The Grünfeld was finally back after the disaster in game one – if anything to show Anand's house was in order. The opening went well and he equalized easily, but a very sharp Topalov found a way to lead him astray. A classic endgame with a bishop pair advantage followed. The Bulgarian made inroads and pushed, but a finesse by the Indian put a halt to them and secured the draw.
World Chess Championship – Game ten
Sofia, 7th May
The tenth game of the World Chess Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria also ended after a bitter battle lasting 60 moves, when all possibilities of a decisive result were wiped out. The score now stands equal at 5-5 and the remaining two games promise to be exciting in this twelve-game match series to decide the World Championship.
NIIT MindChampion Anand defended an inferior position stubbornly for a long time, and this draw with black should put him in a better frame of mind going into the rest day tomorrow. Anand will wield white in the 11th game on Sunday. Later commenting on the game Anand said “ I think I got a decent position but a careless 24th move allowed Topalov to get some play”
Tired after defending passive positions in the Slav Defence, which are not exactly his style, Viswanathan Anand once again adopted the Grünfeld Defence, with which he suffered a shocking loss in the first round. Anand then had probably mixed up some order, and his team would have plugged in the obvious loopholes for the Indian to play it once again.
However the exchange of pieces had Topalov once again in a better position, with an advanced isolated pawn in the centre and his bishop pair controlling vital diagonals. Very soon it was apparent that Anand was in trouble and would once again need all his defensive skills to salvage a draw, while Topalov was in a no-risk position and could press for victory. Topalov’s king marched to the centre of the board very quickly, while Anand’s king was tied down in his territory. Anand had a knight and bishop while Topalov had the bishop pair in the ending. It was easier for Topalov to force play on both sides of the board as his bishops could gun long range while for Anand, it was once again defending an inferior passive position.
A 44th inaccurate move by Topalov’s light squared bishop suddenly allowed Anand’s knight to be active. Around this time Topalov started consuming time, and Anand was back to his speedy ways. Suddenly Anand’s knight, which so far had been restricted to his territory, was on the loose and started troubling the enemy. The exchange of the dark square bishop took the fizz out of the position and the draw was agreed.
Here is the full analysis of Game 10.
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