Topalov – Anand blitz in Sofia

by ChessBase
2/1/2004 – On Sunday Feb. 1st there will be a live TV match in Sofia, Bulgaria, between the top national player Veselin Topalov and world's number three Vishy Anand. It consists of two 10-minute blitz games with a possible 5/4 tie breaker. The two have a 50% score in classical chess, but Anand is clearly ahead in fast games. Details...

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The first game starts at 16:20h local time = 15:20h Paris/Berlin, 14:20h GMT/London and 09:20h NY (you can find the time in your city here). The exact schedule is as follows:

  • 1st Game – February 1st, 2004, starting at 16:20 p.m.
  • 2nd Game – February 1st, 2004, starting at 16:45 p.m.
  • Tiebreak – February 1st, 2004, starting at 17:15 p.m.

The venue is the Musala Hall in the Hilton Hotel, Sofia, Bulgaria. The organizer and sponsor is MobilTel EAD with the support of the Bulgarian Chess Federation and the media partnership of Dneven Trud Newspaper.


Top Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov vs world number three player Vishy Anand

The regulations state that "the main rule while holding the competition will be correctness and mutual respect – “FAIR PLAY”. When achieving an equal position (equal score) in the last minutes of the match, it would be ADVISABLE for the party having more time, if it were not to see a winning plan, to offer a draw." After this preamble the conditions are laid out:

  • There will be two games with the players alternating colours.
  • The players receive ten minutes each for all the moves of a game, with the blitz rules of chess applying.
  • If the match ends in a 1:1 tie there will be a tiebreak game where White has five minutes and Black four minutes, with the latter winning in case of a draw.

Interesting are some special provisions mentioned with regard to medical care (do they know something we don't know?): "If during the match any of the competitors should urgently need any medical help, the referee judge will stop the clock after which he records the last move and the times of the two players. After 5 minutes at the most, the game is continued. If the competitor who has fallen sick cannot continue playing, he loses the game."

According to the official web site the two players have so far met 48 times. Anand scored 13 victories, Topalov nine. The Sicilian Defense was used in 23 games, there were ten Najdorfs, nine Ruy Lopezes, five French, three Rubinsteins, and Anand defended twice with the Petroff. 27 games were played under classical time control, with an even 50% score for both players. In blindfold chess the score was +2 =3 –1 for Anand, while in rapid chess he was victorious with +4 =9 –1.

Here is a list of their individual encounters:

1 Anand Topalov Las Palmas 1993 1 - 0 40
2 Anand Topalov Madrid 1993 draw 38
3 Anand Topalov Linares 1994 0 - 1 42
4 Topalov Anand Wijk aan Zee 1996 1 - 0 28
5 Anand Topalov Amsterdam 1996 0 - 1 51
6 Topalov Anand Dos Hermanas 1996 draw 30
7 Anand Topalov Dortmund 1996 1 - 0 38
8 Anand Topalov Las Palmas 1996 draw 29
9 Topalov Anand Las Palmas 1996 draw 39
10 Anand Topalov Linares 1997 draw 20
11 Topalov Anand Dos Hermanas 1997 draw 26
12 Topalov Anand Monaco - blind 1997 draw 44
13 Anand Topalov Monaco- rapid 1997 draw 49
14 Topalov Anand Frankfurt - rapid 1997 0 - 1 34
15 Anand Topalov Frankfurt - rapid 1997 draw 36
16 Topalov Anand Dortmund 1997 1 - 0 42
17 Anand Topalov Wijk aan Zee 1998 1 - 0 29
18 Topalov Anand Linares 1998 draw 40
19 Anand Topalov Linares 1998 1 - 0 78
20 Topalov Anand Monaco - blind 1998 draw 56
21 Anand Topalov Monaco- rapid 1998 draw 36
22 Anand Topalov Tilburg 1998 draw 46
23 Anand Topalov Wijk aan Zee 1999 1 - 0 41
24 Anand Topalov Hoogovenn- blitz 1999 draw 42
25 Anand Topalov Linares 1999 draw 65
26 Topalov Anand Linares 1999 0 – 1 43
27 Topalov Anand Monaco - blind 1999 1 - 0 63
28 Anand Topalov Monaco- rapid 1999 1 - 0 34
29 Topalov Anand Dos Hermanas 1999 draw 25
30 Anand Topalov Dortmund 1999 draw 51
31 Anand Topalov Monaco - blind 2000 1 - 0 47
32 Topalov Anand Monaco- rapid 2000 draw 32
33 Topalov Anand Wijk aan Zee 2001 draw 34
34 Topalov Anand Monaco - blind 2001 draw 25
35 Anand Topalov Monaco- rapid 2001 0 – 1 30
36 Topalov Àíàíä Dortmund 2001 1 - 0 45
37 Anand Topalov Dortmund 2001 0 - 1 84
38 Topalov Anand Monte Carlo - rapid 2003 draw 17
39 Anand Topalov Monte Carlo - blind 2003 1 - 0 43
40 Topalov Anand Wijk aan Zee 2003 0 - 1 61
41 Anand Topalov Corsica – rapid  2003 draw 29
42 Topalov Anand Corsica – rapid  2003 draw 37
43 Anand Topalov Corsica – rapid  2003 draw 29
44 Topalov Anand Corsica – rapid  2003 draw 33
45 Àíàíä Topalov Corsica – rapid  2003 1 - 0 33
46 Topalov Anand Corsica – rapid  2003 0 - 1 61
47 Topalov Anand Estrella 2003 draw 13
48 Topalov Anand Wijk aan Zee 2004 1 - 0 43
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