Opening: Giuoco Piano Title: Most Complex Giuoco Piano! - Topalov vs Basso | Gibraltar Masters 2020
The Gibraltar Masters is a 10 rounds swiss which takes place from 21-30 January in Gibraltar. Top seeds are Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime, Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar and Wang, Hao.
Time control : 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes until the end of the game, with a 30-second increment.
Hello Chess Friends and Welcome to the Channel. I have another fantastic game played yesterday in round 9 of the Gibraltar Masters. Veselin Topalov with the white pieces against the 22 years old strong italian grandmaster Pier Luigi Basso. This is one of the most complex Giuoco Piano I've seen in years, so it's time to watch the game together. Let's get started
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 {instead of c3 but the game will transpose
} Nf6 5. c3 {the main line of Giuoco Piano} O-O {because Black didn't play d6
yet, it's also possible that Basso's idea is to push in the center with d5} 6.
Bg5 {pinning the Knight} h6 7. Bh4 Be7 8. Nbd2 d6 9. a4 {gains space on the
queenside, also clearing a2 for the bishop} Nh5 {with} 10. Bg3 {white prefers
to lose the bishop pair to open the h-file} Nxg3 11. hxg3 Nb8 {only have one
game in database with this position. A draw between Vachier-Lagrave and
Kramnik played in 2017.But our game will be completely different because
Vachier-Lagrave will move the king to g2 while Topalov wants to castle long}
12. Ba2 {a novelty and the game is now original} Nd7 13. d4 c6 14. Qc2 Qc7 15.
g4 c5 16. g5 {a dangerous position and a critical moment of the game. Basso
will capture} hxg5 {but Stockfish prefers another idea. Let's watch it together
} (16... cxd4 17. gxh6 {if now} dxc3 (17... g6 {is better} 18. Rc1 dxc3 19. Nb1
Kh7 20. Nxc3 a5 {with a complicated position, difficult to evaluate}) 18. hxg7
Kxg7 {the king is too exposed. Basso was right but going back one move}) 17.
O-O-O {time to exchange in the center. instead} Bf6 {and white becomes better}
(17... cxd4 {is the best idea but the initiative is still in white hands.
Watch this beautiful idea} 18. Nxd4 {and Black can't capture} exd4 {loses on
the spot.} (18... Nf6 19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. exf5 d5 {with a bit of advantage for
white that will attack via the h-file and Black that will try a counterplay in
the center and on the queenside}) 19. e5 {Nothing can stop the checkmate
because f7 is pinned}) 18. Rh2 {ready to double the rooks on the h-file. But
the winning idea is similar to what we already watched} (18. Nc4 cxd4 19. Nxd4
exd4 20. e5 {is not winning yet because the bishop is blocked by the Knight} g6
{closing the diagonal is the only move} 21. exf6 d5 22. Rxd4 dxc4 {is a blunder
} (22... Nxf6 23. Qd2 dxc4 24. Qxg5 {with advantage for white}) 23. Rxc4 Qd8
24. Qxg6+ fxg6 25. Rch4+ Rf7 26. Rh8#) 18... g6 19. Rdh1 cxd4 20. Rh6 Kg7 {
unpins f7and protects the pawn} 21. Nb1 Nc5 {the only move that gives some
mobility to the Black pieces} 22. Nxd4 {Topalov finds the idea} Bd7 23. Rh7+
Kg8 24. Nb5 Qd8 25. Nxd6 Be6 26. Bxe6 Nxe6 27. Qd1 g4 28. Na3 {Qe7 and then
Re8 and Black is fine} Nf4 {is a good idea that doesn't work: the idea is to
trap the rook. Rook back to h2 is good} 29. Nac4 {is a great idea, that
sacrifices the exchange for activity. Now Nh5 is a blunder} Nh3 {is a
different story but white is still better} (29... Nh5 {doesn't work because
after} 30. R7xh5 {Black is forced to recapture with the g-pawn} gxh5 31. Rxh5
Qd7 32. Ne3 Rfd8 33. Nef5 {then Qd2 and it's game over}) 30. Rxf7 Rxf7 31. gxh3
Rh7 32. Qxg4 Bg5+ 33. Kb1 Qf6 34. Rg1 {the bishop is under attack but also g6.}
Bf4 35. Qxg6+ Qxg6 36. Rxg6+ Kh8 37. Re6 Rd8 38. h4 {the h-pawn is safe} Rc7
39. Kc2 Kh7 40. Kb3 a6 41. Nf5 b5 42. axb5 axb5 43. Ncd6 Rb8 44. Ne8 Ra7 45.
Nf6+ Kh8 46. h5 Rba8 47. Nd5 Bc1 {b2 becomes the target} 48. Kc2 Ra1 49. Rxe5
Kg8 (49... R8a2 {loses to} 50. Re8+ Kh7 51. Nf6#) 50. Nb4 {defends a2 and
black resigns. Let's make a couple of moves. The attack against b2 just failed
and Black must reorganize his pieces} Rd8 (50... Rb8 51. Nd3 Bg5 52. Re6 {
on the light squares} Kf8 53. f4 Bd8 54. Ne5 Ra7 (54... Rb7 55. Nd6 {there are
forks everywhere.})) 51. Nd3 Bg5 52. Rxb5 {5 pawns for the exchange} 1-0
A fantastic game played by Topalov, a Giuoco Piano line that we don't see often but that can be quite dangerous. I really hope that you enjoyed the game and if you did, please don't forget to like the video and subscribe to the channel.
Photos by:
Lennart Ootes
FIDE Master and Professional Photographer
You can follow him here:
@LennartOotes
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