Well call me old fashioned, but as White I prefer to keep that pawn in front of my king! This surely cannot be Toppy prep can it? If so I just dont get it, no more comments from me now until well into the game....

Early days game 4 - I know little of the theory but Toppy looks to have chosen a sensible line against the Semi-Slav. I´d take the position after 14.Nd2 for White any day, looks possible to squeeze nicely - is Toppy trying to do an imitation of Kramnik?

Seriously though, anyone else find it feels unpleasant for Black?

Also e3e5 analysis are fine. http://www.e3e5.com/eng/petersburg/competitions/article.html?240

Well said, TopNotch. That’s what I meant in my previous post, far less eloquently. Kramnik’s play deserves more credit than what he is given  (14th World champion in the year 2007 deserves it. Forgive me, Keano!! ) and Topalov doesn’t deserve the admonition.

castlerock wrote on 09/27/06 at 05:01:45:


In that match both players played hard for the draw when they were in the lead...

History has shown that World Championship matches are always tense nervy affairs, and the use of chess engines while kibitzing this match gives a warped sense of the play. Try kibitzing without an engine running in the background and you get a better feel for what's going on between these two players.

To my mind both players are getting unfairly vilified for missing wins and strong continuations invariably found and verified by chess programs. Listening to commentary of game three on ICC, Kramnik was criticised for capturing with cxd5 instead of exd5 which by all accounts gave a big advantage, however the complications after e4 in response to exd5 were difficult to assess when low on time and with a two game cushion why would one take the risk. 

I don't think that game three was indicative of poor form on Kramnik's part, but rather a calm and practical decision under the circumstances.

When in doubt, bail out.....seems to be Kramnik's mantra and had Topalov done the same in game 1 he wouldn't be forced to go for broke now in every game. 

Those that think Topalov has any realistic chances of bouncing back now are dreaming. Much more likely is that Topalov will gain some much needed match experience from this encounter and employ the lessons learned in a return match sometime in the future.

To Topa's credit, this is a much more interesting and thrilling match than Kramnik-Leko ever was. Win lose or draw, Topa is an exciting player to watch, reminiscent of when Kasparov dominated the boards not so long ago, lets hope that the rest of the match continues to be as entertaining.

Toppy      

Keano~

You were right about David Beckham (with previously noted reservations), but your man Topalov still needs to find mates in 3.  Ok, he missed the mate in 3 after some of the most brilliant chess we've ever seen, but still...

As long as Kramnik has a better line in the Slav than he showed in game 2, then my money's on the front-runner!  Toppy will not only have to win as White, but also dent Kramnik's nearly invincible play when Toppy's Black.