For about six months now, many well-known grandmasters and masters have been accusing the world chess champion Bulgarian Veselin Topalov of using the tips of computer programs during official competitions. After a recent supertournament in Sofia, which culminated in another triumph of Topalov, such talk flared up with renewed vigor. It turned out that in the games of the second round with the main competitors, Vichy Anand and Gata Kamsky, almost all the moves of the champion coincided with the recommendations of one of the strongest chess programs to date with the tender name of "Fish".
The Russian magazine PROsport asked the international master Vladimir Barsky to study the topic of computer doping.
Technology is better, conscience is less
This story began last fall during the World Cup in San Luis (Argentina). The tournament, which was held in two rounds with 8 participants, was more than convincingly won by Veselin Topalov, and his result in the first round was especially impressive - 6.5 points out of 7 possible! The Bulgarian grandmaster knew no fatigue and radiated fantastic confidence; playing with both white and black pieces, he repeatedly went to the most difficult, tense positions and in a long struggle forced his opponents to make mistakes. Only Bobby Fisher and Garry Kasparov in their best years demonstrated such a style of fighting and such results.
In San Luis, the author of these lines was second to the Russian grandmaster Alexander Morozevich. The tournament was held in a small hotel, and usually, after Morozevich went to the game and watched the development of the debut from the auditorium, I returned to my room and watched the further course of the struggle via the Internet, where the matches were broadcast live. In addition to the computer provided by the organizers, I also included my laptop, on which I ran analytical chess programs and compared the game of grandmasters with the machine. In this mode, I worked calmly for 10 days, until during one of the broadcasts I almost jumped in my chair: unexpectedly, I unexpectedly discovered that in the party Topalov -
Morozevich made 15 white moves in a row in full accordance with ... recommendations of Fritz-9! (this is another very strong program along with Rybka).
In this 15-running segment, Veselin, acting in a very original, quick and confident way, won two pawns and achieved an absolutely won position. Black seemed to have to give up, but then Topalov missed their only counterplay related to the activation of the knight. It is curious that Fritz does not understand the charm of Black’s maneuver and shows White’s clear win: instead of Topalov’s erroneous move with a rook on the c2-square, Veselin should have gone the same piece to the next square - c3. Fans of the detective genre can finish the spy picture: Topalov’s agent passed the secret move to the morse code, and our hero confused the top three with the deuce - didn’t hear or count if the signal was transmitted tactfully, with a slight tingling under the kneecap ... As a result, Morozevich unexpectedly got a draw, and the story of Fritz was made public, because millions of chess fans followed the San Luis parties (the report on PROport was called Rise of the Machines).
Oscar went to the Fish
“Who is he - a genius who plays chess of the future, or just the owner of communication technologies so far invisible to others? Today, carefully ("Marathon" took bets online), he studied his game with Mamedyarov. After the sacrifice of quality that was incredible for the audience on the 20th move and before the 42nd move - all of Topalov’s 22 moves coincided with the first line of “Fritz-9”. Everything, without exception! ”
This Internet entry refers to the Topalov-Mamedyarov party (Wijk aan Zee, 2006), the plot of which is surprisingly reminiscent of the San Luis duel of our hero with Morozevich. Veselin confidently and enterprisingly led the match, achieved an overwhelming position, and then looked at a very beautiful, literally sketchy counterplay and, speaking in chess, allowed Black to jump off. Mamedyarov sacrificed the rook, but managed to tightly tie the pieces of the opponent, and Topalov had to come to terms with a draw, since White could not untie without major material losses. The computer is not yet capable of evaluating such positional sacrifices; it will assure you until recently that White has a decisive advantage. But Fritz just sees and approves the Topalov sacrifice of quality on the 20th move, I checked it on my computer: you just need to allow the program to think a little longer.
Veselin Topalov (born 03/15/1975) quickly broke into the elite in 1992 and in less than two years added about 200 (!) Elo points. In 1994, at the Moscow Olympics, he created a real sensation by defeating Kasparov himself, and in 1996 he won 6 (!) Super tournaments. But about 7-8 years ago, Topalov somehow wilted a bit and stepped into the shadows, content with a residence permit in the top ten. A new rapid surge began at the Bulgarian grandmaster literally one and a half to two years ago. For many years Topalov has been helped by his trainer and manager, the enterprising and energetic organizer Silvio Danailov; together they moved from Bulgaria to the Spanish Salamanca and live there next door.
“Finally open your eyes!” I'm crazy about this cheater. Morozevich was right when he put “Fish” in the Oscar in 1st place, and Danailova in 3rd; the result - Topalov is the world champion! ”
This short entry, or rather, the cry of the soul on one of the popular forums, requires clarification. Cheaters on chess slang are called dishonest players who use the tips of the programs ("prog"). Oscar - the prestigious "Audience Award" from the Russian magazine "64". Every year, journalists and chess players themselves name the top ten grandmasters of the past year. As you can see, Morozevich put the soulless program in 1st place (in the 2nd, by the way, too, only the other - Hydra), and in 3rd place - the champion manager! Apparently, Alexander thought that by doing so he sufficiently noted the outstanding achievements of Topalov at the chessboard, and did not enter the champion himself in the top ten.
Cheaters are disguised
The next serious competition with Wijk aan Zee involving Topalov took place on two continents: the first lap in Mexico, the second in the Spanish Linares. In Latin America, the champion did not shine, having suffered 3 defeats with 3 draws and only one victory, but he was transformed at home, he stopped losing at all,
He won 4 games and finished 3 in a draw. According to a similar scenario, the tournament was held in Sofia, where Topalova triumphantly led to a stormy finish spurt of 4 wins in a row, including over two main competitors, and black ones! And before that there was a very average game and two limp defeats.
Experts note that in the game Topalov observed two extremes. Sometimes his moves are one hundred percent consistent with the recommendations of the computer, and then he is unstoppable, beats everyone in a row, both white and black. In other games, on the contrary, there are practically no matches, and then there is a frankly weak game with rude yawns. Such sharp changes in the quality of the game, and even during one tournament, are not peculiar to man. But cheaters on the Internet like this is constantly observed. It's just that they, in order to disguise themselves, play some of the games themselves, and they connect computers only at critical moments of the competition.
After the Sofia tournament, “64” correspondent Oleg Pervakov asked Topalov a direct question:
- In the second game with Anand, the vast majority of moves were made on the first line of Rybka ... Do you consider Rybka to be the best computer program?
- I was lucky with Anand, he went for an option that was very well analyzed by our headquarters - almost to 22 ... Ls2. And then it was played easily. As for the "Fish" is not sure. I believe that the best program in the world is Hydra. And all the rest are more or less the same. By the way, Svidler in the game with me, as we were told, also made twenty moves in a row along the first line of the computer. Now this is a common occurrence for chess players of this level.
The Anand - Topalov party lasted 61 moves. Suppose 22 of them are prepared at home. There are 39 left, of which 37 (!) Coincided with the first line of the Fish. Isn't it a bit much? At the same time, one should not forget that the course of the program is not necessarily the objectively strongest decision in the position. As a rule, it’s just a strong move (a yawn is almost impossible!), But it’s often so peculiar that a person, even if he is a world champion, simply won’t come to mind. In addition, different programs offer different original moves, but with Topalov they are either by Fritz or by Rybka.
So far, none of the grandmasters have made public accusations against the world champion, no one has refused to speak with him in some tournaments and give him a hand before the game. The presumption of innocence is a great thing, and opponents of Veselin Topalov have no material evidence.
However, no one forbids grandmasters to express their suspicions. Opinions of Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Svidler, Judit Polgar, Topalov’s manager Silvio Danailov, as well as a story about modern espionage technologies in chess can be found on the website of PROport magazine in the article “The Great Combinator”.