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42-531: Though this symmetrical response has a long history, it was first popularised by Alexander Petrov , a Russian chess player in the mid-19th century. In recognition of the early investigations by the Russian masters Petrov and Carl Jaenisch , this opening is called the Russian Game in some countries. The Petrov has a drawish reputation; however, it offers attacking opportunities for both sides, and

84-923: A few lines are quite sharp . Often a trade occurs and Black, after gaining a tempo , has a well-placed knight . Pillsbury 's game in 1895 against Emanuel Lasker testifies to this. The Black counterattack in the centre also avoids the Ruy Lopez , Giuoco Piano (and other lines of the Italian Game ), and the Scotch Game . The Petrov has been adopted by many of the world's leading players, including world champions Vasily Smyslov , Tigran Petrosian , Anatoly Karpov , and Vladimir Kramnik , along with grandmaster Fabiano Caruana and others. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings codes for Petrov's Defence are C43 (for 3.d4) and C42 (for all other lines). White's two main choices for move three are 3.Nxe5,

126-627: A half point ahead of Gata Kamsky . In January 2007, Topalov finished in joint first place at Corus along with Levon Aronian and Teimour Radjabov . In May 2007, Topalov won the M-Tel Masters tournament for a third consecutive time with 5½/10, defeating then- leader Sasikiran in the final round. In November 2007, Topalov won the Vitoria Gasteiz charity event. Topalov won the 14th Ciudad Dos Hermanas Rapid, 17–21 April 2008, defeating GM Francisco Vallejo Pons of Spain 2½–1½ in

168-623: A list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece ; for a list of terms specific to chess problems , see Glossary of chess problems ; for a list of named opening lines , see List of chess openings ; for a list of chess-related games, see List of chess variants ; for a list of terms general to board games , see Glossary of board games . Veselin Topalov Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced [vɛsɛˈlin toˈpalof] ; Bulgarian : Весели́н Алексáндров Топа́лов ; born 15 March 1975)

210-470: A piece due to the pin (if 6...Qe7 7.Nd5, forcing 7...Qd7 because of the threat to the c7-pawn; then 8.d3 wins the piece). Viswanathan Anand resigned after only six moves after falling for this against Alonso Zapata at Biel in 1988. The Cochrane Gambit , 4.Nxf7, is labelled "speculative but entertaining" by Nick de Firmian in Modern Chess Openings ( MCO ) 14th edition. He evaluates

252-639: A strong run of tournament performances in 1996 he placed third at Wijk aan Zee, tied for first at Amsterdam, Vienna and Madrid, won outright at Novgorod and shared first in Dos Hermanas. As early as 1996, he was being invited to events for the world's elite such as Las Palmas (5/10), the first category 21 tournament, played in December 1996, with Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik and Karpov participating. The next year he won at Antwerp and Madrid. Topalov's loss to reigning Classical World Champion Garry Kasparov at

294-585: A very sharp line of attack that broke through Anand's Grunfeld Defence . It was revealed afterwards that Topalov had found the line during his opening preparation, with the help of a powerful supercomputer loaned to him by Bulgaria's Defense Department. Anand quickly responded with a win in Game 2, employing a novelty out of the Catalan Opening that was not easily recognized by computers at the time (15. Qa3!?, followed by 16. bxa3!). Anand would win again with

336-590: Is 3...Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Bd6 6.0-0 0-0 7.c4 Bxe5 8.dxe5 Nc6 9.cxd5 Qxd5 10.Qc2 Nb4 11.Bxe4 Nxc2 12.Bxd5 Bf5 13.g4 Bxg4 14.Be4 Nxa1 15.Bf4 f5 16.Bd5+ Kh8 17.Rc1 c6 18.Bg2 Rfd8 19.Nd2 ( diagram ) and White has the slightly better endgame after either 19...Rxd2 20.Bxd2 Rd8 21.Bc3 Rd1+ 22.Rxd1 Bxd1 or 19...h6 20.h4. 3.Nc3 is the Three Knights Game of Petrov's Defence. It can also be reached via 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 (the Vienna Game ). Commonly, after 3...Nc6,

378-632: Is 3...d6, transposing into the Philidor Defence . After 3...exd4 4.e5 (4.Bc4 transposes into the Urusov Gambit ) 4...Ne4 (4...Qe7?! 5.Be2 is better for White) 5.Qxd4 d5 6.exd6 Nxd6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.Qf4 the game is approximately equal . After the other capture, 3...Nxe4, 4.Bd3 d5 (4...Nc6!? 5.Bxe4 d5, intending 6.Bd3 e4, is also possible) 5.Nxe5, when either 5...Nd7 or 5...Bd6 gives roughly equal chances. A long and complicated tactical sequence which has frequently been seen in master games

420-618: Is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion . Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 . He lost his title in the World Chess Championship 2006 against Vladimir Kramnik . He challenged Viswanathan Anand at the World Chess Championship 2010 , losing 6½–5½. He won the 2005 Chess Oscar . He was ranked world number one from April 2006 to January 2007. He regained

462-585: Is married and has two daughters. Topalov was born in Ruse, Bulgaria . His father taught him to play chess at the age of eight. Topalov quickly established himself as a chess prodigy . At age 12, Topalov began working with the controversial Silvio Danailov , a relationship that continues today. In 1989 he won the World Under-14 Championship in Aguadilla , Puerto Rico , and in 1990 won

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504-446: Is to meet 4...Nxe4 with 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 with rapid development and queenside castling . For instance, White can plan a quick Be3, Qd2, and 0-0-0, and play for a kingside attack, trusting that his doubled c-pawns will help protect his king, and that his initiative and attacking potential will offset the longterm disadvantage of having doubled pawns. In the 5.Nc3 line, Black must avoid 5...Bf5?? 6.Qe2! which wins

546-858: Is transposing to the Italian Four Knights Game with 4...Nc6, and if 5.Nxe4, 5...d5. If 5.Bxf7+?, then 5...Kxf7 6.Nxe4 d5 gives Black the bishop pair and control of the centre . If 5.0-0, Black plays 5...Nxc3 6.dxc3 and now Black can play 6...Qe7!, after which Bobby Fischer wrote that "White has no compensation for the Pawn", or 6...f6 transposing to the main line of the Boden–Kieseritzky. Black also has lines beginning 6...Be7 and 6...h6. Glossary of chess#symmetrical This glossary of chess explains commonly used terms in chess , in alphabetical order. Some of these terms have their own pages, like fork and pin . For

588-817: The Classical Variation and 3.d4, the Steinitz Variation . 3.Nxe5 is more popular but they often lead to similar positions and "there is no clear reason to prefer one move over the other". 3.Nc3 may transpose to the Four Knights Game or the Three Knights Game . 3.Bc4 may lead to the Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit or transpose to the Two Knights Defence . Occasionally seen is the quiet 3.d3,

630-572: The Légal Trap 6.Bg5?? Nxe4!, and if 7.Bxd8 (relatively best but still losing is 7.Be3) 7...Bxf2+ 8. Ke2 Bg4#. Instead White should play 6.Be2 Bc5 7.c3! with d3-d4 to follow, and Black has insufficient compensation for the pawn, though White must still play carefully. 3.d4 was favoured by Wilhelm Steinitz , and is sometimes called the Steinitz Variation, although it was known earlier. Black can capture either pawn; also possible

672-492: The 1999 Corus chess tournament is generally hailed as one of the greatest games ever played. Kasparov later said, "He looked up. Perhaps there was a sign from above that Topalov would play a great game today. It takes two, you know, to do that." In 2001, he shared the overall title at Amber Melody and won at Dortmund. In the knockout tournaments for the FIDE World Chess Championship , he reached

714-597: The 2006 reunification match. Danailov expressed a desire for a rematch between Topalov and Kramnik, proposing a match in March 2007, though no such match took place. The issue was settled in June 2007, when Topalov and Kramnik were granted special privileges in the 2008–09 championship cycle. Topalov was given direct entry to a " Challenger Match " against the winner of the Chess World Cup 2007 . The 2007 Chess World Cup

756-506: The Catalan in Game 4, only to drop Game 8 and leave the score level once again. After 11 games the score was tied at 5½–5½. Anand won game 12 on the Black side of a Queen's Gambit Declined to win the game and the match. Topalov chose to accept a pawn sacrifice by Anand, hoping to force a result and avoid a rapid chess tiebreak round. But after Topalov's dubious 31st and 32nd moves, Anand used

798-608: The Championships after thirteen years of separation. Kramnik defeated Topalov to become the first undisputed champion in thirteen years. On 28 September 2006, Topalov's manager Silvio Danailov published a press release, casting suspicion on Kramnik's behaviour during the games. The Bulgarian team made a public statement that Kramnik visited his private bathroom (the only place without any audio or video surveillance) unreasonably often, about fifty times per game (a number that FIDE officials later claimed to be exaggerated ) and made

840-611: The French Attack. After 3.Nxe5, the Classical Variation, the standard reply for Black is 3...d6. Most often, White follows the main line 3...d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 (5.Bd3 !? is also playable, known as the Millennium Attack ) d5 6.Bd3. White will try to drive Black's advanced knight from e4 with moves like c4 and Re1. If White achieves this, then he is up two tempi (Nf6–e4–f6, plus the tempo White starts

882-608: The World Championship match in Elista. They were supposedly reported to the authorities, who Danailov claims suppressed the information. The Topalov team claims they were pressured by officials to keep their allegations quiet. On 29 July 2007, following a complaint by Kramnik's manager Carsten Hensel, the FIDE Ethics Commission sanctioned Topalov with "a severe reprimand" because of the accusations made in

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924-711: The advantage. 3...Qe7?! is inferior, as 4.d4 d6 5.Nf3 Qxe4+ 6.Be2 gives White a large lead in development. 3... Nc6?!, recently dubbed the Stafford Gambit , is considered dubious, but it sets a number of traps , and in the early 2020s it became popular in online blitz and bullet games. After 4.Nxc6 dxc6, White wins a pawn but must play carefully. After 5.e5 (5.d3 is better) Ne4 6.d3?? (White should play 6.Nc3, 6.d4, or 6.Qe2) 6...Bc5! and White resigned in Lowens–Stafford, US correspondence game 1950. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bc5, White must avoid

966-590: The final match by winning the first game and drawing the remaining three. In September 2008, Topalov won the Bilbao 2008 tournament. Following this victory, he became the world number one on the official October 2008 ratings list. He also won the Pearl Spring event held in Nanjing as well as Villarobledo Chess Festival. Topalov lost his chance to compete in the 2007 world championship tournament when he lost

1008-465: The gambit with 4...Nxc3 5.dxc3 f6, but must play carefully after 6.0-0 (for example 6...Bc5?? 7.Nxe5! is disastrous; 6...d6 and 6...Nc6 are good). Another more aggressive try is 6.Nh4, where White goes for a quick assault on Black's king, but Black can maintain a small advantage if he plays cautiously via 6...g6 7.f4 Qe7 8.f5 Qg7 9.Qg4 Kd8. Another possibility is returning the gambit pawn with 4...Nxc3 5.dxc3 c6 6.Nxe5 d5, which equalises. A third possibility

1050-482: The game with). In practice White is usually able to achieve this, but at some structural cost such as having to play c4, which balances out. White can also force simplification with Lasker 's 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.d3. This is generally only good enough for a draw , which Black should be satisfied with. Another possibility, explored by Keres , is 5.c4, known as the Kauffmann Attack . A completely different approach

1092-589: The interview of 14 December. According to the Ethics Commission, "these statements were clearly defamatory and damaged the honour of Mr. Vladimir Kramnik, harming his personal and professional reputation". Soon after losing the match, Topalov finished third of four players in Essent with only 2½/6, losing both games against Judit Polgár and one against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov . In May 2006, Topalov defended his M-Tel Masters title, coming first with 6½/10,

1134-675: The last 16 in 1999, the quarter-finals in 2000, the final 16 in 2001, and the semifinals in the 2004 tournament . In 2002, he lost the final of the Dortmund Candidates Tournament (for the right to challenge for the rival Classical World Chess Championship) to Peter Leko . Topalov tied for first at the 2002 NAO Chess Masters in Cannes and won at Benidorm in 2003. Topalov scored his first major success at Linares 2005, tying for first place with Garry Kasparov (though losing on tiebreak rules), and defeating Kasparov in

1176-545: The last round, in what was to be Kasparov's last tournament game before his retirement. He followed this up with a one-point victory at Mtel Masters. In 2006 he tied for first at Corus with Anand. Based on his rating, Topalov was invited to the eight-player, double round-robin FIDE World Chess Championship in San Luis, Argentina , in September–October 2005. Scoring 6½/7 in the first cycle, Topalov had virtually clinched

1218-412: The match proves it". However, the next day, the crisis escalated, with Topalov's manager strongly implying that Kramnik was receiving computer assistance. On 14 December 2006, Topalov directly accused Kramnik of using computer assistance in their World Championship match. On 14 February 2007, Topalov's manager released pictures, purporting to show cables in the ceiling of a toilet used by Kramnik during

1260-582: The match. The Appeals Committee that governed the match agreed, and ruled that the players' private restrooms should be closed and replaced with a shared one. Kramnik refused to play game 5 and was forfeited. On 1 October, the restroom issue was resolved in Kramnik's favour and the Appeals Committee resigned and were replaced. The FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov decided that the current score of 3–2 should be preserved. He also indicated that this

1302-460: The most significant decisions in the game in the bathroom. They also demanded that the organizers of the tournament allow journalists access to the surveillance video from Kramnik's room for games 1 through 4. The organizers made parts of the video available, explaining that other parts of it were missing due to technical issues. Danailov demanded to stop the use of private restrooms and bathrooms, and threatened to reconsider Topalov's participation in

Petrov's Defence - Misplaced Pages Continue

1344-545: The opening transposes to the Four Knights Game . With the reply 3...Bb4 (or some others), it remains the Three Knights Game proper. 3.Bc4 is the Italian Variation of Petrov's Defence. With 3...Nc6, it transposes to the Two Knights Defence . Another possibility is 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nc3, the Boden–Kieseritzky Gambit. It is not considered wholly sound, since Black has several viable options. Black can accept

1386-602: The position in Veselin Topalov – Vladimir Kramnik , Linares 1999 as offering chances for both sides after 4...Kxf7 5.Nc3 c5!? 6.Bc4+ Be6 7.Bxe6+ Kxe6 8.d4 Kf7 9.dxc5 Nc6. The Paulsen Variation , 4.Nc4, is labelled "ineffective" by de Firmian in MCO , but is occasionally seen at grandmaster level. US master Andrew Karklins has experimented with 4.Nd3!?, now called the Karklins–Martinovsky Variation . This

1428-585: The quarterfinals. Later that year he won the King's Tournament in Romania. In April 2018, he participated in the fifth edition of Shamkir Chess, finishing eighth with a score of 4/9 (+2–3=4). Topalov has competed on first board at nine Chess Olympiads (1994-2000, 2008-2016), winning individual gold in 2014 and scoring best overall performance in 1994. On the way to winning M-Tel Masters in 2005, Topalov defeated former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov with

1470-480: The sacrifice to obtain a strong attack against Topalov's relatively exposed king. Topalov subsequently resigned , allowing Anand to retain the World Championship. As runner-up in the World Chess Championship 2010 , Topalov automatically qualified for the Candidates Matches for the World Chess Championship 2012 , where he was the top seed. However, he lost to newly crowned U.S. champion Gata Kamsky in

1512-927: The silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship in Singapore . He became a Grandmaster in 1992 and won in Terrassa. He shared first at the Budapest Zonal group B in 1993 but struggled at the Biel Interzonal, scoring 5.5/13. He made his Olympiad debut in Moscow 1994, leading Bulgaria to a fourth-place, defeating Garry Kasparov on board one. Over the next ten years Topalov ascended the world chess rankings. He played in Linares 1994 (6½/13), Linares 1995 (8/13), Amsterdam 1995. In

1554-580: The top ranking in October 2008 until January 2010. His peak rating was 2816 in July 2015, placing him joint-tenth on the list of highest FIDE-rated players of all time. Topalov has competed at nine Chess Olympiads (1994–2000, 2008–2016), winning board one gold in 2014 and scoring best overall performance in 1994. He also won in Linares , Corus , Dortmund , Stavanger and Pearl Spring tournaments. Topalov

1596-440: The tournament at the halfway mark, before drawing every game in the second cycle to win by 1½ points to become FIDE World Chess Champion. The average rating of the field in the championship was 2739, and Topalov's performance rating was 2890. On 16 April 2006, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced that a match between Classical and FIDE World Champions Kramnik and Topalov would be held in September–October 2006 to re-unify

1638-557: Was not a compromise decision but his own. The match resumed on 2 October 2006. On 1 October, the Association of Chess Professionals released a statement denouncing Danailov for publicly accusing his opponent without evidence, and calling for him to be investigated by the FIDE Ethics Committee. On 3 October, Topalov said in a press conference, "I believe that his (Kramnik's) play is fair, and my decision to continue

1680-514: Was played in the World Chess Championship 2018 between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana . 3...Nxe4 (the Damiano Variation ) has traditionally been regarded as an error, though it has occasionally been seen in recent grandmaster play. Black must play accurately to avoid a serious disadvantage. After 4.Qe2 Black must avoid: Best is 4...Qe7 5.Qxe4 d6 6.d4 dxe5 7.dxe5 Nc6, and after 8.Nc3 Qxe5 9.Qxe5+ Nxe5 10.Nb5 (or 10.Bf4) White has

1722-488: Was stranded due to the cancellation of all flights following the volcano ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull . Anand asked for a three-day postponement, which the Bulgarian organisers refused on 19 April. Anand eventually reached Sofia on 20 April, after a 40-hour road journey. Consequently, the first game was delayed by one day. The match consisted of 12 games. In Game 1, Topalov quickly defeated Anand in 30 moves, utilizing

Petrov's Defence - Misplaced Pages Continue

1764-567: Was won by Gata Kamsky . The Challenger Match between Topalov and Kamsky took place in February 2009 in Sofia. Topalov won the match 4½–2½. Topalov won the 2010 Linares chess tournament held in February, defeating Boris Gelfand in the last round. Before the 2010 World Chess Championship match with Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, who had booked on the flight Frankfurt–Sofia on 16 April,

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