Vladimir Kramnik — Veselin Topalov
Kramnik responds with a deeply prepared Meran novelty on move 14, steering the game into uncharted territory and outplaying Topalov in a complex middlegame. Despite being behind on the scoreboard, Kramnik shows no anxiety — his systematic approach earns a clear endgame advantage that he converts in 53 moves. The match is levelled at 1–1.
Kramnik's novelty on move 14 takes Topalov completely out of his preparation, forcing the Bulgarian champion to think for himself in a deeply complex structure.
The resulting isolated queen pawn position favours White's pieces; Kramnik's knights find ideal outpost squares while Topalov's counterplay never materialises.
Topalov's rooks are passive throughout; Kramnik centralises his own rooks and the endgame conversion is a model of technical precision.