In this video from the Satranç Okulu channel, the host starts the countdown to the six-game classical match between Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş and Veselin Topalov, to be played from 11 to 17 April with all games rated. To show what Yağız is up against, he walks through one of Topalov's most celebrated wins: his game against Garry Kasparov in Amsterdam in 1996.
The Opponent
Topalov is currently rated 2717. The Bulgarian grandmaster won the FIDE World Championship in 2005 and once reached a rating of 2816. The host admits that his name may not be familiar to younger fans, but at his peak he was seen as Kasparov's heir: his dynamic style, sacrifices and attacking games constantly reminded people of the great champion. Their encounters were always full of excitement.
Some might think that a 50-year-old Topalov is an easy opponent for Yağız. The host strongly disagrees. Topalov has played little in recent years, but he has kept preparing his openings seriously, and he is also the second of one of the world's leading players. He may well want to end this quiet spell by beating Yağız, so this will definitely not be the easy match some people expect.
Yağız Will Face a Different Kind of Player
According to the host, Topalov's style is a breath of fresh air from another era, the era of Tal and Kasparov, and Yağız's talent will be put to a serious test. The host does not know whether Yağız has faced this kind of player before, which makes the match all the more intriguing.
The Game: Topalov vs Kasparov, Amsterdam 1996
Kasparov chose a classical Sicilian and Topalov replied with the Sozin-style 6.Bc4. When Kasparov's 8...Nc5 threatened the e4 pawn, Topalov simply castled and let it go. Kasparov took, and after 11.f5 Black's development was very poor: after eleven moves only one knight had been developed, and White was threatening to capture on e6. Topalov then aimed at f7 with 12.Qh5 and kept making forward moves.
The turning point was 14.Nc6!. The host stresses the value of going forward when each step is calculated properly: if you retreat, you create no threats and cannot put pressure on your opponent. Then came 16.Bg5! and above all 17.Nd8!!, which the host considers incredible. The knight travelled from f3 to d4, c6, d8, f7 and finally g5 and, as the host puts it, that move won the game. After 22.Bf7+ Kasparov had to give up his queen, and after the exchanges Black was left with two bishops against a queen in a lost position.
Even in the later stages Topalov kept showing his style, putting pressure on the white squares move after move, which is exactly why the host says Yağız must be extremely careful. Kasparov, the same man who had been so ambitious in the Judit Polgár documentary, was simply being crushed.
Play Through the Game
Follow the full game, Topalov (White) against Kasparov (Black), in the game viewer below. It ended 1-0 after 66 moves.
Sources
Yağız Dünya Şampiyonu Topalov'a Karşı! (Satranç Okulu, YouTube). The game details (event, date, round, result and length) are taken from Chessgames.com and Classic Chess. The moves were read from the video's board and checked move by move against legal play and the game length.
