The match for the title of World Chess Champion 2010

• If any of the players refuses to participate, he will be replaced: Ananda - Vladimir Kramnik , Topalova - Gata Kamsky . In the event that Kramnik or Kamsky refuses, they will be replaced by players in accordance with the FIDE rating for January 2010.
• No postponements allowed
• At the opening ceremony will be the draw of flowers that participants will play. After each game, players change the colors of the pieces, with one exception: in the 7th game, the players play in the same colors as in the 6th game.
• Time control: 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, 15 minutes for the remainder of the game (with an addition of 30 seconds per move after the 61st move).
• The match is won by a player who scores 6½ or more points, no further games will be played. Thus, the match will consist of at least 7, maximum of 12 games.
• When the score is 6: 6, a tiebreak is assigned - 4 games. Before the tiebreak there will be a new draw of flowers. Time-control in the tie-break: 25 minutes for each player per game, with the addition of 10 seconds after each move).
• If after 4 games of a tiebreaker the score will be equal, a new draw of flowers will take place and a match of two blitz games will be held - 5 minutes per game with the addition of 3 seconds after each move.
• If the score remains equal after this blitz match, new blitz matches are appointed on the same conditions until the winner is revealed. In total, there can be 5 such matches (10 games).
• If the score is still equal after 5 matches, the deciding set is appointed. The draw is held, its winner chooses the color of the figures. White gets 5 minutes per game, black 4 minutes. Starting with the 61st turn, players are added 3 seconds per turn. In the event of a draw, black is declared the winner.
• Players will use the same toilet. Separate rest rooms are not provided, recreation areas for players will be located at the stage or on it, within sight of the arbitrators and spectators.

In addition, at the insistence of the Bulgarian side, the match was adopted Sofia rules , prohibiting a draw by agreement of the parties.

At the request of Anand, the schedule was shifted by one day from the original schedule.

The start of all games, except for the first one - 15:00 Eastern time (16:00 Moscow time)

• April 21 - opening (6:00 pm EST)
• April 24 - the first batch (5:00 pm EST, 6:00 pm Moscow time)
• April 25 - the second batch
• April 26 - day off
• April 27 - the third installment
• April 28 - the fourth installment
• April 29 - day off
• April 30 - the fifth installment
• May 1 - the sixth game
• May 2 - day off
• May 3 - the seventh party
• May 4 - the eighth installment
• May 5 - day off
• May 6 - the ninth installment
• May 7 - the tenth game
• May 8 - day off
• May 9 - the eleventh party
• May 10 - day off
• May 11 - the twelfth party
• May 12 - day off
• May 13 - tiebreak

The closing of the match will take place the next day or the day after the winner is revealed.

April 21 at the opening of the draw was a draw of flowers. Topalov fell to play white in 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12 games, Anand - in 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 11 games ^[2] .

1 batch

April 24, 2010

The first move in the game was made by the Bulgarian Prime Minister B. Borisov ^[3] .

Veselin Topalov - Viswanathan Anand

Grunfeld Defense

1.d4 Кf6 2.c4 g6 3.Кc3 d5 4.cd К: d5 5.e4 К: c3 6.bc Сg7 7.Сc4 c5 8.Кe2 Кc6 9.Сe3 OO 10.OO Кa5 11.Сd3 b6 12. Фd2 e5 13.Сh6 cd 14.С: g7 Кр: g7 15.cd ed 16.Лac1 Фd6 17.f4 f6 18.f5 Фe5 19.Кf4 g5 20.Кh5 Крg8 21.h4 h6 22.hg hg 23.Лf3 Крf7 (see diagram) 24.K: f6 Kp: f6 25.Lh3 Rg8 26.Lh6 + Kff7 27.Lh7 + Kre8 28.Lcc7 Krd8 29.Cb5 F: e4 30.L: c8 + 1-0

Grandmaster Sergei Shipov, commenting on this game ^[4] , concluded: “Topalov conducted the game very powerfully and convincingly and naturally won.” According to Shipov, Anand made, above all, a strategic mistake by deciding to play a sharp opening in the first game of the match, which, as he knew, the opponent had previously successfully won with White.

So, the first game ended with Topalov’s victory, and he led the match with a score of 1: 0.

Part 2

April 25, 2010

Viswanathan Anand - Veselin Topalov

Catalan beginning

1.d4 Кf6 2.c4 e6 3.Кf3 d5 4.g3 dc 5.Сg2 a6 6.Кe5 c5 7.Кa3 cd 8.Кa: c4 Сc5 9.OO OO 10. Сd2 Кd5 11.Лc1 Кd7 12.Кd3 Сa7 13.Сa5 Фe7 14.Фb3 Лb8 15. Фa3 Ф: a3 16.ba К7f6 17.Кce5 Лe8 18. Лc2 b6 19.Сd2 Сb7 20. Лfc1 Лbd8 21.f4 Сb8 22.a4 a5 23.Кc6 С: c6 24. L: c6 h5 25.L1c4 Кe3 26.С: e3 de 27.Сf3 g6 28.Л: b6 Сa7 29.Лb3 Лd4 30.Лc7 Сb8 31.Лc5 Сd6 32.Л: a5 Лc8 33.Крg2 Лc2 34.a3 Ла2 35.Кb4 С: b4 36.ab Кd5 37.b5 Лa: a4 38.Л: a4 Л: a4 39.С: d5 ed 40.b6 Лa8 41.b7 Лb8 42.Крf3 d4 43. Кре4 1-0

In the second installment, Anand fully rehabilitated for losing in the first. The party was conducted by him from the beginning to the end calmly, carefully and reliably. The first half dozen moves both players made in full accordance with the theory, then on the 15th move Anand suggested, and Topalov accepted the exchange of queens - a rare case for such positions. Equal play continued until the 24th move: White gradually increased the pressure on Black, Black, in turn, calmly parried. But then Topalov, tired of obviously maneuvering , began to play more actively, but not reliably. Anand, for his part, continued his systematic offensive, blocking Black’s attempts to be active. By the 31st move, the black position was already noticeably worse, against White there was only time - on the 32nd move they had 12 minutes versus 23 minutes for Black, but in the absence of sharp options that require deep calculation, it was not too dangerous, especially for the accustomed to quick game Ananda. On the 34th move, Black had the option “34. .. Кd5 ”, which, according to preliminary calculations, could lead to the equalization of the game, but Topalov did not find this move, and the continuation chosen by him did not save the game. At 42, the position became obviously hopeless for Black; at 43, Topalov surrendered.

Score in the match caught up: 1: 1.

3 batch

April 27, 2010

Veselin Topalov - Viswanathan Anand

Slavic protection

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Кf3 Кf6 4.Кc3 dc 5.a4 Сf5 6.Кe5 e6 7.f3 c5 8.e4 Сg6 9.Се3 cd 10.Ф: d4 Ф: d4 11.С: d4 Кfd7 12.K: d7 K: d7 13.C: c4 a6 14.Lc1 Rg8 15.h4 h6 16.Cre2 Cd6 17.h5 Ch7 18.a5 Cr7 19.Ca4 f6 20.b4 Rgc8 21.Cc5 C: c5 22. bc Лc7 23.Кb6 Лd8 24.К: d7 Лd: d7 25.Сd3 Сg8 26.c6 Лd6 27.cb Л: b7 28.Лc3 Сf7 29.Крe3 Сe8 30.g4 e5 31.Лhc1 Сd7 32.Лc5 Сb5 33. С: b5 ab 34.Лb1 b4 35.Лb3 Лa6 36.Крd3 Лba7 37.Л: b4 Л: a5 38.Л: a5 Л: a5 39.Лb7 + Крf8 40. Кре2 Лa2 + 41. Кре 3 Лa3 + 42.Крf2 Лa2 + 43. Крэ3 Лa3 + 44. Крf2 Лa2 + 45. Кре3 Лa3 + 46. Крf2 ½-½

The party was held in an active, principled struggle. Topalov attacked, Anand defended precisely and ingeniously. After 32 moves, the position took on a completely lifeless appearance; in fact, here the players should have put an end and agreed to a draw. However, due to the Sofia rules adopted at the initiative of the Bulgarian side , direct agreement on a draw between the rivals was not allowed. Only this can explain the last moves: in order not to engage in meaningless maneuvering, the players simply exchanged the pieces and played to the eternal check.

The result of the game is a draw. The score in the match - 1.5: 1.5.

4 batch

April 28, 2010

Viswanathan Anand - Veselin Topalov

Catalan beginning

1. d4 Кf6 2. c4 e6 3. Кf3 d5 4. g3 dc 5. Сg2 Сb4 + 6. Сd2 a5 7. Фc2 С: d2 + 8. F: d2 c6 9. a4 b5 10. Кa3 Сd7 11. Кe5 Кd5 12. e4 Кb4 13. ОО OO 14. Лfd1 Сe8 15. d5 Фd6 16. Кg4 Фc5 17. Кe3 К8a6 18. dc ba 19. Кa: c4 С: c6 20. Лас1 h6 21. Кd6 Фа7 22. Кg4 Лad8 (see the diagram ) 23. К: h6 + gh 24. Ф: h6 f6 25. e5 С: g2 26. ef Л: d6 27. Л: d6 Сe4 28. Л: e6 Кd3 29. Лc2 Фh7 30. f7 + Ф: f7 31. Л : e4 Фf5 32. Лe7 1-0

The debut was played again, which in the second game already brought Anand the victory. Anand held the game very strongly, dominant from beginning to end, despite the fact that Topalov, at first glance, did not make any fatal mistakes. Having sacrificed a pawn for the initiative at the beginning, the champion with an active game achieved dominance in the center, after which he prepared and carried out an irresistible mate attack, which Topalov could not oppose.

The score in the match - 2.5: 1.5.

5 batch

April 30, 2010

Veselin Topalov - Viswanathan Anand

Slavic protection

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Кf3 Кf6 4.Кc3 dc 5.a4 Сf5 6.Кe5 e6 7.f3 c5 8.e4 Сg6 9.Се3 cd 10.Ф: d4 Ф: d4 11.С: d4 Кfd7 12.К: d7 К: d7 13.С: c4 a6 14.Лc1 Лg8 15.h4 h5 16.Кe2 Сd6 17.Сe3 Кe5 18.Кf4 Лс8 19.Сb3 Л: c1 + 20.С: c1 Кре7 21. Кре2 Лc8 22.Сd2 f6 23.К: g6 + К: g6 24.g3 Кe5 25.f4 Кc6 26.Сc3 Сb4 27.С: b4 + К: b4 28.Лd1 Кc6 29.Лd2 g5 30. Крf2 g4 31.Лc2 Лd8 32. Кре3 Лd6 33.Лc5 Кb4 34. Лc7 + Крd8 35.Лc3 Кре7 36.e5 Лd7 37.ef + Кр: f6 38. Кре2 Кc6 39. Кре1 Кd4 40.Сd1 a5 41.Лc5 Кf5 42.Лc3 Кd4 43.Лc5 LC3 ½-½

The debut developed similarly to the third game up to the 15th move, when Anand instead of the previously played h6 went h5. The resulting position was not very attractive for black, White had a clear advantage, however, due to an inaccurate 22nd move, White was able to level up. Then, because of an inaccurate game on the kingside, Black was again in a worse position, but White, unsuccessfully attacking, lost the advantage by the 40th moves, and the position became better for Black, but not so much that Anand could play to win. At the 44th move was a draw. A post-match computer analysis showed that in the case of White's move “22. LD2! ”, Which Topalov did not find at the board, Anand would have had more serious problems, but he could still get a draw.

Score in the match - 3: 2. Anand's minimum advantage is maintained.

6 batch

May 1, 2010

Viswanathan Anand - Veselin Topalov

Catalan beginning

1.d4 Кf6 2.c4 e6 3.Кf3 d5 4.g3 dc 5.Сg2 a6 6.Кe5 c5 7.Кa3 cd 8.Кa: c4 Сc5 9.OO OO 10.Сg5 h6 11.С: f6 Ф: f6 12.Кd3 Сa7 13.Фa4 Кc6 14.Лac1 e5 15.С: c6 b5 16.Фc2 Ф: c6 17.Кc: e5 Фe4 18. Фc6 Сb7 19.Ф: e4 С: e4 20.Лc2 Лfe8 21.Лfc1 f6 22.Kd7 Сf5 23.К7c5 Сb6 24.Кb7 Сd7 25.Кf4 Лab8 26.Кd6 Ле5 27.Кc8 Сa5 28.Кd3 Ле8 29.Кa7 Сb6 30.Кc6 Лb7 31.Кcb4 a5 32.Кd5 a4 33.К: b6 Л : b6 34.Kc5 Cf5 35.Ld2 Lc6 36.b4 ab 37.ab b4 38.L: d4 L: e2 39.L: b4 Ch3 40.Lbc4 Ld6 41.Le4 Lb2 42.Lee1 Ldd2 43.Ke4 Ld4 44. Кc5 Лд2 45.Кe4 Лd3 46.Лb1 Лd: b3 47.Кd2 Лb4 48.f3 g5 49.Л: b2 Л: b2 50.Лd1 Крf7 51.Крf2 h5 52. Кре3 Лс2 53.Ла1 Крg6 54.Ла6 Сf5 55. Лd6 Лc3 + 56.Крf2 Лc2 57. Кре3 Лc3 + 58. Крf2 Лc2 ½-½

And again, for the third time in this match, Anand played the Catalan white with whites. Anand tried to attack, exchanging his two elephants for two horses, had the advantage of the game, but could not bring him to victory. The final moves, as in the third game, were made solely as a tribute to the Sofia rules, a draw was already obvious by the 50th move.

Score in the match - 3.5: 2.5

7 batch

May 3, 2010

Viswanathan Anand - Veselin Topalov

Catalan beginning

1.d4 Кf6 2.c4 e6 3.Кf3 d5 4.g3 Сb4 + 5.Сd2 Сe7 6.Сg2 ОO 7.OO c6 8.Сf4 dc 9.Кe5 b5 10.К: c6 К: c6 11.С: c6 Сd7 12.C: a8 Ф: a8 13.f3 Кd5 14.Сd2 e5 15.e4 Сh3 16.ed С: f1 17.F: f1 ed 18.a4 F: d5 19.ab F: b5 20.Л: a7 Лe8 21.Krh1 Сf8 22.Лc7 d3 23.Сc3 Сd6 24.Лa7 h6 25.Кd2 Сb4 26.Лa1 С: c3 27.bc Лe2 28.Лd1 Фа4 29.Кe4 Фc2 30. Лc1 Л: h2 + 31. Крg1 Лg2 + 32. F: g2 F: c1 + 33.Ff1 Fe3 + 34.Ff2 Fc1 + 35.Ff1 Fe3 + 36.Crg2 f5 37.Kf2 Crh7 38.Fb1 Fe6 39.Fb5 g5 40.g4 fg 41.fg Crg6 42.Fb7 d2 43.Fb1 + Crg 44.Krf1 Fe7 45.Krg2 Fe6 46.Fd1 Fe3 47.Ff3 Fe6 48.Fb7 + Krg6 49.Fb1 + Krg7 50.Fd1 Fe3 51.Fc2 Fe2 52.Fa4 Krg8 53.Fd7 Krf8 54.Fd5 Cprcrrrrrrrf. Фf3 Фe5 + 57. Крg2 Фe6 58. Фd1 ½-½

Anand played the Catalan principle again, but Topalov, contrary to his wont (and the previous three games played by this debut in this match) did not take the victim in the fourth move. In the next game, Topalov clearly demonstrated homework, which was very well thought out and dangerous, but Anand managed to find ways of counteraction, equalized the game, and then even gained an advantage. Perhaps, at some point in the end, Topalov’s position was even losing, but Anand could not find a win. The result of the game is a draw.

The score in the match - 4: 3.

8 batch

May 4, 2010

Veselin Topalov - Viswanathan Anand

Slavic protection

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Кf3 Кf6 4.Кc3 dc 5.a4 Сf5 6.Кe5 e6 7.f3 c5 8.e4 Сg6 9.Се3 cd 10.Ф: d4 Ф: d4 11.С: d4 Кfd7 12.K: d7 К: d7 13.С: c4 Лc8 14.Сb5 a6 15.С: d7 + Кр: d7 16.Кре2 f6 17.Лhd1 Крэ8 18.a5 Сe7 19.Сb6 Лf8 20. Лac1 f5 21.e5 Сg5 22.Сe3 f4 23.Кe4 Л: c1 24.Кd6 + Крd7 25.С: c1 Крc6 26.Сd2 Се7 27.Лc1 + Крd7 28.Сc3 С: d6 29.Лd1 Сf5 30.h4 g6 31.Л: d6 + Крc8 32. Cd2 Ld8 33.C: f4 L: d6 34.ed Krd7 35.Cre3 Cc2 36.Crd4 Cr8 37.Cre5 Crf7 38.Ce3 Ca4 39.Crf4 Cb5 40.Cc5 Crf6 41.Cd4 + Crf7 42.Crg5 C6 C6 C6 C6 C6 C6 C6 44.h5 Se8 45.Krg5 Krf7 46.Krh6 Krg8 47.Sc5 gh 48.Krg5 Krg7 49.Sd4 + Krf7 50.Se5 h4 51.Kr: h4 Krg6 52.Krg4 Sb5 53.Krf4 Krf7 54.Krg5 Sc6 55.Krh6 Krg8 56.g4 1-0

The Slavic defense was played again in the same initial version as before. Commentators talked about the “confrontation between homework”: in their opinion, Topalov’s headquarters considered this start to be advantageous, while Anand’s headquarters was confident that it was possible to equalize chances, so no one shuns too early from the calculated path. But at the 22nd move, Anand made a frankly bad move f4, which allowed the opponent to effectively attack. Skillfully defending himself, Anand managed to completely neutralize the consequences of his mistake and achieve a draw position, but in it, at turn 54, when it remained only to strengthen the position of his king, he looked at the only possible enemy attack and made a gross mistake that led to defeat. At 56, Black resigned.

Score in the match caught up - 4: 4.

9

May 6, 2010

Viswanathan Anand - Veselin Topalov

Nimzowitsch protection

1.d4 Кf6 2.c4 e6 3.Кc3 Сb4 4.e3 OO 5.Сd3 c5 6.Кf3 d5 7.OO cd 8.ed dc 9.С: c4 b6 10.Сg5 Сb7 11.Le1 Кbd7 12.Лc1 Лc8 13.Сd3 Лe8 14.Фe2 С: c3 15.bc Фc7 16.Сh4 Кh5 17.Кg5 g6 18.Кh3 e5 19.f3 Фd6 20.Сf2 ed 21.Ф: e8 + Л: e8 22.Л: e8 + Кf8 23. cd Кf6 24.Лее1 Кe6 25.Сc4 Сd5 26.Сg3 Фb4 27.Сe5 Кd7 28.a3 Фа4 29.С: d5 К: e5 30.С: e6 Ф: d4 + 31. Крh1 fe 32.Кg5 Фd6 33.Кe4 Ф : a3 34.Лc3 Фb2 35.h4 b5 36.Лc8 + Крg7 37.Лc7 + Крf8 38.Кg5 Крэ8 39.Л: h7 Фc3 40.Лh8 + Крd7 41.Лh7 + Крc6 42.Le4 b4 43.К. e6 Крb6 44.Кf4 + Крc7 42.Лe4 b4 43.К 45.Khh2 a5 46.h5 gh 47.L: h5 Kc6 48.Kd5 + Krb7 49.Lh7 + Kra6 50.Le6 Krb5 51.Lh5 Kd4 52.Kb6 + Kraa 53 53.Ld6 Kbb5 54.Kc4 K: f3 + 55.gf Fa2 52.Ld6 Krb7 54.Kc4 K: f3 + 55. Kd2 Krc7 57.Lhd5 58.Ld7 + b3 + Krc8 59.Ld8 Krc7 60.L8d7 Krc8 61.Lg7 + a4 + 62.Lc5 Krb8 63.Ld5 Krc8 64.Krg3 Fa1 65.Lg4 66.Lc4 b2 + b1 = Krb7 67.Krf2 F68. K: b1 F: b1 69.Ldd4 Fa2 + 70.Krg3 a3 71.Lc3 Fa1 72.Lb4 + Kraa 73 73.La4 + Krb5 74.Lc: a3 Фg1 + 75.Krf4 F c1 + 76.Crf5 Fc5 + 77.Cre4 Fc2 + 78.Cre3 Fc1 + 79. Crf2 Fd2 + 80.Crg3 Fe1 + 81.Crf4 Fc1 + 82.Crg3 Fg1 + 83.Crf4 ½-½

The ninth game of Anand, following the logic of the match struggle, was simply necessary to win. After all, even in the case of a draw, it turned out that the fate of the match will be decided in the remaining three games, two of which Topalov will play white. For Topalov, by the same logic, a draw in the ninth game was almost equivalent to winning. So the conditions themselves tuned in to an uncompromising struggle. So it happened. Suffice it to say that the game lasted 83 moves, that is, almost 1.5 times longer than the longest of the previously played games of this match.

Anand changed his debut, Nimzovich's defense was played out. White got a serious advantage and in the course of the game he repeatedly had a guaranteed win. However, each time due to the inaccurate moves of Anand and thanks to Topalov’s masterly defense technique, Black managed to escape. The party ended in a draw.

The score in the match remained equal - 4.5: 4.5.

10 batch

May 7, 2010

Veselin Topalov - Viswanathan Anand

Grunfeld Defense

1.d4 Кf6 2.c4 g6 3.Кc3 d5 4.cd К: d5 5.e4 К: c3 6.bc Сg7 7.Сc4 c5 8.Кe2 Кc6 9.Сe3 OO 10.OO b6 11.Фd2 Сb7 12. Lac1 Lc8 13.Lfd1 cd 14.cd Фd6 15.d5 Кa5 16.Сb5 L: c1 17.L: c1 Lc8 18.h3 L: c1 + 19.F: c1 e6 20.Кf4 ed 21.K: d5 f5 22. f3 fe 23.fe Fe5 24.Сd3 Кc6 25.Сa6 Кd4 26.Фc4 С: d5 27. Ф: d5 + Ф: d5 28.ed Сe5 29. Крf2 Крf7 30. Сg5 Кf5 31.g4 Кd6 32. Крf3 Кe8 33. Cc1 Cc7 34.Cd3 Cd6 35.Cre4 b5 36.Crd4 a6 37.Ce2 CrE7 38.Cg5 + Crd7 39.Cd2 Cg3 40.g5 Cf2 + 41.Cr5 Cg3 + 42.Cre4 Ke8 43.Cg4 + Cr4 44.с.е.е.С.Ср3 Сg3 + 42.Cre4 Кe8 43.Сg4 + Cr3 44.С.е.С.Се3 Cg3 + 42 46.Сc1 Сd6 47.Кре4 a5 48.Сg4 Сa3 49.С: a3 + К: a3 50.Кре5 Кc4 + 51. Крd4 Крd6 52.Сe2 Кa3 53.h4 Кc2 + 54. Крc3 Кb4 55.С: b5 К: a2 + 56. Krb3 Кb4 57.Сe2 К: d5 58.h5 Кf4 59.hg hg 60.Сc4 ½-½

The predictions for this game were cautious, but still the advantage was given to Topalov. After in the previous two games, Anand first lost in a drawn position, and then played a draw, with an undisputed win, the commentators talked about the champion's fatigue, that he clearly lacked the strength to play at full capacity. Topalov looked clearly fresher and more active.

Grunfeld defense was played, as in the first game of the match. Anand defended quite effectively, but on the 39th move he made a miscalculation, which could well lead to a loss. However, Topalov, in turn, made a mistake on the 44th move, having lost the advantage and came under the oncoming attack of Anand, as a result he was forced to defend himself, which, however, did quite successfully. The party ended in a draw.

Score in the match - 5: 5.

11 games

May 9, 2010

Viswanathan Anand - Veselin Topalov

English beginning

1.c4 e5 2.Кc3 Кf6 3.Кf3 Кc6 4.g3 d5 5.cd К: d5 6.Сg2 Кb6 7.OO Сe7 8.a3 ОO 9.b4 Сe6 10.d3 f6 11.Кe4 Фe8 12.Кc5 С : c5 13.bc Kd5 14.Cb2 Ld8 15. Fc2 Kde7 16.Lab1 Ca2 17.Lbc1 Ff7 18.Cc3 Ld7 19.Fb2 Lb8 20.Lfd1 Ce6 21.Ld2 h6 22.Fb1 Kd5 23.Lb2 b6 24.cb cb 25.Сd2 Лd6 26.Лbc2 Фd7 27.h4 Лd8 28. Фb5 Кde7 29. Фb2 Сd5 30. Сb4 К: b4 31.ab Лc6 32.b5 Л: c2 33.Л: c2 Сe6 34.d4 e4 35.Кd2 Ф : d4 36.К: e4 Ф: b2 37.Л: b2 Крf7 38.e3 g5 39.hg hg 40.f4 gf 41.ef Лd4 42. Крf2 Кf5 43.Сf3 Сd5 44.Кd2 С: f3 45.К: f3 Ла4 46.g4 Кd6 47.Крg3 Кe4 + 48. Крh4 Кd6 49.Лd2 К: b5 50.f5 Лe4 51. Крh5 Лe3 52.Кh4 Кc3 53.Лd7 + Л7 54.Лd3 Кe4 55.Кg6 Кc5 56.Лa3 Ld7 57. Le3 Krg7 58.g5 b5 59.Кf4 b4 60.g6 b3 61.Лc3 Лd4 62.Л: c5 Л: f4 63.Лc7 + Крg8 64.Лb7 Лf3 65.Лb8 + Крg7 ½-½

The eleventh game, first of all, pleased the audience with an increase in opening variety. For the first time in this match the English start was played. The whole game took place in approximately the same way: Anand actively crushed, Topalov defended himself. On the 40th moves, the game advantage for some time seemed to have passed to the challenger, but White, sacrificing a pawn for 49, again went on the offensive. However, Anand could not bring the matter to victory, the game ended in a draw.

The score in the match was 5.5: 5.5. There is only one game left from the main series, in which Topalov was to play white.

12 batch

The situation for the last game of the main series was quite atypical: strictly speaking, none of the participants had a need to win. An equal score gave both players the opportunity to play a draw in an unfavorable course of the game to determine the winner in the tiebreak. On the other hand, Topalov, who has the worst results in fast chess, was perhaps more interested in ending the match without a tie-break. The fact that he was playing white in this game should have been an additional incentive for an active, offensive game.

May 11, 2010

Veselin Topalov - Viswanathan Anand

Rejected Queen's Gambit

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Кf3 Кf6 4.Кc3 Сe7 5.Сg5 h6 6.Сh4 ОO 7.e3 Кe4 8.С: e7 Ф: e7 9.Лc1 c6 10.Сe2 К: c3 11.Л: c3 dc 12.C: c4 Kd7 13.OO b6 14.Cd3 c5 15.Ce4 Lb8 16.Fc2 Kf6 17.dc K: e4 18.F: e4 bc 19.Fc2 Cb7 20.Cd2 Lfd8 21.f3 Ca6 22. Rf2 Ld7 23.g3 Lbd8 24.Krg2 Cd3 25.Fc1 Ca6 26.La3 Cb7 27.Kb3 Lc7 28.Ka5 Ca8 29.Kc4 e5 30.e4 f5 31.ef e4 32.fe F: e4 + 33.Krh3 Ld4 34. Кe3 Фe8 35.g4 h5 36.Крh4 g5 + 37.fg Ф: g6 38. Фf1 Л: g4 + 39. Крh3 Лe7 40.Лf8 + Крg7 41.Кf5 + Крh7 42.Лg3 Л: g3 + 43.hg Фg4 + 44. Крh2 Лe2 + 45. Krg1 Lg2 + 46.F: g2 C: g2 47. Kr. 56. Krh3 Fg7 0-1

After a dozen moves “according to the theory”, which generally equalized the position, Anand chose a rather rare continuation, leading to the fact that Black gets a more active position at the price of weakening the pawn chain. Such a position was formed after 22 moves. White's position was quite stable, he was only spoiled by the king who was not properly defended, to ensure the safety of which whites had to do something urgently. Over the next ten moves, Anand developed the offensive. Topalov successfully defended, until on the 32nd move he made an obviously losing move, giving Black the opportunity to capture the center. After this move, the game for White clearly “rolled over the slope”, and the task of black was only to bring it to an almost guaranteed victory. Immediately realizing the fatality of his mistake, Topalov, nevertheless, continued to actively defend himself, perhaps counting on the mistake of Anand. Anand, in turn, played cautiously, “with a double margin”, obviously most of all fearing to release a victory due to an oversight. However, the party did not bring any more surprises: Anand did not allow mistakes, Topalov’s defense was systematically destroyed, after 57 moves, White surrendered.

The score in the match was 6.5: 5.5 - Anand won in the main series, and therefore in the match, defending the title of world champion in chess.

• Official match page
• Match Anand - Topalov on Chessdom website
• “The match Anand - Topalov will start no later than April 20, 2010”, on the site Sport-Express.ru on 03/12/2009
• Anand-Topalov Match bidding procedure
• Breaking news: Sofia awarded 2010 World Championship