The M-Tel Masters is held every year since 2005 in Sofia, Bulgaria with six to grandmasters playing a double round robin. Veselin Topalov won the first three in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2008, the winner was Vassily Ivanchuk. Topalov came in second. In 2009, the winner was Alexei Shirov. He had 3 wins and 7 draws (6.5/10.0). Topalov was a half point behind with 3 wins, 6 draws, and 1 loss to Magnus Carlsen. If Topalov had drawn with Carlsen he would have tied for first. If he had won that game, he would have been in clear first. However, Carlsen scored 6.0/10.0 and tied for second with Topalov. Carlsen's only loss was to Shirov. Had Carlsen just drawn that game with Shirov, he would have been in clear first. The game shown from M-Tel is Ivanchuk-Topalov. Veselin Topalov is a grandmaster from Bulgaria who was born March 15, 1975. He won the FIDE World Championship Tournament in 2005 in San Luis, Argentina. He lost a title match to Vladimir Kramnik in 2006. Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine was born March 18, 1969. He was the World Blitz champion of 2007-2008. The opening played is the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense. The line chosen is the not so benign B99, which features 6.Bg5.
demetrios18, I wanted to discuss what you wrote. However, I cannot understand what any one of your sentences refers to or says. I don't know how Fischer relates to this game or the players. I cannot see how Topalov never lost to Kasparov. One of Kasparov's greatest games was a victory against Topalov after a beautiful king hunt. If you simply admire and root for Topalov, that is a fan's right. Your statements here do not do justice to your support of Topalov.
Thank you for the game references
hicetnunc, 11...g5 may be good for specialists such as Daniel King. It is risky, in my opinion. White has 12.fxg5 and 12.e5. There is quite a bit to these lines. I could not really explain them here. Some comments are just suggestions. For 12.fxg5 see S.Matthews-M.Houna,Thessaloniki OL 1984,1-0,40 and L.Evans-L.Portisch,San Antonio 1972, 1/2-1/2,41. For 12.e5 see B.Grabarczyk-G.Ginsburg, Darmstadt 2001, 1-0,36 and D.Bryson-B.Hartman,Thessaloniki OL 1984, 1-0,35.
In your notes, you write that 11...g5 is risky for black, but you don't really explain why. I thought 11...g5 was the main line, and white hasn't shown any clear way to make progress against it, or has he ?
josef5555 asks, "Who is Kwartler?" It is GreenLaser. In my preparation I make sure to credit the analysis of others and distinguish it from mine. As I add more analysis in ChessBase, the lines are automatically reordered. I might reorder lines as I analyze. I need to keep track of the analysts with credit. Some writers are less careful about credit. For example, a writer can mention a name once and let the reader get the impression that the rest is the writer's analysis when the mentioned name deserves credit.
White should have drawn this game after 35...Ke8
Who is Kwartler?
Yes, Shirov's book is "Fire on Board" and he added a second volume. I think the reference to that was not due to confusion but admiration for this struggle.
"Fire on Board" was Shirov.
i have great ad.miration for Topalov,he played here superbly.but ivanchuk matched move for move.great stuff.
Whoa... this game had 'FIRE ON BOARD" man. I really respect Topalov for his tactical play and calculation. Ivanchuk is great too, but I still feel that Topalov can really give Anand a hard time in their upcoming world championship match. =)
damn ! Topalov is really not shy when it comes to push pawns forward !
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