[Event "Unification WCC"]
[Site "Elista RUS"]
[Date "2006.10.07"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin (BUL)"]
[Black "Kramnik, Vladmir (RUS)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D12"]
[WhiteElo "2813"]
[BlackElo "2743"]
[Annotator "Mihail Marin"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2006.09.23"]
[SourceDate "2006.09.11"]

{The 9th game was a rather one-sided affair. Kramnik made some early strategic
concessions and could not get any kind of tactical compensation. Topalov did
not seem to be in a hurry to convert his considerable advantage, but this was
in fact the shortest way to a win, causing Kramnik to crack under the
psychological pressure.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 ({This is the
first time Kramnik deviates from the course of an earlier game of the match.
In the seventh game he transposed to the Queen's Gambit Accepted with} 4... e6
5. Bd3 dxc4 6. Bxc4 c5) 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. a3 $5 {Almost neve
r played before. Topalov usually plays ...a6 as Black in the Slav Defence and
now he gives it a try from the other side of the board. I would allow myself a
small divagation. Three quarters of century ago, the somewhat mysterious
Indian player Sultan Khan (not the most erudite theoretician of his time, for
sure) frequently employed the modest advance of the a-pawn with both colours
and irrspective of the opening. Among others, he beat the great Capablanca in
what is called today the Petrosian-Kasparov system and accidentally "invented"
the Chebanenko - Slav much before the birth of the Moldavian trainer.
Returning to our game, the point behind Topalov's last move will become clear
soon.} 8... Nbd7 9. g3 Be7 10. f4 {Diagram # After having eliminated the black
light-squared bishop, White has arranged several of his pawns on dark squares.
This is aimed to ensure the free circulation of his own bishop, which became
the unchallenged master of the light squares. However, combining a3 with f4
also pursues a more concrete aim. White threatens to block the position with
c5, when the thematic central break ...e5 would be impossible. At the same
time, the attempt to undermine the powerful chain of pawns from the other side
with . ..b6 is safely answered by b4, because ...a5 is inoffensive since the
b4-pawn has been defended in advance. This would leave White with considerable
advantage of space, without any possibility of counterplay for Black.} 10...
dxc4 ({Giving up the centre so easily is a risky decision.} 10... a5 {
deserves attention, with the idea to answer 11.c5 with 11...b6.}) 11. Bxc4 O-O
12. e4 {Looking at this position, I cannot stop asking myself: what does it
mean to play a hypermodern opening? 1...d5 is supposed to be a classical way
of starting the game, but isn't here White's advantage in the centre just as
big or maybe even bigger than, say, in the Gruenfeld? One of the reasons why
the Slav is so popular nowadays is that it allows Black choose any type of
structure he wishes, according to the style of play or, why not, the mood in
that specific moment. It can lead to more or less symmetrical positions or to
very unbalances situations. As a compensation for White's advantage of space
and powerful pair of bishops in the current position, Black is few tempi ahead
in development. It remains an open question whether this is enough. Kramnik's
play in the next phase of the game does not really sustain this hypothesis.}
12... b5 13. Be2 {We can see here a further merit of a3: in order to undermine
the e4-pawn, Black needs to spend an extra-tempo, allowing White to transfer
the bishop on the optimal square.} 13... b4 ({This seemingly active move
implies a big strategic risk, because it leaves Black's structure in ruins and
it opens new horisons for the f3-bishop, by weakening the c4-square. If the
piece pressure will fail to yield the expected effect, Black will find himself
in a hopeless situation.} 13... Qb6 {was a more solid option.}) 14. axb4 Bxb4
15. Bf3 Qb6 16. O-O e5 {This was the counterplay Black was relying on. However,
White has sufficient resources to avoid any structural damage in the centre.}
17. Be3 Rad8 {Apparently, a logical move. The d4-pawn is pinned along the
g1-a7 diagonal and, indirectly, along the d-file. However, these minor
problems are rather easy to solve.} 18. Na4 {
Black has to release the first pin now.} 18... Qb8 ({This slightly mysterious
move was probably connected with a concrete detail mentioned below. However,
the moreactive} 18... Qb5 {might have been better and if} 19. Qc2 {then} 19...
exd4 20. Bxd4 c5 {followed by ...Nb6, with certain counterplay.}) 19. Qc2 exf4
20. Bxf4 ({Kramnik's idea is revealed after} 20. gxf4 {when} 20... Rfe8 {
creates the threat ... Nxe4 and the generally desirable Bf2 loses the f4-pawn.
However, White's last move maintains the advantage in the centre intact.})
20... Qb7 21. Rad1 Rfe8 {Diagram # Both sides have completed their development
and time has come to make a first evaluation. Optically speaking, White's
advantage is overwhelming. Hemaintained his control in the centre, has
displayed his bishops actively and has the more compact structure of pawns.
However, converting this advantage into something more concrete is likely to
be a laborious process. It might look tempting to start advancing the central
pawns, but this would just provide the black knights with stable squares in
the centre. At least for a while, it is much wiser to create simple threats
(be them real or imaginary) on the wings, maintaining the centre intact. This
would most probably cause Black to gradually lose his coordination and then
the pawns could advance unhindered.} 22. Bg5 Be7 23. Kh1 Nh7 24. Be3 Bg5 25.
Bg1 {Of course, exchanging pieces would somewhat relieve Black's position.}
25... Nhf8 26. h4 {Not only restricting the enemy bishop, but creating the
potential threat of an attack by means of h5.} 26... Be7 27. e5 {Now that the
knights do not have access to d5, this move is well-timed. In order to defend
his c6-pawn, Black is forced to retreat even more.} 27... Nb8 28. Nc3 Bb4 29.
Qg2 {Now, such threats as d5 or h5 start getting contour. Black's main problem
is that he cannot easily guess which are White's intentions and each minor
slip could be decisive. At the same time, White can allow himself to miss one
or two promissing continuations, because they would be there few moves later,
too.} 29... Qc8 30. Rc1 {Enabling the knight's jump to d5, eventually followed
by Nf4, in order to take under observation one of Black's last remaining
outposts, the e6-square.} 30... Bxc3 $2 {Black finally cracks under the
pressure. This exchange is equivalent with unconditioned strategic
surrendering.} 31. bxc3 {Diagram # Nothing can stop White's pawns now, but it
is remarkable that Topalov will employ the same method as in the previous
phase of the game, maintaining the threat of advancing the centre in reserve.}
31... Ne6 32. Bg4 Qc7 33. Rcd1 Nd7 34. Qa2 {We can feel here the effects of
the huge advantage of space: White's pieces can easily be transferred from one
wing to the other. It might look that White is planning to put the a7-pawn
under pressure, but we shall soon see that his target is much more important.}
34... Nb6 35. Rf3 Nf8 36. Rdf1 Re7 37. Be3 {White's last piece joins the
attack, threatening Bg5. Suddenly, Black is just lost.} 37... Nh7 38. Rxf7 $1 
{Diagram #} 38... Nd5 39. R7f3 1-0

