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Game 1 of FIDE WCC: Topalov vs. Anand

Game 1 of FIDE WCC: Topalov vs. Anand

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Watch it live NOW:
http://chessbomb.com/o/2010-wcc/01-Topalov_V-Anand_V/
http://chessok.com/broadcast/?key=sofia2010_01.pgn&game=0
http://www.chessdom.com/topalov-anand-2010/topalov-anand-game-1-live
http://www.anand-topalov.com/en/live.html

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Topalov - Anand
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 [Grunfeld Defence]
3... d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5
8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.O-O Na5 11.Bd3 b6 12.Qd2 e5
13.Bh6 cxd4 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.cxd4 exd4 16.Rac1 Qd6 [Novelty]
16... Qd6 17.f4 f6 18.f5 Qe5

The first 18 moves played in 4 minutes!

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Anand thinks for 30+ minutes, and makes a game losing mistake; Topalov finds the correct move in 2 minutes. What does this tell us about how the rest of the match is likely to progress.

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19.Nf4 g5 20.Nh5 Kg8 21.h4 h6 22.hxg5 hxg5 23.Rf3
[and now Anand makes a mistake:]
23...Kf7?
[and Topalov sacs the Knight with what looks like a winning attack:]
24.Nxf6!

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Hmm, very peculiar, unexpected from Anand, you would think in those 30 minutes he would have calculated Nxf6.

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Is it just me, or is the Gruenfeld Defense in world championship play just a death wish for the person who plays it? I love the GD, but I used to think that God created it as a platform for Karpov to show off his technique.

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Originally posted by clandarkfire
What does this tell us about how the rest of the match is likely to progress.
well nothing too surprising. obviously topalov would come out guns blazing as usual, and he did. anand is going to try to weather the storm, and look for a counter punch when topalov inevitably will try something too crazy and drop a game or two.

great game to start the match up with. now anand is forced to take more risks, and the rest of the games will likely be much more interesting. providing topalov doesn't somehow screw it into a draw...

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Originally posted by wormwood
well nothing too surprising. obviously topalov would come out guns blazing as usual, and he did. anand is going to try to weather the storm, and look for a counter punch when topalov inevitably will try something too crazy and drop a game or two.

great game to start the match up with. now anand is forced to take more risks, and the rest of the games will likely be much more interesting. providing topalov doesn't somehow screw it into a draw...
This is one of those positions that he cant possibly screw up, all the winning moves look natural, Anand can resign any moment IMHO.

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29 ...... Qxf5??? Why not just resign?

2 edits
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Topalov takes the game.

...woot woot... 😉

29 ...... Qxf5??? Why not just resign?


...the move was actually Qxe4, it was miscommunicated - I saw that too..


Perhaps most interesting is missing 30. Re7! causing even more havoc even faster!

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Probablty a mistake by the digital board, Qxe4 or Bxf5 are more likely to have been played.

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Originally posted by no1marauder
29 ...... Qxf5??? Why not just resign?
relay error. anand resigned already.

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Game 1: Topalov - Anand

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I think that maybe the 40 hour car ride instead of being able to fly in may have had a greater impact on Anand than he realized.

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Originally posted by Paul Leggett
I think that maybe the 40 hour car ride instead of being able to fly in may have had a greater impact on Anand than he realized.
that was like 4 days before, and he probably slept most of the way. (well, to be frank, 40h sounds like they slept in a hotel on the way.)