The Far Game

Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov – Shakhriyar Hamid oglu Mamedyarov
5th Gashimov Memorial; Shamkir, April 22, 2018
Spanish Game C83

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Be3 Be7 10. c3 0-0 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Qxd2 Na5 13. Bc2 Nc4. “A very dangerous manœuvre, as White can evade the exchange of his Bishop and the Black Kt does not get back in time for the defence of the K side, where White’s attack becomes virulent. He should have played 13. ... c5 followed by ... Na5-c6”, Edward Lasker wrote in his book “Chess Strategy”, New York, Dover Publications, 1959, p. 178. It’s an emotional assessment, but well illustrates how a human feels when he has to play without computer assistance. 14. Qd3 g6 15. Bh6 Nxb2 16. Qe2 Re8 17. Nd4 Bd7. Topalov must have deeply studied – probably when he was still a boy – an old classic: 17. ... Nc4 18. f4 Bd7 19. Rae1 c5 20. e6 Bf6 21. Qg4 cxd4 22. f5 d3 23. Bxd3 Bxe6 24. fxe6 Qb6+ 25. Kh1 1 : 0 Yates – Gunsberg, Chester 1914. It’s interesting to note how quickly Gunsberg destroyed his still defensible position after 20. e6, so one could argue that an easier way to neutralise White’s aggressive purposes may be 17. ... Bf8 18. Bxf8 Rxf8 19. f4 c5 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Bxg6 hxg6 22. Qxb2 Rb8 23. Rad1 Qb6 24. Qc2 Kg7 25. Rf3 c4+ 26. Kh1 b4 27. Rg3 Rf5 28. Rxg6+ Kxg6 29. g4 Qe3 30. gxf5+ Kh6 31. Qg2 Rg8 32. Qxg8 Qf3+ 33. Kg1 Qxd1+ ½ : ½ Romanovsky – Tolush, 11th USSR Chess Championship Semifinal, Leningrad 1938. 18. f4 c5 19. Nf3 Qb6 20. Qf2 d4 21. Bg5. Topalov sacrifices a second Pawn in order to fuel his initiative on the Kingside. 21. ... dxc3 22. Qh4 c4+ 23. Kh1 Bf8 24. f5 Nd3 25. e6! Bxe6! Not 25. ... fxe6?? on account of 26. fxg6 hxg6 27. Bf6 Bg7 28. Ng5 forcing mate in short order. 26. fxe6 Rxe6 27. Rad1 Rae8 28. Bxd3 cxd3 29. Rxd3. White is up a Bishop for three Pawns, but has no clear way to compensate for Black’s Pawn preponderance on the Queenside. 29. ... Re4!? 29. ... b4(!)∓ was probably stronger, as the text allows White to redeploy his forces on the Kingside in a more effective way. 30. Bf4! Be7 31. Qg3 b4 32. Ng5 Bxg5 33. Bxg5 Qe6 34. h3 Qe5 35. Kh2 Qxg3+ 36. Kxg3 h6!? This may appear superfluous, but indeed it is quite necessary to avoid trouble on the back rank. 37. Bxh6 Re1

38. Rf6! Topalov grabbed the initiative, but it’s still unclear to what extent he can exploit it. 38. ... R1e6 39. Rf2 Re2. 39. ... a5 40. h4 f5 was still quite tough. 40. Rd5 Rxf2? It often happens that the 40th move is also the losing move! 41. Kxf2 f6 42. Be3 1 : 0. White’s Queenside Pawns are doomed.

Topalov vs. Mamedyarov. Photo: Chess-News.ru.