Two great fighting games by both players. I am impressed. If Topalows keeps playing like this the points will come as they came always in the past year.

if Topalows still have minus two after six games I still think the match is open. As Topalow normally keeps fighting to the end. However minus 3.... then I am affraid it over.

I prectite for game 3 again a Catalan.

For game 4 Topalow will play again d4 and Kramnik will vary the openings against d4. Maybe again a slave but a completly diffrent line as in game 2.

Game 2 was a real Torture for Kramnik trough the hole game. Hard job well done, respect to both players!

Based on the first two games I would, in a longer match, bet on Topalov to win (and I picked Kramnik to win when I started this poll).  Before blundering, Topalov pretty convincingly outplayed Kramnik in both games.  Although before the match began I thought Topalov may be the stronger player, I had thought he and Kramnik would be evenly enough matched that Kramnik's match experience would be the deciding factor.  I now think Kramnik is outmatched and, save for erratic play by his opponent, would be soon be relinquishing his title.  I look forward to the next pair of games.  Should Topalov manage 1.5/2 pts in these games (as he should have in the first pair) we may still have a contest.

Although I picked Kramnik to win (and still expect this result), I am now routing for Topalov.  I hope he will continue to dominate and settle down enough to start winning those won positions.

I agree that Kramnik probably hopes to draw the rest of the games and may be capable to do so.
But what has he shown us? He defended reasonable well in both games, and still can trust his technique.
Even so I find the way he conducts his middle games uninspiring. 
Topalov on the other hand has shown us that he still is a very dynamic player, who is capable of finding ways to seize the initiative and unbalance any position. Some may say (actually did) that this works only against lesser players. But Kramnik has been on the brink of loosing twice, only saved by Topalov's blunders and his playing on in positions where an experienced match player would have forced the draw.

Kramnik probably will be the next world champion. But if he can't do better than this, he will certainly not be rembered for his games in this match. And if I want to spend some time replaying games, he certainly will not be my first choice. Topalov's games are certainly more interesting.
So all in all, my sympathy goes to Topalov.

Alias wrote on 09/24/06 at 19:23:29:

If this were a longer match, I'd say yes Topalov might settle down and even the score.  But in a 12 game match (ridiculously short for deciding WCh IMO), this will be all but impossible.  Kramnik is probably the most solid player on the planet, and all he needs are draws.  I expect to see a short draw in game 3 (but who know with this wild man Topalov?), in which case game 4 will be a crucial, must-win situation.  Kramnik needs only to draw the next two games and the match is all but over.

Topalov is pulling a Fischer

Sharp chess is always a double edged sword, and the need to be precise takes a lot of energy. One also needs to be in good form to play in this manner, which Topa does not seem to be, maybe his long layoff in preparation for the match is partly to blame. Moreover, Topalov does not have much match experience as compared to Kramnik to my knowledge and this lack of experience is beginning to show, particularly in game one.

Topa gambled in both games so far, got the advantage, then messed up in the complications, and rather than call it day, spurned the draws, kept pushing and lost. This kind of uncompromising play is better suited for tournament chess, where you have players of varying strengths and styles to face. I am dissapointed as I really thought it was about high time again for a non Russian World Champ.

Sadly as I predicted in another thread, the first to win a game would win the match, and so it is coming to pass.

Toppy
   

I wont be surprised if Drawnik starts playing for short draws or forcing them  from now on.

I do hope to be proven wrong tho. Lets hope for 12 good fighting chess games, even if the remaining 10 are going to end up drawn!

Someone here had commented that Toppy self destructed probably cos he tried too hard, and I tend to agree wholeheartedly with that observation. This thing abt trying too hard always seems to have adverse effects on anyone, even in other sports & games.....golf swing gone awry, miscues or missing fairly easy pots in snooker to name some examples. I guess its all abt nerves. Staying calm & not letting anxieties affect you are key for good performances. This is what distinguishes the winners from the world class.