[Event "Eurotel Trophy"]
[Site "Prague CZE"]
[Date "2002.04.29"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Milov, V."]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Hathaway, Mark"]
[BlackElo "2745"]
[ECO "A57"]
[EventDate "2002.04.28"]
[WhiteElo "2606"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 { Topalov is an excellent tactician and prefers the unbalanced fight this could produce. } 3. d5 b5 { Benko Gambit - Black uses Pb5 for one of several purposes: to get rid of Pc4 which prevents White from using central pawns to cramp Black, to inhibit Nb1-c3 because of ...b5-b4 and to open queen-side squares for the Black pieces, including Bc8 which might not be able to activate to f5 or g4. } 4. Nf3 { Many moves have been tried; this one is useful without exposing to White the way White intends to play his pawns. For example, should Black play ...bxc4 and allow Nb1-c3 then White might follow with Nf3-d2xc4 with excellent coordination. Usually Black leaves Pb5 to maintain his options. } ( 4. cxb5 { is probably the most common attempt } ) 4... g6 ( 4... e6 { Blumenfeld Gambit -- pressures Pd5 while White doesn't have Nc3 to support it } ) 5. cxb5 a6 { Black offers this pawn to open the queen-side further, expecting his improved piece activity to compensate for the pawn. } 6. b6 { White refuses to cooperate and leaves Pa6 to block Bc8. Of course, he doesn't win a pawn this way either. } 6... d6 ( 6... Qxb6 ) 7. Nc3 Nbd7 { Black might plan ...Nxb6 to pressure Pd5, perhaps with ...Bb7. } 8. e4 Bg7 9. a4 { threatening a4-a5 to hold onto Pb6, but weakening the b-file tremendously } 9... Qxb6 { Nd7 holds square e5 and Qb6 does better on the b-file than a Nb6 would. } 10. Nd2 O-O 11. Be2 { At this point Black has an interesting choice to make. Some players have succeeded (as White) with a4-a5 and so some (as Black) have played ...a6-a5 and perhaps ...Ba6 to fight on the queen-side light squares. But, ...a5 weakens b5, so not everyone finds it appealing. But, what's the alternative plan for Black? Bc8 isn't developed, so ...e6 might soon be considered, but at the moment Pd6 is too weak for that. } 11... Rb8 12. O-O Qa7 13. Nc4 Nb6 { It looks like he's just trying to trade pieces to ease his cramp, but this can be risky because White has mobile central pawns and is close to having them very well supported. } 14. Na5 $5 { White decides he would rather leave the pieces on the board and fight for e4-e5 (a major strategic theme) or perhaps a direct king-side attack. Black has to commit to some other way of fighting actively. } ( 14. a5 $2 Nxc4 15. Bxc4 Bd7 { and ...Bb5 completes Black's development and establishes pretty good coordination } ) 14... Bd7 15. Qc2 Qc7 16. Bd2 { to keep Na5 safe } 16... e6 { and there it is Black commits to weakening Pd6 to force lines open. Fortunately this should be sufficient. White hasn't got enough of a lead in development (if any) to do any damage. } 17. dxe6 Bxe6 18. b3 { White switches to a policy of securing the light squares, and I'd guess moving Ra1, before even thinking of how to threaten Black's central pawns. This might give Black an opportunity. Na5 is only defended when Nc3 moves, but if Nc3 moves it exposes Ra1. Would Black trade Bg7 for Ra1? I think so. So, moving Nb6 to threaten Na5 has to be considered. } ( { Fritz: } 18. Bxa6 Qa7 19. Nc6 Qxa6 20. Nxb8 Rxb8 ) 18... d5 { Typical Topalov, instead of applying pressure he opens lines for his pieces and then looks for weak spots where he can hit hard and fast. That this might simplify and allow his opponent to achieve equality isn't an immediate concern for Topalov. } 19. exd5 Nfxd5 20. Nxd5 Nxd5 { The knight has moved and Ra1 is threatened, but Na5 is defended and Ra1 has time to move. What has Black gained (?) -- open lines! } 21. Rac1 Bd4 { With this great central piece activity you might think Topalov believes in Classical principles, and maybe he does to a certain extent. } 22. Nc4 Nf4 23. Bxf4 ( { Black invades easily after } 23. Bf3 Bf5 24. Qa2 Nd3 25. Rcd1 Rfe8 ) 23... Qxf4 24. Bd3 Kg7 { This is certainly an interesting move. Is he planning ...h7-h5 and worries about a sacrifice at g6? Is he just playing a waiting move to gain clock time? I don't know how much time he had used to this point, so I can't know whether it was clock related, but I can imagine Black wanting to play ...h7-h5-h4-h3, slow as that is. More likely I'd expect Black to double rooks on the b-file. } ( 24... Rb7 ) 25. Rce1 Qf6 26. Be4 h5 27. Kh1 Rb4 { After this Black threatens ...Bxc4 and White would have to recapture with a pawn, opening the b-file for Black's rooks. } 28. f4 { Voluntarily weakening Kh1 isn't good, but the prospect of f4-f5 to open lines toward Kg7 must have been very tempting. } ( 28. Bd3 Rfb8 29. Rb1 ) 28... Bxc4 29. bxc4 Re8 ( 29... Rb2 30. Qc1 Bf2 31. Rd1 Re8 32. Rd2 ( 32. Rd6 Qxd6 33. Qxb2+ Bd4 34. Qc2 f5 { and Black invades on the e-file, though it's not clear he can do great damage with the bishops of "opposite color". } ) 32... Be3 33. Qxb2 Bxd2 34. Qxd2 Rxe4 ) 30. f5 g5 31. Bd5 Rxe1 32. Rxe1 Rb2 33. Qe4 Rf2 34. Qd3 Rxf5 { Winning one pawn is good, but trading queens might limit Black's ways of winning. } 35. Qd1 g4 { defending Ph5 and threatening ...g3 to remove another pawn from the cover around Kh1 } 36. g3 Rf2 37. Be4 Bc3 38. Rg1 Bd4 39. Re1 Qg5 { Black defends Pg4, so he can play ...h5-h4xg3. } 40. Rf1 $2 ( 40. Bg2 h4 41. gxh4 Qxh4 42. Re4 f5 43. Re2 Rxe2 44. Qxe2 f4 $17 ) 40... Qd2 { Black threatens ...Rxh2#, so White can hardly refuse to trade queens. But, there's a catch! } 41. Qxd2 Rxf1+ { so that after 42. Kg2 Rg1# Tactical trickery at it's best: typical Topalov. } 0-1