The Slav: Move by Move ConA Pata EUC ec aay racks OTTAWA ce Saeed aaa Answer: No, the sac fails. Black accepts the first sac but declines the second with 27..f7! 28 Hh6 Ba1+ 29 &g2 Hc8 and his king slips away to e8. 26 ha! Impressive power chess by the fearless Topalov, who utilizes every ounce of energy his position contains to airlift another attacker into the fight. 26...Hb4 27 h5 Wb5 28 We2! Zxb2 It looks like Black is taking command of the game but this is just not the case. Topalov’s dynamic potential in the position erupts after his jarring next move. 29 hxgél! Topalov unleashes a multi-layer combination, one of the greatest ever played in a World Championship match. This game reminds me of Réti-Alekhine, Baden-Baden 1926, where Alekhine left his rook hanging for 14 straight moves, with the only difference being that Topalov tragically loses instead of crowning his creative masterpiece with a victory. Poca aol BoB Rau eel) Cte el Try to work out the mate without moving the pieces if Black succumbs to greed and grabs the queen with 29...2xc2. (Beware, difficult!) 29...h5! Winston Churchill once said: “If you are going through hell, keep going!” Kramnik finds the only prayer to stay alive for the moment. Answer: After the gullible 29...2xc2?? the brutal solution is 30 gxh7+ @h8 31 Hg8+ &xh7 32 H1g7+ #h6 33 f5+ 2g5 34 Bxg5! Wf1+ 35 Agi Be2 36 H5g6+ and mate next move. If you were able to work this out on your own, then you are a very strong player and should perhaps be thinking about going after your IM and GM norms! 28