1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 b5 8.g4 h6 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Bb7 11.h4 b4 12.Nb1 12 Nce2 is the main line. The text was introduced in Van Wely - Ivanchuk, Wijk aan Zee, 1996. 12...d5 13.Bh3 g5!!

Brilliant home cooking, first essayed by Topalov against Leko in round 3 of Linares 1999 Black sacrifices a pawn in a radical way to slow down White's attack. Prior to Linares, the line was 13 ... Ne5 14 g5 Nfd7 15 Qe2 and here Ivanchuk played 15 ... Qa5 against Van Wely in the afore-mentioned game, while in Anand's first game with 12 Nb1, against Topalov at Tilburg 1998, Topalov continued with 15 ... dxe4 16 f4 Nd3+. It is in this line that we can be sure Anand had an improvement, but he never got there.

14.hxg5 hxg5 15.exd5 Naturally, 15 Bxg5 is an important alternative here. 15...Nxd5 16.Bxg5 Qb6! Kasparov's improvement on Leko - Topalov. There after 16 ... Qa5 17 Bg2, White obtained play on the h-file; the idea of the text is to pressurize the d4 knight to stop White from using his d1 rook for other purposes. 17.Bg2 Rxh1 18.Bxh1 Rc8 19.Re1 Qa5
20.f4 Qxa2 21.f5 Nc5 22.fxe6 Bg7!!

"Mig" of This Week in Chess reports that Kasparov prepared this line all the way to move 27. 23.exf7+ Kxf7 24.Bxd5+ Preliminary analysis indicates that White can reach an equalizing line starting with 24 Qf2+. 24...Qxd5 25.Re7+ Kg8 26.Rxg7+ Kxg7 27.Nc3 A desperate but brilliant defensive shot enabling White to follow with Nd4-f5+. On the immediate 27 Nf5+, then 27 ... Qxf5 is winning because of the possibility of ... Nc5-b3+. 27...bxc3 28.Nf5+ Kf7! Of course not 28 ... Qxf5?? 29 Qxc3+.

29.Qxd5+ Bxd5 30.Nd6+ Kg6 31.Nxc8 Kxg5 This should be a winning endgame for Black. 32.Nb6 Be6 33.bxc3 Kxg4 34.Kb2 Kf4 35.Ka3 a5 36.Na4 Ne4 36 ... Nd7 appears to be stronger. 37.Nb2 Nxc3 38.Nd3+ Ke3 39.Nc5 Bf5 40.Kb2 Nd5 41.Nb7 a4 42.c4 Nb6 43.Nd6 Bd3 44.c5 Nd5 45.Ka3 Bc2 46.Nb5 Ne7 Somewhere around here Black has gone wrong, as now White draws immediately with 47 Nc3. 47.Na7? Throwing away his incredible defensive effort. This move falls into a trick. 47...Kd4 48.c6 Nd5 49.Nb5+ Kc5 50.c7 Bf5!

Winning due to 51 Kxa4 Nb6+ 52 Ka5 Nc4+ 53 Ka6 (or 53 Ka4 Bc2 mate!) Bc8+, or 51 Na7 Nxc7 52 Kxa4 Kb6 and Black wins.