Tragic Topalov

Topalov v Kamsky

Chess is an extremely tragic game. I've been following the Candidates Matches. In Round 4, Veselin Topalov in his final must-win game against Gata Kamsky, blew a win on move 44. Kg1.

To be fair to him, this was an extremely complicated game and the correct move is not easy to find but even then Topalov still had 2-3 possible moves to retain his advantage.

The pained look on Topalov' face as
he realises his win has slipped away

Whatever has happened to Topalov? The old Topalov of 2005 would never have missed it. Now it seems that with him out of the Candidates, it would take another 4 years before he gets another chance to contest for the World Chess Championship title.

An extremely disappointed Topalov in the post-match conference

Pity. Despite all his shenaningans, it's hard not to feel sorry for him.

I am not a Topalov fan but I do admire his fighting spirit. I hope he recovers from this setback and regains his confidence.