Veselin Topalov had an incredible decade in the 2000s. In the middle of the decade, he won the FIDE World Championship tournament in incredible fashion, starting with 6.5/7, and he reached the #1 Elo ranking in the world.
His play at the time was highly dynamic, and he was very well-prepared, regularly springing opening surprises. Here we see him at his very best against a young Levon Aronian.
Lessons:
* Exchange sacs can be dynamic as well as positional.
* Modern chess is very much about dynamics.
* Passed pawns are extra lethal when combined with a weak back rank.
* A bishop pair is often very good compensation for an exchange.
#chess #bestchessgames #exchangesac
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