Game summary
Hikaru Nakamura beat Veselin Topalov with the black pieces in 37 moves in round 3 of Champions Showdown G5 in Saint Louis, USA, on 12 November 2017. The opening was the King's Indian Defense (E97).
- White
- Veselin Topalov
- Black
- Hikaru Nakamura
- Result
- Black won (0-1)
- Place
- Saint Louis, USA
- Date
- 12 November 2017 (2017.11.12)
- Round
- 3.1
- Opening
- King's Indian Defense (E97)
- Length
- 37 moves (74 plies)
All moves of Topalov, V vs Nakamura, Hi (PGN move text)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Ne8 10.c5 f5 11.a4 Nf6 12.Bg5 Nh5 13.g3 f4 14.Nd2 Nf6 15.Nc4 Bh3 16.Re1 Qd7 17.Nb5 fxg3 18.fxg3 Nxe4 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.Qc2 Ng5 21.cxd6 cxd6 22.Nbxd6 e4 23.Rad1 Qf6 24.Rf1 Bxf1 25.Bxf1 e3 26.Bg2 Nf3+ 27.Kh1 Nd4 28.Qb1 e2 29.Re1 Qf2 30.Ne4 Qf5 31.d6 Rae8 32.Ne3 Qd7 33.h4 Kh8 34.Qd3 Rxe4 35.Qxe4 Qxd6 36.Nc2 Nxc2 37.Qxc2 Qxg3 0-1
About This Game
Topalov, V and Nakamura, Hi met over the board in this middlegame battle at Champions Showdown G5 in Saint Louis USA in 2017. The game dates from the contemporary engine era.
Play followed King's Indian Defense (E97) — a strategic battle of pawn structure and piece activity. In these systems both players manoeuvre carefully before committing to a plan.
Lasting 37 moves, the game was settled in the middlegame. This is the phase where piece activity, pawn breaks and king safety all collide, and replaying it slowly is a good way to train your own middlegame judgement.
Topalov, V is one of the grandmasters featured in the RamaChess archive, where you can browse their complete game collection, favourite openings and notable wins. Studying many games by a single strong player is one of the fastest ways to understand practical chess decisions.
Working through a full game like this trains pattern recognition. The more complete games you study, the more quickly you will spot familiar structures and ideas in your own play.
When the dust settled, Nakamura, Hi won with the black pieces. Replay the full game move by move above, analyse it with the engine to find the turning points, and use Practice mode to play out the critical positions yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Who played this game?
This game was played between Topalov, V (White) and Nakamura, Hi (Black), at Champions Showdown G5 in 2017.
What opening was played?
The game used King's Indian Defense (ECO code E97). A strategic battle of pawn structure and piece activity.
What was the result?
Nakamura, Hi won with the black pieces.
How long was the game?
The game lasted 37 moves (74 plies).
Can I replay this game move by move?
Yes. Use the interactive board on this page to step through every move, or open the analyser for engine evaluation and Practice mode to play the positions yourself.
Where can I find more games like this?
Browse the full King's Indian Defense collection, Topalov, V's complete game archive, and thousands more grandmaster games in the RamaChess archive.