Golden handshake

Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov – Garry Kimovich Kasparov

Champions Showdown Chess960 2018; blitz match game 7 (5+5); Saint Louis, September 14, 2018

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Position 833

Kasparov’s hopes for revenge immediately fell down as he realised with horror that he had prepared for a wrong starting position with Rook and Queen flipped! Such was his surprise he was barely able to forgive himself for such carelessness: 1. f4 b6 2. b3 f5 3. e3 e6 4. g4 Bf6 5. Bxf6 Nxf6 6. g5 Nd5. In the eight blitz game Topalov continued instead 6. ... Ne4 7. Ng3 g6 8. Be2 0-0-0 9. 0-0-0 Nf7 10. Nf3 Qg7 with approximate equality, Kasparov – Topalov, Champions Showdown Chess960 2018, Saint Louis 2018, blitz match game 8. 7. Bf3 Nf7 8. Ng3 g6 9. Qg2 Bc6 10. c4 Ne7 11. d4 b5. The rust, too, made its appearance. 12. Nd3 Qg7 13. 0-0 bxc4 14. bxc4 0-0 15. Nc5 1 : 0. And Kasparov resigned in disgust, saving himself from a long suffering defeat.

Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (left) and Garry Kimovich Kasparov (right) suddenly realising of having studied for half a hour a wrong starting position. Photo: Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

Garry Kimovich Kasparov – Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov

Champions Showdown Chess960 2018; blitz match game 8 (5+5); Saint Louis, September 14, 2018

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Position after 24. ... Bc6-e4

The eight blitz game turned out to be another fata morgana; in the position of the diagram Kasparov makes up a brilliant Pawn sacrifice to get himself out of an uncomfortable situation: 25. Rd6! Rxd6 26. exd6 Qxd6? Black falls straight into the trap. He had to play instead 26. ... Rxd6 27. Qe5 Qc7 28. Qc3 e5 with quite an unclear game, despite his extra Pawn. 27. Rd1! Qxf4. After 27. ... Bd5 28. Qxd6+ Rxd6 29. e4! (the pointe) 29. ... fxe4 30. c4 White wins the Bishop. 28. Rxd8+ Kc7 29. exf4 Kxd8

30. Kc1?? A dramatic blind spot. Kasparov misses 30. Bh5! (Δ Bh5xg6) 30. ... e5 (30. ... gxh5 31. g6+−) 31. Bxg6 exf4 32. Kc1! queening by force. 30. ... Ke7 31. Bc4 Bd5 32. Bxd5 exd5 33. c4! ½ : ½. Paradoxically speaking, White’s last move is conceptually much more difficult to spot than the one he missed.

Garry Kimovich Kasparov – Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov

Champions Showdown Chess960 2018; blitz match game 10 (5+5); Saint Louis, September 14, 2018

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Position 833

Thus in the end Kasparov lost the match against an old frenemy who, unlike him, is still in career, but, nevertheless, he still managed to convince himself and everyone that the time spent studying and playing chess has not been in vain. 1. f4 b6 2. g4 f6. The ninth blitz game soon drifted off into oblivion: 2. ... f5 3. gxf5 Rxf5 4. b3 e6 5. e3 Bf6 6. Ng3 Ra5 7. a4 Bxa1 8. Rxa1 b5 9. Bf3 Bxf3 10. Nxf3 bxa4 11. Qg2 Nf7 12. 0-0 g5 13. Ne4 g4 14. Nd4 Qg6 15. c3 c5? 16. f5! exf5 17. Nxf5 Qe6? 18. Rxa4 Rxa4 19. Nxc5 1 : 0 Topalov – Kasparov, Champions Showdown Chess960 2018, Saint Louis 2018, blitz match game 9. 3. b3 Nf7 4. e3 e5 5. Ng3 g6 6. Be2 Bb7 7. Nd3 e4 8. Nf2 d5 9. d3 Nfd6? Safer and sounder seems to be 9. ... exd3 10. Bxd3 Be7 eventually followed by castling on the a-side. 10. dxe4 dxe4 11. 0-0-0 f5!? After 11. ... Ng7 12. Qg2 f5 13. Qh3! Black’s position would be very embarrassing, so Topalov decides to try his luck by sacrificing a Pawn. 12. gxf5 gxf5. Not 12. ... Nxf5?? on account of 13. Bc4 and Black’s Queen is trapped!

13. Nxf5! Qxg1. White’s pretty pointe was 13. ... Nxf5 14. Bc4!! Qxg1 15. Be6 mate. 14. Nxd6+ Nxd6 15. Rxg1 Bh4 16. Bg4+ Kd8 17. Nh3 Ke7 18. Ng5? The only major inaccuracy by Kasparov. Best (and very strong) was 18. f5! adding a powerful sense to the h3-Knight’s range. 18. ... Bf2 19. Nxh7 Bxe3+ 20. Kb1 Rxf4 21. Be5!? Now White gambles a bit. Objectively speaking, he ought to have played for balance with 21. Rdf1 (21. ... Bf2 22. Be5 Rf7 23. Ng5 Rff8 24. Ne6 Rf7=), but, as they say, audentes fortuna iuvat. 21. ... Rf7! 22. Rg3 Bh6? (22. ... Rg8!∓) 23. Rc3!+− Nb5 24. Rh3 Rg8 25. Rd7+ Ke8 26. Nf6+ Rxf6 27. Bxf6 Rg6 28. Bh5 Kxd7 29. Bxg6 Bf4 30. Bf5+ Kd6 31. c4 Na3+ 32. Kb2 e3 33. Bd3 1 : 0. “Nice to finish with a couple of wins, although the match was already decided for my opponent and my congratulations to him. At least no one is telling me ‘stick to politics, Kasparov!’”, Kasparov eventually tweeted.

Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (left) vs. Garry Kimovich Kasparov (right). Photo: Lennart Ootes.