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| Mar-19-14 | | csmath: Once white has weakened his own castling with 10. h4 black is well advised to prepare for pawn storm. He is not going to wait for more white pawns coming forward so he is preparing for that. I do not see anything wrong in Kramnik's play on the kingside. The errors he made were on the queenside and this is where white acquired advantage and a passer. It is a matter of taste why Kramnik allowed h4 pawn to stay there and why he did not exchange bishop on e5. I am sure there are many arguments to the opposite. As he stated himself he was concerned about Topalov's preparations. |
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Mar-19-14
 | | TheAlchemist: f5-f4 is probably not best in the sense that it's going into a position Topalov should be more comfortable with. To me it almost seems like Kramnik was "hypnotized" into venturing into such waters, probably the pressure and their pre-game shenenigans affected him more negatively than it did Topalov. All credit to Topalov, of course, he played very well, while Kramnik didn't seem to put up much of a fight at all. |
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| Mar-19-14 | | csmath: I think this opening hesitation Kramnik had was a cause why he lost his concentration about queenside and then committed errors there. While concentrating on kingside he probably lost the grasp on overall position. Topalov, on the other hand, had a pretty good understanding about the events on the queenside and achieved decisive advantage there. This game was decided by passer on b-file and not at all on the kingside else than immobilized knight on h5 which Kramnik failed to recruit to block the passer. |
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| Mar-19-14 | | luzhin: Those seeking the source of Topalov's allegedly innovative opening play should take a look at Steinitz-Chigorin, Nuremberg 1896! |
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| Mar-19-14 | | Marmot PFL: Didn't see the press conference but I wonder why black didn't play Bb7 before a5? As it was c6 is left undefended and the Nd7 loses tempi going back to b8. After that black's attempts to regain material just made things worse. |
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| Mar-19-14 | | Chess for life: I'm normally a Kramnik fan but, honestly, Kramnik is such a baby for not showing up at the press conference! |
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| Mar-19-14 | | Petrosianic: Was there a handshake at the beginning of the game? And if there wasn't, did either player offer one? |
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Mar-19-14
 | | offramp: I don't think we miss much by the loser being absent from the press conference. They are often unhappy, who can blame them? Do you remember the awful ones that poor Anand had to sit through in Madras? "I'm going to try harder!"
"How are you going to try harder?!?" |
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| Mar-19-14 | | RookFile: This is a very nice game by Topalov. The extra curricular stuff is unfortunate. |
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Mar-19-14
 | | WannaBe: It's like P. Carrol and J. Harbaugh, nod heads toward each other, wave arm and head to the locker room. =) |
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| Mar-19-14 | | RedShield: "I'm going to try harder!"
"How are you going to try harder?!?"
"Viagra!" |
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| Mar-19-14 | | Petrosianic: "How are you going to try harder?"
"Well, I'm throwing out my current repertoire. In our next game I'm going to come out with 1. c4, and... Oh, wait! Is my opponent hearing this???" |
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| Mar-19-14 | | LucB: <I don't think we miss much by the loser being absent from the press conference. They are often unhappy, who can blame them? ...> I quite agree. The two of them should show up when it's a draw, but give the player who lost a break... unless he/she doesn't mind. I would make only one exception: win or lose, I don't want to see Kamsky at these press conferences!... painful! |
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Mar-19-14
 | | Check It Out: The live feed blew the critical moments of the start of this game. The camera was steadily gazing at the seated Topalov was waiting for kramnik and the game to start. At the critical moment it cuts away, missing Kramnik's arrival and an interaction that may have occurred. The camera then immediately cuts back to the pair, who are studiously avoiding each other's gaze, adjusting pieces and sweeping imaginary bits of dust off the board. At the critical moment, just before the game begins, the camera cuts away, again missing the acknowledgement to start the game and any interaction that may have occurred between the two. The camera cuts back after two or three moves have been played. Pitiful! |
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| Mar-19-14 | | LucB: <CIO>
I noticed that too; the commentators said that no handshake had occurred but they could have been guessing I suppose. They rely on the camera just as much as we do and as such I don't think they saw more than what we did. |
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| Mar-19-14 | | Petrosianic: In a World Championship match, even the loser should be present for the press conference. But in a tournament, I'm not too put out if he's absent. |
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| Mar-19-14 | | SetNoEscapeOn: "In too deep." |
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| Mar-19-14 | | fgh: Kramnik only has his <attitude> to blame for this defeat. His "play it safe with black" approach caused him to reject the sharp (but by far strongest) lines, which involved accepting a pawn sacrifice. He then wasted time on the clock, played several dubious moves, and it all went downhill from there. |
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| Mar-19-14 | | Petrosianic: <SetNoEscapeOn>: <"In too deep."> Topalov often manages to take the shine even off his victories, with his lack of class. A lot of people respect his play but few respect him. |
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| Mar-19-14 | | Volmac: Absolutely beautiful play from Topalov. From move 11 the white army move only forwards and it is impossible for black to extinguish the initiative. The outcome of the game feels inevitable. |
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| Mar-19-14 | | Ulhumbrus: <csmath:...
I do not see anything wrong in Kramnik's play on the kingside. The errors he made were on the queenside ...>You may have something there. Following the moves 11...b6 and 13...a5 it was Kramnik's queen side (instead of Topalov's queenside) which became a target after 14 b5 and Topalov indicated that he thought that Black was lost after that. Perhaps the reason for this is that Topalov had castled by the time Kramnik played 13...a5. This suggests that if Kramnik was going to try this he needed to try it earlier when White's king was still in the centre eg at move 10 by 10...b6 11 b4 a5 12 b5 bc 13 bc Nxe5 |
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| Mar-19-14 | | csmath: Crucial error in this game was made with
13. ...a5?
which is what I wrote in my brief analysis already, basically allowing Topalov tactical middlegame resolution with 14. b5 in which he eventually netted a pawn passer no less. This could have been already won position as Topalov claimed but it is surely extremely difficult to play for black. Moreover Kramnik kept on playing suboptimal moves even after that which eventually led to a loss. This is a fully deserving win for Topalov and the whole game looks like Topalov knew what he was doing while Kramnik wondered aimlessly about his own plans. |
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| Mar-19-14 | | notyetagm: Topalov vs Kramnik, 2014 Topalov and Danailov must be rubbing their hands with glee after this game. :-) |
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| Mar-19-14 | | Petrosianic: <Topalov and Danailov must be rubbing their hands with glee after this game. :-)> Danailov is probably thinking "Gee, if I hadn't sabotaged Veselin in 2006, he might have been World Champion." |
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| Mar-19-14 | | MrQuinn: It's a pity that Topaov smeared his reputation in 2006. He's a superb and enterprising player who, apart from the WC PR debacle, seems like a decent individual. I mean, at the very least he's no where near as insufferable as the great bloviator, Kramnik! |
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