! Rxc5 61.Kxc5 b3 62.Kc6! =
But humans aren’t totally pathetic (after 58.Ke7):
2k5/1p2K3/4N3/3P4/8/8/8/4r3 b – – 0 1
Kramnik’s 58…Rh1! is “box”
Topalov,V – Kramnik,V [D19]
2006 World Championship Match (2)
[Shredder 6-man DB / Bill Brock]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0
Nbd7 9.Qe2 Bg6 10.e4 0-0 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qe3 Bg6
15.Ng5 Re8 16.f4 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 f5 18.Be3 Nf8 19.Kh1 Rc8 20.g4 Qd7 21.Rg1
Be7 22.Nf3 Rc4 23.Rg2 fxg4 24.Rxg4 Rxa4 25.Rag1 g6 26.h4 Rb4 27.h5 Qb5
28.Qc2 Rxb2 29.hxg6 h5 30.g7 hxg4 31.gxf8Q+ Bxf8 32.Qg6+ Bg7 33.f5 Re7
34.f6 Qe2 35.Qxg4 Rf7 36.Rc1 Rc2 37.Rxc2 Qd1+ 38.Kg2 Qxc2+ 39.Kg3 Qe4
40.Bf4 Qf5 41.Qxf5 exf5 42.Bg5 a5 43.Kf4 a4 44.Kxf5 a3 45.Bc1 Bf8 46.e6
Rc7 47.Bxa3 Bxa3 48.Ke5 Rc1 49.Ng5 Rf1 50.e7 Re1+ 51.Kxd5 Bxe7 52.fxe7
Rxe7 53.Kd6 Re1 [Nunn Convention 53…Re3! 54.d5 Kf8! 55.Kd7 b5!
56.Ne6+ Kg8!! (56…Kf7 maintains the win, but makes no progress after
57.Nd8+ Kf8! 58.Ne6+) 57.d6 b4! 58.Nc5 Kf7! 59.Kd8 (59.Kc7 Rc3!)
59…b3 and wins] 54.d5 Kf8 55.Ne6+ [55.Kd7! b5 56.Ne6+ Kg8 (56…Kf7
57.Nd8+! Kf6 58.Nc6!) 57.d6 (not the only move, but perhaps the most
logical) 57…b4 58.Nc5! Kf7 59.Kc6! Rc1 60.Kb5! Rxc5+ 61.Kxc5! b3
62.Kc6!] 55…Ke8 56.Nc7+ Kd8 57.Ne6+ Kc8 58.Ke7 Rh1! 59.Ng5 b5 60.d6
Rd1 61.Ne6 b4 62.Nc5 Re1+ 63.Kf6 Re3 0-1
My apologies–I didn’t use the link to this post correctly, as this was my first time trying to use this function.
http://javajoechess.blogspot.com/2006/09/game-two-ugh.html
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