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Hello dear chessfriends! I hope that despite of the Sunday you could find the time to watch the decisive game in the Dortmund Candidate tournament. And today is really the decisive day! Because today we will know the name of the Kramnik's contender. I remind that if Topalov will be able to equalize the score then the tie-break will take place not later than one hour after the end of the last final game. So let's watch the game, I am sure the today's battle promises to be very interesting. And already an opening confirms our hopes for the captured fighting. Topalov "served from the left hand" - 1.d4 and further the sharp Zaemisch variant in Nimzo indian, which promises the very sharp conflict. More often Black plays on the 4th move: 4...d5 or 4...c5. The plan with 6...Ne8 met in the game Mikenas - Taimanov, USSR, 1957, which lasted so 7.e4 b6 8.Bd3 Ba6 9.f4 Nc6 10.e5 f5 with the sharp play. After 10.e5 White has two Bishops and the dynamical position, but his pawn structure is rather weak, and Black has no the real weknesses, but his position is rather passive. The play of White is connected with the activity at the center and on the K-side, Black hopes for his stable position and for the counter-play on the Q-side. After 12...c5 Black is trying to keep the contender on the distance - he aimed at c4-pawn, began to undermine the white pawn center (after f6). At all the battle becomes more and more tense with every new move. After 14...d5 the battle for the center got the culmination, it looks as the forced play will begin soon. And indeed after 15.Nf4 Nc7 the mass exchanges at the center followed and seems Black was well prepared for them, at least now after 19...Nd5 he has no big problems. Moreover after 20.Nd5 ed it's possible to say that already Black has a slightly better position because of the pawn's advantage on the Q-side and because of that his Knight has better perspectives than the white Bishop. Though the position is still equal. It was attractively to spoil the pawn structure of Black's K-side and after 23...Qg6 to exchange the Queens, but how to play for a win after that? 24...h6 - looks right, if White has dark-squared Bishop, then Black has to have his pieces on the light squares and the pawns on the dark, but maybe it was better 24...a6, taking the b5-square under the control. The struggle is still sharp and seems it will be such till the end. Seems White can't to break the Black's defence without the pawn storm on the K-side. 36...Rb7 - has the time for the counter-play(b5) come? Yes it has - 39...b5, but maybe it was better to start when the Rook of White was on the g4-square? 43...Qe4 - the crucial point, but it's difficult for White to win such ending - the King of black plays an active role then. 45...g5 - seems no more miracles. Deserved attention 47...Re7. 48...gf4 was more exact, and now after 48...Re7 49.Ke1 the struggle became sharper. Though and now Black has the draw. After 52.Rb2 of course impossible 52...Rd5?? in view of 53.Rd2! After 52...Re8 the draw is very probable. Yeah, Leko got the draw and became the winner of the Candidate tournament! |