31.whl fxe6 32.flg5! \MId6 33.fle4 (Diagram)

In this position, computer analysis programs suggest 33.

flxe6, but also considered was the line 33.fred1 ! fld3 (33 . . .

\MIxa3?? 34.frdSt wg7 3S.frc7t

wf6 (35 .. . wh6 36.h4 \MIa 1 t 37.

wh2 flxf3t 3S.flxf3) 36.flxh7t w5 37.frf8t) 34.fle4 \MId4 35. game was time! Until the first timecontrol at move 40 -seven moves had to be made in the opening position, in which calculation is getting more and more difficult, and

the surest looking way: his knight had an excellent out

post on e4 and strong threats in every direction. But thus Black gets time for a counter

action.

33 ...

xa3!

Topalov does not hesitate:

he makes a sally with his queen from its defensive posi

tion, and removes the only white piece on the queen's flank which could stand in the way of the advance of his pawns. From this moment on, T opalov followed the tactics of carefully preserving his time advantage and striving to evoke intricate situations, to further increase the pres

sure of time weighing heavily on Anand.

34J:k3 !Wb2 35.h4!? b5?!

Topalov does not care about the storm clouds gath

ering round his king and, tak

ing chances again, he starts with his pawn on the queen's wing. It consumes valuable seconds of his opponents time

Game 9

to calculate the danger evoked in this manner. In the pres

sure of time, a spectacular battle, not devoid of psycho

logical motifs either, devel

ops. Finding the objectively best move is no longer the only thing that counts. The combatants are striving to in

crease tension to the breaking point, taking care to avoid falling into an unexpected trap, losing everything.

36J;rc8t

Anand starts a direct at

tack against the king.

36 ... wg7

Anand-Topalov 4,5:4,5 in the psychologically best moment, right before the took such a committing deci

sion in the last moment of time trouble. Black's king, forced down by a rook, is lan

guishing on the back rank from where it can apparently never escape. If in such posi

tion the participant of a

chil-87 dren's tournament gives a rook check, releasing thereby the king, the trainer and the parents are clutching at their hair, horrified at the child's blunder. Behind Anand's move there might be some deep strategic idea or a many

move tactical motif, but even subsequently one cannot find such a thing. In fact, he di

verts the king closer to the black queenside pawns whose advance means the only co his mental balance and made a flustered, imprudent deci

sion. It would have been a simple and self-evident means of gaining time and maintain

ing the threats if Anand had moved away with the at

tacked rook, playing 40J=!e2, which preserves the threats and leads to a quick win in

88 first great miss and Topalov's first lucky escape. From now on, each player has one hour to make the next twenty moves. The struggle on the board is going on, the posi

tion is more complicated with each move, a single error can connected queenside pawns would not exist!

42 ... b4

According to the computer analysis programs, not the

Game 9 strongest move, but from the point of view of tournament tactics it is a perfect decision.

Topalov is striving to seize the only counterchance, try

ing to create concrete threats as soon as possible.

43.fue6 wb6 44.�f4

Anand's attack on the king regains strength again, this time on the other half. But he has only half an hour's think

ing time left again.

44 ...

lMJal

t?!

Several expert analysts re

commended the more active 44 ... lMJc1 t, but from the point of view of tournament tactics this is the right decision as it maintains the threatening position of the es knight. As

A splendid attacking move reviving the hope of victory.

46 ... gxh5?!

Anand-Topalov 4,5:4,5

This time it was Topalov's turn to err. More promising would have been 46 .. . g5.

47J:rxhS

The second white rook has also joined in the attack, and together with the knight, the three of them are chasing the black king whose position is more and more hopeless.

47 ... �c6 48.�d5t wb7 49.

frh7t

An extremely complicated, hardly assessable position full of mutual traps has arisen, which was evaluated in a pretty different manner even by the computer programs. In the live broadcast, Anand could be seen tensely calcu

lating the variations, while

To-89 palov appeared to be calmer and more balanced, despite the fact that he had the worse, probably lost, posi

tion. More promising than the text move was the contin

uation 49. fre6 1.Wb l 50. f4 �d8

Another decisive moment.

Topalov had 23, Anand only 7 minutes on the clock. Yet, in the more and more hope

less position, after a short think, Topalov run the risk of a quick loss rather than flee

Anand was in time trouble again, having only 4 minutes left until the 60th move. He missed the almost immediate

win again: 54.'fjd5! �c6 (54 ...

ilif3t 55. gxf3 IWb2t 56.wg3 IWg7t 57.wh4+-) 55J!h7t wa6 56.�xc6t wb5 57.�e6 IWd4 58.

�h5+-.

54 ... 4Jxi3t!

It looks as though the chessmen were the heroes of a Shakespeare drama. In the last moment, the black knight heroically sacrifices itself, cre

ating thereby the only princi

pled drawing chance.

55.gxf3

a2t 56.�d2

Now already three white pieces are fighting against the lonely queen, and the experts are about to chalk up the point for Anand. But Topalov still does not give up the fight, striving to seize even the very last chance.

Game 9

56 ... we7 57.�hd5

Better was 57.�hh6!, pre

serving the possibility of forc

ing back the king to the back rank.

57 ... b3

The black pawn gets an

other step closer to the pro

motion square.

58.�d7t we8 59.�d8t we7 6O.�8d7t we8

This was the point of Anand's 57th move. By giv

ing checks with the vertically moving rook, he got over the second time trouble. Now he has the last half-hour to win the game. The task does not seem insoluble.

61.�g7 a4 62.�e5t wb8 63.

�d5

weB

Anand-Topalov 4,5:4,5 mate without the possibility of \Wxd2 check with tempo.

But the world champion ought to have found the cor

rect plan leading to win. But in the fifth hour of the game, on the verge of the third time trouble, it is of course not easy to see that the bit irregu

lar 64J!dd7is leading to win:

64 .. . \Wc2 (64 ... a3 6S.wg3 \Wal 66J!c7t wd8 67.'f1a7 \WeI t 68.

wg4 \We6t 69.wf4 \Wd6t 70.we3

\WcS t 7 1 .we2 \WeS t 72.wfl

\WbSt 73.M2 \WcSt 74.wg2+-) 6S.wg3 \Wdl 66.'f1df7 \WgI t 67.

wf4 \Wh2t 68.wg4 \Wg2t 69.wfS

\Wh3t 70.weS \Wh2t 7 1 .f4+-.

64 ... \!!,Jal !

Anand missed another win and Topalov at once seized the unexpected chance. With his queen, which was long

91 out of play, he occupies an important position, defend

ing and attacking at the same again, managing the 30-sec

ond increments received after every move. So that now move White admittted the fail

ure of the manoeuvre started with 64.wf3. The expert com

mentators of the live broad

casts on internet forums claim

ed more and more firmly: To

palov has escaped, the posi

tion was a draw.

67 ... bl\W 68.fubl

Even after giving back the knight, the division of mate

rials remaining on the board would be in principle win

ning for White if the position of his pieces were favourable.

But the connection between White's king and pieces has been broken, so the black queen can come into play with full force against the white king, circling around its only pawn, incapable of fleeing.