World Championship 2010

[Arshad Ali]

And now not 43. ... b3 because of 44.Rc7+. Analysis a la Irving Chernev.

[John Saunders]

I was just giving the engine assessment to answer a question. Personally I prefer to listen to GMs analysing online rather than following with a computer. I'm not entirely sure whether I believe the computers here, though there are various tactical ideas flying around and they are usually pretty good at these. Very easy to go wrong in this sort of position, for either player.

[LozCooper]

'Stockfish' thought Anand would have had a very healthy advantage after 40 Re4 or perhaps 40 Re2, but thinks the current position (after 42 Re4) is no better than level. 40 Rh8+ does look as though it let Topalov out of gaol. It does seem strange that Anand now plays Re4 when it would surely have been better to play it when the black king was on the back rank.

Was 40 Rh8+ a rushed move cuz of time pressure? Bizarrely Crafty thinks white's advantage is bigger now than it was then but I was certainly happier when the king was on the back rank!

[IM Jack Rudd]

I'd rather have the rooks than the queen in a position like this. Mind you, I did once make three positional queen sacrifices in the same tournament.

[John Saunders]

A minute ago Larry Christiansen and Ronen Har-Zvi were discussing the position after 44 Nf4 - Larry thought he would prefer to be White, and Ronen preferred Black! But they were surprised by Topalov's 44...Qa1+ which they both thought was inferior to ...Qc1+. Is Topa in trouble? Maybe.

Unfortunately I didn't start watching until after the 40th move, so I can't answer your question, Loz.

[Arshad Ali]

White to make his 46th. In a rated game with the clock ticking away I would now be panicking at the sight of black's advanced a- and b- pawns. I don't have nerves of steel and veins of ice.

[John Saunders]

Absolutely right, Arshad. I'm starting to feel nervous on behalf of the players. This is a tremendous game and, without listening to the GMs or looking at silicon analysis, I confess I wouldn't have a clue what was going on. I can strongly recommend listening in to Larry C and Ronen H as they are looking at some amazing lines with pawn races on opposite sides of the board. Ronen just put a question to Larry which came up on the forum the other day. "Have you heard of Stockfish?". Larry hadn't, and Ronen explained that Stockfish was one of the best analysis engines, and that it gave Anand as winning after 46 h5. I still can't see why.

[IM Jack Rudd]

Hmmm. 48.Nd5+ looks as if it could be awkward for black to meet.

[John Saunders]

Hmmm. 48.Nd5+ looks as if it could be awkward for black to meet.

Yes, that's what the guys on ICC are saying. Apparently 48 Re6 is a bit useful as well. Larry Christiansen is discussing the book by Keres and Kotov called 'The Art of Middlegame' which used to be a Penguin but is now published by Dover, I think. He is remembering how good the adjournment analysis was in the old days (though 'thanking God' that they don't have to do it any more!).

[Arshad Ali]

Larry Christiansen is discussing the book by Keres and Kotov called 'The Art of Middlegame' which used to be a Penguin but is now published by Dover, I think. He is remembering how good the adjournment analysis was in the old days (though 'thanking God' that they don't have to do it any more!).

On a sidenote, the book is worth buying just because of the chapter by Keres where he analyses a handful of his adjourned games. Off the top of my head, games against Fairhurst, Szapiel .... I've found small errors in some of the lines using an engine but it's amazing how well the analysis holds up in our silicon age. Meticulous work by Keres.

[Jonathan Bryant]

Can anybody help a poor fool without analysis engine or GM commentary understand what's going on?

[IM Jack Rudd]

Vishy's trying to set up a lawnmower mate. The best defence against it is probably 53...Nb5.

[John Saunders]

Can anybody help a poor fool without analysis engine or GM commentary understand what's going on?

In the position after 53 Rd6, it seems White must be winning because the black king cannot escape the attentions of all three of White's pieces, while the black pawns aren't far enough advanced to do any good. For us sub-GMs it's still tough finding the best moves, but opinion is that Anand should close out the win. He's a little short of time - 5 minutes for 7 moves - but they reckon it's a bolt-on win.

[John Saunders]

GM Har-Zvi says that Topalov's mistakes were 42...b4 instead of 42...Kb6, and 44...Qa1+ instead of 44...Qc1+. He also thinks Topalov played too quickly at this stage of the game. Anand was criticised for being "careless" when he played 40 Rh8+, letting the king out of gaol on the back rank.

[IM Jack Rudd]

53...Kb7 surprises me a bit. 54. Nd5 in response, perhaps?