Olympiad

The Tromsø Olympiad finishes on Thursday 14 August, too late for any definitive conclusions to be drawn here as to the likely medallists. The parallel great contest in Tromsø, Norway, where the Olympiad is taking place, was the election for the presidency of Fidé, the World Chess Federation, between the incumbent, Kirsan Ilumzinov (who won), and his challenger, the former world champion Garry Kasparov. Next week I will analyse the outcome of both battles. Meanwhile, here are some critical positions from games between the leading competitors.
 
Encounters between Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov are always acrimonious, as demonstrated by the habitual lack of a handshake before or after play in all of their games. This reciprocal hostility derives from their controversial world title match of 2006. In their game in Tromsø, Kramnik finished with a tactical flurry.
 
Kramnik-Topalov: Tromsø Olympiad 2014
 
43 Qxb8 This sacrifice allows White to cash in on his passed d-pawn.