[Event "Match"]
[Site "Bucharest ROM"]
[Date "2006.04.09"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Topalov, V."]
[Black "Nisipeanu, LD."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B65"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2693"]
[Annotator "Mihail Marin"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2006.04.06"]

1. e4 {At the press conference held before the start of the match, Topalov
stated that his duel with Nisipeanu was important for him because he had
practically no experience as a match player. Although a 4-game confrontation
is rather short and does not allow one to display his whole arsenal, we can
distinguish some basic features of Topalov's match strategy. First of all, he
made use of the  width of his repertoire by constantly changing the openings,
thus giving the match a multi-facet character. In doing so, he seems to have
aimed to increase the dynamic of play day by day. In the first two games he
chose basically solid openings (1...e5 and 1.d4) while in the second half he
adopted the much sharper 1...c5 and 1.e4. This could have been caused either
by the necessity of getting a more clear image of Nisipeanu, whom he described
as "probably the strongest player I have not played yet" (obviously, the game
played between them 15 years ago is hardly relevant) or simply by a good
knowledge about the general evolution of his own sportive form along
competitions.} c5 {Although Nisipeanu made his first noticeable steps in the
national chess as a Sicilian player, he emerged as a first class international
fighter with more solid openings such as the Caro Kann and  later, the
Philidor. By returning to his "first love" specially for this match, the
European Champion obviously intended to surprise his mighty opponent, but we
shall see soon that he will be hit by the effect of the boomerang.} 2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 {In youth competitions, Nisipeanu usually
played the Najdorf or the Scheweningen. In recent years, he has occasionally
employed this move order, but mainly with the rather unusual idea of
transposing after White's most aggressive continuations 6.Bc4 and 6.Bg5 to a...
Dragon.} 6. Bg5 ({Here is an example from last year:} 6. Bc4 Bd7 7. Bb3 g6 8.
Nxc6 Bxc6 9. Nd5 Bg7 10. O-O O-O 11. Nxf6+ Bxf6 {(This whole series of
exchanges have only helped Black complete his development in very comfortable
way.)} 12. Re1 a5 13. a4 e6 14. c3 Be5 15. Bc4 Qc7 16. g3 Kg7 17. Bb5 Rae8 18.
Be3 f5 {
with some initiative for Black, Hamdouchi-Nisipeanu, Castelldefels 2005.}) 6...
e6 ({Only this was meant to be the real surprise for Topalov. This position
occurred in Nisipeanu's games as Black only once, 8 years ago and in the
company of a lower-rated player. The European Champion's recent adoption of
the four knights Sicilian was mainly based on the discovery that the move
doomed by theory} 6... g6 {
is in fact entirely playable, as can be seen from the following game:} 7. Bb5
Bd7 8. Bxf6 exf6 9. Nde2 Be6 10. Nf4 Bg7 11. Qd3 O-O 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Rd1 f5
14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Qxd6 Qb6 16. O-O Qxb2 {and White faced difficult problems
because of the lack of stability of his knight, Nataf-Nisipeanu, Germany 2004.}
) 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O O-O 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Qa5 11. h4 $5 {This very rare
move was played for the first time by none other than... Nisipeanu himself, in
a youth championship 11 years ago! I doubt that Topalov chose it for this game
as a psychological weapon, aimed to place his opponent in the uncomfortable
position of playing "against himself", since he could hardly have expected the
Rauzer Attack for this game. I believe it is more of a coincidence that the
World Champion had chosen this line when preparing against the Rauzer time ago.
The obvious aim of the advance of the h-pawn is to inhibit the thematic ...h6,
which would create no real threat, since ...hxg5 would always lead to the
dangerous opening of the h-file. Besides, the bishop is over-defended in view
of the desirable break in the centre based on e5.} e5 ({This counter-blow in
the centre looks like the most logical answer. Nisipeanu's game continued with
} 11... Rd8 12. Qe3 h6 13. Be2 Bd7 {and now, instead of rushing in with 14.e5
as in Nisipeanu-Tyomkin, Holon 1995, White should have first played} 14. Qg3 {
threatening Bxh6 and forcing the enemy king to occupy an unfavourable square
with} Kf8 {and only now play} 15. e5 {, which would discard the capture on g5
followed by ...Nh7 as happened in the game.}) 12. Qe3 exf4 ({During his first
matches against Karpov, where the Sicilian was frequently played, Kasparov
generally refrained from this capture for as long as possible (although in
some cases he overstepped the limit of admissible risk). This is probably the
correct approach, but here the normal developing move} 12... Be6 {
leads to rather unclear consequences after} 13. f5 Bxa2 {. It is understandable
that, confronted with such an opening surprise Nisipeanu refrained from
embarking in a theoretical dispute in such kind of position. Besides, after
the exchange on f4 it is not entirely clear which could be White's benefit
from having spent a tempo and weakened the g4-square by the advance of his
h-pawn.}) 13. Bxf4 Be6 ({This pawn sacrifice is more or less forced, because
in case of the over-cautious} 13... Rd8 {
White would obtain a wonderful development with} 14. Bc4) 14. Bxd6 Bxd6 15.
Rxd6 Rac8 ({Apart from Topalov's rapid rhythm of moving, the first technical
sign that his opening play had the coherence of a home-prepared analysis
consists of the fact that after} 15... Bxa2 16. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 {the move h4
proves of essential usefulness by enabling the activation of White's remaining
rook with} 17. Rh3 $1 {when Black cannot parry the simple mating threats and
keep his bishop defended at the same time. With his last move, Black puts some
pressure on White's queen side, specifically, on the c3- and a2-squares.}) 16.
a3 {Optically speaking, Black has ample compensation for the pawn. He has the
comfortable e5-square at his disposal for his knight, while White's king side
structure is weak. The queen side pressure looks threatening, especially that
White is slightly behind in development. However, things are by far less clear
if examined more concretely. First of all, White's position is much better
from strategic point of view than it might look at first sight. His outpost on
d5 is of higher significance than Black's e5-square, because it is situated on
an open file. In case of a capture on d5, White would obtain a strong passed
pawn. Although he still needs two whole tempi (Be2 and Rhd1) to obtain an
optimal development, all other white pieces are placed on active squares. Even
the weakness of the king side pawns is relative. In certain cases, he can
simply start an attack against the enemy king by means of g4-g5, h5 and g6,
although for the moment it is a bit early to think about that.} Rc6 $5 ({
This completely unexpected move was played after a long thought. In the press
centre, we} 16... Rc5 {to be the best way of developing the initiative.
Initially, our debates took such a course:} 17. Kb1 $6 {(Removing the king
from the exposed c1-square in order to threaten the fork with b4)} Rfc8 $1 18.
b4 Qxa3 19. Qxc5 $1 ({Forced, since} 19. bxc5 $2 {would lose to} Ba2+ $1 20.
Ka1 Nxe4 $1 {as found by IM Andrei Murariu}) 19... h6 ({For reasons that will
become clear later we first tried to secure the back rank with} 19... g6 {
but then IM Nemeth discovered that} 20. Qd4 Rxc3 21. Rxe6 $1 fxe6 22. Qxf6 {
would win for White.}) 20. Qxc8+ ({Now,} 20. Qd4 Rxc3 21. Rxe6 fxe6 {
is inoffensive for Black.}) 20... Bxc8 21. Rd8+ Kh7 22. Rxc8 Qxb4+ 23. Kc1 Nxe4
{(With the king on g7 in the similar line starting with 19...g6 instead of 19..
.h6, this would lead to a draw by perpetual after 24.Nxe4 Qe1+, but here White
has an additional possibility).} 24. Bd3 $1 f5 {and in spite of the small
material deficit, Black can hope to survive because of the safer position of
his king.}) ({However, after} 16... Rc5 {White has a more natural and in fact
stronger possibility. Instead of the prophylactic king move, planning the
weakening of his own position, he should simply develop with} 17. Be2 $1 Rfc8
18. Rhd1 {when the planned 18...Rxc3 is refuted by 19.Qxc3! based on the
weakness of the back rank, while} h6 {allows simplifications with} 19. Rd8+ $1
{reducing Black's pressure along the c-file.}) ({The immediate sacrifice} 16...
Rxc3 {is also not entirely satisfactory for Black after} 17. Qxc3 ({Only not} 
17. bxc3 $2 {because of} Qxa3+ {winning the d6-rook.}) 17... Qxc3 18. bxc3 Nxe4
19. Rd4 {(The only safe square for the rook, avoiding the possible fork on f2)}
Nxc3 20. g4 {followed by Rh3 and Kb2. If Black could transfer his knight to c5
and centralise his king to e7 he would be out of the danger of losing, but the
knight does not seem to be on the right path. Maybe the immediate 19...Nc5
followed by ...Rc8 and ...Kf8-e7 would be a better practical chance, but in
that case Black would not even have a pawn for the sacrificed exchange.}) 17.
Rxc6 bxc6 {We can evaluate now the consequences of Black's previous move.
Obviously, by exchanging one pair of rooks he has given up any attacking
ambitions, but has obtained certain strategic compensation. First of all, he
has deprived the enemy knight from the important d5-square, while maintaining
the stable control of the e5-square. This should allow Black to resist for a
long time in a passive but rather solid position, inviting White to take some
risks in order to make further progress.} 18. Be2 Nd7 19. Rd1 Qc7 20. g3 $5 {
The first move on which Topalov spent considerable amount of time provokes a
big surprise in the press centre. We were mainly worried by the massive
advance of the king side pawns in view of a direct mating attack. The World
Champion might have considered this to be a rather double-edged issue and
preferred to consolidate his king side instead, preventing among others the
enemy queen's incursion to h2.} Rb8 21. Qd4 $5 ({This was definitely the most
shocking move of the entire match. After I convinced myself that there was no
mistake in the electronic transmission of moves and that this was the move
effectively played by Topalov, I unwillingly remembered a recent comment by
Kasparov about Karpov's style of play. The 13th World Champion stated that his
predecessor had a considerable practical strength and a deep chess
understanding, but it was practically impossible to learn from his games.
personally, I have some doubts about that, but I feel that this comment would
apply perfectly to Topalov. For instance, how could I explain to my 7-years
old son the fact that right after consolidating his king side White completely
abandons it? The teaching process would have been much simpler if White had
played} 21. Rd4 {slowly increasing the pressure and aiming to gradually
suffocate Black. In fact, I have the feeling that I would have attached to 21.
Qd4 an "?!" if it had been played by anybody else, but since Topalov seems to
handle such abrupt changes of plans rather well, being able to control the
ensuing complications, I cannot really criticise his decision. I would rather
confess my limited understanding of chess.}) 21... Qxg3 {With not so much time
left on his clock, Nisipeanu had no reasons to refrain from this capture.} 22.
Qxa7 Nf6 {The situation has become quite sharp. I suppose that Topalov was
seduced by the idea of creating an outside passed pawn and by the temporarily
hanging position of the enemy rook. However, the former aspect will be
compensated by Black's similar achievement on the king side, while the latter
only has temporary character.} 23. Kb1 ({
Actually, White could have tried to justify his concept with} 23. Qb6 {
, aiming to eliminate the main defender of the d5-square, the last remaining
black queen side pawn. Forinstance} Nd5 ({Or if} 23... Bd5 {then} 24. Qd4) 24.
Qxc6 {and it is not easy to find a way for Black to take advantage of the
tensioned situation.}) 23... h5 {
Securing the back rank and preparing a dangerous candidate for promotion.} 24.
a4 ({Since the fight will soon consist of a race between the passed pawns on
opposite wings, White hurries to advance his a-pawn. On the other hand, his
last move has the significant drawback of weakening the b4-square, a detail
Black will fail to take advantage of. In a mor peaceflu position, such a move
like} 24. Qc5 {, preventing the centralisation of the black queen would
deserve serious attention, but here it would lead to unclear consequences
after} Qxh4 {(possible because the b8-rook is not attacked any more)} 25. Qxc6
Qg3 {followed by the advance of the h- and (in case of the exchange of queens)
of the g-pawn. In such cases, the material balance is completely irrelevant,
the decisive factor being the speed of the advancing pawns.}) 24... Bg4 $2 ({
This is a significant mistake already. By exchanging his bishop, Black will
lose stability in the centre, leaving the e6-, d5- and f7-squaresinsufficiently
defended. The best practical chance consisted of the centralisation of the
quen with} 24... Qe5 {, creating the threat ...Rb4, when the c3-knight would
have started feeling insecure.} 25. Qd4 {could be answered with} Qa5 {
followed by the transfer of the knight to e5 or, eventually, ...Kh7 and ...Rb4.
In this case, White would have faced serious problems breaking Black's
blockade on dark squares, while the weakness of the b4-square would have made
itself felt. The attempt to take advantage of the similar weakness of the
g5-square with} 26. Rg1 {is easily parried with} Ng4 {. We can notice here the
qualitative difference between the e4- and c6-pawns from the point of view of
the key-squares.}) 25. Bxg4 hxg4 26. Qd4 $1 {By returning with the queen to
the centre, White clears the way to his a-pawn and questions Black's stability
in the centre and on the queen side in view of the threat e5-e6.} Qxh4 $6 ({
Simplifying White's task. Black should have taken the e-file under control with
} 26... Re8) 27. e5 {Now, there is little hope left for Black.} Nd5 28. Nxd5
cxd5 29. Rg1 ({Topalov decides to eliminate the only source of black
counterplay, the g4-pawn. In case of} 29. Qxd5 {
Black could have put up some resistance with} Re8 {, preventing e6, although
it is likely that the connected white queen side pawns would have decided the
game to White's favour.}) 29... Qh2 30. Rxg4 Rc8 {Apparently, Black maintains
some counterplay based on the threats ...Qxc2+ and ...Rc4. However, Topalov
had foreseen a tactical remedy to this problem.} 31. Rxg7+ $1 {The decisive
blow. White eliminates another candidate to promotion and opens the position
of the enemy king.} Kh8 $6 ({Still hoping to trick White. If Black had
understood in this moment that the exchange of rooks is inevitable anyway, he
would have probably played} 31... Kxg7 32. Qg4+ Kh7 33. Qxc8 Qxe5 {with better
practical chances to muddy the waters by advancing the f-pawn than in the game.
Since the immediate} 34. a5 {would lose the pawn to} Qe1+ {, White would have
had to lose an additional tempo to take the a5-square under control.}) 32. Rg4
$1 ({Topalov took his time to calculate the consequences of this accurate move.
The tempting} 32. e6 {would have led to complete equality after} Qxc2+ 33. Ka2
Rc4 34. Rg2+ Rxd4 35. Rxc2 Rxa4+ 36. Kb3 Ra7) 32... Rc4 ({
White's main trick consists of the fact that after} 32... Qxc2+ 33. Ka2 Rc4 34.
Rh4+ Kg8 {he disposes over the unexpected but decisive queen retreat with check
} 35. Qg1+ {when the only way to avoid mate would be} Qg6 {
when White could transpose to an easily winning pawn ending.}) 33. Qd1 Rxg4 34.
Qxg4 Qxe5 {Compared to the queen ending that could have been obtained by the
immediate capture on g7, Black is in a worse situation here, because of the
unfortunate position of his king. Concretely, White wins an essential tempo
with} 35. c3 $1 {, threatening Qd4 and covering the e1-a5 diagonal at the same
time, thus ensuring the further advance of the a-pawn.} Kh7 36. Qd4 Qe6 37. a5
f5 {Black not only is a pawn down, but his only candidate to promotion is less
advanced than White's.} 38. b4 ({White maintains the centralised position of
the queen, keeping the f-pawn under observation and threatens to simply
advance his connected pawns. Another simple win was suggested by IM Valentin
Stoica:} 38. Qa7+ Kg8 {
(The sixth rank is denied to the black king because of Qb6, exchanging queens)}
39. Qb8+ Kg7 40. Qb7+ Kg8 41. a6 {when the further advance of the a-pawn is
ensured, while Black has no perpetual check, for instance} Qe4+ 42. Kc1 Qe1+
43. Kc2 Qe2+ 44. Kb3 Qc4+ 45. Ka3 Qc5+ 46. Ka4 Qc4+ 47. b4 {with an easy win.})
38... Qe2 39. Qxd5 {By this moment, I unwillingly remembered the final part of
the game Topalov-Anand from San Luis 2005. In that game, White had three
connected king side pawns against Black's far advanced b-pawn and eventually
missed a win. However, in our game the situation is completely hopeless for
Black, because his f-pawn does not present any danger.} Kg6 40. Qd6+ Kg5 41. a6
f4 42. Qc5+ Kg4 43. a7 ({After} 43. a7 Qe4+ 44. Kb2 {the threat Qc8+ followed
by a8=Q would force Black place his queen on a passive square with} Qb7 {
when after} 45. Qa5 Qa8 46. Qc7 {followed by Qc8 the f-pawn would be two tempi
too slow to generate adequate counterplay. Therefore, Black resigned.}) 1-0

