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Topalov, nº 1 of the world and leader of the tournament
The Bulgarian player Veselin Topalov won the final game of the Chess Master of Bilbao after playing with the Ukrainian chess player Vasily Ivanchuk. His victory not only gives him the winning award worth in 150.000 euros, it also proclaims him as world champion in the FIDE lists which will be publish the 1st October. The Norwegian player Magnus Carlsen, tied with the Indian Viswanathan Anand; on the other hand, the Armenian player Levon Aronian, was beat by the Azerbaijani Teymur Radjabov and he was displaced from the first position. Carlsen and Aronian finished the tournament in second and third position.
Topalov won the tournament without any problems. He didn’t felt any pressure on him even though he was taking medication for his cough before starting the game. Topalov played calmly, just like he has been doing during the week, even though he knew that Ivanchuk could have won the tournament. I’ve got a lot of experience in such decisive games, said Topalov to the audience who gathered together in the Plaza Nueva after the game. The secret is not to think about what you playing for, not even the price; you just have to think about the moves you make. If you do the correct moves, you can fight against adversities. He also talked about being on top of the ranking: It is not very important to me; I was already proclaimed world champion in 2005.The most important thing is to participate in tournaments. He also talked about the experience of playing inside a glassed case: I think this event is going to cause a big impact on the organization of chess tournaments, for now on, I am sure it will be changes. Topalov went to eat to a restaurant in San Sebastian on his day off and he is thinking about having a rest and go on holiday to prepare the game against the American player Gata Kamsky.
Topalov played his best game against Ivanchuk. He gave his opponent a pawn in a variant of the Slavic Defense in order to activate the pieces; however, the ex world champion gave the pawn back in the 19 move. After that, Topalov took advantage over the Ukrainian player and he finally moved his pawn to the 7 line so he could threaten the towers of his opponents. The game ended in the 43 move after a 3 hours game in which Topalov was proclaimed winner of the tournament.
The Armenian player Levon Aronian had some possibilities to win the tournament. It could have been possible if he had won the game against Teymur Radjabov and Topalov had tied with Ivanchuk. Unfortunately, he lost a good opportunity with incomprehensible moves. Aronian spent 25 minutes in an inefficient move instead of threatening the knight of his opponent. Finally, Radjabov took advantage over him and he was beat in the 49 move.
The game between the Norwegian player Magnus Carlsen and the Indian player Viswanathan Anand ended in a draw. The game ended in a draw because both agreed in the result. The world champion, -who has not been playing his best game- wanted to leave early and forget his performance in Bilbao. He is thinking about the game he will play in Bonn in October, in which he will defend his world champion title. The game ended in the 29 move in a draw by repetition.
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