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Both opponents share second place a point behind Anand. They both like playing creative complicated chess and we'll sure witness a tense fight till the very end.
1.c4!? e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d3!? Most popular is 4.g3 of course, but this supposedly quiet move is full of poison. Carlsen is intending to play reversed Boleslavsky variation.
4... d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Carlsen decided to surprise Topalov in the opening, inspired by the success of his game as Black with Alekhine Defense. Reversed Sicilian, White being a tempo up in a line supposedly unfamiliar to Veselin is a tricky choice. Morozevich played so against Grishchuk.
6... Nb6 7.Be2 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.a4 Be6 10.Be3 We are already in the unexplored territory. There are only few games that have reached this position... ( Interesting is 10.a5!? Nd7 and now 11. a6 or 11. d4 as in 'real' Boleslavsky Classical Sicilian.)
10... Nd7 Topalov realises danger of allowing a5-a6 with tempo and deploys his knight on time. The other option was a7-a5, but that would give excellent outpost fro white knight on b5. Apparently now Carlsen can push d4, which would be a dream for any Sicilian player, but he should be careful because some of the squares on his queenside are weakened, as GM Alex Yermolinski warned in his excellent book. Even though this opening is classified as English, we are commenting as if it Classical Sicilian, because all the rules and strategy apply in this position. Update: Magnus Carlsen has confirmed his participation in the FIDE Grand Prix series! Some other players have canceled in the last moment, stay tuned for news.
11.d4!? exd4 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 13.Qxd4 Both Nc5 and Bc5 are perfectly fine for black. (13.Bxd4 Nc5 targeting weak b3 14.Be3 c6 is roughly equal.)
13... c6 Square d5 will have to be taken under control, and Topalov does that immediately. He delays moving a piece to c5 in order to keep more options at hand.
14.a5 Nc5 15.Qe5!? A clever obstructive move. Topalov can win the pair of bishops with 15... Nd3, still maybe the best is to insist on the queens exchange with 15...Qb8. (15.Qxd8 Rfxd8 16.Rad1 b5!)
15... Nb3!? (15... Nd3 16.Bxd3 (16.Qg3!? Bh4 and Nxb2 next (16... Nxb2? 17.Bh6)) 16... Qxd3 17.Rfd1 Qc4 18.Qc7! with small advantage for white)
16.Ra4 The knight could end trapped or black can win pawn on a5 :) 16...Qb8 still looking good.
16... Bd6 Now after 17. Qh5 black will have a wide variety of plans.
17.Qh5 Sample line - 17...g6 18. Qh6 Nxa5 19. Rd1! and black is in trouble as white is threatening to take on d6 or a5, plus e4-e5 is in the air. So perhaps 18...Be5 first, but then white earns tempo with 19. Rd1 and position remains unclear.
17... g6 18.Qh6 Be5! (18... Nxa5? 19.Rd1 Qc7 (19... b6 20.e5) 20.Rxd6 Qxd6 21.Rxa5)
19.Bg5!? Probably intending Qh4-Bf6 after the black queen moves. If black slips f7-f6 in, then bishop goes back to e3 and white plays f2-f4 next. 19. Rd1 looked good.
19... Qc7 20.Be3 Odd...he is changing his mind...But this is clear waste of two moves and black can comfortably grab the a5 pawn. ( Consistent with Bg5 was 20.Qh4!? Nxa5 21.f4!? Qb6+ 22.Kh1 Bg7 with nice perspective for Carlsen. (22... Qxb2? 23.fxe5))
20... Nxa5 21.f4 Bg7 22.Qh4 The best chance is to play for f4-f5 and attack on the kingside. However, 22...b5 secures safe outpost for bishop on c4.
22... Bb3!? Idea is Nc4 to win the pair of bishops.
23.Rd4!? Excellent :) We could expect moves like this from Carlsen. The daring exchange sacrifice is probably not sufficient for deadly attack over the dark squares, but black should be extremely cautious after 23...Bxd4. We know that Topalov prefers not to defend, so maybe he will simply ignore all this and play 23...Rad8.
23... Rad8! As expected! Small psychological battle ongoing over the board. Instead of grabbing the exchange, which would force him to a long and careful defence, Topalov is making practical decision to trade some more pieces. After all, he is pawn ahead.
24.e5 Rxd4 25.Bxd4 c5! (25... Rd8 26.Qf2 (26.Bxa7? b6) 26... b6 27.Ne4 c5 28.Bc3 Nc6)
26.Be3 f6! Topalov is playing all the best moves. c6-c5 limited scope of the darksquared bishop and prepares majority advance on the queenside. f7-f6 is striking the forehead of the white's pawn chain. The main danger for black was knight established on f6 or d6 and Topalov is deterring it from happening.
27.Nb5!? Carlsen is still putting up a fight. He is always playing the moves which are most unpleasant for opponents, giving them a chance to slip and make a mistake.
27... Qd8! 28. Bxc5 fxe5! with idea Rxf4, but 29. Qxd8 Rxd8 30. fxe5 forces Topalov to work hard for a full point. 27...Qb6!? might have been easier for black.
28.f5!? (28.Bxc5 fxe5 29.Qxd8 Rxd8 30.fxe5 Bxe5 31.Bxa7 Rd2)
28... fxe5 29.Bg5 Qb6! 30.f6 c4+ 31.Kh1 Qxb5 Carlsen has 29 minutes left, Topalov 16. Now 32. fxg7 Rxf1+ 33. Bxf1 Qd5! gives advantage for Topalov.
32.fxg7 Rxf1+ 33.Bxf1 Kxg7? A careless moment, allowing Carlsen to move 34. Bh6+ and Qd8 with lots of counterplay. (33... Qd5 was better, because it takes d8 under control and threatens Qd1.)
34.Bd8! Carlsen found it! The fact that Na5 might be hanging/deflecting queen at some moment, might be of crucial importance for white to save the game.
34... Nc6?? Incredible blunder!! Topalov didn't even think for so long...Carlsen now has a forced checkmate, we just have to wait and see if he finds it. (34... Qd5 35.Qe7+ Kg8 36.Qe8+ would be a draw after perpetual check.)
35.Qf6+ First step in the right direction....
35... Kg8 36.Qe6+ Kf8 37.Bg5! And Topalov resigned! Another fantastic comeback by Magnus Carlsen! You can never know with him, the game is being played until it's over :) Last year Topalov resigned against Carlsen in an equal position, and in this tournament he lost both games to the same opponent. Carlsen is again only half a point behind Vishy Anand, and has wonderful chances to fight for the first place.
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