The time control for the regular games is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting after move 61 has been made.
Meanwhile, says IM Malcolm Pein, the psychological warfare has begun. Silvio Danailov, the challenger’s manager “launched the first broadside by insisting that his man would not accept draw offers from Anand under any circumstances. During the pre-match jousting the Bulgarian camp proposed the contest be played under Sofia rules which forbid draw offers. Anand declined so it looks like Topalov has unilaterally declared he will follow them.”
Pein says it makes some sense for 35-year-old Topalov to keep the games going for as long as practicable and try to tire the 41-year-old Anand. Topalov also enjoys home advantage. “Anand and Topalov have enjoyed a good relationship over the years so hopefully there will be no scandals,” Pein adds. “Topalov’s last title contest ended in defeat and enormous acrimony when he accused Vladimir Kramnik of cheating at their match held at Elista in 2006 in what became known as ‘Toiletgate.’ ”
In classical play, their head-to-head score is 11 wins, 10 losses and 23 draws in favor of the Bulgarian.
Game of the week. Pein, who annotates our featured partie, recently paid tribute to the seventh world champ, Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov, who passed away on March 27 at the age of 89 in Moscow. In a series of articles, he reminded the chess world how great a player the Russian was.
Smyslov, Pein notes, challenged for the world title four times and on each occasion faced Mikhail Botvinnik, defeating him at the third attempt in 1957. Their rivalry “was intense over the board but had none of the rancor or political overtones of the Kasparov vs. Karpov battles. It took place entirely during the Communist era. The database shows they played over one hundred times. I see a certain parallel with the KvK battles as Smyslov was 10 years younger than Botvinnik and came into their first head to head match in 1954 with little experience in match play and started very badly. It was the best of 24 games and Smyslov was 0.5-3.5 behind before he won game seven and then demolished Botvinnik’s [favorite line in the] French Defense in the ninth.”
White: V. Smyslov
Black: M. Botvinnik
World Championship Moscow 1954
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 (5…Bxc3+ 6.bxc3) 6.b4! cxd4 7.Qg4 (White exploits the absence of the bishop from the kingside) 7…Ne7 8.bxa5 dxc3 9.Qxg7 Rg8 10.Qxh7 Nd7 (10…Nbc6 11.Nf3 Qc7 is now considered best) 11.Nf3 Nf8 12.Qd3 Qxa5 13.h4! (In the absence of any counterplay for Black a further pawn advance is a threat but this also captures a square for the bishop) 13…Bd7 14.Bg5 (Preventing 0-0-0) 14…Rc8 15.Nd4 Nf5 (15…Qb6 16.Be3 Qb2 17.Nb3 Ba4 18.Bc1!) 16.Rb1 Rc4 17.Nxf5 exf5 18.Rxb7 Re4+ 19.Qxe4! dxe4 20.Rb8+ Bc8 21.Bb5+ Qxb5 22.Rxb5 Ne6 23.Bf6 Rxg2 24.h5 Ba6 25.h6! and 1-0.
Puzzler.
White — Ka4, Ba6, Nb8, Nc6, Qc1, pawns on e3 and h4
Black — Kd5, Nd6, Rf7, Bh7, Rh3, pawns on b3, c4, c7, d4, e6 and f3
White to play and mate in four.
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