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Once again Kamsky has White while being a point behind. The first time he leveled the score. Would he be able to repeat that? Topalov sure drew some conclusions from his first ever defeat against Gata. The Bulgarian creates so many problems for his opponents that finding the best moves exhausts them and they tend to make incredible mistakes because of the fatigue. This has already happened twice to the American in this match. Another fierce chess battle is awaiting. Stay tuned at 14.00 CET.
1.e4 c6 No more Ruy Lopez - Kamsky proved to play well the resulting positions.
2.d4 d5 Caro-Kann should have been expected by Gata's team, as Topalov was frequently using this opening during the last year.
3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 This purely positional setup made 3.e5 from a side line into one of the most popular continuations.
4... e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Ne7 8.Nd2 ( After studying the position for 10 minutes Kamsky chose this continuation. The main line is 8.Bg5 Qa5 It makes sense to reinforce 'd4' and 'e5' instead of playing again with already developed piece.)
8... Nbc6 9.N2f3 Seeing Kamsky relaxed and having a walk while Topalov is completely concentrated over the board I'd guess that American's team expected this line.
9... Bg4 10.O-O White will have a Bishop pair and long term pressure. The statistics favor White as well.
10... Bxf3 11.Nxf3 g6 This move is new but doesn't seem sufficient for complete equality. Setting Bf4+Re1 to reinforce the blocking pawn on 'e5' White maintains his spacial advantage. ( Of course 12.c4 if an interesting alternative. The forced line 11... g6 12.c4 Nf5 13.Qb3 (13.Bg5 is stronger) 13... Nxe3 14.Qxb7 Qc8 15.Qxc8+ Rxc8 16.fxe3 Bc5 17.Kf2 d4 leads to equality)
12.c4 Bg7 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Bc5 Exploiting the move 12...Bg7 but are White achievements really important after 14...Bf8 ?
14... Bf8 15.Qc1 Rc8 ( Kamsky spent a lot of time but after the premature 12.c4 it is hard to find any plan to fight for advantage. The last move is backed by the tactics 15... Rc8 16.Bxf8 Nd4)
16.Bxf8 Clock readings 0.57 1.34
16... Nd4 17.Qd1 Nxe2+ 18.Qxe2 Kxf8 19.Rac1 After the series of exchanges the position is completely equal. Kamsky has to be careful as Topalov is very skillful in using his advantage on the clock.
19... Kg7 20.h4 Aggressive but at the same time creates great outpost for Black Queen - 'g4'.
20... Qb6 21.g3 h6 22.a3 Rc5 Kamsky began playing faster but so did Topalov. He really intends on pressing his opponent into spending more time.
23.Rc2 Rhc8 24.Rfc1 a5 25.Qd2 Rxc2 26.Rxc2 Rc5 Nothing important during the last moves - White is rock solid and Black is looking for a way to create some inconveniences that may cause a mistake.
27.Qc1 Rxc2 28.Qxc2 Ne7 A logical transfer to 'c6'
29.Qc3 Nc6 30.b3 Qd8 Kamsky decided to prevent a5-a4 but now his 'a3' pawn needs protection.
31.a4 Qd1+ 32.Kg2 Qe2 Topalov obtained some initiative while Kamsky's time is diminishing: 0.14 0.59
33.Qe3 Black Queen is too active.
33... Qd1 34.Nd2 ( in case of 34.Qc3 Black may try 34... Qd5 instead of repeating the moves.)
34... Nb4 35.Nc4 Nc2 36.Qd2 Qb1 37.Qf4 The draw result is inevitable.
37... Ne1+ 38.Kh2 Qxb3 39.Qf6+ Kg8 40.Qd8+ Kh7 41.Qf6 Kg8 42.Qd8+ Kh7 43.Qf6 Kg8 Draw agreed. This game Topalov chose Caro-Kann and made a novelty on move 11. Kamsky's plan gave White no advantage - he only spent a lot of time on the clock. Topalov did his best to use this but the game logically finished in a draw on move 43. 1/2