Topalov avenges defeat, beats Anand in the 7th Round
By Vijay Kumar.

Sofia 18th May 2006, The Reigning world chess Champion Veselin Topalov , who was humiliated by Anand in the First half of the Mtel Masters, fought like a tiger in the 7th round game against Viswanathan Anand and after a marathon fight on the board finally won the game.
Playing with black Topalov replied with c5 in response to Anand’s e 4 move and after a set of moves the game was fought on Sicilian Najdorf pattern. Right from the beginning it was Topalov who kept on taking risk as this was a crucial game for him and a loss would have put him out of contention for the title.
In the middle game he sacrificed a pawn to improve his position and since Anand failed to play the precise defense against him it became easier for Topalov to build an unbreakable fort and forced the Madras Tiger to surrender in the endgame.
“ I got a bad position in the opening and it was very unpleasant to defend” Anand told Vijay Kumar after the lost game
“ It is quite a pleasure to win with black. Today I took a big risk ,because I went for a very sharp line in the opening play . Had I lost the game I would have been last in the tournament so I took the risk but it worked” a smiling Topalov said after the game.

In the other game Ruslan Ponomariov defeated Peter Svidler in a Sicilian Kan game. Peter Svidler who had scored a splendid victory against Topalov in the 6th Round, somehow could not meet the challenge that was thrown on his face by the youngest ever World Chess Champion Ruslan Ponomariov.
The last game between Etienne Bacrot and Gata Kamsky could not head for a decision and none of the player was ready to take any risk in their Queens Gambit Declined Slav variation game.
Gata Kamsky however improved his lead position in the tournament to a full point over Anand. The former Russian giant who had beaten Anand in the first half is going to meet Anand again in the next round.
Result Round 7
Viswanathan Anand lost to Veselin Topalov
Ruslan Ponomariov beat Peter Svidler
Etienne Bacrot drew with Gata Kamsky
Standings after Round 7

1. Gata Kamsky 5 points
2. Viswanathan Anand 4 points

3-4 Peter Svidler,Veselin Topalov 3.5 points
5-6 Etienne Bacrot, Ruslan Ponomariov 2.5 points

Pairing Round 8

Veselin Topalov vs Ruslan Ponomariov
Peter Svidler vs Etienne Bacrot
Gata Kamsky vs Viswanathan Anand