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Veselin Topalov And The Najdorf SicilianGM BryanSmith | Nov 12, 2015 | 13834 views | 27 comments

San Luis, Argentina, 2005: A double-round-robin tournamentwas held to determine the FIDE world champion.

In those days the world championship was still split after GarryKasparov and Nigel Short left FIDE for their 1993 match. Thechess world largely -- almost unanimously -- regarded thosewho continued the lineage of the classical world champions (Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik) as the "real" worldchampions.

Nevertheless, FIDE was still holding its own worldchampionships, usually in a tournament (rather than match)format.

The winner in San Luis 2005 was the Bulgarian grandmaster Veselin Topalov. Soon after, areunification match between Topalov and Kramnik was organized, to finally end the split in thechess world. During and before this match, Topalov was called the world champion. Thus he isoften considered to belong to the ranks of "classical" world champions, although he did not winthe title by a match.

Topalov has a fantastically sharp style, energetic like electricity. He has an ability to createcomplications in almost any position. His play is extremely concrete and based on precision,including deep opening preparation. Another major factor in his success is his iron nerves -- hewould never shy away from even the most dangerous and risky positions, and frequently enteredlines where his king faced the most obvious dangers, emerging unscathed.

As we move closer to today's chess, we find that the top players have an ever-wider openingrepertoire. This is perhaps because of the increased ease in preparation for specific opponents.Not only has it become more important to surprise one's opponent, it has also become easier tolearn many openings and develop expertise in them.

Thus we find that Topalov has a fairly large opening repertoire. As White he can play 1.d4 or 1.e4,and as Black many different defenses. Against 1.e4, for instance, it might be surprising that hefrequently used the French defense when he was younger. In recent years he can be foundplaying the Berlin Defense, the Caro-Kann, and a variety of Sicilians. But certainly, his biggestcontributions -- both as White and as Black -- have been in the Sicilian Najdorf.

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In most lines of the Najdorf Black can choose between a classical "Najdorf-style" approach with...e5 or the Scheveningen-like ...e6. The former creates a more stable pawn structure, withsome weaknesses, while the latter is far more dangerous for Black, whose safety depends muchmore on specific sharp variations.

Topalov played both ways, but more often he chose the latter.

He really burst on the scene in the 1994 Moscow Olympiad. Here we see him adopting anextremely sharp and risky approach to defeat Je Jiangchuan:

In that same tournament Topalov defeated Kasparov on the white side of a Najdorf, in a gamewhich really brought him in to the limelight. Kasparov got a good position out of the opening,but made a risky combination. Topalov found his way through the complications to assume theinitiative and won a dramatic game:

– X f J # , . @

Ye Jiangchuan (2575) vs. Topalov, Veselin (2645)Moscow ol (Men) | Moscow | Round 3 | 1994 | ECO: B80 | 0-1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d63. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf65. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e67. f3 b5 8. Qd2 Bb7This was in fairly early daysof the English attack, whenthe lines were not wellexplored. At the time, thiswas the main line, but inmore recent times Black haslooked for other paths. First8...Nbd7 9.g4 Nb6 wasplayed a lot, and when10.a4! became problematicBlack turned to moves like8...b4. 9. g4 h6 10. O-O-ONbd7 11. h4 b4

Topalov, Veselin (2645) vs. Kasparov, Garry (2805)Moscow ol (Men) | Moscow | Round 6 | 1994 | ECO: B81 | 1-0

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d63. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf65. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e67. g4 Even moreaggressive than the EnglishAttack with 7.f3, as we sawYe Jiangchuan playing. Thismove can lead to a two-piece sacrifice known as thePerenyi Attack. 7... h6 Kasparov opts not

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A couple of years later, already practically established as a top player, Topalov defeated Kasparovagain in the Najdorf. This time he managed to carry out an unbelievable knight maneuver, Ng1-f3-d4-d6-d6-f7-g5-f7:

Several important novelties were introduced by Topalov in the sharp 6.Be3 e6 line of the Najdorf(featured in the above game against Ye Jiangchuan). He used a sacrifice of the b-pawn to defeatKramnik in only 20 moves:

Topalov's play as Black in the Najdorf was highly provocative. Here is a dramatic and adventurousencounter with Vassily Ivanchuk that shows chess in its pure beauty. The game is far fromperfect, and most positions are so complicated they are almost unfathomable -- and yet we knowit could not happen this way if we throw away classical chess in favor of shorter time controls.

– X f J # , . @

to accept the sacrifice, andthe play stays somewhatmore rational.

( 7... e5 8. Nf5 g6 9. g5gxf5 10. exf5 This is thePerenyi Attack. )

8. f4 Topalov gains space

– X f J # , . @

Topalov, Veselin (2700) vs. Kasparov, Garry (2775)Amsterdam Euwe Memorial | Amsterdam | Round 1 | 22 Mar 1996 | ECO: B86 | 1-0

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d63. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf65. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e67. Bb3 Nbd7 8. f4 Nc59. O-O A very sharpattacking line, with Whitesacrificing the e-pawn. 9... Ncxe4 Kasparov takesthe pawn, which is thecritical move, although it isnot necessary to do so. 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. f5e5 12. Qh5 Qe7?! Soonafter, Nigel Short defeatedTopalov with 12...d5, whichis still a critical line. Also, inrecent years the move12...Qd7 has become an

– X f J # , . @

Kramnik, Vladimir (2754) vs. Topalov, Veselin (2757)Corus | Wijk aan Zee | Round 2 | 19 Jan 2005 | ECO: B80 | 0-1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d63. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf65. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e67. f3 b5 8. g4 h69. Qd2 b4!? It looksstrange to play this move soearly, but it is connectedwith concrete ideas. Blackwants to find out where theknight will go, and the moveis also connected with ideasof counterattack in thecenter. 10. Na4

( 10. Nce2 Keeping theknight in the center but notaiming at squares like b6.Now Black can push in the

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Whether making the wildest incalculable sacrifices or defending against the same, it was clearthat the Najdorf was the perfect battleground for Topalov to show his artistry.

– X f J # , . @

Ivanchuk, Vassily (2746) vs. Topalov, Veselin (2812)Sofia MTel Masters 5th | Sofia | Round 5 | 17 May 2009 | ECO: B99 | 0-1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d63. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf65. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5Ivanchuk opts for the mostdirect and explosive line. 6... e6 7. f4 Be7 Theclassical system, rather thansharper and moreprovocative lines like7...Qc7 or 7...Qb6 (whichTopalov has also played). Butthis does not mean thatBlack will not still playprovocatively. 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-ONbd7 10. Bd3 h611. Qh3!? One of the waysof avoiding 11.Bh4 g5, the

Previous‹ Next›4 hours agoIskandar

Thank you for this great article! Superb!!!

9 hours agolal_badam

Topalov is one of the sexiest chess player

17 hours agoFixing_A_Hole

I love this guy's articles!! I feel guilty reading them for free.

21 hours agovijdan

mnogo dobre dano pak da sı parvı v sveta

24 hours agoshamaror

amazing article...thx

25 hours agoleonel196388

good!!!!

27 hours agoFM backreg

Love the article and love the gentle stab at the "faster time controls" proposals floatingaround.

29 hours agoMichael_he

so nice

30 hours agobarbasa

@gidetiger those are the one of the games of bobby fisher itn't it?

a queen sacrifice and a mate on a bishop.

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31 hours agoWolf-Sathi

Nice article... Thanks once again @ Mr. Brayn

33 hours agogidetiger

– X f J # , . @

1. Bc3 Qg5 2. Re1+ Kd83. f4 Qxf4 4. Bxg7 Rg85. Qg4 Qxg4 6. Bf6#

33 hours agovinniethepooh

Great article!

37 hours agoongoingprocess

Thank you for this chess article.

39 hours agojim1729

Great article Bryan. Nice insight into Topa's play in the Najdorf.

40 hours agoEverling10

Really needs mention of Hikaru Nakamura if you are doing one on the Najdorf though.Isn't there even ONE game where he played it vs. Topalov?

40 hours agogoodchess123

Nice!

41 hours agosixtyfoursquares

Topalov and Ivanchuk are a class of their own!!

42 hours agoPawnDillinger

As usual, loved the article by GM BryanSmith. A great look at Topalov and the Najdorf.The author made it clear about what is a "real" and "linear" champion and made thedistinction between Kasparov and Kramnik and the FIDE title. He also made it clear that"some" believe Topalov to be a "classical" champion despite not winning the title in amatch.

I'm a huge admirer of Topalov, but unless he wins the linear championship — "the manwho beat the man" — in a match, then he is no classical champ. Small point, but in noway do I detract from Topalov or the article. I'm just a purist.

I'm still looking forward to Anand and Carlsen — or any other player/opening our writerfleshes out.

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42 hours agoiNedko

superb!

43 hours agoTheNoose

Great article! In the notes to the 1994 game, in the annotation of the moves of thegame from the U20 Girl's Championship, the final move is Rbd7#, not Rbe7#.

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