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Home » Chess News » Events » World Chess Championship 2010. Anand vs Topalov » Anand - Topalov World Championship Game 5

Topalov,Veselin (2805) - Anand,Viswanathan (2787) D17
WCh Sofia BUL (5), 30.04.2010

IM Malcolm Pein

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.f3 c5

That's four games played in style of Kramnik Vishy has a universal style he can adapt.

8.e4 Bg6 9.Be3 cxd4 10.Qxd4 Qxd4 11.Bxd4 Nfd7 12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.Bxc4 a6 14.Rc1 Rg8 15.h4 h5

Anand gets the first new move in for the fifth time in a row. There is a danger that the h-pawn will become weak later on. It is fixed on a white square, and he may experience problems later similar to those he had with his a6 pawn in game three. Presumably he has a satisfactory reply to the plan Ne2-f4 having analysed this at home

15...h6 16.Ke2 Bd6 17.h5 Bh7 18.a5 Ke7 19.Na4 f6 20.b4 Rgc8 21.Bc5 Bxc5 22.bxc5 Rc7 23.Nb6 Rd8 24.Nxd7 Rdxd7 25.Bd3 Bg8 26.c6 Rd6 27.cxb7 Rxb7 28.Rc3 Bf7 29.Ke3 Be8 30.g4 e5 31.Rhc1 Bd7 32.Rc5 Bb5 33.Bxb5 axb5 34.Rb1 b4 35.Rb3 Ra6 36.Kd3 Rba7 37.Rxb4 Rxa5 38.Rxa5 Rxa5 39.Rb7+ Kf8 40.Ke2 Ra2+ 41.Ke3 Ra3+ 42.Kf2 Ra2+ 43.Ke3 Ra3+ 44.Kf2 Ra2+ 45.Ke3 Ra3+ 46.Kf2 1/2-1/2 Topalov, V (2805) -Anand,V (2787)/ Sofia BUL

16.Ne2 Bd6 17.Be3

Preparing Nf4 and here there was a powercut in the venue and the centre of Sofia. How many times have WCC games been interrupted? I wonder. The New York Times of February 9th 1886 reports that the clock stopped on the third move of the game 8 in Steinitz - Zukertort 1886. That was a Berlin Defence, perhaps Anand has prepared that Kramnk favourite as well ? Presumably the players had to remain seated at the board but we don't know because everything online went black. For the conspiracy theorists out there let me advise you that the organisers issued a statement saying the whole area was cut off. After about a 12-14 minute break the power came back on and the game continued.

17...Ne5 18.Nf4 Rc8

18...Nxc4 19.Rxc4 looks better for White as the only way to avoid Nxg6 which wrecks Black's structure is to capture on f4 which allows an invasion on c7. 19...Bxf4 20.Bxf4 Rd8 21.0-0 Ke7 22.Rfc1 The bishop on g6 is very bad here Black is suffering

19.Bb3 Rxc1+ 20.Bxc1 Ke7

Anand has made progress towards equality. Compare the position with move 15, he developed the second bishop, exchanged a rook on a8 for a rook on c1 and played Ke7. Topalov has got his knight to f4, the question is how strong is Nxg6. I suspect a strong centralised knight on e5 will hold the balance against the bishop pair

21.Ke2 Rc8 22.Bd2 f6!

Intending Bf7= and if Nxe6 Bf7 or Bxe6 Rc2 and Black seems fine. This is a great move possibly still preparation although it was played after a think.

22...f6 23.Nxe6 Bf7 24.Nd4 Bxb3 25.Nxb3 Rc2 26.f4 Ng6= 27.g3 Rxb2

22...f6 23.Nxe6 Bf7 24.Nd4 Bxb3 25.Nxb3 Rc2 26.Rb1

(26.f4 Ng4 27.Rb1 Rc4=)

26...Nc4=/+

22...f6 23.Bxe6 Rc2 24.Rb1 Nc4 25.Bxc4 Bxf4! 26.Rd1 Bxd2 27.Bd3! Rxb2 28.Rxd2=

22...f6 23.Nxg6+ Nxg6 see the game

23.Nxg6+ Nxg6 24.g3 Ne5

24...Bxg3?? 25.Rg1

25.f4 Nc6 26.Bc3

A sad necessity. Once White loses the bishop pair he can't have much but there is still a lot of play. Black does have pawns on b7 a6 and particularly h5 to be looked after. On the flip side, as is so often the case in the Slav, White wishes he hadn't played a4

26.Be3 Na5 27.Bd1 Nc4 28.Bc1 Bb4! 29.b3? Nd6-/+

26...Bb4 27.Bxb4+ Nxb4 28.Rd1 Nc6

A sad necessity as we saw in the previous analysis. Once White loses his two bishops he can't have much. Again though there are pawns on b7 a6 and h5 to be looked after. On the flip side, so often in the Slav White wishes he hadn't played a4

26...Bb4 27.Bxb4+ Nxb4 28.Rd1 Nc6

This looks level, h5 is a worry but Nc6-a5 could be irritating

28...Nc6 29.Ke3 Na5 30.Ba2 Rc2 31.Rd2 Rc1 can't be worse for Black

29.Rd2 g5

30.Kf2!

very clever, Bd1 is possible now

30.hxg5 fxg5 31.e5 h4!? gets very complex but Speelman concluded Black was fine

30...g4

Incredibly committal, fixing pawns on white squares against conventional wisdom. Vishy is trying to wind Topalov up. Black gains space and in some endgames g3 is a liability. Now the idea of f5 to try and get at f7 was exercising some

31.Rc2 Rd8 32.Ke3 Rd6

Challenging Topalov to do something. f4-f5 gives away e5 but there is another way to pressure h5

33.Rc5

33.f5 exf5 34.exf5 a5

33...Nb4

the only reply, defending with a bigger threat, Rd3

33...e5 34.Bd5+/=

34.Rc7+ Kd8 35.Rc3 Ke7 36.e5

Perhaps Topalov is a little better now. The game is opening for the bishop a little and e6 may be weak but it doesn't prove to be much

36...Rd7 37.exf6+

37.a5 f5 and I don't see how White can play for advantage

(37...fxe5 38.fxe5 Nd5+ 39.Bxd5 Rxd5 40.Kf4)

38.Ke2 Nc6 39.Ba4 Rd5 40.Bxc6 bxc6 41.b4 Kd7 is solid - ChessPro.ru

37...Kxf6

Somehow Black's position seems even easier to play now. Speelman mentioned the idea of Nc6-e7-f5

38.Ke2 Nc6 39.Ke1

I don't get this 39.Bc2 coming to e4 looked sound enough. Topalov gets into slight difficulties but the time control arrived and he steers the game to a draw

39...Nd4 40.Bd1

Anand must be delighted, he has outplayed Topalov in every game bar the first. Black is pressing slightly but after some thought he allowed a sequence that forces a repetition

40...a5

Positionally this is sound and tries to rub in the fact that White is very passive but it allows...

41.Rc5 Nf5 42.Rc3 Nd4

42...e5 43.fxe5+ Kxe5 44.Bc2=

43.Rc5 Nf5 44.Rc3 1/2-1/2

At the press conference afterwards both players were agreed that the accurate 22...f6 was both necessary and good. After which most of Anand's problems were over.

Topalov:

I think I started with a slight advantage but I missed 22...f6, a very strong move, and then the game became equal.

Well I played a few inaccuracies and I lost an advantage in a few games so I have to play even more precisely and don't let these opportunities escape again.

Anand

I think after I played 22...f6 I had solved all my problems, later I played ...g5 and ...g4 but when he played Rc1 he started to threaten Rc5 at a certain point but I think the way I played I can defend, because all the time I have a countermove and just because of that Black wanted to gain space on the Kingside because later the rook and the knight could create threats. I think I never saw a real problem but with Rh5 and Rd2 I have to make a draw.

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