Kasparov, Garry – Topalov, Veselin Games from Grandmaster Events http://webpages.marshall.edu/~hathawa2/chess/ Mark Hathaway: Kasparov, Garry Topalov, Veselin Result: 1-0 Metadata » Click to open. Date: January 20, 1999 Location: Wijk aan Zee Tournament: ? Round: Opening: B07 Pirc Defence Submitted by: Hathaway Published on: February 9, 2020 [Event "?"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "1999.01.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Kasparov, Garry"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B07"] [Annotator "Hathaway"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "1999.01.20"] [Source "TaL's Chess"] [SourceDate "1999.01.20"] {Games from Grandmaster Events http://webpages.marshall.edu/~hathawa2/chess/ Mark Hathaway: } 1. e4 1... d6 {I can't recall the defense Topalov "normally" plays, but this (Pirc Defense) is rare among the top GMs. } 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 {This move has several purposes. It prevents an early c7-c5, defends Pd4 and possibly prepares Qd1-d2, Be3-h6 to trade-off Black's dark-square Bishop. } 4... Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 (5... Ng4 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 { is an interesting, but even rarer, approach by Black.}) 6. f3 {prevents Nf6-g4, so that after Be3-h6, Bg7xh6, Qd2xh6 Black won't have Nf6-g4 to chase the Queen out.} ( {But,} 6. Bh6 {seems stronger. The Bishop trade weakens Black's king-side, regardless of whether White's Queen would be able to invade. }) 6... b5 7. Nge2 7... Nbd7 {This Knight can be used in one of several ways: Nd7-b6-c4 or supporting c6-c5 or e7-e5 are most likely. } 8. Bh6 Bxh6 9. Qxh6 9... Bb7 {Black continues to develop and control the center, but now he will have to also consider O-O-O. } 10. a3 10... e5 {This weakens the dark squares significantly. I'm amazed he would play such a move. He must be concerned with the safety of Pf7 after O-O-O;} ( {even so} 10... e6 {might have been better.}) 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. Kb1 a6 13. Nc1 13... O-O-O {The two positions are in stark contrast. Black's position exudes piece and pawn activity with a slightly weakened king position, the White position is all King safety and little piece activity. Fortunately for White he can improve his piece activity, Black will find it difficult to improve his King's safety (pawns don't move backward). } 14. Nb3 exd4 15. Rxd4 {White would like to pressure Pd6. Doubled Rooks on the d-file would be very good. } 15... c5 16. Rd1 16... Nb6 {Black threatens d6-d5 to force simplifications. White's piece activity isn't sufficient to prevent this or fight through it to take advantage of the weak Kc8. } 17. g3 Kb8 (17... d5 18. Qf4 {is awkward for Black's King. Bf1-h3+ is threatened.} (18. exd5 {appears to transpose to the game} 18... Nfxd5 19. Bh3+ f5 20. Rhe1 20... Qc7 )) 18. Na5 Ba8 19. Bh3 d5 20. Qf4+ Ka7 21. Rhe1 d4 (21... dxe4 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. fxe4 ) 22. Nd5 Nbxd5 23. exd5 23... Qd6 { Black appears ready to gobble Pd5. } 24. Rxd4 { An amazing move. It's not often this kind of move is correct. } 24... cxd4 { This is the only way to challenge the idea, not to mention avoiding the loss of a pawn. } 25. Re7+ Kb6 (25... Rd7 26. Qxd6) (25... Qxe7 26. Qxd4+ Kb8 27. Qb6+ Bb7 28. Nc6+ Ka8 29. Qa7#) (25... Kb8 26. Qxd4 Nd7 27. Bxd7 Rxd7 28. Rxd7 Qxd7 29. Qxh8+ Ka7 30. Qd4+ Kb8 31. Qb6+ Kc8 32. Qxa6+ Kb8 33. Nc6+ Bxc6 34. Qxc6 ) 26. Qxd4+ 26... Kxa5 {Courageous or foolhardy?} (26... Qc5 27. Qxf6+ 27... Qd6 {and White's attack seems to end with a perpetual check.} 28. Qd4+ Qc5 29. Qf6+ 29... Qd6 ) 27. b4+ Ka4 28. Qc3 Qxd5 29. Ra7 (29. Kb2 { threatening 30. Qc3-b3+ Qd5xb3+ 31. cxb3#} 29... Qd4) 29... Bb7 (29... Rd6 30. Kb2 {and Rook d6 would be overloaded. If then} 30... Qd4 31. Qxd4 Rxd4 32. Rxa6#) 30. Rxb7 30... Qc4 {I suppose he was in time trouble. Why else would he leave Rh8 unused? With this move he also loses coordination with Rd8. } ( 30... Rhe8 31. Ra7 (31. f4 31... Ne4 ) (31. Qxf6 31... Qxb7 32. Qc3 Qd5 33. Kb2 33... Qd4 ) 31... Rd6 32. Kb2 32... Qe5 ) (30... Qxb7 31. Qb3#) 31. Qxf6 31... Kxa3 (31... Ra8 32. Rb6 32... Kxa3 {and if White is required to allow a Rook trade to keep any attack going then Black's King might escape. }) 32. Qxa6+ Kxb4 33. c3+ {Here is an excellent position to demonstrate the power White's attack has when his Rook is still on the board. } 33... Kxc3 (33... Qxc3 34. Qxb5+ Ka3 35. Ra7+ Qa5 36. Rxa5#) 34. Qa1+ Kd2 ( 34... Kb4 35. Qb2+ Kc5 (35... Ka5 36. Qa3+ Qa4 37. Ra7+) 36. Rc7+ { winning Black's Queen. }) 35. Qb2+ 35... Kd1 { It appears White's attack has fizzled, but...} (35... Ke3 36. Re7+ Kxf3 37. Qg2#) 36. Bf1 36... Rd2 {Again, it appears White's attack is at an end and that he must accept a Rook and pawn ending. } (36... Qe6 {guarding e2} 37. Qc1#) (36... Qc5 {guarding c1 & c2} 37. Qe2#) (36... Qxf1 37. Qc2+ Ke1 38. Re7+ Qe2 39. Qxe2#) 37. Rd7 (37. Bxc4 37... Rxb2+ 38. Kxb2 bxc4 39. Kc3) 37... Rxd7 38. Bxc4 {threatening both Qb2-c1# and Qb2-e2# } 38... bxc4 39. Qxh8 Rd3 (39... Rb7+ 40. Ka2 Kc2 41. Qd4 c3 (41... Rc7 42. Qe4+ Kd1 43. Kb1 c3 44. Qd5+ Ke2 45. Qe5+ ) 42. Qe4+ Kd2 43. Qxb7 c2 44. Qd5+ Kc3 45. Qc5+ Kd2 46. Kb2 ) 40. Qa8 c3 41. Qa4+ Ke1 42. f4 f5 43. Kc1 Rd2 44. Qa7 { This prevents Rxh2 because of Qa7-g1+} (44. Qc4 Rxh2 45. Qxc3+ 45... Kf2 { is a little complicated because White's King isn't well placed.}) 1-0 [Event "?"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "1999.01.20"] [Round "?"] [White "Kasparov, Garry"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B07"] [Annotator "Hathaway"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "1999.01.20"] [Source "TaL's Chess"] [SourceDate "1999.01.20"] {Games from Grandmaster Events http://webpages.marshall.edu/~hathawa2/chess/ Mark Hathaway: } 1. e4 1... d6 {I can't recall the defense Topalov "normally" plays, but this (Pirc Defense) is rare among the top GMs. } 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 {This move has several purposes. It prevents an early c7-c5, defends Pd4 and possibly prepares Qd1-d2, Be3-h6 to trade-off Black's dark-square Bishop. } 4... Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 (5... Ng4 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 { is an interesting, but even rarer, approach by Black.}) 6. f3 {prevents Nf6-g4, so that after Be3-h6, Bg7xh6, Qd2xh6 Black won't have Nf6-g4 to chase the Queen out.} ( {But,} 6. Bh6 {seems stronger. The Bishop trade weakens Black's king-side, regardless of whether White's Queen would be able to invade. }) 6... b5 7. Nge2 7... Nbd7 {This Knight can be used in one of several ways: Nd7-b6-c4 or supporting c6-c5 or e7-e5 are most likely. } 8. Bh6 Bxh6 9. Qxh6 9... Bb7 {Black continues to develop and control the center, but now he will have to also consider O-O-O. } 10. a3 10... e5 {This weakens the dark squares significantly. I'm amazed he would play such a move. He must be concerned with the safety of Pf7 after O-O-O;} ( {even so} 10... e6 {might have been better.}) 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. Kb1 a6 13. Nc1 13... O-O-O {The two positions are in stark contrast. Black's position exudes piece and pawn activity with a slightly weakened king position, the White position is all King safety and little piece activity. Fortunately for White he can improve his piece activity, Black will find it difficult to improve his King's safety (pawns don't move backward). } 14. Nb3 exd4 15. Rxd4 {White would like to pressure Pd6. Doubled Rooks on the d-file would be very good. } 15... c5 16. Rd1 16... Nb6 {Black threatens d6-d5 to force simplifications. White's piece activity isn't sufficient to prevent this or fight through it to take advantage of the weak Kc8. } 17. g3 Kb8 (17... d5 18. Qf4 {is awkward for Black's King. Bf1-h3+ is threatened.} (18. exd5 {appears to transpose to the game} 18... Nfxd5 19. Bh3+ f5 20. Rhe1 20... Qc7 )) 18. Na5 Ba8 19. Bh3 d5 20. Qf4+ Ka7 21. Rhe1 d4 (21... dxe4 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. fxe4 ) 22. Nd5 Nbxd5 23. exd5 23... Qd6 { Black appears ready to gobble Pd5. } 24. Rxd4 { An amazing move. It's not often this kind of move is correct. } 24... cxd4 { This is the only way to challenge the idea, not to mention avoiding the loss of a pawn. } 25. Re7+ Kb6 (25... Rd7 26. Qxd6) (25... Qxe7 26. Qxd4+ Kb8 27. Qb6+ Bb7 28. Nc6+ Ka8 29. Qa7#) (25... Kb8 26. Qxd4 Nd7 27. Bxd7 Rxd7 28. Rxd7 Qxd7 29. Qxh8+ Ka7 30. Qd4+ Kb8 31. Qb6+ Kc8 32. Qxa6+ Kb8 33. Nc6+ Bxc6 34. Qxc6 ) 26. Qxd4+ 26... Kxa5 {Courageous or foolhardy?} (26... Qc5 27. Qxf6+ 27... Qd6 {and White's attack seems to end with a perpetual check.} 28. Qd4+ Qc5 29. Qf6+ 29... Qd6 ) 27. b4+ Ka4 28. Qc3 Qxd5 29. Ra7 (29. Kb2 { threatening 30. Qc3-b3+ Qd5xb3+ 31. cxb3#} 29... Qd4) 29... Bb7 (29... Rd6 30. Kb2 {and Rook d6 would be overloaded. If then} 30... Qd4 31. Qxd4 Rxd4 32. Rxa6#) 30. Rxb7 30... Qc4 {I suppose he was in time trouble. Why else would he leave Rh8 unused? With this move he also loses coordination with Rd8. } ( 30... Rhe8 31. Ra7 (31. f4 31... Ne4 ) (31. Qxf6 31... Qxb7 32. Qc3 Qd5 33. Kb2 33... Qd4 ) 31... Rd6 32. Kb2 32... Qe5 ) (30... Qxb7 31. Qb3#) 31. Qxf6 31... Kxa3 (31... Ra8 32. Rb6 32... Kxa3 {and if White is required to allow a Rook trade to keep any attack going then Black's King might escape. }) 32. Qxa6+ Kxb4 33. c3+ {Here is an excellent position to demonstrate the power White's attack has when his Rook is still on the board. } 33... Kxc3 (33... Qxc3 34. Qxb5+ Ka3 35. Ra7+ Qa5 36. Rxa5#) 34. Qa1+ Kd2 ( 34... Kb4 35. Qb2+ Kc5 (35... Ka5 36. Qa3+ Qa4 37. Ra7+) 36. Rc7+ { winning Black's Queen. }) 35. Qb2+ 35... Kd1 { It appears White's attack has fizzled, but...} (35... Ke3 36. Re7+ Kxf3 37. Qg2#) 36. Bf1 36... Rd2 {Again, it appears White's attack is at an end and that he must accept a Rook and pawn ending. } (36... Qe6 {guarding e2} 37. Qc1#) (36... Qc5 {guarding c1 & c2} 37. Qe2#) (36... Qxf1 37. Qc2+ Ke1 38. Re7+ Qe2 39. Qxe2#) 37. Rd7 (37. Bxc4 37... Rxb2+ 38. Kxb2 bxc4 39. Kc3) 37... Rxd7 38. Bxc4 {threatening both Qb2-c1# and Qb2-e2# } 38... bxc4 39. Qxh8 Rd3 (39... Rb7+ 40. Ka2 Kc2 41. Qd4 c3 (41... Rc7 42. Qe4+ Kd1 43. Kb1 c3 44. Qd5+ Ke2 45. Qe5+ ) 42. Qe4+ Kd2 43. Qxb7 c2 44. Qd5+ Kc3 45. Qc5+ Kd2 46. Kb2 ) 40. Qa8 c3 41. Qa4+ Ke1 42. f4 f5 43. Kc1 Rd2 44. Qa7 { This prevents Rxh2 because of Qa7-g1+} (44. Qc4 Rxh2 45. Qxc3+ 45... Kf2 { is a little complicated because White's King isn't well placed.}) 1-0 White to move: find the best move... click the ? for the solution Black to move: find the best move... click the ? for the solution Warning: This game can only be seen if JavaScript is enabled in your browser. No related posts.
