Number two is world champ Viswanathan Anand of India who gained eight points from his match in Bonn with Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik, who lost 13 points and is now at number eight.
Here are the world’s top 20, with the players’ birth years in italics:
1 Topalov, Veselin BUL 2796 1975
2 Anand, Viswanathan IND 2791 1969
3 Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2779 1969
4 Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2776 1990
5 Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2771 1977
6 Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2761 1987
7 Jakovenko, Dmitry RUS 2760 1983
8 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2759 1975
9 Leko, Peter HUN 2751 1979
10 Movsesian, Sergei SVK 2751 1978
11 Aronian, Levon ARM 2750 1982
12 Shirov, Alexei ESP 2745 1972
13 Wang, Yue CHN 2739 1987
14 Grischuk, Alexander RUS 2733 1983
15 Gelfand, Boris ISR 2733 1968
16 Ponomariov, Ruslan UKR 2726 1983
17 Kamsky, Gata USA 2725 1974
18 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar AZE 2724 1985
19 Gashimov, Vugar AZE 2723 1986
20 Svidler, Peter RUS 2723 1976
At the Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing, China, Topalov finished a point and a half ahead of the field, winning four games — thumping Aronian and Ivanchuck, and twice scalping Svidler! — and drawing six.
Game of the week. The Chess Informant has just released its latest edition, and it voted Toppy’s amazing victory against bitter rival Kramnik in Wijk aan Zee as the “best theoretical novelty” of Vol. 102.
Here is that game with annotations by Polish GM Michal Krasenkow
White: V. Topalov (2780)
Black: V. Kramnik (2799)
Queen’s Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
Wijk aan Zee 2008
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7 12.Nf7!? (a novelty) Kf7 13.e5 Nd5 [13…Rf8!? 14.ef6 Nf6 15.Be5 Kg8 16.Qc2 Qe7 17.Rae1 with compensation] 14.Ne4 Ke7 15.Nd6 Qb6 16.Bg4 Raf8 [16…Rhg8!? 17.Qc2 Nf8] 17.Qc2 Qd4? 18.Qg6 Qg4 19.Qg7 Kd8 20.Nb7 Kc8 21.a4! (with initiative) b4 22.Rac1 c3 [22…Rfg8!? 23.Qf7 Rf8 24.Nd6 Kc7 25.Qg6 Rhg8 26.Qb1 and White is slightly better] 23.bc3 b3? [23…Rfg8 and White is slightly better; 23…bc3!? with the idea 24.Rb1 c2] 24.c4! Rfg8 25.Nd6 Kc7 26.Qf7 Rf8 27.cd5? [27.h3! Rf7 28.hg4 Nf4 29.Nf7 Ne2 30.Kh2 Nc1 31.Rc1 b2 (31…Rb8 32.Rb1 Nc5 33.f4 gf4 34.Bf4 Rf8 35.Be3 and White is winning) 32.Rb1 Rb8 33.f4! gf4 34.Bf4 Rf8 (34…Nc5 35.Nh6 Na4 36.g5 and White is winning) 35.Rb2 Rf7 36.Kg3 and White is winning] Rf7 28.Rc6 Kb8 29.Nf7 Re8? [29…Qe2!! 30.Rc3! (30.Nh8? Qf1! 31.Kf1 b2; 30.Rb1? Qa2) b2 31.Rb3 Ka8 32.Nh8 Nc5! 33.Rb5! (33.Rb4?! a5!; 33.Rb2 Qb2 34.de6 Ne6) Na4 (33…a6 34.Rc5 Qf1 35.Kf1 b1Q 36.Ke2 Qe4 37.Kf1 equal) 34.Rb2 Qb2 35.de6 Qb6 36.e7 Qe6 unclear] 30.Nd6 Rh8 31.Rc4! (and White is winning) Qe2 32.de6 Nb6 33.Rb4 Ka8 34.e7 [34.Rb3 Qg4 35.e7 Qe6 36.Rc3 Qe7 37.Rfc1 and White is winning] Nd5 35.Rb3 Ne7 36.Rfb1 Nd5 37.h3 h5 [37…Nf4 38.Bf4 gf4 39.Nb5! Qe5 40.Rc1 Rb8 (40…a6 41.Nc7 Ka7 42.Rc6; 40…Kb7 41.Nc7 Kc8 42.Na6 Kd7 43.Rb7 Kd6 44.Nb4) 41.Nc7 Qc7 42.Rc7 Rb3 43.Rc4 f3 44.g4! and White is winning] 38.Nf7 Rc8 39.e6 a6 [39…Nf4 40.Ng5] 40.Ng5 h4 41.Bd6 Rg8 42.R3b2 Qd3 43.e7 Nf6 44.Be5 Nd7 45.Ne6 1-0.
Puzzler.
White — pawn on d2, Ka7, Bb5, Nc6, Bd6, Nf5, Rh5
Black — pawns on c5 and d3, Na6, Kd5
White to play and mate in three moves.
Send your answers to “64” c/o Marianas Variety, P.O. Box 500231, Saipan MP 96950. Our fax no. is 670-234-9271. You can also e-mail idlasts @lycos.com or [email protected].
