1.d4 d5!? Usuallly Topalov is more aggressive against the Queen's Gambit chosing either the Benoni Defense or the King's Indian Defense.Here he choses to be solid against one of the strongest chess players in the World. Or possibly he is showing Kamsky that he has many defenses against the Queen's Gambit (relating to their upcoming match). 2.c4 c6!? Chosing one of the most solid continuations against the Queen's Gambit:the Slav defense. 3.Nf3 Developing the the king's knight is more popular at the highest levels of chess, (rather than playing 3.Nc3). 3...Nf6 Otherwise he falls a tempo behind in minor piece development. 4.e3 Allowing him to complete the development of his kingside,at the cost of blocking in his dark-squared bishop. [Analysis: The main continuation in this position is: 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bb7] 4...Bf5 The most popular move in this position, developing another minor piece. 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 [Analysis:Less popular is 6...Be4 with the most popular continuation being: 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qc7 9.Bd2 Nbd7 10.cxd5 Nxd5] 7.Be2 Simply completing the development of his kingside minor pieces to facilitate kingside castling. [Analysis:The main line is: 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.g3 Nbd7 9.Bg2 dxc4 10.Qe2 Be7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Qxc4 e5] 7...Nbd7 [Analysis:According to the chessbase online database, the only other move played with any frequency by the second player in this position is: 7...Bd6 ] 8.g3!? The reason he played this move is that he intends to redeploy his light-squared bishop on the h1-a8 diagonal in the near future. This move has been rarely played in top-level chess, maybe due to the fact that it means White has played 4 pawn moves of the first 8 moves in the game. 8...Bd6 Deploying his bishop as actively as possible in the position. [Analysis: According to the chessbase online database,the only other move played in this position is: 8...Be7 ] 9.0-0 [Analysis: According to the chessbase online database, the only other move played in this position has been 9.a3 ] 9...0-0 [Analysis:other moves played in this position include: 9...Qe7 ; 9...dxc4; and 9...Ne4 ] 10.Nxg6 Analysis:According to the Chessbase online database, this move is almost always played in this position by top-level players. [10.a3; 10.Bd2] 10...hxg6 The only move played in this position in the chessbase online database,following the general rule that one should recapture towards the center of the board. 11.Qc2 Preventing ...Ne4. [Deep Rybka 11.c5 Bc7 12.Qc2 e5 13.Rd1 Qe7 14.Bd2 Qe6; Analysis:According to the chessbase online database, the most often played move in this position is: 11.b3 ] 11...dxc4 Reducing some of the tension in the center and forcing Aronian's bishop off the d1-h6 diagonal. [Analysis:The move 11...Qe7 has also been tried by the second player at this stage of the game.] 12.Bxc4 c5 Topalov creates a pawn lever,threatening to give Aronian an isolated d-pawn next move with the capture 13...cxd4. [Deep Rybka:(a) >=12...Qe7 13.Bd2 Nb6 14.Bd3 e5 15.Rfe1 Rae8 16.Ne4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 f5 18.Qb3+ Rf7 19.Bd3 e4 20.Be2 Nd5=; (b) ‹12...b5 13.Bd3 Nb6 14.a4 a6 15.Ne4 Qc7; Analysis:The move 12...Rc8 was played in the game K.Georgieve-J.Speelman 2008 1-0] 13.dxc5 The only move played in this position in the Chessbase online database. [Deep Rybka: >=13.Qb3 cxd4 14.exd4 Nb6 15.Bd3 Qd7 16.Rd1 Rfc8=] 13...Bxc5= [Analysis:In a game in 2008, GM Boris Gelfand continued by playing 13...Nxc5 against GM Boris Avrukh.] 14.Rd1 Analysis: According to the Chessbase online database,this move is the only one which has been played in competition:It was played by Galliamova versus Cmilyte, Ivanchuk versus Gelfand, and Gelfand versus Kramnik , all in 2007. 14...Rc8 Centralizing his rook on the open c-file where it can cause problems for Aronian's queen. [Analysis:Deep Rybka:

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.