“I suffered, but I held on well.” This is how Viswanathan Anand summed up his tough duel with Veselin Topalov in the first semi-final of the 37th edition of the Magistral Ciudad de León rapid tournament. After coming close to defeat in the first two rounds, the Indian, five-time world champion and 11th on the current list despite his 54 years, delivered a precise counterattack in the 3rd and tied the last without suffering. On Sunday he will play his 14th final at the Auditorio de León against his compatriot Arjun Erigaisi, 4th in the world, or the local idol, Jaime Santos, winner in 2023.
The first round was a tremendous struggle, in which both sides were at a loss. Anand, with Black, took a risky risk instead of seeking a flat equilibrium, and fell to the brink of defeat. But Topalov was not sharp – it was difficult in a rapid game – when it came to finding the right blow to turn his advantage into a victory. He also became passive, which gave the Indian an unseen opportunity to coordinate his pieces in a lethal attack. After some further skirmishes, the draw was signed after 60 tense moves.
The second made it seem like it was going to be a boring draw, but both looked for oil until Topalov, with black, found it: a quality sacrifice (value difference between a rook and a knight) to achieve a two-pawn advantage and a lot of pressure . Anand again felt the scythe very close, but his long series of precise defensive throws ended with a serious error by Topalov, who became worse. But not enough to completely overturn the fight. New tie, on move 82.
The critical question at the start of the third round was whether the Bulgarian would feel the psychological blow of his mistake in the previous game. Very cautiously – perhaps because experience teaches one to be so – Topalov chose with White a very safe line of the Spanish Opening, where he could hardly have done worse. And so it was for the first 30 moves, but then the Bulgarian, who has been living in Salamanca for many years, did not properly evaluate Anand’s counterattack on the kingside while he was pushing on the queenside. He was clearly worse off, and soon after he lost. This time, the five-time world champion did not forgive.
The challenge was Herculean for Topalov. With his serious mistake in the second round still hovering in his mind, where surely the memory of his two defeats against Anand in the finals of 2006 and 2007 also appeared. However, true to the indomitable fighter character that always defined him, the Bulgarian Salamanca tried, but could not get past the tie. Despite his 54 years, Anand not only remains a genius; He also remains very strong. And also inspired by León, one of his favorite tournaments.
to weekly newsletter ‘Wonderful move’, by Leontxo Garcia
