MTel R9: Topalov on top after victory over Kamsky

Round nine report

Standings

World #1 Veselin Topalov capped an amazing comeback by beating leader Gata Kamsky with the black pieces. After Topalov's third straight win they are now tied for first with one round to play. Kamsky stuck his head into the Bulgarian lion's mouth by allowing the Najdorf and then tickled the lion's belly by playing the exact same line he has used many times in the past few months. Topalov was ready with a strong new move (14..e5) and the white position was soon in ruins. The attack was executed with Topalov's usual ruthless precision and White resigned on move 29.

Vishy Anand escaped against Peter Svidler in another Lopez. Even the final position looks good for Black, but at the end of the first time control Svidler looked at his clock, then at White's menacing pieces, and decided discretion was the better part of valor and took a repetition. Bacrot-Ponomariov was a relatively peaceful draw.

Topalov has white against Bacrot in the final round. Kamsky has black against Svidler. Anand is a half point back with black against Ponomariov. The curious tournament regulations dictate that a tie for first place between two players results in rapid and blitz tiebreaks. If three players are tied for first, they use various systems, starting with most wins.

Video impressions by Vijay Kumar

• Start of round nine
• Interview with Anand after round nine
• Interview with Topalov after round nine

Photo report from Sofia

By Frederic Friedel

An outdoor market on the way to the city centre, where the tournament takes place

It's the start of strawberry and cherry season. Quality is already excellent, prices I am told will go down to less than a dollar a kilogram.

Veselin Topalov arrives early for his game against Gata Kamsky

Gata comes at the last minute – no piping hot coffee before the game today

Bacrot vs Ruslan Ponomariov, both of whom are trailing in the table

Vishy Anand, preparing for a tense game against his friend Peter Svidler

Another Ruy Lopez, under the watchful eye of TV cameraman Vijay Kumar

Round nine is under way

The technology room where the live Internet broadcast is generated

What Topalov second Ivan Cheparinov does instead of anxiously biting his nails in the playing hall

...and both enjoys the idea of this becoming part of our round nine report

Yet another young Bulgarian talent: Milena Stefanova, 16, this year's under 16 and under 18 girls' champion of her country. In 2002 Milena won the European under 12 championship in rapid chess in Novi Sad. She is trained by her father Plamen Stefanov, an IT specialist, and goes to a special mathematics school.

Prominently on display: the first four volumes of His Great Predecessors in Russian

During lunch break in a streetside restaurant we are approached by a young gypsy girl. Mark Lefler, an American friend with whom I am staying in Sofia, is a contact magician and pulled the coin she wanted out of thin air.

This bright young girl immediately forgot about working the other guests and spent all of her time trying to figure out how Mark made the coin disappear and reappear.

A traditional dance group taking a break on the balcony of their theatre

In the press room: international FIDE arbiter Gregorio Hernandez Santana, who in his caricature looks disconcerting like a former dictator who currently being tried in a Baghdad court.

A cartoon on the wall of the press center – can anyone with a knowledge of Arabic translate it? Alternately, can non-Arabic readers supply a plausible caption in English?

Addendum: Translation by Mahmud Hassain of Canada: "When he discovered that in chess there is king, visir (councilor or miniser for the queen) and soldiers (pawns), he got scared of playing ... He said to leave him out of politics".

Famous movie scenes with chess motifs

Lottery tickets with a chess position

Mild chess erotica in an unusual postcard collection

At the end of a hard-fought game Peter Svidler answers the question of Russian chess journalist Yurij Vasiliev

Anand showed us his scoresheet, noting that for the first time ever he had made use of the rule that allows players in time trouble to use dashes instead of the move notation during the last four minutes. At dinner Peter Svidler told us that in such situations Alexander Grischuk will write down the full move, in long algebraic if necessary, and even note the clock times next to it.

• Official web site

Schedule and results