17. ... Bxf3 18. Bxf3 Rxc4 19. dxc4 Nc6 and Black won easily in 34 moves.
So Kamsky needed only to draw with
white in the final tiebreaker to proceed to the Candidates final, and when the follow- ing position was reached, it looked as if he would do just that.
Missed win GM Gata Kamsky (FIDE 2732) GM Boris Gelfand (FIDE 2733) Kazan Candidates Matches, 05.16.2011
r+-wqr+k+ +l+-+pzpp pzpn+-+-+ +-sn-zpP+- P+LzpP+-+
Rt NzP-+-+- -zP-+QvLPzP +-+-+R+K
After 23. Bc4 Gelfand thought he had found an orig-
inal way to pressure the e-pawn by playing 23. ... Na5!? 24. Nxa5 bxa5. Now Kamsky found himself in trouble after 25. Qh5? Qc7 26. Bd5 Bxd5 27. exd5 Ne4 28. Bg1?. 28. Qe2 was necessary. 28. ... Qc4! after which Gelfand won the d-pawn and leveled the match on move 50. Neither player noticed that 25. Bxf7+! Kxf7 26. Qc4+ would have left only Kamsky with winning chances and Gelfand woud have been out of the Candidates series.
Fate gave me chances of winning in three games, I didn’t take them, and ended up having a goal scored against me in blitz.
Having been granted a stay of execution,
Gelfand took full advantage in the blitz playoffs, winning both games comfortably.
Kamsky versus Topalov Kamsky gained sweet revenge for his
2009 Candidates defeat in Sofia by Topalov, ending the ambitions of one of the Candidates favorites as well as continuing Topalov’s recent run of mediocre form. After a balanced first game, Kamsky put
the cat among the pigeons with a powerful attacking effort, with black, in the second.
Kamsky at his best GM Veselin Topalov (FIDE 2775) GM Gata Kamsky (FIDE 2732) Kazan Candidates Matches, 05.08.2011
(see diagram next column) Black’s position appears to be a total
wreck but Kamsky found 45. ... Bxd5! 46. exd5. The obvious move but 46. Qxd5!
-+-+-mk-+
pz -+-+-+- -zpn+Q+-+ +-+NsnPzpp -+-+P+-+
Pz -+-+-zPP l+-+-vL-+ +-+q+LmK-
After 45. Bf1
Qxd5 47. exd5 Ne7 48. Be2 would retain reasonable winning chances for White. 46. ... Nd4!! 47. Qf6+ Kg8 48. Qxg5+ Kf7 49. Qd8 Qc2! A crazy position and extraordinarily frustrating for Topalov who has two extra pawns and the first check but no way to control the black knights. 50. Bg2 Qc1+ 51. Kh2 Qc2! 52. Bg1 Ndf3+ 53. Kh1 Ne1! 54. Bf2 The only move to save the game, but at this stage of the match a draw was equiv- alent to a loss for Topalov in any case. 54. ... Qxf2 55. Qc7+ Kf6 56. Qd6+ Kf7 57. Qc7+ Kf6 58. Qd6+ Kf7, Draw agreed. Suddenly the pressure was on Topalov
Of course, the main goal is to win the World Championship title. I toldmyself I’d fight for that title until I’m 40. If it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t matter. In general, I’m going to quit chess when I’m 40, so the next cycle will be my last.
uschess.org
to find a win, pronto. He pushed a little with Black in the
third and then threw everything at Kam- sky in the final game. When the American blundered on move 38 it seemed as if Topalov would inevitably win but Kamsky hung tough, losing some pawns but whip- ping up counterplay from nowhere. By a fluke of chess, none of the winning lines available to Topalov were obvious and after a few subtle inaccuracies the Bulgar- ian had to settle for a perpetual check and was knocked out of the World Champi- onship cycle.
.
See more details including photos and complete .pgn files on the official website:
kazan2011.fide.com/. Photos and games are also available on Chess Life Online’s May archives at
uschess.org. USCF members can also download a
.pdf file of this issue and archival issues, and .pgn files of the games within, at
uschess.org, “Chess Life Magazine,” “Downloadable Files.”
Chess Life — August 2011 23
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