Original: Anand - Topalov World Championship Match (2010)

Anand vs Topalov, 2010

Sofia, Bulgaria

Bulgarian Grandmaster Veselin Topalov defeated Gata Kamsky in an eight game challenger match to earn the right to contest another World Championship title match. The match took place in Sofia, Bulgaria from April 24 to May 13, 2010. The title match mostly followed the format of Anand-Kramnik 2008 and Kramnik-Topalov 2006 in that 12 games would be played, with a series of successively faster tiebreak rounds if needed. Topalov demanded that the match be played in silence, in the style of the "Sofia Rules" which require draws to be mitigated by an arbiter.

According to FIDE regulations, reigning champion Viswanathan Anand had the right to refuse Sofia as a suitable location, as that would give Topalov the "home field" advantage. However, Anand raised no objections. The match was delayed due to air travel disruptions caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull, which offset the entire schedule by one day.1

The match was grueling and dynamic, with five decisive games, and some unexpected surprises in the openings. Topalov got off to a great start, demolishing Anand's Grunfeld in the first game in only 30 moves.

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EDIT <Ohio>

The match was grueling and dynamic, with five decisive games,

Would decisive games indicate dynamic? Yes. Grueling? Not really. But the fact the shortest draw was 44 moves and the games averaged over 50 moves each would indicate grueling.

and some unexpected surprises in the openings.

This should be specified. There seems to be space to do so. As it is, Vishy played 2 Grunfelds and 3 Slavs before the QGD in the last game. Topa played 3 Catalans in a row.>

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EDIT <Ohio>

<Anand struck back in game two demonstrating his mastery of the Catalan opening, and in game four took the lead, but the ever-aggressive Topalov seemed to have a psychological edge even while trailing.

this claim needs a contemporaneous source or else it should be excised.

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Tied 5.5 apiece, Anand chose the drawish Lasker Defense of the Queen's Gambit for the last game, and quickly equalized. In an effort to create winning chances, Topalov captured the pawn offered by Anand. Topalov soon found himself defending against a sharp attack and lost, thereby ending the match without the need for tiebreaks.

"Vishy" once again defended his title. In a post-match interview Anand mentioned that in addition to his normal team of seconds, he also received help in preparation from Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik.

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EDIT <JFQ>

Wiki will be replaced as the source(s)

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1 Wikipedia article World Chess Championship 2010