(4) Kasparov,Garry (2812) - Topalov,Veselin (2700) [B07]

Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee (4), 20.01.1999

[Newsom,Gary]

1.e4 d6 2.d4 ¤f6 3.¤c3 g6 4.¥e3 ¥g7 Black chooses the Pirc Defense. This opening shares some similarities with the King's Indian. Black sets up rather provocatively, wating for White to overextend and then Black will counter strike in the center, While this opening is well suited for a great player such as Topalov, it's pretty gutsy to play against one of the greatest attacking players of all time. 5.£d2 c6 6.f3 Kasparov patiently supports his center. He will wisely build up his postion before launching an attack. 6.f4 is a main line also and leads to the most principiled variations. White's center and space advantage vs black's more compact position and counter punching opportunities. On any level lower than "World Class" this opening is very playable for Black, but when you look at the games of the very top players, you don't see too many willing to take on Black's position in the Pirc. 6...b5 Alternatives are the ultra agressive 7.g4 and the normal looking 7.Bd3. With the text, Kasparov intends to finachetto the Bishop. 7.¤ge2 Alternatives are the ultra agressive 7.g4 and the normal looking 7.Bd3. With the text, Kasparov intends to finachetto the Bishop. 7...¤bd7 8.¥h6 ¥xh6 9.£xh6 ¥b7 10.a3 e5 11.0–0–0 £e7 12.¢b1 a6 13.¤c1 0–0–0 14.¤b3 exd4!? Diagram

XABCDEFGHY
8-+ktr-+-tr(
7+l+nwqp+p'
6p+pzp-snpwQ&
5+p+-+-+-%
4-+-zpP+-+$
3zPNsN-+P+-#
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1+K+R+L+R!
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Topalov, playing true to his style, mixes it up. His king position is rather shaky, but his pieces have active possibilities in an open position. And White is not currently well placed to attack the Black king. 15.¦xd4 Kasparov doesn't want his knight to be distracted from occupying a5. 15...c5 16.¦d1 ¤b6 17.g3 ¢b8 18.¤a5 ¥a8 19.¥h3 d5 20.£f4+ ¢a7 21.¦he1 d4 22.¤d5 ¤bxd5 23.exd5 £d6 24.¦xd4! Diagram

XABCDEFGHY
8l+-tr-+-tr(
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6p+-wq-snp+&
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1+K+-tR-+-!
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Kasparov was already aware that he needed to play very aggressively here. More normal moves such as [24.£xd6? lead to a bad position after 24...¦xd6 25.b4 cxb4 26.axb4 ¤xd5µ] 24...cxd4? This game has been much analyzed by the world's best players with the help of strong computers. The result of all this analysis is that the move 24...Kb6! would have given Black a promising position. Consult your textbooks for this analysis...here we just present the game with light notes for entertainment value! 25.¦e7+ ¢b6 26.£xd4+ ¢xa5 27.b4+ ¢a4 28.£c3 £xd5 29.¦a7 ¥b7 30.¦xb7 [30.£c7? £d1+ With perpetual.] 30...£c4 31.£xf6 ¢xa3 [31...¦d1+ Stohl gives 31...Rd1+ as the only way to avoid a forced loss. He gives much analysis to support this. I refer you to his excellent book Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces for detailed analysis.] 32.£xa6+ ¢xb4 33.c3+! ¢xc3 34.£a1+ ¢d2 35.£b2+ ¢d1 36.¥f1! ¦d2 Forced. 37.¦d7! Diagram

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37...¦xd7 38.¥xc4 bxc4 39.£xh8 ¦d3 40.£a8 c3 41.£a4+ ¢e1 42.f4 f5 43.¢c1 ¦d2 44.£a7 A fantastic albeit complex attacking game by Kasparov. 1–0