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Click here for GM Polgar's analysis and comments on games 1-4
Click here for GM Polgar's analysis and comments on games 5-9
Click here for GM Polgar's analysis and comments on games 10-12

LIVE Playoff Commentary | Game 1 Topalov 1/2 Kramnik

The playoff format is 4 rapid chess games (25 minutes per player + 10 seconds increment per move). If the score is still tied after the 4 rapid games then the players will play 2 blitz games (5 minutes per player + 10 seconds increment per move). If the score still remains tie then a sudden death "Armageddon" game (White has 6 minutes vs. Black has 5 minutes) with Black having draw odd. What that means is if the "Armageddon" game ends in a draw, Black would win the World Championship.

I will do my best to blog as fast as I could since this is rapid and the actions will be fast! This will be RAPID BLOGGING :)

Topalov - Kramnik
Game 1 - Playoff

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.O-O Nbd7 9.Qe2 O-O 10.e4 Bg6 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qe3 Re8 (This is where Kramnik deviated from game 2.)

15.Ne1 Rc8 16.f4 Bxe1 17.Rxe1 Bg6 18.Bf1 Rc2 19.b3 (Hot actions by both sides. The game started out similarly to game 2 where Topalov missed the win. The game is pretty much equal. Black has control of the open file. White has a pair of Bishop.)

19...Qa5 20.Bb5 (14...Be4 is an interesting move.)

20...Rd8 (White needs to play 15.Rd2 now. Cannot allow that Rook to sit on the 7th ranked. 15.Ba3 is also playable. This is a dynamic position where both sides have weaknesses. I still think that this is roughly equal.)

21.Re2 (As predicted. Too dangerous to allow Kramnik's Rook on the 7th rank. Trading Rooks now is in order.)

21...Rcc8 (Shocking move. Now I like White. I think Kramnik needed to trade Rooks.)

22.Bd2 Qb6 23.Rf2 a6 24.Bf1 Rc6 (White may be able to start with g4 soon but Black is not lost at all. Black is OK but I prefer White and the space advantage.)

25.b4 Rc2 26.b5 (I like White very much with the space advantage and the Bishop pair.)

26...a5 27.Bc3 Rxf2 28.Qxf2 (Black's pieces are very inactive. There is no immediate winning line for White. White should just continue to press.)

28...Qa7 29.Qd2 Ra8 (Black has Knight to b6 coming. Black is still fine but I somehow like the space in White's position.)

30.Rc1 Nb6 31.Bb2 Nxa4 32.Ba3 h6 33.h3 Be4 34.Kh2 Nb6 35.Bc5 a4 36.Ra1 (I am not sure if Topalov will have enough for the Pawn sacrifice. Black is up a pawn but is stuck in an ugly pin. White has compensation for this pawn. Black is also down by 5 minutes on the clok. Time WILL be an issue since this is rapid chess.)

36...Nc4 37.Bxc4 b6 38.Qe3 Rc8 (Amazingly, this position is still even.)

39.Bf1 bxc5 40.dxc5 (Now Black has to take back with 40...Qxc5. Taking back with the Rook will lose because of 41.Rc1)

40...Qxc5 41.Qxc5 Rxc5 (This should be a draw. If White wants to win, 42.Kg1 may be the only shot.)

42.b6 Rc6 43.b7 Rb6 44.Ba6 (Now it will be a draw. It will end up with something like R and 4 Pawns on the same side.)

44...d4 45.Rxa4 Bxb7 46.Bxb7 Rxb7 47.Rxd4 (OK, 100% draw.) 1/2

Well, we did have an exciting game but Kramnik managed to hold. Now, the advantage has shifted to Kramnik since he will have 2 Whites in the final 3 rapid playoff games.
 

Rapid Playoff Game 2 LIVE Commentary | Kramnik 1-0 Topalov

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.b3 O-O 8.Be2 b6 9.O-O Bb7 10.Bb2 Re8 11.Rad1 Qe7 12.Rfe1 Rac8 13.Bd3 e5 14.e4 dxc4 15.Bxc4 b5 16.Bf1 (Black is fine in this position.)

16...g6 (This is a fine opening choice for Topalov. There is room for play. I am not sure if I would be happy to get nothing out of White in the opening. Topalov is also up by about 5 minutes on the clock.)

17.Qd2 Rcd8 18.Qg5 a6 (White has space advantage but Black is doing fine in this position. When the time is right, the d4 and e5 pawns will be traded and play will be surrounding the center.)

19.h3 exd4 20.Nxd4 (20...Qe5 is possible here. Black is holding his own nicely. I must say that I am impressed with how easy both Kramnik and Topalov can equalize with Black.)

20...Qe5 21.Qxe5 Nxe5 22.Nc2 (The position is roughly equal but Black has plenty of play. 22...g5 is possible here with the idea of Ng6 then Nf4 but it weakens the f5 square.)

22...g5 (As predicted. Topalov is going for it again. He is pushing in every game.)

23.Bc1 h6 24.Be3 c5 (Even though the position is even, Black's position is a lot more comfortable and Topalov is up by about 3 minutes.)

25.f3 Bf8 26.Bf2 Bc8 (In rapid, players have to move relatively fast. Therefore, a lot of second best moves were played. That is normal.)

27.Ne3 (Topalov misplayed the last few moves. He took his active Bishops and made nothing of it.)

27...Be6 28.Ned5 Bxd5 29.exd5 (Now I like White. White has Bishop pair and active position. Topalov misplayed a few moves starting with around move 24 to 26.)

29...Ned7 (Another not so great move. 29...c4 or Rb8 are good options.)

30.Rxe8 Rxe8 31.a4 b4 32.Ne4 Nxe4 33.fxe4 (White has a BIG advantage now. Topalov brough this to himself by completely misplaying his position by retreating his Bishops for no reason whatsoever.)

33...Nf6 (Another bad move. 33...Bd6 is better. Now, I am not sure if Black can hold this position. It looks very bad!)

34.d6 Nxe4 35.d7 Rd8 36.Bxa6 (White is winning now.)

36...f5 37.a5 (Kramnik has done very well in this type of position. Topalov did not deliver in the middlegame in this game. He took a good position and created a losing game.)

37...Bg7 (Another very bad move. Now all White has to do is play 38.Bc8 and game over. No way to safe this position for Topalov.)

38.Bc4+ (A second best move. 38.Bd8 and the position is resignable for Black.)

38...Kf8 39.a6 Nxf2 40.Kxf2 Bd4+ 41.Rxd4 cxd4 42.a7 Ke7 43.Bd5 Kxd7 44.a8(Q) Rxa8 45.Bxa8 (This is a winning endgame for White. Very poorly played middlegame for Topalov.)

45...Topalov resigned. Kramnik leads 1.5 - .5. Two more games to go.
 

LIVE Rapid Blogging - Playoff Game 3 | Topalov 1-0 Kramnik

Time to do or die. All Kramnik needs to do is score 1 point in the final 2 rapid playoff games. Time is running out for Topalov.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Be2 (He delays taking on g6 as in previous games.)

7...Nbd7 8.O-O Bd6 9.g3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nb6 11.Be2 (The position is roughly equal in this position. I do not understand the SAME opening choice from Topalov over and over again. He SHOULD try something different, anything different. He has no more time left.)

11...O-O 12.Nxg6 hxg6 (13.e4 is now possible.)

13.e4 e5 14.f4 exd4 15.Qxd4 Qe7 (This is the best response. White has nothing. 16.Be3 is needed here. 16.Kh1 is playable as well.)

16.Kg2 (A move no one expects.)

16...Bc5 17.Qd3 (White has nothing. The position is equal in my opinion.)

17...Rad8 18.Qc2 (GM Rowson says: "I hope I am wrong, but I think White is better here. After Qc2 Black needs more than a move- he needs a concept to deal with e5 and Ne4.")

18...Bd4 (Mr. Ali Nihat Yazici says from Elista: "Kramnik was smiling very relaxed and Veselin was looking a little bit under stress.")

19.e5 Nfd5 (GM Rowson offers his guess: "Not sure. Gut instinct at this stage: Topalov wins this one, last one a draw. Kramnik wins first blitz game, loses second, and then...you'll need to ask the man with the lunch.)

20.Rf3 (Not sure if I am so happy with this move. This is typical of Topalov. He often makes move that few can understand.)

20...Nxc3 (I would not have traded here.)

21.bxc3 Bc5 22.Bd2 (The idea is to get the Queenside Rook to the Kingside)

22...Rd7 (With the idea of doubling up the Rooks on the d file.)

23.Re1 Rfd8 (GM Tyomkin offers his strong voice as usual: "22.Bd2 looks as ugly as Rf3, when my students place pieces like that, I'm getting angry. White should play 24.Bd3 with the idea of e6. For the first time in a long time, Topalov is down on time by about 5 minutes.)

24.Bd3 Qe6 25.Bc1 f5 26.Qe2 Kf8 27.Rd1 Qe7 (Very interesting position. White may be a tiny advantage. Unfortunately, Topalov often failed to convert his advantages in this match.)

28.h4 Rd5 29.Qc2 (White is trying. The idea is h5 sometimes in the future.)

29...Nc4 30.Rh1 (A sensible move to mount a Kingside attack. Topalov has a chance if he does not blow it as he has done many times in this match. It is amazing that he kept on obtaining good position. But now is the time to convert if he wants to stay in this match.)

30...Na3 31.Qe2 Qd7 32.Rd1 b5 (Kramnik is at his best playing in this kind of positions. The best shot for White here is 33.g4 and open things up.)

33.g4 (Topalov found it! His attack continues.)

33...fxg4 34.Rg3 Ke7 35.f5 gxf5 36.Bg5+ Ke8 (What an exciting game! e6 then Rxg4 is the best continuation and NOT take the Rook.)

37.e6 (The best continuation! Topalov has a chance now if he does not mess it up.)

37...Qd6 38.Bxf5 Rxd1 39.Bg6+ Kf8 40.e7+ Qxe7 41.Bxe7 Bxe7 42.Bd3 Ra1 43.Qb2 Rd1 44.Qe2 Ra1 45.Qxg4 Rxa2+ 46.Kh3 Bf6 (White is completely winning now. Amazing!)

47.Qe6 (Qb4 was much better.)

47...Rd2 48.Bg6 R2d7 49.Rf3 (This is over. Black has no chance. We are going to the last rapid game. Can these 2 guys make it any more exciting than this?)

49...b4 50.h5 (Mating attack is coming.) Black resigns. We have game 4!
 

Rapid LIVE Blogging - Playoff Game 4 | Kramnik - Topalov

Every time Topalov seemed to be down for the count, he got up and fought valiantly. He scored a victory in game 3 of the Rapid Playoff to pull the match even. Now Kramnik will have White in the last Rapid Playoff game. If this is a draw then they will go to 2 games Blitz (5' 10") playoff. Are you ready??

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.O-O Be7 (He play 9...b4 in game 8 where he won with the 2 Knights versus a Rook.)

10.e4 b4 11.e5 bxc3 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.bxc3 c5 (I play this line many times with White.)

14.dxc5 Nxc5 (Some of you questioned my description of the game. Well, it is simple. Topalov is a head hunter. He goes all out for the win. He is a one man wrecking machine. If he succeeds, he wins. If he does not, he crashes and burns. Kramnik on the other hand is the minister of defense. It is much harder to describe a defensive victory. Ooooh, he found the best defensive move and made his opponent say: "Uncle". You are welcome to try to follow the game, analyze rapid games LIVE, type, and check ALL comments from the readers at the same time. I am only human :) Believe me, my style is closer to Kramnik so it is a lot easier for me to understand him than Topalov.)

15.Bb5+ Kf8 16.Qxd8 Rxd8 17.Ba3 Rc8 (This position is somewhat equal.)

18.Nd4 Be7 (I see this game going to the Blitz playoff.)

19.Rfd1 a6 (I like 19...Ne4 better.)

20.Bf1 Na4 21.Rb1 (A good move. White is slightly better. Black needs to be very careful due to the Rook on h8 being stuck. White's weakness is the c3 pawn. 21...Bd5 or Be4 are both possible.)

21...Be4 22.Rb3 (Now Black should be played to provoke c4. White is still slightly better in my opinion. The other option is Bxa3 then Nc5. White's position is certainly easier to play. Kramnik is doing the right thing in this game. He is trying cautiously, playing for 2 results.)

22...Bxa3 23.Rxa3 Nc5 24.Nb3 (Black SHOULD be able to hold if he does not do something crazy. Ke7 is must to wake the other Rook up from his nap.)

24...Ke7 (Some of you asked why the logo for this blog? :) Well, ask President Kirsan :) It's his logo. It looks like Bambi to me and not a baby antelope. Maybe because I have 2 young kids so I am more familiar with Bambi.)

25.Rd4 Bg6 26.c4 Rc6 (This is a mistake. 26...Nxb3 would have been better.)

27.Nxc5 Rxc5 28.Rxa6 Rb8 (White is now clearly better. 24.Rc6 was clearly a mistake.)

29.Rd1 (This is the kind of position where Kramnik is far superior to Topalov. I am not sure if Topalov can hold this in normal time control. Of course in rapid, anything can happen.)

29...Rb2 30.Ra7+ Kf6 (White is up a pawn but Black has some activities.)

31.Ra1 Rf5 32.f3 Re5 (Very strange plan for Topalov. White is clearly better.)

33.Ra3 Rc2 34.Rb3 Ra5 (This is very hard for Topalov to hold. Kramnik is marching on with his endgame technique.)

35.a4 Ke7 36.Rb5 Ra7 (a5 is coming. The match may end here.)

37.a5 Kd6 38.a6 Kc7 39.c5 (This position looks horrible for Black.)

39...Rc3 40.Raa5 Rc1 41.Rb3 Kc6 42.Rb6 Kc7 43.Kf2 Rc2+ 44.Ke3 (Setting a trap. If 44.Rxc5 then 45.Rb7 wins a Rook)

44...Rxc5?? 45.Rb7+ Game over! Black hung a Rook! (If Rxb7 then Rxc5+ followed by axb7.) A shocking ending to the most bizzare match! Unification has been achieved! Congratulations to Kramnik! Well done!

Congratulations to Vladimir Kramnik who scored a decisive victory in the last rapid playoff game against Veselin Topalov to win the World Championship and unified the title since Kasparov bailed from FIDE 13 years ago. How fitting that the match ends on Friday the 13th :)

I am THANKFUL that I do not have to do BLITZ BLOGGING :) 4 games of Rapid Blogging was enough :) I am also thankful that the match ends today as I will be in Philadelphia to promote Chess and Education with the Mayor of Philadelphia as well as do a 100 board simul. It would be hard to blog and do a 100 board simul at the same time :)

Thanks everyone for joining me for these incredible 15-16 games. Today, more than 150,000+ unique logins followed this game LIVE on this blog. That is unprecedented!

I hope you will visit this blog again as I will continue to update on a DAILY basis chess news from around the world, offer my commentary, give chess tips and puzzles as well as announce special events. And it is FREE :)

Thank you again for joining me in this historic event!

Mexico City will be the next World Championship site. You can check out their website here.
 

Into the new frontier - A unified chess community!

Some of you rooted for Kramnik. Some of you rooted for Topalov. But in spite of all the ugliness off the chess board, we have witnessed a very exciting chess match between 2 very different champions. Their vastly contrasting styles and their willingness to battle in every game gave us fans big thrills.

Let's celebrate a unified champion for the first time in 13 years. The new unified World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the former FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov deserve our appreciation for putting on quite a show. Please give both of them the proper respect. Let's unite for the sake of chess no matter who you rooted for.

Congratulations to Vladimir Kramnik and thank you Veselin Topalov for an incredible fighting spirit.

I am looking forward to Mexico City in 2007 and more exciting chess!

Visit Susan Polgar's Chess Blog

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