Not Too Late to Castle

Garry Kimovich Kasparov – Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov

Champions Showdown Chess960 2018; blitz match game 5 (5+5); Saint Louis, September 13, 2018

1k6/p1p3r1/1pn2rpp/2q1p3/2N1P2P/1P1P2R1/P1P3Q1/1K3R2 b - - 0 33

Position after 33. Rg1-f1

Kasparov’s “fast and furious” reaction was helped by Topalov’s lack of time in the fifth blitz game: 33. ... Rgf7? After 33. ... Rf4! White could have done very little to avoid a draw. 34. Rxf6 Rxf6 35. Rxg6 Rxg6 36. Qxg6 b5 37. Ne3 Nd4. Black judges that the Queen ending a Pawn down (37. ... Qxe3 38. Qxc6) is equally lost, but maybe it might have offered the best prospects for complications. 38. Qg8+! Kasparov abstains from playing 38. Qxh6, going instead for the simpler way. 38. ... Kb7 39. Qd5+ Qxd5 40. Nxd5 Kc6 41. Ne7+ Kd6 42. Ng8 h5 43. Nf6 Nf3 44. Nxh5 Nxh4 45. b4 c5 46. a3 Nf3 47. Kb2 Nd4 48. Ng3 cxb4 49. axb4 Nc6 50. Kc3 a6 51. Nf5+ Kd7 52. Ne3 Nd4 53. Nf1 Ne2+ 54. Kb2 Nd4 55. Nd2 Kd6 56. Nb3 Ne6 57. c3 Kc6 58. Kc2 Kd6 59. Kd2 Nd8 60. d4 Nc6 61. d5 Nd8 62. Kd3 Nb7 63. c4 (63. Na5! Nd8 64. c4+−) 63. ... bxc4+ 64. Kxc4 Kc7 65. Nc5 Nd6+ 66. Kd3 Kb6 67. Nd7+ Kb5 68. Nxe5 Kxb4 69. Nd7 a5 70. e5 Nc8 71. d6 a4 72. Nf6 Na7 73. d7 Nc6 74. e6 a3

75. Nd5+? What a pity that White misses here the elegant finish: 75. d8=Q! Nxd8 76. e7 a2 77. exd8=Q a1=Q 78. Qb6+ Ka3 79. Qa5+ Kb2 80. Qb4+ Ka2 81. Kc2 with unavoidable mate. And, furthermore, 75. e7 a2 76. d8=Q a1=Q 77. Qb6+ Ka3 78. Qa6+ Kb2 79. Qxa1+ Kxa1 80. e8=Q would have likewise won, if more prosaically. 75. .. Kc5 76. d8=Q Nxd8 77. e7 a2 78. exd8=Q a1=Q 79. Nc3 Qf1+ 80. Kc2 Qg2+ 81. Kb3 Qb7+ 82. Ka3 Qa6+ 83. Na4+ Kc4 84. Qd7 Qa5 85. Qg4+ Kb5 86. Qd7+ Kc4 87. Qc6+ Kd4 88. Qf6+ Ke4 ½ : ½.

Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov – Garry Kimovich Kasparov

Champions Showdown Chess960 2018; blitz match game 6 (5+5); Saint Louis, September 13, 2018

brkqnbrn/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BRKQNBRN w KQkq - 0 1

Position 802

1. e4 d5 2. e5 c5? Sacrifice or oversight? 3. b3? With 3. Qh5 White would have won at least a Pawn for no apparent compensation. Maybe it wasn’t irreparable, who knows. 3. ... e6 4. f4 f5 5. Nf3 Nf7 6. d4 g5 7. Nf2 g4 8. Ne1 b6 9. Qd2 Nc7 10. g3 h5 11. 0-0-0 Qd7 12. c4 b5! 13. cxb5 c4 14. bxc4 dxc4 15. Bxc4 Bd5 16. Qd3 Nxb5 17. Nc2 Be7 18. Bxd5 Qxd5 19. Qb3 Nc7 20. Qa4 Rb5. Kasparov played with great energy, seizing a powerful initiative at the cost of a Pawn. Now Topalov ought to have played 21. Nd3 (21. ... Ra5 22. Qb3 0-0!), but instead falls under the pressure of his great opponent: 21. Bc3?

21. ... 0-0! Kasparov must have castled with much satisfaction! A similar, and similarly strong, way was 21. ... Ng5! 22. fxg5 (otherwise ... Ng5-f3 follows) 22. ... Qc6! with the deadly threat of ... Rb5-b1+. 22. Nd3 (22. Rd3 Rfb8−+) 22. .. Qc6! 23. Bb4 (23. Bb2 Nd5−+) 23. ... Nd5 24. Bxe7 Rb1+ 25. Kxb1 Nc3+ 0 : 1. For if 26. Kc1 then 26. ... Qxa4 27. Bxf8 Qxa2! and finis.

Garry Kimovich Kasparov. Photo © Lennart Ootes.