[Event "ESP-chT Div 1"]

[Site "Cala Galdana"]

[Date "1999.11.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Spraggett, Kevin"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B50"]
[WhiteElo "2521"]
[BlackElo "2690"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "1999.11.08"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. h3 g6 5. Bd3 Bg7 6. Bc2 e5 7. d3 O-O 8. O-O Nc6

9. a3 a5 10. a4 d5 11. Na3 h6 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Re1 b6 14. Bb3 Be6 15. Bc4
Qc7
16. Bd2 Rad8 17. Qb3 f5 18. Re2 Kh8 19. Rae1 g5 20. Qc2 Bf7 21. Qb3 Bf6 22.
Nb5
Qb8 23. g4 Qc8 24. Nh2 h5 25. Bc1 Qd7 26. f3 Kg7 27. Na3 hxg4 28. hxg4 f4
29.
Nf1 Rh8 30. Rh2 Rxh2 31. Nxh2 Rh8 32. Re2 Nce7 33. Bb5 Qd8 34. Qd1 Rh3
35. Qf1
Rg3+ 36. Rg2 Ng6 37. Qe1 Nc7 38. Bc4 Bxc4 39. Nxc4 Qxd3 40. Nd2 Rxg2+
41. Kxg2
Qc2 42. Nhf1 e4 43. Qxe4 Qxc1 44. Qc6 Be5 45. Qxb6 Qc2 46. Kg1 Qxa4 47.
Qxc5
Qb5 48. Ne4 Qxb2 49. Qxa5 Nb5 50. Qb6 Kh6 0-1

[Event "ESP-chT Div 1"]

[Site "Cala Galdana"]
[Date "1999.11.13"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Lautier, Joel"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A57"]
[WhiteElo "2638"]
[BlackElo "2690"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "1999.11.08"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. b6 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. e4 Nbd7

9. Be2 O-O 10. h3 Nxb6 11. Bf4 Ne8 12. Qd2 Nc7 13. Bh6 f5 14. h4 fxe4 15.
Bxg7
Kxg7 16. Ng5 e3 17. fxe3 h6 18. Nf3 e6 19. dxe6 Bxe6 20. e4 Qe7 21. O-O-O
Rad8
22. Nd4 Bd7 23. Nc2 Be6 24. Nd4 Bd7 25. Nc2 Be6 1/2-1/2

[Event "ESP-chT Div 1"]

[Site "Cala Galdana"]
[Date "1999.11.14"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Comas Fabrego, Luis"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B48"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2510"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "1999.11.08"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Bd3 Nf6 8.

O-O Ne5 9. h3 Bc5 10. Kh1 d6 11. f4 Ng6 12. f5 Ne5 13. Nce2 Nxd3 14. cxd3 e5
15. Nc2 d5 16. Rc1 Qb6 17. Bxc5 Qxc5 18. d4 Qe7 19. exd5 O-O 20. Nc3 b5 21.
Qe1
e4 22. d6 Qxd6 23. Nxe4 Qb6 24. Nxf6+ Qxf6 25. Qe4 Ra7 26. Nb4 Rd7 27. Nc6
Bb7
28. d5 h6 29. b3 Kh7 30. a4 bxa4 31. bxa4 Rc8 32. Rc5 Rxd5 33. Qxd5 Bxc6
34.
Qc4 Bxg2+ 35. Kxg2 Qg5+ 36. Kf3 Qh5+ 37. Kf2 Rxc5 38. Qxc5 Qxh3 39. Qe5
Qh4+
40. Kf3 Qxa4 41. Qe4 Qb3+ 42. Kg2 Qb2+ 43. Rf2 Qf6 44. Kh3 a5 45. Rf3 Qa1
46.
Rg3 Qd1 47. Kh2 Qd6 48. Kg2 Qd2+ 49. Kh3 Qd1 50. Kh4 Qd6 51. Rg2 Qf6+
52. Kh3
Qc3+ 53. Rg3 Qf6 54. Qd5 Qa1 55. Qe4 Qd1 1/2-1/2

[Event "ESP-chT Div 1"]

[Site "Cala Galdana"]
[Date "1999.11.15"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Corral Blanco, Juan Antonio"]

[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E46"]
[WhiteElo "2459"]
[BlackElo "2690"]
[PlyCount "172"]
[EventDate "1999.11.08"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.

Qc2 Nd7 9. g3 Nxc3 10. Nxc3 e5 11. Bg2 exd4 12. exd4 Bf6 13. Be3 Nb6 14. OO c6
15. Rad1 Bg4 16. f3 Be6 17. Ne4 Re8 18. Bf2 Bd5 19. Rfe1 Be7 20. Rd2 Bf8 21.
Rde2 Re6 22. Nc5 Rxe2 23. Qxe2 Qc7 24. g4 f6 25. Bg3 Qf7 26. h4 Rd8 27. Bh3
g6
28. Bf4 Bc4 29. Qe4 Bg7 30. Bg3 Nc8 31. Kg2 Bf8 32. Qe3 Nd6 33. Ne4 Ne8 34.
Bf2
Nc7 35. Bg3 Nd5 36. Qd2 b6 37. Kh2 Ba6 38. Qc2 Bb7 39. Bf1 h6 40. Bc4 f5 41.
gxf5 Qxf5 42. Be5 Bg7 43. Nf6+ Bxf6 44. Qxf5 gxf5 45. Bxf6 Rf8 46. Rg1+ Kf7
47.
Bg7 Rg8 48. Bxh6 Rxg1 49. Kxg1 Kg6 50. Bg5 Bc8 51. Kf2 Be6 52. Bd3 b5 53.
Ke2
Nb6 54. Kd2 Nd5 55. Bc2 Nb6 56. Bd1 Bf7 57. b3 Nd5 58. f4 Ne7 59. Kc3 Nd5+
60.
Kd3 Kh7 61. Bf3 Kg6 62. a4 a6 63. a5 Kg7 64. h5 Kh7 65. h6 Bg6 66. Bxd5 cxd5
67. Kc3 Bh5 68. Kb4 Bf3 69. Kc5 b4 70. Kc6 Kg6 71. Be7 Kxh6 72. Bxb4 Bd1 73.
Bf8+ Kg6 74. b4 Bb3 75. Kd6 Bc4 76. Ke6 Bd3 77. Bd6 Bc4 78. Bc5 Bd3 79.
Kxd5
Kf7 80. Ke5 Ke8 81. b5 Bxb5 82. Kxf5 Kd7 83. Ke5 Kc6 84. d5+ Kxc5 85. f5 Bc4

86. d6 Kc6 1/2-1/2

[Event "ESP-chT Div 1"]

[Site "Cala Galdana"]
[Date "1999.11.16"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Giorgadze, Giorgi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2690"]
[BlackElo "2602"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "1999.11.08"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8.

Qc2 O-O 9. Bd3 h6 10. Bh4 c4 11. Bh7+ Kh8 12. Bf5 Nb6 13. Bxc8 Rxc8 14. OO Be7
15. a4 a5 16. Ne5 Nfd7 17. Bg3 Kg8 18. Nb5 Bb4 19. f3 Qe7 20. Nxd7 Qxd7 21.
e4
Rc6 22. e5 Na8 23. Bh4 Nc7 24. Nc3 Be7 25. Bxe7 Qxe7 26. Rae1 Re6 27. Qd2
f5
28. exf6 Rfxf6 29. h3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.16"]

[Round "1"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2709"]
[Annotator "Stohl"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 {

The typical Najdorf move.} (6... e6 7. g4 e5 8. Nf5 g6 9. g5 gxf5 10. exf5 d5
11. gxf6 d4 12. Bc4 Qc7 13. Qd3 dxe3 14. O-O-O exf2 15. Bxf7+ Kxf7 16. Qd5+
Kxf6 17. Ne4+ Ke7 18. Nd6 Bh6+ 19. Kb1 Kf6 20. Rhf1 $5 Rf8 $1 21. Rxf2 Nc6
22.
Qc4 Kg7 $5 (22... Bf4 $2 23. Rxf4 exf4 24. Qc3+ Kg5 25. Rg1+ Kh4 26. Qf3 {
1-0,Shirov,A-Van Wely,L/Amber rapid/2000/}) 23. Rg1+ Kh8 24. Rfg2 Bxf5 25.
Nxf5
b5 26. Qe6 Nd4 27. Nxd4 Be3 28. Rg8+ Rxg8 29. Qf6+ Rg7 30. Ne6 Qf7 31.
Qxg7+
Qxg7 32. Rxg7 Re8 33. Rg3 Bf4 $1 $19) 7. Nb3 (7. Nf3 {is a more quiet retreat,
which is rarely played. White's plan in this line is a >> pawn storm and
therefore the N usually goes to b3.} Be7 (7... Qc7 8. a4 Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O
b6 11. Bg5 Nbd7 12. Nh4 g6 13. g3 Bb7 14. Ng2 Rfe8 15. Bf3 Rac8 16. Ne3
Qb8 17.

Bxf6 Nxf6 18. Re1 Rc5 19. Qd3 Rec8 20. Rad1 Bf8 21. h4 h5 22. Bg2 Qc7 23.
Re2
Qd7 24. Red2 R8c7 25. Ra1 b5 26. axb5 axb5 27. Rdd1 Qe8 $11 {
1/2,Adams,M-Svidler,P/Dortmund/1998/}) 8. Bc4 O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. Qd3 b5 $1
11.
Bxe6 fxe6 12. Ng5 Qc8 13. f4 h6 14. Nh3 Nbd7 15. f5 Nc5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 17.
Kh1
b4 18. Ne2 exf5 19. Rxf5 Rac8 20. Rc1 Qc4 $36 {
Xie Jun-Van Wely,L/Pamplona/1999/}) 7... Be6 8. f3 Nbd7 ({
But Black has had success with the prophylactic} 8... h5 $5 {Later he either
castles >>, or even plays Kf8,g6,Kg7. In practice it has been difficult to
prove Black's >> is seriously weak, while White's play is considerably slowed
down.} 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. O-O-O b5 11. Kb1 Be7 12. g3 $6 Nb6 13. Bxb6 Qxb6
14. Nd5
Bxd5 15. exd5 a5 16. Qd3 Rb8 17. Bh3 a4 18. Nd2 Qc5 19. Ne4 Nxe4 20. fxe4
Bg5
21. Rhf1 b4 22. Qa6 O-O 23. Qc6 Qe3 24. Qxd6 b3 25. cxb3 axb3 26. Rxf7 Qe2
$1
$19 {->,Xie Jun-Zhang Zhong/Shanghai/2000/}) ({
The otherwise strategically desirable} 8... d5 {here leads after} 9. exd5 Nxd5
10. Nxd5 Qxd5 (10... Bxd5 11. c4 Bb4+ 12. Kf2 {_|_,><<<}) 11. Qxd5 Bxd5
12.
O-O-O $36 {to an unpleasant _|_.}) 9. g4 {
White avoids transposition into the above-mentioned positions with} (9. Qd2 h5
$5) 9... Nb6 {A rare move. Black sidesteps the more usual continuations.} (9...
b5 10. g5 Nh5 ({The reputation of} 10... b4 {has been damaged by Adams's}
11.
Ne2 $1 Nh5 12. Qd2 Be7 13. Ng3 Nf4 14. h4 h6 15. Bxf4 exf4 16. Nh5 Bxb3 17.
axb3 g6 18. Nxf4 hxg5 19. Nd5 Ne5 20. Be2 g4 21. f4 Bxh4+ 22. Kf1 Nf3 23.
Qxb4
Bf6 24. Bxf3 gxf3 25. Kf2 $16 {Fedorov,A-Topalov,V/EU-chT Batumi/1999/}) 11.
Qd2 Nb6 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. exd5 Bd7 14. Na5 Rc8 15. O-O-O Be7 16. Kb1 O-O
17. c4

Nf4 18. h4 Re8 19. Bxf4 exf4 20. Nc6 Qb6 21. cxb5 axb5 22. Qxf4 Bxc6 23.
dxc6
Rxc6 24. Bd3 $16 {^-->,Adams,M-Svidler,P/Tilburg/1998/}) (9... h6 {is the
most
played alternative. Even here it makes sense to slow down White's >>
expansion.
} 10. Qd2 b5 11. O-O-O Nb6 12. Qf2 Nc4 13. Bxc4 bxc4 14. Nc5 Qc7 15. N5a4
$5
Rb8 16. h4 Qc6 17. g5 Nd7 18. a3 h5 $1 19. f4 (19. g6 $5 $44) 19... exf4 20.
Bxf4 Be7 21. Qg3 Ne5 22. Bxe5 dxe5 23. Qxe5 O-O 24. Rd4 Rfe8 25. Rhd1 $13
{
Movsesian,S-Womacka,M/Bundesliga 9798/1998/ Although White went on to
win a
nice game, this position certainly is not so clear. Although White's K is well
protected and he is a pawn up, his N are out of play and Black has an
active^^.
}) 10. Qd2 {Logical, weaker is the impatient} (10. g5 Nfd7 11. Qd2 h6 $5 {
and Black breaks up White's >>}) 10... d5 $5 $146 {With this interesting
novelty Black returns to the idea of the central break. As the rather scarce
practical material shows, he is well advised to act:} (10... Rc8 11. O-O-O Be7
12. Kb1 Qc7 13. h4 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Qxc4 15. g5 Nd7 16. Rh2 $5 b5 17. Na5 Qc7
18.
Nd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 Nb8 20. f4 $40 {Jedryczka,K-Hunt,A/EU-chU20
Patras/1999/})
11. O-O-O $5 {Topalov aggressively reacts with a piece sacrifice. Of course in
a rapid blindfold game the degree of risk one can indulge in is considerably
higher. But Topalov played 4.Nxf7 in the Petroff against Kramnik even in a
tournament game!} (11. g5 $143 d4 $142 (11... Nh5 $6 12. Bxb6 Qxb6 13.
Nxd5
Bxd5 14. exd5 $16 (14. Qxd5 $2 Qe3+ 15. Be2 Nf4 $40 {/\} 16. Qxe5+ $2 Be7
17.
Nc1 Rc8 18. c3 Qxe2+ $1 $19)) 12. gxf6 (12. Nxd4 exd4 13. Bxd4 Nh5 $17 {
is an undesirable version of the game idea.}) 12... dxe3 13. Qxe3 gxf6 (13...
g6 $5 14. Rd1 Nd7 15. Nd5 Bxd5 16. Rxd5 Qxf6 $132) 14. Rd1 Qc7 $13 {

/=/+,><Bf1 and White is starting to miss his strong dark-squared B.}) (11.
Bxb6
Qxb6 12. Nxd5 (12. exd5 $143 $2 Rd8 13. Na4 Qc7 14. c4 b5 $1 $17 {
and White's [+] falls apart.}) {Also possible is} 12... Bxd5 (12... Nxd5 13.
exd5 O-O-O (13... Rd8 $6 14. Bc4 Qc7 15. dxe6 $1 Rxd2 16. exf7+ Ke7 17.
Nxd2
$16) 14. Bc4 (14. Qc3+ Kb8 15. Qxe5+ Bd6 $44 {/\Bd5}) 14... Qc7 15. Na5 Bc5
16.
O-O-O Bd4 $1 $11 {Black regains his P and has at least equality.}) 13. exd5
Rd8
14. Bc4 Qc7 $11 {/\} 15. Na5 Qb6 $1 16. Nb3 Qc7) 11... d4 12. Nxd4 $8 ({
There is no way back now.} 12. Bf2 $2 Be7 13. Qe1 (13. Ne2 $2 Nxe4 $1 14.
fxe4
Bg5 $19) 13... Qc7 $17) 12... exd4 13. Bxd4 Be7 {The crisis is approaching
fast. Black logically tries to finish his development, but interesting and
perhaps even more promising was} (13... Qc7 $5 14. Qe3 Nbd7 {
/\0-0-0 White must act} 15. Nd5 $5 Bxd5 $5 (15... Qc6 16. g5 Nxd5 (16... Nh5
$5
) 17. exd5 Qxd5 18. Bxg7 Qxd1+ 19. Kxd1 Bxg7 20. Bc4 $14) 16. exd5+ Kd8
$13 {
/=/+ Black's K is relatively safe in the [+] and Black has good chances to
coordiante his forces and gradually consolidate his position.}) 14. Qe3 (14. h3
$143 $6 O-O (14... Qc7 15. Qe3 Nc4 16. Bxc4 Qxc4 17. f4 $44 {->>>}) 15.
Qe3
Nfd7 $1 (15... Nbd7 $2 16. f4 $40 {is dangerous.}) 16. f4 f6 $5 $15 {
/-/+ Black has escaped with his minor pieces from the scope of White's
pawns.})
14... Nbd7 15. h3 $1 $44 {Modest, but nevertheless the best move. White's
compensation consists of his threatening >> pawn phalanx, with Black's
misplaced minor pieces in the way.} (15. g5 Nh5 {/\} 16. f4 $2 Nxf4 $19) (15.
Nd5 Bxd5 16. exd5 O-O $17) 15... Qa5 {Black logically seeks active <=>.}
(15...
O-O 16. f4 $36) 16. f4 (16. Kb1 Rc8 $5 {/\Rc3->} (16... O-O-O 17. f4 $44) (

16... g5 17. h4 $1 Rg8 $13)) 16... Bxa2 $1 {

Consistent. The P is not as important as the counterattack.} 17. g5 Nh5 18. h4
(18. Be2 $2 Nxf4 $19) (18. Nxa2 Qxa2 19. Be2 Nxf4 $1 20. Qxf4 Qa1+ 21. Kd2
Qa5+
22. Bc3 Bxg5 $17) 18... Rg8 $2 {An atrocious move, this R will stay out off
play till the end of the game. Perhaps Ivanchuk wanted to castle and made a
mouse-slip (this is a blindfold game), putting his R on g8 insted of the K?} (
18... O-O $142 $1 19. Be2 g6 20. Bg4 Nc5 (20... Rfd8 $2 21. Bxd7 Rxd7 22.
Bb6
$16) {The most sensible is} 21. Nxa2 (21. Bxh5 $2 gxh5 22. Nxa2 (22. Bf6
Rfe8
$1 $17) 22... Qxa2 23. Bxc5 Qa1+ 24. Kd2 Rfd8+ 25. Ke2 Qxb2 $17 {->}) (21.
f5
$6 Rfd8 $15) 21... Qxa2 22. Bxc5 Bxc5 (22... Rad8 23. Qa3 $14) 23. Qxc5 Nxf4
(
23... Ng3 24. Rhe1 Qa1+ 25. Kd2 Qxb2 26. Ke3 $1 $16 {/\Rb1}) 24. Qa3 $11) (
18... O-O-O 19. Be2 $16 {/\} (19. Bh3 $6 Be6 20. f5 Bc4 $13) 19... g6 $2 20.
Bxh8 Rxh8 21. Rxd7 $1 Kxd7 22. Qd4+ $18) 19. Bh3 Nc5 $6 (19... Be6 $142 $5
20.
f5 Bc4 21. Kb1 $142 $1 $36 (21. Bg4 Qa1+ 22. Kd2 Qxb2 23. Rb1 Qa3 24.
Bxh5 (24.
Rxb7 $6 O-O-O $1 25. Rhb1 Bc5 {><Kd2} 26. Bxh5 (26. f6 Be6) 26... Bxd4 27.
Rc7+
(27. Qxd4 Nb6 28. Nd5 Bxd5 29. exd5 Qa5+ $1 $19 {/\Kb7}) 27... Kxc7 28.
Nd5+
Bxd5 29. Qxa3 Bc4 $17 {/-+}) 24... O-O-O $13) 21... O-O-O (21... Ne5 22. b3 (
22. Bb6 $5 Qb4 23. Qd4 $44) 22... Bd6 23. Nd5 $1 $40) (21... Rd8 22. Bg4 g6
23.
b3 Bb5 24. Qf3 $40) 22. Bg4 g6 23. b3 {
White gets his piece back, as the B can't retreat:} Bb5 $2 24. fxg6 hxg6 25.
Bb6 Qb4 26. Rd4 Qa3 27. Nxb5 axb5 28. Ra4 $1 bxa4 29. Qc3+ $18) (19... OO-O $2
20. Bb6 Bc5 $8 21. Qxc5+ Qxc5 22. Bxd7+ Rxd7 23. Bxc5 $18) 20. Bg4 ({

Also playable was} 20. Nxa2 Qxa2 21. Bxc5 Qa1+ 22. Kd2 Rd8+ 23. Ke2 Qxb2
24.
Rxd8+ (24. Bxe7 $2 Qxc2+ $19 {as d1 is unprotected.}) 24... Bxd8 25. Qd2 $1
Qb5+ 26. Kf3 $18 {
/\Rd1-> Black's K doesn't have g7 at his disposal, so the Bc5 is taboo.}) 20...
g6 (20... Be6 {loses a piece:} 21. f5 $1 Qa1+ 22. Kd2 Qxb2 (22... Nb3+ 23.
cxb3
Qxb2+ 24. Ke1 $18) 23. fxe6 Nxe6 24. Rb1 $1 Qa3 25. Bxh5 $18) 21. Nxa2
Qxa2 22.
Bxc5 Qa1+ 23. Kd2 Rd8+ (23... Qxb2 $2 24. Bxe7 Kxe7 25. Qc5+ Ke8 26. Rb1
Rd8+
27. Ke3 $18) (23... Qa5+ $142 24. b4 Rd8+ (24... Bxc5 25. bxa5 Bxe3+ 26.
Kxe3
$18 {_|_}) 25. Ke2 Qb5+ 26. Kf2 {Here White is also winning, but not by
force.}
) 24. Ke2 Qxb2 25. Kf3 $6 {An inaccuracy, which doesn't change the result.} (
25. Bxe7 $1 Qxc2+ (25... Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Qxc2+ 27. Ke1 Kxe7 28. Qa3+ {
leads to mate.}) 26. Ke1 Rxd1+ (26... Kxe7 27. Qa3+) 27. Bxd1 Qg2 28. Rg1
Nxf4
29. Bc5 $18) 25... Qxc2 26. Rxd8+ Bxd8 (26... Kxd8 $2 27. Qd4+) 27. Rc1 (27.
Qd4 $2 Qb3+ $13) 27... Qh2 28. Rg1 $1 $18 {This calm move decides the
game for
good. White stops Black's threats and starts the decisive attack on Black's K,
trapped in the [+].} (28. Bd7+ $2 Kxd7 29. Qd4+ Ke8 30. Qe5+ Kd7 $11) 28...
Ba5
(28... Bc7 29. e5 {/\Qd4} Qc2 30. e6 f5 31. Bxh5 gxh5 32. Rc1 (32. Qd4 $2
Qb3+
33. Kf2 Qa2+ $1 {/\Qe6}) 32... Qh2 33. Bd4 Qh3+ 34. Ke2 Qg2+ (34... Qxe3+
35.
Kxe3 Bd8 36. Bf6 $1 $18) 35. Kd3 Bd8 36. Rc8 $18 {->}) (28... Qc2 29. Qd4
Qb3+
30. Kf2 {The g3-square is already covered and White's K will hide on h1.} Qc2+
31. Kf1 Qc1+ 32. Kg2) 29. Bd6 {
Protects Pf4 and frees the Q for the mating attack.} Qd2 (29... Bd2 $2 30. Qc5)

(29... Qb2 30. Rc1 Qh2 31. Rc8+ Bd8 32. Rxd8+ Kxd8 33. Qb6+ Ke8 34. Bd7+
$1
Kxd7 35. Qc7+ Ke6 36. Qe7#) 30. Qxd2 Bxd2 31. Rd1 Ba5 32. Rb1 b5 (32... b6
33.
Rc1 b5 34. Ra1 {is the same.} (34. Rc8+ $5 $18)) 33. Ra1 {Black will lose both
his << P and still remain with an inactive R and K under attack.} 1-0

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Piket, Jeroen"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A70"]
[WhiteElo "2633"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Stohl"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. h3 g6 6. Nc3 exd5 7. cxd5 Bg7 8. e4

O-O 9. Bd3 b5 10. Bxb5 Nxe4 11. Nxe4 Qa5+ 12. Nfd2 Qxb5 13. Nxd6 Qa6 14.
N2c4
Nd7 15. O-O Nb6 16. Nxb6 Qxb6 17. Nxc8 Raxc8 18. Rb1 Rfd8 19. Bf4 Qb7 20.
d6

Bf8 21. Qd3 Bxd6 22. Bxd6 Rc6 23. Rfd1 {Current opening theory has more
and
more forced lines, which after forced play lead directly into an _|_. This
variation is one of them, there is no middlegame.} Qd7 $5 {After quite a few
people suffered in the 2R:Q _|_ finally someone at last repeats Leko's idea.
But Piket shows the road to the draw is not so simple.} (23... Rcxd6 24. Qxd6
Rxd6 25. Rxd6 c4 26. Rd2 ({
White can't avoid the exchange of one pair of P on the <<:} 26. Rdd1 Qb4 27.
Rdc1 Qa4 $5 28. a3 Qb3 29. Rc3 Qa2 30. Rbc1 Qxb2 31. a4 $14) 26... c3 27.
Rc2
Qe4 28. Rbc1 cxb2 29. Rxb2 {Black's task is not so simple, although with
accurate play he should be able to save the game. He should pin White's R to
the defence of the a-pawn or >>, not allowing them to coordinate and attack
Black's >>P, as in Babula-Velicka.} h5 (29... a5 30. Rbc2 Qa4 $5 (30... h5 31.
Rc4 Qd5 32. a4 $16 {Karpov,A-Polgar,J/Budapest rapid m/1998/}) 31. Rd2 h5
$14)
30. Rbc2 (30. Rcc2 Qa4 31. Rd2 Qa5 {
1/2,Gomez Esteban,J-Martin Gonzalez,A/Salamanca/1998/}) 30... h4 (30... Qa4
$6
31. Rc8+ Kg7 32. R1c2 Qe4 33. R8c4 Qe1+ 34. Kh2 Qd1 35. h4 Qd6+ 36. g3
Qa3 37.
R4c3 Qa4 38. Rc4 Qa3 39. R4c3 Qa4 40. a3 a6 41. Re2 Qd7 42. Re4 Qd2 43.
Rf3 Qd5
44. Ref4 $16 {Babula,V-Velicka,P/CZE-cht 9900/2000/}) 31. Rc4 Qe7 32. a4
Qg5
33. Re1 Qd8 34. Rec1 Qd2 35. R4c2 Qb4 36. Rc4 Qd2 37. Rc5 Kg7 38. a5 a6 39.
Rf1
Kh6 40. Rc4 Kh5 41. Rfc1 f5 42. Rc5 Kg5 $132 {
Karpov,A-Van Wely,L/Amber rapid/1999/}) 24. Qa3 Rxd6 25. Rxd6 (25. Rdc1
Qf5 $11
) 25... Qxd6 26. Qxa7 Re8 $1 (26... Qd4 27. a4 Rd5 $2 28. Qb8+ Kg7 29. Qb3
f6
30. Re1 Rd7 31. a5 Qd2 32. Ra1 c4 33. Qc3 $18 {

Breier,A-Kleeschaetzky,R/2BLN-9900/2000/}) (26... Qe5 $6 27. Qa5 Rb8 28. b3

Rb4
29. Rc1 Re4 30. Qc3 Qxc3 31. Rxc3 Re1+ 32. Kh2 Re2 33. a4 Rb2 34. a5 Kf8
35. h4
h5 36. f3 $16 {Campos Moreno,J-Outerelo,M/Burgas/1999/}) 27. Qa3 $5 (27.
Qa4
Re2 28. Qc4 Qe5 29. a3 $5 Rxf2 30. Kxf2 Qf5+ 31. Ke3 Qxb1 32. b4 $11 {
/+/= keeps some tension in the position, but the _|_ should be a draw
anyway.})
27... Re2 28. Qc3 Qb6 29. a4 c4 30. Rf1 Qb3 31. Rc1 $146 (31. Qxb3 cxb3 32.
Rb1
Re4 33. Ra1 Re2 34. Rb1 {1/2,Komarov,D-Leko,P/Ulcinj YUG Cup /1997/}) 31...
Qxa4 $2 (31... Qb6 $2 32. Qf3 Qxb2 33. Rxc4 $16) ({Safer was} 31... Rxb2 $5
32.
Qxc4 Qxc4 33. Rxc4 Ra2 $14 {
/= This _|_ is theoretically drawn, but who wants to fight a pawn down?}) 32.
Qd4 $1 (32. Qxc4 Qxc4 33. Rxc4 Rxb2 $11) 32... Qa6 {
Black is in trouble, as his >> is shaky and the K will be exposed.} ({
A possible example is} 32... Rc2 33. Re1 Qb5 (33... Qa8 34. Qd7 Kg7 35. Qd1
$1
Qa5 36. Qd4+ Kh6 37. Re4 $18 {->}) (33... Qc6 34. Qd8+ Kg7 35. Re8 Qc5 36.
Rg8+
Kh6 37. Qh4+ Qh5 38. Qf4+ Qg5 39. Qxf7 $18) 34. Qd8+ Kg7 35. Re8 $40 {/\}
Rxb2
36. Rg8+ Kh6 37. Qf8+ Kg5 38. Qe7+ Kh6 39. g4 $1 $18) 33. Rxc4 (33. Qf4 $2
Kg7
$1 34. Rxc4 Qa1+ 35. Kh2 Qxb2 $11) 33... Rxb2 34. Qd8+ Kg7 35. Rc8 $36 {
White has again doubled his major pieces on the 8-th rank as above.} Rb1+
36.
Kh2 Qe6 (36... Qb6 37. Qh8+ Kh6 38. Qf8+ $18 {/\Qf7}) 37. Qd4+ $2 (37.
Qf8+ Kf6
38. Qh8+ Kg5 (38... Kf5 39. Rc5+ Ke4 40. f3+ Ke3 41. Re5+ $18) 39. Rc5+ f5 (
39... Kh6 40. Qf8#) 40. Qd8+ Kh6 (40... Kh5 41. g4+) 41. Qh4+ Kg7 42. Rc7+
$18)
37... Kh6 $8 (37... f6 $2 38. Rc7+ $18) (37... Qf6 $2 38. Rg8+) 38. Rg8 Qe7 39.

h4 $2 {After this mistake White's advantage evaporates.} (39. Qg7+ Kg5 40.
g3
$40 (40. Qxh7 Qf6 41. h4+ Kg4 42. f3+ Kf5 $11)) 39... f6 40. Qd2+ g5 41. f4
$6
(41. hxg5+ fxg5 42. f4 Qc7 $1 {/\} 43. Rxg5 Rh1+ $1 44. Kg3 (44. Kxh1 Qc1+
45.
Qxc1 $11) 44... Rh3+ 45. Kg4 Rh4+ 46. Kxh4 Qxf4+ $1 47. Qxf4 $11) 41...
gxh4
42. f5+ Kh5 $11 43. g4+ hxg3+ 44. Rxg3 Qe5 45. Qd7 Qe2+ (45... Qb2+ 46.
Rg2 Qb7
47. Qe8+ Kh4 48. Qd8 Qb8+ 49. Qxb8 Rxb8 50. Rg7 $11) 46. Rg2 Qe5+ 1/21/2

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.18"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Nikolic, Predrag"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2659"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb7 6. Bg2 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 a5 8. O-O

O-O 9. Qc2 Na6 10. Nc3 d5 11. Rfd1 Qe7 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Ne5
Rfd8
15. cxd5 exd5 16. a3 Bf8 17. e4 c6 18. exd5 cxd5 19. Rd3 Qf5 20. Qb2 f6 21.
Rf3
Qe6 22. Nd3 Nc7 23. Re3 Qd6 24. Nf4 Re8 25. Bh3 Rxe3 26. fxe3 Re8 27. Kf2
Bc8
28. Bxc8 Rxc8 29. Qb1 Qd7 30. Kg2 f5 31. Qd3 Re8 32. Ra2 Qf7 33. h4 Bd6 34.
Rf2
Bxa3 35. h5 Bb4 36. Ng6 Qe6 37. Ne5 Rf8 38. Ne2 Bd6 39. Nf4 Qc8 40. Nfg6
Rf6
41. g4 f4 42. exf4 Ne6 43. f5 Nf8 44. Qb5 Kh7 45. Qxd5 Bb8 46. Nxf8+ Rxf8 47.
Qe4 Bxe5 48. dxe5 Kh8 49. e6 Qc5 50. g5 Qe7 51. f6 gxf6 52. gxf6 Rg8+ 53.
Kh2
Qc5 54. Qf5 Qc1 55. Qf4 Qg1+ 56. Kh3 Rg5 57. Qf3 Qe1 58. Re2 1-0

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.19"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B66"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2758"]
[Annotator "Gofshtein,L"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]

[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8.

O-O-O Be7 9. f4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Be2 Qc7 13. f5 (13. Bh5
Qc5
14. Qxc5 dxc5 15. f5 {#} b4 16. Ne2 (16. Na4 Rb8 17. Rhf1 (17. Rhe1 Rg8 $11
(
17... O-O 18. b3 Rb7 19. Bf3 Bd7 20. Nb2 Rc7 21. g4 $14 {
0-1 Kroeger,F-Van Laatum,G/Hastings ENG 2000/The Week in Chess 273 (39)}))
17... Rg8 $11) 16... e5 (16... exf5 17. Bf3 $1 $44) 17. Ng3 (17. b3 Bb7 18. Ng3
c4 19. bxc4 Bc6 $11) 17... c4 $1 18. Be2 c3 $132 {
1/2-1/2 Lautier,J-Pelletier,Y/Biel 1997/CBM 60/(41)}) (13. Bf3 Bb7 14. f5 (14.
Kb1 Qc5 15. Qd2 O-O-O 16. Rhe1 Kb8 $11 {
Brodsky,M-Poluljahov,A/MK Cafe Koszalin/1997}) 14... h5 15. Kb1 Qc5 16. Qd2
O-O-O 17. a3 $13 {1/2-1/2 Leko,P-Kramnik,V/Frankfurt 1996/EXT 98 (36)}) 13...
Qc5 14. Qxc5 (14. Qd3 Ra7 15. Bh5 {1/2-1/2 Hracek,Z-Epishin,V/Erevan (06)
1996}
) (14. fxe6 Qg5+ $5) 14... dxc5 15. Rhf1 $146 {
The idea of this novelty is to not hasten with fxe6} ({Main line is} 15. fxe6
fxe6 16. Bh5+ Kf8 17. e5 (17. Rhf1 $6 Ra7 (17... Kg7 18. Rd3 Rd8 $11 {
1/2-1/2 Horvath,A-Blehm,P/Oropesa del Mar ESP 1998 (79)}) 18. e5 f5 19. g4
Kg7
20. gxf5 (20. Rd3 $6 c4 21. Rh3 Rf8 22. gxf5 Rxf5 $15 {
1/2-1/2 Tseitlin,M-Epishin,V/St.Petersburg 1997/CBM 59 (65)}) 20... exf5 21.
Nd5 Bg5+ 22. Kb1 $11) 17... f5 18. g4 {but after strong} Ra7 $1 {Black
equalize
} (18... b4 19. Ne2 Bg5+ (19... Ra7 20. gxf5 exf5 21. Nf4 $16 {
Palac-Smirin,euch-tm 1997}) 20. Kb1 Ke7 21. gxf5 exf5 22. Rhg1 Bh6 $132 {
Perunovic,Milos-Izoria,Zviad/Moscow (6) 1998 (48)}) 19. gxf5 exf5 20. Nd5
Bg5+
21. Kb1 Be6 22. Rhg1 Rd7 $5 (22... Rg8 23. Nf4 $1 $16 Bxf4 (23... Bf7 24. Bxf7

Kxf7 (24... Rxf7 $2 25. Ne6+) 25. Rd7+ $1 Rxd7 26. e6+ Kf6 (26... Ke7 27.
exd7
Kxd7 28. h4) 27. exd7 Rd8 28. Rxg5 $1 Kxg5 29. Ne6+ $18) (23... Bc4 24. e6
Rag7
25. Bf7 Bxf4 26. Bxg8 Rxg1 27. Rxg1 Bxh2 28. Rg2 Bd6 29. b3 $16) 24. Rd8+
Ke7
25. Rdxg8 Bxg8 26. Rg7+ $16 {Short-Yermolinsky 1997}) 23. Rxg5 Rxd5 24.
Rxf5+ (
24. Rxd5 Bxd5 25. Rxf5+ Ke7 $132) 24... Ke7 25. Rg5 (25. Rxd5 Bxd5 26. Rf6
Rg8
$132) 25... Rg8 26. Rxg8 Rxd1+ 27. Bxd1 Bxg8 28. Bg4 Be6 $44 {
1/2-1/2 Grischuk,A-Grosar,A/Batumi 1999/CBM 74/(48)}) 15... Ra7 {
Natural continuation in this variation} (15... b4 16. Na4 $14) 16. a4 $5 ({Now
} 16. fxe6 fxe6 17. Bh5+ Kf8 18. e5 f5 19. g4 Bg5+ 20. Kb1 Kg7 $11 {
leads to wellknown position}) (16. g3 Rd7 $132) 16... b4 17. Nb1 Rd7 (17...
Rg8
18. g3 $14) 18. Rxd7 Kxd7 19. Nd2 (19. Bh5 Rf8 20. Nd2 Bd6 21. g3 Ke7 22.
Nc4
Bc7 $11) 19... h5 $1 {Seems unnecessary, but this move is quite good.}
({After
} 19... Rd8 20. Bh5 {White have a little advantage} (20. g3 Ke8 21. Nc4 Bb7
22.
Bd3 Rd4 $11) 20... Ke8 (20... exf5 21. exf5 Ke8 22. Be2 Bd6 23. g3 $14) 21.
fxe6 Bxe6 22. Be2 Bc8 23. g3 $14) 20. Nc4 Kc7 {Good place for K} 21. b3 exf5
{
Kramnik decided to open position for his par BB, but remains with weaknesses
in the kingside} (21... Bb7 22. Bf3 h4 $11) 22. exf5 Bd6 $6 $14 ({
More accurately was} 22... h4 23. Ne3 Bd6 24. Nd5+ Kb8 25. h3 (25. Nxf6
Bxh2
26. Bc4 Bg3 27. Ne4 Bb7 28. Nxc5 Bxg2 29. Nxa6+ Ka8 30. Rg1 h3 $19) 25...
Bb7
26. Bf3 Be5 $11) 23. Nxd6 Kxd6 24. Rf4 (24. Bc4 $5 Ke5 25. g3 (25. Bxf7 Bxf5
26. Re1+ Be4 $11) 25... Bxf5 (25... a5 26. Rd1 Bb7 27. Rd7 $16) 26. Bxa6 $14)
24... a5 (24... h4 $6 25. Kd2 Bb7 26. Bf3 (26. c3 bxc3+ 27. Kxc3 h3 (27... Bxg2

28. Bxa6 Ke5 29. Rf2 Be4 30. Re2 Kxf5 31. Kc4 Rb8 32. Bb5 Ke5 33. Kxc5 $16)
28.
g3 $16)) (24... Ke5 25. Rc4 $1) 25. g3 Ke5 26. Rh4 $2 $11 (26. Bd3 $1 {
Was keep advantage} Rg8 (26... h4 $2 27. Re4+ $1 Kd6 28. Rxh4 Rxh4 29.
gxh4 Ke7
(29... Ke5 30. h5 Bxf5 31. h6 $18) 30. Kd2 Kf8 31. Ke3 Kg7 32. Kf4 Kh6 33. Bc4
Kh5 34. Ke4 Kxh4 35. Kd5 Bxf5 36. Kxc5 Bxc2 37. Kb6 $18) 27. Re4+ Kd6 28.
Rh4 (
28. Re2 Rg4 29. Re8 Bb7 30. Rd8+ $14) 28... Rg5 29. Be2 Bxf5 30. Rxh5 Bg6
31.
Rh8 $14) (26. Rc4 $2 Ba6 $1 27. Rxc5+ Kd4 $17) 26... Bxf5 27. Rxh5 (27. Bxh5
Bg6 28. Be2 Rxh4 29. gxh4 Be4 30. h5 f5 31. Kd2 (31. h6 f4 32. Bd3 Bxd3 33.
cxd3 Kf6 34. Kd2 Kg6 35. Ke2 Kxh6 36. Kf3 Kg5 $19) 31... f4 32. h6 (32. Bd3 f5
33. h4 Kf6 34. Bb5 Kg7 35. c3 (35. Be8 f3 $17) 35... Kh6 $17) 32... Kf6 (32...
Bg6 33. Bc4 Kf6 34. h4 Be4 35. Bd3 Bxd3 36. Kxd3 Kg6 37. Ke4 Kxh6 38. Kxf4
Kh5
39. Kg3 Kh6 40. Kg4 Kg6 41. Kf4 (41. h5+ $2 Kh6 42. Kf5 Kxh5 43. Kf6 Kg4
$19)
41... Kh5 42. Kg3 Kh6 $11) 33. Bd3 Bxd3 34. Kxd3 Kg6 35. Ke4 Kxh6 36. Kxf4
Kg6
37. h3 (37. Ke5 Kg5 38. h3 Kh4 39. Kf6 Kxh3 40. Kxf7 Kg4 41. Ke6 Kf4 42. Kd5
Ke3 43. Kxc5 Kd2 44. Kb5 Kxc2 45. Kxa5 Kxb3 $19) 37... Kh5 38. Kf5 Kh4 39.
Kf6
Kxh3 40. Kxf7 Kg4 41. Ke6 Kf4 42. Kd5 Ke3 43. Kxc5 Kd2 44. Kb5 Kxc2 45. Kxa5
Kxb3 46. Kb6 Kc4 47. a5 b3 48. a6 b2 49. a7 b1=Q+ 50. Kc7 Qh7+ $19) 27...
Rxh5
28. Bxh5 Bg6 29. Be2 (29. Bxg6 fxg6 30. Kd2 Kd4 31. h4 f5 32. Ke2 Kc3 33.
Kd1
c4 34. bxc4 Kxc4 35. Kd2 Kd4 $19) 29... f5 (29... Be4 30. Kd2 f5 31. Ke3 $1 (
31. h4 f4 32. gxf4+ Kxf4 33. h5 Kg5 34. c3 f5 35. cxb4 cxb4 36. Bd1 f4 $17)
31... Bxc2 32. Bc4 Kf6 33. Kf4 $44) 30. Kd2 f4 $1 {Just in time.} 31. g4 (31.
gxf4+ Kxf4 32. h4 Be4 33. c3 f5 $17) 31... Ke4 ({After} 31... f5 $5 {
Topalov should find the only move} 32. Bd3 $1 (32. gxf5 $2 Bxf5 33. Bd3 Bg4
34.

h4 Kd4 35. Bg6 f3 36. Bd3 f2 (36... Bh3 37. h5 $16) 37. Bf1 Ke4 38. Bg2+ Kf4
39. Bf1 Kg3 40. Ke3 Bf3 41. Bc4 Bh5 42. Bf1 Bg6 $19) (32. g5 $2 f3 33. Bxf3
Kf4
34. Bd5 Kxg5 35. c3 Kf4 $17) 32... c4 (32... Kf6 33. gxf5 Bxf5 34. Bxf5 Kxf5
35. Ke2 (35. Kd3 Kg5 36. Ke2 Kg4 37. Kf2 Kh3 38. Kf3 (38. Kg1 Kh4 39. Kg2 Kg4
$11) 38... Kxh2 39. Kxf4 Kg2 40. Ke3 Kf1 41. Kd2 Kf2 42. c3 Kf1 43. cxb4 cxb4
44. Kd1 $11 (44. Kd3 Ke1 45. Kc4 Kd2 46. Kb5 Kc3 47. Kxa5 Kxb3 48. Kb5 Kc3
49.
a5 b3 50. a6 b2 51. a7 b1=Q+ $19)) 35... Kg4 36. Kf2 Kh3 37. Kf3 Kxh2 38.
Kxf4
Kg2 39. Ke4 Kf2 40. c4 Ke2 41. Kd5 Kd3 42. Kxc5 Kc3 43. Kb5 Kxb3 44. c5 Ka3
45.
c6 b3 46. c7 b2 47. c8=Q b1=Q+ $11) 33. bxc4 (33. Bxc4 fxg4 $17) 33... Be8
34.
Bxf5 Bxa4 35. h4 Kf6 (35... Be8 36. h5 Bxh5 37. gxh5 Kxf5 38. h6 Kg6 39. c5 a4
40. c6 a3 41. c7 a2 42. c8=Q a1=Q 43. Qg4+ Kxh6 44. Qxf4+ Kg6 45. Qxb4
$16) 36.
Bd3 Be8 37. g5+ Kg7 38. c5 a4 39. c6 Bxc6 40. h5 a3 41. h6+ Kg8 42. Bc4+
Kh7
43. Bd3+ Kh8 44. Bc4 $11) 32. h4 f3 33. Bd3+ Kf4 34. Bxg6 fxg6 35. h5 Kg3 (
35... gxh5 36. gxh5 Kg3 37. h6 f2 38. h7 f1=Q 39. h8=Q $11) 36. hxg6 f2 37.
g7
f1=Q 38. g8=Q Qf4+ 39. Ke2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.21"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Gelfand, Boris"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D58"]
[WhiteElo "2692"]

[BlackElo "2702"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 b6 8. Bd3

Bb7 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Bg3 Ne4 11. Bxe4 dxe4 12. Nd2 f5 13. Nb5 e5 14. dxe5
Nc5
15. Nd4 Qc8 16. Qh5 Kh7 17. f3 exf3 18. N2xf3 g6 19. Qh3 Ne4 20. Rad1 c5 21.
Nb5 g5 22. Qh5 Kg7 23. Nd6 Bxd6 24. exd6 Nxg3 25. hxg3 Qe6 26. Rf2 Rad8
27.
Rfd2 Rd7 28. Kh1 Qxe3 29. Rd3 Qe8 30. Qh2 Qe6 31. Re1 Qf6 32. Red1 Rfd8
33. g4
f4 34. Qg1 Be4 35. R3d2 Rxd6 36. Rxd6 Rxd6 37. Rxd6 Qxd6 38. Qe1 Qd3 39.
b3 Qb1
40. Qxb1 Bxb1 41. a3 Kf6 42. Kg1 Bc2 0-1

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.22"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A37"]
[WhiteElo "2769"]
[BlackElo "2702"]

[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. O-O e6 6. Nc3 Nge7 7. d3 O-O 8. Bd2

b6 9. a3 d5 10. Rb1 a5 11. b3 d4 12. Nb5 e5 13. b4 a4 14. Qc1 f6 15. Bh6 Bxh6
16. Qxh6 Be6 17. Qc1 Qd7 18. Qc2 Kg7 19. Rb2 g5 20. Rfb1 h6 21. bxc5 bxc5
22.
Nd2 f5 23. Nc7 Qxc7 24. Rb7 Qd6 25. Bxc6 Kg6 26. Bg2 Ra6 27. g4 Ng8 28.
gxf5+
Bxf5 29. Ne4 Bxe4 30. Bxe4+ Kh5 31. e3 Qe6 32. Kh1 Nf6 33. Qe2+ Kh4 34.
Rg1
Nxe4 35. dxe4 d3 36. Qe1 Rf3 37. Rg3 Qf6 38. Qf1 g4 39. Qg2 h5 40. Rh7 Kg5
41.
Qh3 Qh6 42. Rxh6 Rxh6 43. Qf1 Rd6 44. Rxf3 gxf3 45. h4+ Kh6 46. Qd1 d2 47.
Kh2
1-0

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.23"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2751"]

[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8.

c4
c6 9. cxd5 cxd5 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bg4 12. Rb1 Nd7 13. h3 Bh5 14. Rb5
Nb6
15. c4 Bxf3 16. Qxf3 dxc4 17. Bc2 Qd7 18. a4 g6 19. Bd2 c3 20. Qxc3 Rac8 21.
Qb3 Bb8 22. Bd1 Qxd4 23. Be3 Qg7 24. Bg4 Rc7 25. Rd1 Re8 26. a5 Rc3 27.
Qb4 Nc4
28. Bh6 Qf6 29. Rxb7 Qe5 30. f4 Qe3+ 31. Kh1 Bd6 32. Qb5 Bf8 33. Rb8 Nd6
34.
Rxe8 Nxe8 35. Bxf8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.24"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E69"]
[WhiteElo "2696"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]

[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]

[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O c6 7. Nc3 Qa5 8. e4

e5
9. h3 Nbd7 10. Re1 exd4 11. Nxd4 Ne5 12. Bf1 Re8 13. Be3 c5 14. Nf3 Nxf3+
15.
Qxf3 Be6 16. Bf4 Nd7 17. Bxd6 Ne5 18. Qe3 Rad8 19. Rad1 b6 20. a3 Nxc4 21.
Bxc4
Bxc4 22. e5 Qa6 23. Qf4 Bb3 24. Rd2 Qc8 25. Kh2 f6 26. Rde2 fxe5 27. Bxe5
Rf8
28. Qe4 Bxe5 29. Qxe5 Bc4 30. Re4 Rxf2+ 31. Kg1 Rf5 32. Qe7 Bb3 33. g4 Rf7
34.
Qh4 Rdf8 35. Re7 Qd8 36. Qg5 Qd4+ 37. R7e3 Qd2 38. Ne4 Qxb2 39. Rf3 Rxf3
0-1

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.26"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Van Wely, Loek"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B80"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2646"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]

[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e6 7. Be3 b5 8. g4 h6

9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Bb7 11. h4 b4 12. Na4 d5 13. Bh3 g5 14. hxg5 hxg5 15.
e5
Nxe5 16. Bxg5 Nc4 17. Qe2 Rg8 18. Bh4 Bh6+ 19. Kb1 Qe7 20. Rhe1 Be3 21.
Bf2
Bxf2 22. Qxf2 O-O-O 23. b3 Na3+ 24. Kb2 Kb8 25. Bf1 Rc8 26. Qh2+ Ka7 27.
Rc1
Nd7 28. c3 bxc3+ 29. Nxc3 Qb4 30. Qd2 Ka8 31. Nb1 Nc4+ 32. Bxc4 Rxc4 33.
Rxc4
Qxd2+ 34. Nxd2 dxc4 35. Nxc4 Bd5 36. Rd1 Bxc4 37. bxc4 Ne5 38. c5 Rc8 39.
Nb3
Nxf3 40. Rd6 Ne5 41. Kc3 Nxg4 42. Rxa6+ Kb7 43. Rd6 Ne5 44. Na5+ Kc7 45.
Ra6
Kd7 46. Kd4 Nc6+ 47. Nxc6 Rxc6 48. Ra8 f5 49. a4 f4 50. Kc4 Rc8 51. Rxc8
Kxc8
52. a5 Kb7 53. Kd4 e5+ 54. Ke4 Kc7 55. a6 Kc6 56. Kf3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.27"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Lautier, Joel"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A43"]
[WhiteElo "2632"]
[BlackElo "2702"]

[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. d5 d6 5. e4 e6 6. Nc3 exd5 7. cxd5 a6 8. a4 Bg4

9. Be2 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nf6 11. Qb3 Qe7 12. O-O O-O 13. a5 Nbd7 14. Bf4 Rab8
15.
Qc2 Ne8 16. Rfe1 Nc7 17. Be2 b5 18. axb6 Rxb6 19. Ra2 Rfb8 20. Bd2 Bd4 21.
Nd1
Qf6 22. Kh1 h5 23. f4 Qe7 24. Nc3 Nf6 25. Bf3 Qd7 26. Re2 Ng4 27. Bc1 Qd8
28.
g3 Nf6 29. Kg2 Nd7 30. e5 dxe5 31. f5 Qf6 32. fxg6 Qxg6 33. Be4 Qg7 34. Bf3
h4
35. Re4 f5 36. Rxh4 e4 37. Be2 Ne5 38. Rh5 Rf8 39. Bf4 Ng6 40. Bxc7 Qxc7 41.
Bc4 Kg7 42. Ne2 Qe5 43. b3 Qf6 44. Nf4 Nxf4+ 45. gxf4 Rh8 46. Rg5+ Kf8 47.
Kh1
Be3 48. Rg2 Bxf4 49. Qf2 Bd6 50. Qg1 Qe5 51. Rg6 e3 52. Re6 Qd4 53. Rg2
Bxh2
54. Rxh2 Rxe6 55. dxe6 Qe4+ 56. Qg2 Rxh2+ 57. Kxh2 Qh4+ 58. Kg1 Qe1+
59. Kh2
Qh4+ 60. Kg1 Qe1+ 61. Bf1 Ke7 62. Qe2 Qg3+ 63. Qg2 Qe1 64. Qe2 Qg3+ 65.
Qg2
1/2-1/2

[Event "Amber-blind 9th"]

[Site "Monte Carlo"]
[Date "2000.03.28"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]

[Black "Ljubojevic, Ljubomir"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E18"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2559"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2000.03.16"]
[EventType "tourn (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "MNC"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[SourceDate "2000.05.31"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 Bb7 7. Nc3 d5 8.

cxd5
exd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bf4 Nbd7 11. Qb3 c5 12. Rfd1 c4 13. Qc2 a6 14. a4 Nb8
15.
b3 cxb3 16. Qxb3 Nc6 17. Ne5 Nb4 18. Rac1 Rc8 19. Bh3 Rc7 20. Ng4 Rc6 21.
Ne3
Bc8 22. Bxc8 Rxc8 23. Be5 a5 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Nexd5 Nxd5 26. Qxd5 Qxd5
27.
Nxd5 Rxc1 28. Nxf6+ gxf6 29. Rxc1 Kg7 30. Kg2 Rd8 31. Kf3 Rxd4 32. Rc6
Rxa4 33.
Rxb6 Ra1 34. Ra6 a4 35. Kg4 Ra2 36. Kf3 Ra1 37. h4 h5 38. Kf4 Ra2 39. f3
Rxe2
40. Rxa4 1/2-1/2