Vladimir Kramnik’s Career in Chess

On the occasion of Vladimir Kramnik’s retirement from competitive chess, I present a retrospective review of past articles on Kramnik featured on this blog. Enjoy…

 

Tromso Chess Olympiad Round 5: Kramnik vs Topalov

August 7, 2014: Thus far, the  41^st Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway has lived up to all the hype surrounding the event. Almost all of the top chess players in the world are competing for personal glory and, more importantly, national pride. Even with hundreds of exciting games played in each round, all eyes were focused squarely onto the Russia-Bulgaria match which featured a game between the rivals, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov…

 

Kasparov Vs. Kramnik – Queen Sacrifice move 12

May 18, 2014: Definitely a most worthy game!

 

Kramnik vs. Svidler: 2009 Tal Memorial

November 10, 2009: Below is Kramnik’s win over Svidler in a Gruenfeld Defense: Exchange Variation. A lot could be stated about the opening theory as Kramnik tried a new move successfully with 12. h4. However, I do not believe Kramnik’s courageous new move is to blame for Svidler’s failure. Instead, Svidler seemed to have forgotten that “Knight’s on the rim are dim” and attempted to spar with a world champion contender minus a Knight. I say minus a Knight due to the fact that Svidler moved his Knight to a6 on move 11 and then left it there to rot…

 

Anand-Kramnik: Game 6 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess

October 22, 2008: The championship chess board in Bonn has become a form of torture for Vladimir Kramnik. After loosing game 6, Kramnik has just six games left and is down three full points. A loosing streak against a world champion is very hard to fix. In Kramnik’s case, achieving a win against Anand must seem like a desperate dream of freedom for a convict walking the “green mile.”

 

Anand-Kramnik: Game 5 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess

October 21, 2008: Kramnik must be feeling miserable. Anand has beaten him with the black pieces once again. Now down two full points with 7 games to go, Kramnik must take considerable risks if he is to have any chance at becoming world champion again. Taking these risks could easily backfire and have the effect of causing this match to become a total blow-out…

 

Anand-Kramnik: Game 4 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess

October 19, 2008: It was back to the “drawing” board in game 4 from Bonn, Germany.  Defending champion Viswanathan Anand played the white side in the solid Queen’s Gambit Declined. Kramnik ended up with the ubiquitous isolated queen’s pawn and allowed Anand no opportunities for victory…

 

Anand-Kramnik: Game 3 from the 2008 World Chess Championship

October 18, 2008: In game 3 from the 2008 World Chess Championships, Viswanathan Anand put on a tactical display using his fiery attacking style to beat Vladimir Kramnik into submission…

 

Anand-Kramnik: Game 2 from the 2008 World Chess Championship

October 17, 2008: The second game from the 2008 World Chess Championship ended in a draw. In an attempt to show off some of his preparation for playing white against the Slav(1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6), Anand decided to use 1.d4 instead of his favorite 1.e4. Kramnik avoided the technical Slav lines in game 1 and chose to use the Nimzo-Indian Defence(1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4) in game 2. Perhaps Kramnik is concerned about Anand’s knowledge in the Slav. This game becomes very complicated very quickly after Anand plays the surprising 4.f3 which is a favorite of Russian grandmaster Yuri Yakovich…

 

Anand-Kramnik Game 1 from the 2008 World Chess Championship

October 15, 2008: Kramnik faced off against Anand in Game 1 of the World Chess Championship Match on October 14, 2008. The “Battle of Bonn” began with little surprise as Anand chose to play one of his main weapons referred to as the Slav Defense to the Queen’s Gambit Declined. The game concluded after move 32 when a draw was agreed to…

 

Team Kramnik

October 15, 2008: For the 2008 World Chess Championship match in Bonn, Germany, Vladimir Kramnik has selected these players as his “Seconds.” I hope my readers will visit again tomorrow to view my coverage for game 1 of the 2008 World Chess Championship Match between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik…

 

My Friends are Better Than Yours… Anand and Kramnik Get Seconds

October 13, 2008: The upcoming 12 game World Championship match between Anand and Kramnik is creating internet rumors faster than Alexandra Kosteniuk makes blitz moves in China. Most of these rumors seem to be speculation on opening choices and who is going to be the “Second” for Anand and Kramnik. A “Second” refers to a chess players choice of another strong chess player to help him/her prepare for a particular opponent. Generally this early preparation focuses on finding new ideas and weaknesses in an opponent’s opening repertoire. The role of the Second was arguably much more important in the time before large chess databases and strong computer engines. With the onset of the computer dominated age of chess, we are also seeing match play that has a much shorter structure and therefor less games to try prepared innovations. The upcoming match between Anand and Kramnik is only scheduled for 12 rounds. I am confident that both Anand and Kramnik are capable of coming up with six very good ideas as to what to try with each color. For the upcoming Anand vs. Kramnik match, a Second’s primary role will likely be acting as the flashy Rybka yielding intimidator in a world champion contender’s entourage. Basically a “my friend is stronger than your friend” ornament meant to impress upon the chess world that the player that attracts friends/disciples with higher ratings must be the next chess messiah…

 

Unfair Criticism of Kramnik

October 8, 2008: Tonight I attempt to defend Vladimir Kramnik from those who cast stones at the former World Chess Champion. I believe the upcoming 2008 World Chess Championship will be an exciting event played between two outstanding chess players who are wonderful ambassadors for the game of chess. Below are my opinions about the three most common critical myths that haunt Kramnik…

 

Kramnik vs. Anand 2008 (preview game revisited)

October 7, 2008: Seven Days until the Anand vs. Kramnik 2008 World Championship Match. I am revisiting a game they played in 2007 at the request of several fans of my blog…

 

Kramnik vs. Anand

October 4, 2008: Tonight I present another preview game for the upcoming World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. The game I chose is a recent example of the two contenders going head to head in a major event.  My analysis is above the game that was played at the Corus tournament in 2007…

 

Can Kramnik Win With The Black Pieces? Will It Matter?

September 30, 2008: Between 1989 and 2008 Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik played 51 head-to-head games under classical conditions. The results below show that Kramnik has yet to win a game as black when up against Anand. This is a remarkable statistic based on the number of match-ups these two chess players have had. Vladimir Kramnik’s win with white and draw with black strategy can hurt his tournament results but is exceptionally difficult to crack in match play. Unless he should find himself in danger of loosing the match, I would be very surprised if Kramnik changes his goal for the black pieces…

 

Vladimir Kramnik in Germany

September 27, 2008: The upcoming World Championship Chess Match against Viswanathan Anand is not Vladimir Kramnik’s first chess match in Germany. In July of 2000 Kramnik played another high profile match in Deutschland. This time his opponent was the highly touted computer program Deep Junior. Because his opponent was a computer, Kramnik used anti-computer strategy that would not work against someone like Anand. This does not take anything away from Kramnik’s achievement in the game below. His play was nothing short of brilliant…

 

Kramnik vs. Anand 2008 preview: A 1996 game played by Kramnik

September 26, 2008: In 1996 Vladimir Kramnik played an exceptionally brilliant game as black verses a very strong opponent named Vassily Ivanchuk. Kramnik used fantastic opening preparation as well as brilliant tactical play to pressure Ivanchuk to error and finally resign. On move 6. Bg5 Ivanchuk initiates a Richter-Rauzer attack which provides the much needed tactical fuel for Kramnik’s fire. Kramnik move 14…Ng4 was a brand new idea that caught his opponent off guard. The move sacrifices the exchange but gives Kramnik long term pressure on the dark squares as well as some initiative to attack with. On 17. g3 Ivanchuk makes a small error which allows black to gain even more initiative. Ivanchuk should have played 17. Qf3. Kramnik’s 19…f5 was paticulary powerful and kept his attack going. On move 27 Kramnik makes a huge error with only five minutes left on his clock. I believe Kramnik should have tried 27…Qe7. To everone’s shock, Ivanchuk played 28. Nd3 which allowed Kramnik to win easily…

 

Anand vs. Kramnik: Backround Information

September 24, 2008: Anand vs. Kramnik should provide the most entertaining chess we have seen in quite some time. Below is a comparison of the achievements of these two chess titans…

 

Countdown until Anand vs. Kramnik

September 22, 2008: In 22 days Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik will face off in Bonn, Germany for the title of World Chess Champion. According to my database these two elite chess players have faced each other in 127 official games. On these occasions, Anand beat Kramnik 19 to 15, with 93 draws. Below is Vladimir Kramnik vs. Viswanathan Anand from the so called fide World Championships in Mexico City. Kramnik missed 35 Qh6! after 35…Qd6 36 Qxg5 f6 37 Qg8 Rd8 38 Qh7 Rd7 39 Qh4. After running computer analysis on that line I feel Kramnik would have had much better winning chances…   

 

 

Mikhail Tal Memorial 2012

It’s almost time for the most exciting chess tournament of the year to begin. The seventh annual Tal Memorial Chess Tournament in Moscow  will have its opening ceremonies on June 7. It is important to clarify the distinction between the main tournament and the blitz tournament do to the fact that the same 10 players will battle in the blitz event to decide the order of their opponents. The Blitz event also has a separate prize fun of 15,000 euros and the top five will receive one more game with the white pieces during the main event.

The 2012 Mikhail Tal Memorial main event should be an incredibly exciting chess spectacular. The ten combatants are made up largely of the best and brightest stars of chess. A controversial rule for the tournament states that the players are not allowed to offer a draw before  40 moves have been played.  Mixing the most exciting chess players with a rule that forbids early draws and then adding a 100,000 euro prize fund should be a recipe for an exciting chess tournament.

Tournament details for the 2012 Mikhail Tal Memorial are as follows:

Location: Moscow, Russia

Format: 10 player round-robin(nine rounds.)

Time Control: 1 hour 40 minutes for 40 moves plus 50 minutes for 20 moves plus 15 minutes for the rest of the game with a 30 second increment per move, starting from the first move.

Contestants:

1. Magnus Carlsen

Magnus is known as the “Mozart of chess” and is the world’s number one rated chess player. This young gun took the first place prize at the 2011 Mikhail Tal Memorial.

2.  Levon Aronian

Levon is the world’s second highest rated chess player with an incredible rating of 2823. At last years Mikhail Tal memorial he finished the main event tied for first with Magnus.

3. Vladimir Kramnik

Kramnik is the third and final member of the current 2800 rating club. Vladimir Kramnik is also a former World Chess Champion and recently won the London Chess Classic ahead of both Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian.

4.  Teimour Radjabov

Teimor Radjabov is ranked number four in the world with a current FIDE rating of 2784. Teimor became a a chess grand master at the young age of 14 which makes him the second youngest ever to achieve the grand master title.

5. Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru is the fifth highest rated chess player on earth. Hikaru just finished winning the United States Chess Championship and is in excellent form.

6. Fabiano Caruana

At age 19 Fabiano is the youngest chess player in the field. Don’t think for a second that his age is a handicap. The young Italian is currently rated at 2769 which is only 11 points behind Viswanthan Anand.

7. Alexander Morozevich

Morozevich shares the same rating of 2769 with Caruana. Alexander is my favorite chess player in the field do to his risky style which produces few draws. Unfortunately for Alexander, his style is perfectly suited for a World Championship match but not ideal for this tournaments format.

8. Alexander Grischuk

Grishchuk won both the Russian Championship and the Linares Chess Tournament in 2009. Alexander seems ready for a big performance to rejoin the top 10 in the world.

9. Evgeny Tomashevsky

Tomashevsky is known as the “professor” do to the fact that he plays positional chess like an old man despite his young age.

10. Luke McShane

McShane should never be underestimated. Of all his notable results, my favorite is the fact that he won the World Chess Championship for players under the age of ten at the age of eight. McShane is very popular with chess enthusiasts and was voted into the Tal Memorial by his many fans.

Please return to this chess blog for updates and analysis on the 2012 Mikhail Tal Memorial chess tournament from Moscow, Russia.

2009 Tal Memorial: Round 6

Today Kramnik  was able to win his game multiple times do to inaccurate play on both his and Ponomariov’s part.  I am in shock that the same Kramnik that missed 19.Qxh7+ played such a precise endgame.  Thanks to Ponomariov, Kramnik was able to pull ahead of Anand and is now in first place all by himself.

[Event “Tal Memorial”]
[Site “0:10:33-0:08:33”]
[Date “2009.11.11”]
[EventDate “?”]
[Round “6”]
[Result “1-0”]
[White “V Kramnik”]
[Black “R Ponomariov”]
[ECO “D38”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]

1.d4 e6{Nots by Chris Torres} 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.e3 c5 8.dxc5{Kramnik elects not to develop his bishop to e2,d3 or b5 and instead plays a sharp variation that leaves his King in the middle of the board.} Qa5 9.Rc1 Ne4 10.Qxd5 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Bxc3+ 12.Kd1 O-O 13.Bc4 Nf6 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Ke2 b5{I think this is a mistake. Perhaps Ponomariov could have played: 15…Be6 16.Qe4 Rae8 17.Rhd1 Bh3 18.Qxb7 Bxg2 19.Qd7 Rb8 20.Bb3 Rbd8 21.Qa4 Qc7 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 with equal chances} 16.c6 Ba6 17.Qf5 Qa3{This is a serious mistake. Ponomariov shpould have played:17…Bb2 18.Rc2 g6 19.Qc5 Ba3 20.Qg5 Be7 21.Qe5 Bd6 and the players are dead even.}  18.Bd3 Rfd8 19.c7{I can’t beleive Kramnik missed 19.Qxh7+ Kf8 20.c7Qxa2 21.Kf1. Its is always very interesting to see the mind of a chess genius play tricks on itself.} Qxa2+ 20.Nd2 Rxd3{Ponomariov is right back in the game thanks to Kramnik’s mistake on move 19.} 21.Qxd3 b4 22.Kf3 Bb7+{This is not accurate. Ponomariov should have played 22…Qa5 23.Qd6 Bb7 24.Ke2 Ba6 25.Ke1 Rc8 26.f3 Be5} 23.Kg3 h5 24.h3{f4 would be better. Play could continue 24…Rc8 25.Rhd1 Qe6 26.Rhd1 Bc6 27.Qc4 Rxc7 28.Qxb4 Qg4 with Kramnik clearly superior.} Qa5 25.f4 Rc8 26.Nc4 Qa6 27.Ne5 Qxd3 28.Nxd3 Bc3 29.Rhd1 a5 30.Nc5 Rxc7 31.Na4 Be4 32.Rd6{Kramnik makes a huge mistake. Luckily Ponomariov does not punish him with 32…Bc2! 33.Nxc3 Rxc3 34.Rb6 Rc4 35.Rb8 Kh7 36.Rb5 a4 37.Rxb4 Rxb4 38.Rxc2 a3 39.Ra2 Rb3 40.e5 Rxe3 41.Kf4 Rb3 42.Ke5 Kh6 43.h4 g6 44.fxg6 Kxg6 45.Kd4 Kf6 46.Kc4 Re3} Kh7{Missed the opportunity for 32…Bc2! see previous note} 33.Ra6 h4+ 34.Kh2 Rd7 35.Nc5 Re7 36.Rxa5 Bd2 37.Rc4 f5{This is a horrible mistake. It must be Kramnik’s lucky day! Play should have continued with 37…b3 38.Nxb3 Bxa5 39.Nxa5 Re6 40.Rd4 f5.} 38.Nxe4 fxe4 39.Rh5+ Kg6 40.Rg5+ Kf6 41.Rc6+ Kf7 42.Rf5+ Kg8 43.g4 Re8 44.Re5 Rb8 45.g5 Kh7 46.Re7 Bxe3 47.Rh6+ Kg8 48.Rg6 Bd4 49.Rge6 Kh7{It really is Kramnik’s lucky day. Ponomariov should have played 49…Bc5 and now Kramnik will punish him.} 50.f5 Bc5 51.Re8 Rxe8 52.Rxe8 b3 53.Kg2 Be3 54.Rxe4{The moves that follow are beautiful to watch. Even god using Deep Rybka would not have had a chance. I love the final position. Zugzwang anyone?}  Bxg5 55.Rb4 g6 56.Rb7+ Kh6 57.fxg6 Kxg6 58.Kf3 Bd2 59.Kg4 Be1 60.Rxb3 Bg3 61.Rf3 Be1 62.Re3 Bf2 63.Re6+ Kf7 64.Kf5 Bg3 65.Re4 Bf2 66.Kg5 Bg3 67.Re2 Kg7 68.Re7+ Kf8 69.Kf6 Bf2 70.Re6 Bg3 71.Kg6 Bh2 72.Re4 Bg3 73.Kf6 Bf2 74.Kg6 Bg3 75.Re2 Bd6 76.Kg5 Bg3 77.Kf6 Bf4 78.Re4 Bd6 79.Rd4 Bc7 80.Kg6 Bg3 81.Re4  1-0

(Table below aquired from http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/tal-memorial-2009)

Tal Memorial Moscow (RUS), 5-14 xi 2009												cat. XXI (2764)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2772	*	½	½	.	½	.	1	1	.	1	4½	2958
2.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2788	½	*	.	½	½	.	½	.	1	1	4	2884
3.	Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2758	½	.	*	.	½	1	½	½	½	.	3½	2823
4.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2739	.	½	.	*	½	.	½	1	½	½	3½	2821
5.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2801	½	½	½	½	*	½	.	½	.	.	3	2765
6.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2786	.	.	0	.	½	*	½	½	1	½	3	2759
7.	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2739	0	½	½	½	.	½	*	.	.	½	2½	2709
8.	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2750	0	.	½	0	½	½	.	*	½	.	2	2643
9.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2752	.	0	½	½	.	0	.	½	*	½	2	2637
10.	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2754	0	0	.	½	.	½	½	.	½	*	2	2637

Anand-Kramnik: Game 6 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess

The championship chess board in Bonn has become a form of torture for Vladimir Kramnik. After loosing game 6, Kramnik has just six games left and is down three full points. A loosing streak against a world champion is very hard to fix. In Kramnik’s case, achieving a win against Anand must seem like a desperate dream of freedom for a convict walking the “green mile.”

Below are my comments for game 6: 

[Event “Anand-Kramnik World Championship Match”]
[Site “0:52:33-0:51:33”]
[Date “2008.10.21”]
[EventDate “2008.10.14”]
[Round “6”]
[Result “1-0”]
[White “Anand”]
[Black “Kramnik”]
[ECO “E34”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[PlyCount “2”]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Nf3 Qf5 7.Qb3 Nc6 8.Bd2
O-O 9.h3 b6 10.g4 Qa5 11.Rc1 Bb7 12.a3 Bxc3 13.Bxc3 Qd5 14.Qxd5 Nxd5
15.Bd2 Nf6 16.Rg1 Rac8 17.Bg2 Ne7 18.Bb4 c5 19.dxc5 Rfd8 20.Ne5 Bxg2
21.Rxg2 bxc5 22.Rxc5 Ne4 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Nd3 Nd5 25.Bd2 Rc2 26.Bc1 f5
27.Kd1 Rc8 28.f3 Nd6 29.Ke1 a5 30.e3 e5 31.gxf5 e4 32.fxe4 Nxe4 33.Bd2 a4
34.Nf2 Nd6 35.Rg4 Nc4 36.e4 Nf6 37.Rg3 Nxb2 38.e5 Nd5 39.f6 Kf7 40.Ne4
Nc4 41.fxg7 Kg8 42.Rd3 Ndb6 43.Bh6 Nxe5 44.Nf6+ Kf7 45.Rc3 Rxc3
46.g8=Q+ Kxf6 47.Bg7+  1-0
3…Bb4 Kramnik employs the Nimzo-Indian again.

4. Qc2 Anand chooses the most popular reply.

9. h3 Here we go again. Another novelty from Anand. This seemingly innocent pawn move is the predecessor for a pawn thrust to g4.

10. g4 Anand takes the risky route by starting a kingside attack with the intention of  castling the long way.

11. Rc1 Anand plays the best move and threatens playing a3.

11…Bb7 Kramnik avoids Anand’s double discovered threats.

15…Nf6 A preventative move stopping Anand from playing e4. However, Kramnik should have  tried 15… Rfd8 16.Bg2 Na5 17.Bxa5 Nf4…

17…Ne7 Kramnik moves his knight so that it will not be pinned.

18. Bb4 Anand directs his bishop stop Kramnik from playing c5.

18…c5 Kramnik decides to play aggressively and push the pawn anyway.

20. Ne5 Anand is showing his world champion form.

21…bxc5 Kramnik not so much(see previous note.) This is an unfortunate mistake by the  Russian. Better was Nc6 22.Nxc6 Rxc6 23.Rg3 Rdc8 24.Rd3 Nd5.

22. Rxc5 Anand punishes inaccuracy by profiting a pawn.

24. Nd3 Obviously Anand is not going to play 24.Bxe7 Rc1 mate!

25…Rc2 A strong move but if Anand can activate his rook he will win.

26. Bc1 Anand plans on moving his king to d1.

29. Ke1. This move is very hard to understand. Possible improvements are the natural 29.Rg1  and 29.e3 Nc4 30.Re2 Rd8.

30…e5 Kramnik missed the strategic 30…a4. Unfortunately he spots this move at the wrong  time.

33…a4 This is a terrible mistake that Anand quickly punishes. Better would have been  33…Re8.

35. Rg4 Anand plays the second best move. The strongest continuation was 35.e4 Re8 36.Kf1  Nxe4 37.Bh6.

41. fxg7 Anand would have had an easier time if he had played 41.Rxg7+ Ke6 42.f7. However,  all roads lead to Rome for Anand.

 

Kramnik is Bewildered.

Kramnik has, for all intensive purposes, lost this match. Perhaps, only now can he start playing  great chess as Spassky did against Fischer once the pressure had been lifted from the Russian’s shoulders.

Anand-Kramnik: Game 5 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess

Aruna and Viswanathan Anand

Kramnik must be feeling miserable. Anand has beaten him with the black pieces once again. Now down two full points with 7 games to go, Kramnik must take considerable risks if he is to have any chance at becoming world champion again. Taking these risks could easily backfire and have the effect of causing this match to become a total blow-out. Below is game 5 of the 2008 World Chess Championship with my analysis:

[Event “Anand-Kramnik World Championship Match”]
[Site “0:12:33-0:45:33”]
[Date “2008.10.20”]
[EventDate “2008.10.14”]
[Round “5”]
[Result “0-1”]
[White “Kramnik”]
[Black “Anand”]
[ECO “D49”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[PlyCount “2”]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.exf6 gxf6 13.O-O Qb6 14.Qe2 Bb7 15.Bxb5 Rg8 16.Bf4 Bd6 17.Bg3 f5 18.Rfc1 f4 19.Bh4 Be7 20.a4 Bxh4 21.Nxh4 Ke7 22.Ra3 Rac8 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Ra1 Qc5 25.Qg4 Qe5 26.Nf3 Qf6 27.Re1 Rc5 28.b4 Rc3 29.Nxd4 Qxd4 30.Rd1 Nf6 31.Rxd4 Nxg4 32.Rd7+ Kf6 33.Rxb7 Rc1+ 34.Bf1 Ne3 35.fxe3 fxe3  0-1

15…Rg8 This is where Anand deviates from game three. In game three Anand played 15…Bd6 and 16…Rg8. In game five he reverses the order.

17. Bg3 Had kramnik played 17.Bxd6 Qxd6 18.Rfd1 e5 19.Rxd4 Qxd4 20.Nxd4 Bxg2 and Anand would  have been able to repeat the position for a draw.

18. Rfc1 Kramnik had several interesting alternatives including my choice of 18.Nxd4 f4     19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Qxe6+ Kf8 21.Qf5+. 

18…f4 This is the reason why Anand played f5.

22. Ra3 Kramnik misses the critical 22.Bxd7 Kxd7 23.b4.

27. Re1 Kramnik’s other choices of Rd1 and b4 deserve a second look. 27.Nxd4 Qxd4 28.Rd1 Nf6  29.Rxd4 Nxg4 30.Rd7+ Kf8 31.Rxb7 Rc1+ 32.Bf1 does not need explanation.

29…Nxd4 Kramnik blunders and looses the game. 29.Nd2 d3 30.a5 Rс2 31.Bxd7 would have been  preferable. Kramnik’s chances of winning the World Championship may have just evaporated.

Anand Kramnik 2008: A Special Report Looking Back at the World Chess Championship 1858

“Morphy…I think everyone agrees…was probably the greatest of them all.” (Bobby Fischer)

This years chess match between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik takes place 150 years after one of the greatest world championship matches in history. In 1858, the two best chess players in the world, Paul Morphy and Adolph Anderssen, battled in Paris to determine which player was the greatest. When Morphy arrived in Paris to play Anderssen, he was stricken with a severe flu. His medical treatment was typical for the time period and included being leeched and drained of four pints of blood. Paul Morphy was so weak that he played the match from his hotel bed. Despite the disadvantage of playing while ill, Morphy won the match with a 7-2 score. Many chess writers refuse to admit that Morphy was the world champion. The logic these writers use to deny the fact is rooted in their attitude of European supremacy and is easily refuted by  chess historians. Below are the games from the match. If you are an improving chess player who has not seen these chess treasures, you have your homework.

[Event “It Paris”]
[Site “It Paris”]
[Date “1858.??.??”]
[EventDate “?”]
[Round “?”]
[Result “0-1”]
[White “Paul Morphy”]
[Black “Adolf Anderssen”]
[ECO “C52”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[PlyCount “144”]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O
Nf6 8.e5 d5 9.Bb5 Ne4 10.cxd4 O-O 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Qa4 Bb6
13.Qxc6 Bg4 14.Bb2 Bxf3 15.gxf3 Ng5 16.Nd2 Re8 17.Kh1 Nh3
18.f4 Qh4 19.Qxd5 Nxf2+ 20.Kg1 Nd3 21.Bc3 Nxf4 22.Qf3 Nh3+
23.Kh1 Ng5 24.Qg2 Rad8 25.Rg1 h6 26.Raf1 Qh3 27.Qc6 Qd7 28.Qg2
Bxd4 29.Bxd4 Qxd4 30.Nf3 Qd5 31.h4 Ne6 32.Qg4 Qc6 33.Rg2 Rd3
34.Qf5 Red8 35.Qf6 Qd5 36.Qf5 Rd1 37.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 38.Kh2 Rd3
39.Rf2 Re3 40.Nd2 Re2 41.Qxf7+ Kh8 42.Ne4 Rxf2+ 43.Nxf2 Qd5
44.Ng4 Qxa2+ 45.Kg3 Qb3+ 46.Kh2 Qc2+ 47.Kg3 Qc3+ 48.Kh2 Qc6
49.h5 a5 50.Nf6 gxf6 51.Qxf6+ Kg8 52.Qg6+ Kf8 53.Qxh6+ Ke8
54.Qg6+ Kd7 55.h6 Qd5 56.h7 Qxe5+ 57.Kg1 Ng5 58.h8=Q Qxh8
59.Qxg5 Qd4+ 60.Kf1 a4 61.Qf5+ Kc6 62.Qc8 Kb5 63.Ke1 c5
64.Qb7+ Kc4 65.Qf7+ Kc3 66.Qf3+ Qd3 67.Qf6+ Kb3 68.Qb6+ Kc2
69.Qa7 Qc3+ 70.Ke2 a3 71.Qa4+ Kb2 72.Qb5+ Qb3 0-1

[Event "Paris m"]
[Site "02"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Adolf Anderssen"]
[Black "Paul Morphy"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "88"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bc2 d5
8.exd5 Nxd5 9.h3 O-O 10.O-O h6 11.d4 exd4 12.cxd4 Bb6 13.Nc3
Ndb4 14.Bb1 Be6 15.a3 Nd5 16.Ne2 Nf6 17.Be3 Re8 18.Ng3 Bc4
19.Nf5 Bxf1 20.Qxf1 Ne7 21.N3h4 Nxf5 22.Nxf5 Qd7 23.Bxh6 gxh6
24.Qc1 Bxd4 25.Qxh6 Re1+ 26.Kh2 Ne4 27.Bxe4 Rxe4 28.Qg5+ Kf8
29.Qh6+ Ke8 30.Nxd4 Qd6+ 31.Qxd6 cxd6 32.Rd1 Kf8 33.Rd2 Rae8
34.g4 R8e5 35.f3 Re1 36.h4 Rd5 37.Kg3 a5 38.h5 Kg8 39.Kf2 Re8
40.Kg3 Kh7 41.Kf4 Re7 42.Kg3 f6 43.Kf4 Re8 44.Kg3 Re7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Paris"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Paul Morphy"]
[Black "Adolf Anderssen"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "41"]

1.e4 {Notes by Lowenthal} e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d4 Nxd4
5.Nxd4 exd4 6.e5 c6 {A weak move and the cause of all
subsequent embarrassment.} 7.O-O cxb5 8.Bg5 {Much stronger
play then taking the Knight at once.} Be7 {The only correct
reply. If ...h6 White can play either Re1 or exf6 and in each
case win with ease.} 9.exf6 Bxf6 {...gxf6 would have been
equally bad, for White's reply would have been Qxd4, with a
won game.} 10.Re1+ Kf8 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.c3 d5 13.cxd4 Be6
14.Nc3 a6 15.Re5 Rd8 16.Qb3 Qe7 17.Rae1 {Vigorously and ably
followed up.} g5 {Apprehensive of the advance of the f pawn.}
18.Qd1 Qf6 19.R1e3 Rg8 {Losing the game offhand; it was
previously, however, past all recovery.} 20.Rxe6 1-0

[Event "Paris m"]
[Site "04"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Adolf Anderssen"]
[Black "Paul Morphy"]
[ECO "C77"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "102"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bc2 d5
8.exd5 Nxd5 9.h3 O-O 10.O-O h6 11.d4 exd4 12.cxd4 Bb6 13.Nc3
Ndb4 14.Bb1 Be6 15.a3 Nd5 16.Be3 Nf6 17.Qd2 Re8 18.Rd1 Bd5
19.Ne5 Qd6 20.Qc2 Nxd4 21.Bxd4 Bxd4 22.Nxd5 Qxe5 23.Nxf6+ Qxf6
24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Be4 Rad8 26.Kh1 Bxb2 27.Rab1 Rxd1+ 28.Rxd1 Qxf2
29.Qh8+ Ke7 30.Qh7 Be5 31.Bf3 Qg3 32.Kg1 Qg6 33.Qxg6 fxg6
34.Bb7 Rb8 35.Bxa6 c6 36.Kf2 Bd6 37.Rd3 Kd7 38.Ke2 Ra8 39.Bb7
Rxa3 40.Bc8+ Kc7 41.Rd1 Ra2+ 42.Kf3 Bc5 43.Be6 Rf2+ 44.Kg3 Rf6
45.Rd7+ Kb6 46.Bg4 Bd6+ 47.Kh4 c5 48.Bf3 c4 49.Rxg7 Rf4+
50.Bg4 c3 51.g3 Rxg4+ 0-1
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "05"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Paul Morphy"]
[Black "Adolf Anderssen"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "107"]

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Nxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bf5 6.Nf3 e6 7.Be3
Bb4 8.Qb3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Be4 10.Nd2 Bc6 11.Bd3 Nbd7 12.Qc2 h6
13.O-O O-O 14.Rae1 b6 15.h3 Qc8 16.Kh2 Kh8 17.Rg1 Rg8 18.g4 g5
19.f4 Qf8 20.Rg3 Rd8 21.Nf3 Bxf3 22.Rxf3 Qd6 23.Kg2 Nh5
24.fxg5 hxg5 25.gxh5 g4 26.hxg4 Rxg4+ 27.Kf1 f5 28.Qf2 Ne5
29.dxe5 Qxd3+ 30.Qe2 Qe4 31.Bf2 Qc6 32.Rd1 Rxd1+ 33.Qxd1 Qxc4+
34.Qd3 Qxa2 35.Rg3 Qc4 36.Qxc4 Rxc4 37.Rg6 Rc6 38.c4 a5 39.Ke2
Rxc4 40.Rxe6 Rc2+ 41.Kf3 a4 42.Rg6 Rc4 43.Rg1 a3 44.e6 a2
45.Ra1 Re4 46.Rxa2 Rxe6 47.Kf4 Rd6 48.Kxf5 Rd5+ 49.Kg4 b5
50.Ra8+ Kh7 51.Ra7 Rd7 52.Bg3 Rg7+ 53.Kh4 Rf7 54.Rxc7 1-0
[Event "Paris m"]
[Site "06"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Adolf Anderssen"]
[Black "Paul Morphy"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "84"]

1.a3 e5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Be6 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Be2
O-O 8.d4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 e4 10.Nd2 f5 11.f4 g5 12.Bc4 Bxc4 13.Nxc4
gxf4 14.exf4 Qe8 15.O-O Qc6 16.Qb3 Qd5 17.Rb1 b6 18.Qa2 c6
19.Qe2 Nd7 20.Ne3 Qe6 21.c4 Nf6 22.Rb3 Kf7 23.Bb2 Rac8 24.Kh1
Rg8 25.d5 cxd5 26.cxd5 Qd7 27.Nc4 Ke7 28.Bxf6+ Kxf6 29.Qb2+
Kf7 30.Rh3 Rg7 31.Qd4 Kg8 32.Rh6 Bf8 33.d6 Rf7 34.Rh3 Qa4
35.Rc1 Rc5 36.Rg3+ Bg7 37.h3 Kh8 38.Rxg7 Rxg7 39.Rc3 e3
40.Rxe3 Rxc4 41.Qf6 Rc1+ 42.Kh2 Qxf4+ 0-1
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "07"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Paul Morphy"]
[Black "Adolf Anderssen"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "49"]

1.e4 {Notes by Lowenthal} d5 {We consider this mode of evading
an open game as decidedly inferior to either ...e6 or ...c5,
(the French and Sicilian openings) though but some short time
ago it was in high repute, and was even adopted by
Mr. Staunton at the Birmingham meeting.} 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5
{...Qd8 is frequently played, but the move in the text is
preferable.} 4.d4 e5 5.dxe5 Qxe5+ 6.Be2 Bb4 7.Nf3 {Sacrificing
a pawn to obtain a more speedy development of his pieces.}
Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Qxc3+ 9.Bd2 Qc5 10.Rb1 Nc6 11.O-O Nf6 12.Bf4 O-O
{Attempting to defend the c pawn would only have led him into
difficulty.} 13.Bxc7 Nd4 14.Qxd4 Qxc7 15.Bd3 Bg4 16.Ng5 Rfd8
17.Qb4 Bc8 {There appears to be no other mode of saving the
pawn; for if ...b6, White would have taken the h pawn with the
knight, and won a pawn.} 18.Rfe1 a5 19.Qe7 Qxe7 20.Rxe7 Nd5
{This is an instructive position} 21.Bxh7+ Kh8 22.Rxf7 Nc3
23.Re1 Nxa2 24.Rf4 Ra6 25.Bd3 1-0
[Event "Paris m"]
[Site "08"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Adolf Anderssen"]
[Black "Paul Morphy"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "101"]

1.a3 {Notes by Lowenthal} e5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5
5.e3 Be6 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Be2 O-O 8.d4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 e4 10.Nd2 f5
11.f4 {Taking means to stop the further advance of the f pawn,
which he evidently apprehended might prove objectionable. The
range of the adverse King's Bishop is also contracted by this
move.} Qh4+ 12.g3 Qh3 13.Bf1 Qh6 14.c4 c6 15.c5 Bc7 16.Bc4 Nd7
17.O-O b5 18.cxb6 axb6 19.Qb3 Rfe8 20.Bb2 b5 21.Bxe6+ Qxe6
22.Qc2 Qd5 23.Rfc1 Ra6 24.a4 Rea8 25.axb5 Qxb5 26.Qc4+ Qxc4
27.Nxc4 Rxa1 28.Bxa1 Nf6 29.Bc3 Ra2 30.Bd2 Nd5 31.Kf1 Bd8
32.Ke1 Be7 33.Rb1 h6 34.Ne5 c5 35.dxc5 Bxc5 36.Rb5 Nxe3 {Very
prettily played.} 37.Rxc5 Ng2+ 38.Ke2 {If Kd1, Black would
equally have pushed on the e Pawn.} e3 39.Nf3 g6 40.Rd5 Kf7
41.Rd6 Kg7 42.h4 exd2 43.Rxd2 Ra4 {This mode of securing the
draw is highly ingenious; his opponent cannot prevent it, play
as he may.} 44.Kf2 Nxf4 45.gxf4 Rxf4 46.Rd4 Rxd4 47.Nxd4 Kf6
48.Ke3 g5 49.h5 Ke5 50.Nf3+ Kf6 51.Nd4 1/2-1/2
[Event "Paris m"]
[Site "Paris m"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Paul Morphy"]
[Black "Adolf Anderssen"]
[ECO "B44"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "33"]

1.e4 {Notes by Lowenthal} c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Nxd4 e6
5.Nb5 d6 {This is better than ...a6; but even now the King's
Bishop is shut in, and the Queen's Pawn rendered weak.} 6.Bf4
{Correctly played, compelling the advance of the e-Pawn, which
leaves the Queen's Pawn weak and unsupported.} e5 7.Be3 f5
{...a6 would have been sounder play, but even then the game
would have been in favor of the first player.} 8.N1c3 {A fine
conception.} f4 {Had Black played ...a6, White's reply would
still have been Nd5, with a winning game.} 9.Nd5 fxe3 10.Nbc7+
Kf7 11.Qf3+ Nf6 12.Bc4 {The attack is now irresistable.} Nd4
13.Nxf6+ d5 {If the Bishop had been interposed, White would
have taken it, checking; and on Knight retaking have played
Nd5 discovering check, and won without difficulty.} 14.Bxd5+
Kg6 {Had the Queen captured the Bishop, White would have taken
with Knight, discovering check, and have remained eventually
with a Pawn ahead and a winning position.} 15.Qh5+ Kxf6
16.fxe3 {Ne8+, seemingly a good move, is only in appearance,
as Black might have taken it when placed there; and on White
taking Queen, have answered with ...Bb4+, obtaining a winning
game.} Nxc2+ 17.Ke2 1-0
[Event "Paris m"]
[Site "10"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Adolf Anderssen"]
[Black "Paul Morphy"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "153"]

1.a3 e5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Be6 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Be2
O-O 8.O-O Nxc3 9.bxc3 f5 10.d4 e4 11.Nd2 Rf6 12.f4 Rh6 13.g3
Nd7 14.Nc4 Bxc4 15.Bxc4+ Kh8 16.Ra2 Qe7 17.a4 Nf6 18.Qb3 c6
19.Be6 Re8 20.Bc4 Ng4 21.Rg2 Rb8 22.Be2 Nf6 23.c4 b6 24.Bb2
Qf7 25.Qc2 Be7 26.Bc3 Rg8 27.a5 Bd6 28.axb6 axb6 29.Ra1 g5
30.fxg5 Rxg5 31.Ra8+ Rg8 32.Qa4 Rxa8 33.Qxa8+ Qe8 34.Qxe8+
Nxe8 35.c5 Bc7 36.Bc4 Kg7 37.cxb6 Bxb6 38.Rb2 Bc7 39.Rb7 Kf6
40.Bb4 Rg6 41.Bf8 h5 42.Kf2 h4 43.gxh4 Rg4 44.h5 Rh4 45.h6
Rxh2+ 46.Kg1 Rh3 47.Bf1 Rg3+ 48.Kf2 Rg4 49.Bc4 Rh4 50.Bg8 Bd6
51.Bxd6 Nxd6 52.Rd7 Ne8 53.h7 Kg5 54.Re7 Nd6 55.Re6 Nc4
56.Rxc6 Nd2 57.Ke2 Rh2+ 58.Kd1 Nf3 59.Rc7 Kg6 60.d5 f4 61.exf4
e3 62.Re7 e2+ 63.Rxe2 Rh1+ 64.Kc2 Nd4+ 65.Kd2 Nxe2 66.Kxe2 Kg7
67.Ke3 Re1+ 68.Kd4 Rf1 69.Ke5 Re1+ 70.Kf5 Rd1 71.Be6 Rd4
72.Ke5 Rd1 73.f5 Rh1 74.f6+ Kxh7 75.Kd6 Ra1 76.Ke7 Ra7+ 77.Bd7
1-0
[Event "Paris m"]
[Site "11"]
[Date "1858.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Paul Morphy"]
[Black "Adolf Anderssen"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "71"]

1.e4 {Notes by Lowenthal} e6 2.d4 g6 3.Bd3 Bg7 4.Be3 {The
student cannot fail of observing that in almost every French
game Mr. Morphy plays his Bishops to e3 and d3, and they
appear well placed here, and come into efficient action when
called upon. It is a novelty, however, in Chess play, and
will, doubtless, meet with attention at the hands of authors
on the game.} c5 5.c3 cxd4 6.cxd4 Nc6 7.Ne2 Nge7 8.O-O O-O
9.Nbc3 d5 10.e5 f6 11.f4 fxe5 12.fxe5 a6 13.Qd2 Nb4 14.Bg5
Nxd3 15.Qxd3 Bd7 16.Qh3 Qe8 17.Ng3 Rc8 18.Rxf8+ Qxf8 19.Rf1
Qe8 20.Qh4 Nf5 21.Nxf5 gxf5 22.Rf3 {This Rook is now well
posted, and ready for effective co-operation with the rest of
the attacking pieces.} Bb5 23.Rg3 {Rh3 would have been weak,
while by the move in the text White gains an undeniable
advantage in position.} Rc7 24.Bf6 f4 {This, says Mr. Morphy,
appears the only move to ward off the attack, if 24...Kh8
25.Rxg7 Rxg7 26.Nxb5 Qxb5 27.Qh6 Qd7 28.h4 Qf7 29.h5 Qc7 30.a3
Qd7 31.Kf2 Qf7 32.Kf3 Qc7 33.g3 Qd7 34.Qxg7+ Qxg7 35.h6 Qxf6
36.exf6 Kg8 37.Kf4 Kf7 38.Ke5 and must win.}- 25.Qxf4 Qf8
26.Nxb5 axb5 27.Qh6 Kh8 28.Rxg7 Rxg7 29.Kf2 {Contemplating the
exchange of pieces, and the bringing of the King to attack the
isolated Pawns; the game, however, was an easy one to win.}
Kg8 30.Qxg7+ Qxg7 31.Bxg7 Kxg7 32.Kf3 b4 33.g4 b6 34.h4 b5
35.Ke3 b3 36.a3 1-0
									

Anand-Kramnik: Game 4 from the 2008 World Championship of Chess

Anand-Kramnik Game 4

It was back to the “drawing” board in game 4 from Bonn, Germany.  Defending champion Viswanathan Anand played the white side in the solid Queen’s Gambit Declined. Kramnik ended up with the ubiquitous isolated queen’s pawn and allowed Anand no opportunities for victory.

3. Nf3 Anand decides to avoid a repeat of game 2’s Nimzo-Indian.

6…Nbd7 Kramnik does not play 6…c5 which would have lead to more exciting play with  higher winning chances for both players. Perhaps after yesterdays loss kramnik just  hoped to escape with a draw. Another possibility is that Kramnik still plans on   playing for a draw every game he is black. 
11…Bf5 Kramnik plays a rare move rather than the thematic 11…Bf6.

15…Qxf5 Kramnik has obtained an equal position.

18…Nc5 Kramnik makes a good choice. 18…d4 is tempting but after 19.Qxb7 dxe3 20.fxe3  Qxe3+ 21.Kh1 Ng5 22.b4 Anand has a favorable position.

21. Rd4 Many of my esteemed colleagues preferred 21.Rac1 Rad8 22.b4 Ne4 23.Qd3.

21…h5 Kramnik is trying to get his knight to e6.

24…g4 Finally Kramnik can get his knight to e6.

26…Ne6 Now Kramnik can play d4 and exchange his isolated pawn.

Nothing too exciting in this game. I suppose we can entitle it “The Bore From Round Four.”

    

[Event “Anand-Kramnik World Championship Match”]
[Site “0:45:33-0:50:33”]
[Date “2008.10.18”]
[EventDate “2008.10.14”]
[Round “4”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[White “Anand”]
[Black “Kramnik”]
[ECO “D37”]
[WhiteElo “2803”]
[BlackElo “2811”]
[PlyCount “2”]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.a3 c5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.Be5 Bf5 12.Be2 Bf6 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Nd4 Ne6 15.Nxf5 Qxf5 16.O-O Rfd8 17.Bg4 Qe5 18.Qb3 Nc5 19.Qb5 b6 20.Rfd1 Rd6 21.Rd4 a6 22.Qb4 h5 23.Bh3 Rad8 24.g3 g5 25.Rad1 g4 26.Bg2 Ne6 27.R4d3 d4 28.exd4 Rxd4 29.Rxd4 Rxd4  1/2-1/2

Anand-Kramnik: Game 3 from the 2008 World Chess Championship

 In game 3 from the 2008 World Chess Championships, Viswanathan Anand put on a tactical display using his fiery attacking style to beat Vladimir Kramnik into submission. Below is the game that has put Anand ahead in the match:

Photograph copyright © 2008 Frederic Friedel

   2…c6 Anand chooses the Slav again.

4. Nc3 Kramnik chooses not to play the exchange Slav as he did in game 1. We can assume he  did not reach the desired position in game 1 and is now willing to take his chances  to see what Anand’s preparations have sprouted.

6. Be3 Kramnik chooses the Meran set up.

8…a6 Anand shows he is ready to play tactical chess. Students can easily find thousands of  great games played from this position.

14…Bb7 Another novelty from Anand’s preparation. In previous games the bishop is placed on  a6 to defend the pawn on b5. Anand chooses to use his bishop for offense instead.

15…Bd6 Anand places his other bishop on the adjacent diagonal. Both bishops are aiming at  Kramnik’scastled king. This feature, together with the semi-open “g” file are  ingredients for a devastating attack on Kramnik’s king.

16…Rg8 Anand makes use of the semi-open “g” file
18. Bf4 Kramnik does not wish to leave his king defenseless by playing 18.Nd2. Perhaps he  feared the possibility of Anand playing 18…Ke7 clearing the 8’th rank so that his  a8 rook can move to g8. This is a pretty radical idea that I am sure we will see    in a future game between top level players.

 

19. Nxf4 Kramnik refuses to play passively and sacrifices a ppiece himself. Had Kramnik  played 19.Rxd4 then Anandwould have replied with 19…Kf8! 20.Bxd7 Rd8 21.Rad1 Rxd7  22.Rxd7 Bxg3 23.hxg3 Rxg3+ 24.Kh2 Bxf3 25.Qe3 Rg2+ 26.Kh3 Qxe3 27.fxe3 Rxb2 and  black’s position looks good.

22. Qd3 Kramnik makes another strong move and proves the worthiness of his sacrifice.

24…Rd8 Anand makes a world class move and puts his rook exactly where it needs to be.
25. Qe2 This is where Kramnik’s game starts to go sour. Better was 25.Qb3 Kh8 26.Rc1!

25…Kh6 Anand is playing amazing chess. His king will be perfectly safe on h6 for the   remainder of the game.

27. a4 Kramnik plays an interesting move here. To be honest, it will take more time on my   part to determine if this is a mistake or not. I wonder what Kramnik thinks of this  move now.

29. Ra3 This is definitely a mistake. Kramnik needed to play 29.Rd1 Rg1+ 30.Kd2 Rg2.

32. f3 I believe Rd3 was preferable.

33. Bd3 This move will give Kramnik nightmares for years. Had Kramnik played 33.Kb3 Rc1   34.a5 he would have been a lot better off.

33…Bh3 All of a sudden the World Champions are playing like patzers. I have a hunch that  33…Bxd3 34.Rxd3 Qc4 35. Rc3 Qxe2 is better. In fact after winning the queen Anand has mate in 12. Even with missing the pretty finish,   Anand has a win in the bag.

 
[Event “Anand-Kramnik World Championship Match”]
[Site “0:02:33-0:03:33”]
[Date “2008.10.17”]
[EventDate “2008.10.14”]
[Round “3”]
[Result “0-1”]
[White “Vladimir Kramnik”]
[Black “Viswanathan Anand”]
[ECO “D49”]
[WhiteElo “2811”]
[BlackElo “2803”]
[PlyCount “82”]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4
b5 8.Bd3 a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.exf6 gxf6
13.O-O Qb6 14.Qe2 Bb7 15.Bxb5 Bd6 16.Rd1 Rg8 17.g3 Rg4 18.Bf4
Bxf4 19.Nxd4 h5 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Rxd7 Kf8 22.Qd3 Rg7 23.Rxg7
Kxg7 24.gxf4 Rd8 25.Qe2 Kh6 26.Kf1 Rg8 27.a4 Bg2+ 28.Ke1 Bh3
29.Ra3 Rg1+ 30.Kd2 Qd4+ 31.Kc2 Bg4 32.f3 Bf5+ 33.Bd3 Bh3 34.a5
Rg2 35.a6 Rxe2+ 36.Bxe2 Bf5+ 37.Kb3 Qe3+ 38.Ka2 Qxe2 39.a7
Qc4+ 40.Ka1 Qf1+ 41.Ka2 Bb1+ 0-1

Anand-Kramnik: Game 2 from the 2008 World Chess Championship

The second game from the 2008 World Chess Championship ended in a draw. In an attempt to show off some of his preparation for playing white against the Slav(1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6), Anand decided to use 1.d4 instead of his favorite 1.e4. Kramnik avoided the technical Slav lines in game 1 and chose to use the Nimzo-Indian Defence(1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4) in game 2. Perhaps Kramnik is concerned about Anand’s knowledge in the Slav. This game becomes very complicated very quickly after Anand plays the surprising 4.f3 which is a favorite of Russian grandmaster Yuri Yakovich. Below is my analysis on the game:

4. f3 Anand is clearly playing for a win when he chooses this more complicated move. e4 tends to be a ver important square in such positions and the pawn on f3 exerts its influence there.

4…c5 Kramnik chooses a safer move than 4…c5.

5. a3 Welcome to the Saemisch Variation. This variation is highly theoretical and generally  continues the way our current game does.

8…f5 Kramnik chooses not to play the popular 8…Qa5.

9…Nd7 Kramnik avoids the more common 9…0-0 10.e4 or 9…f4 10.e4 fxe3 11.Bd3. In placing  the knight on d7 he prepares to move it to c5.

12. c6 Anand gets rid of a dead pawn by weakening his opponent’s pawn structure first.

14… Ba6 Kramnik wants to trade bishops so Anand no longer has the bishop pair.

15. c4  Anand could have played 15.Bxa6 Qxa6 and then 16.c4 0-0 17.0-0
 Anand could have also tried the exciting 15.Ng5 Bxf1 16.Rxf1 Nc5 17.Rf3.

16…Ng4 I really like this aggressive move. Kramnik proves to his critics that he does not  always choose the most “boring” approach.

17…Qe3+ Kramnik also could have played 17…Qb6 18.h3 Ne3 19.Qd2 Bxc4 20.Bxc4 Nxc4 21.Qg5   Qe3 22.Qxe3 Nxe3 and black has good compensation.

21…Ndf6 Another aggressive move by Kramnik. Now his rook on d8 is much better but at the  price of one pawn. 21…h5 is the solid choice Kramnik could have chosen.

27…e5 Kramnik is rolling now. Kramnik’s pawn sacrifice allowed him to get his pieces to much better squares than Anand finds his pieces in.

30. Rc3 I like Anand’s position after 30.Bxd3 Rxd3 31.Kg4 Rd4 32.Kf5 Rh5 33.Kg6

31. Bc2 Anand misses 31.Rf2 Rh6 32.h4 Ne6 which seems better.

32…Rd4 The two champions agreed to a draw. Its a shame as their seemed to be a lot of   chess left in this position. Keep in mind that Anand was in time trouble. Play

Anand-Kramnik Game 2 (source:chessbase.com)

could have continued:
33. c5 Nf4 34. Re3 Bc4 35. Rb2 Rh6 36. Kh2 Rg6 37. g3 Nd3 38. Bxd3 Rxd3 39.
Rxd3 Bxd3

 

 

[Event “Anand-Kramnik World Championship Match”]
[Site “0:08:00-0:13:00”]
[Date “2008.10.15”]
[EventDate “2008.10.14”]
[Round “2”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[White “Anand”]
[Black “Kramnik”]
[ECO “E25”]
[WhiteElo “?”]
[BlackElo “?”]
[PlyCount “64”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.
dxc5 f5 9. Qc2 Nd7 10. e4 fxe4 11. fxe4 N5f6 12. c6 bxc6 13. Nf3 Qa5 14. Bd2
Ba6 15. c4 Qc5 16. Bd3 Ng4 17. Bb4 Qe3+ 18. Qe2 O-O-O 19. Qxe3 Nxe3 20. Kf2
Ng4+ 21. Kg3 Ndf6 22. Bb1 h5 23. h3 h4+ 24. Nxh4 Ne5 25. Nf3 Nh5+ 26. Kf2 Nxf3
27. Kxf3 e5 28. Rc1 Nf4 29. Ra2 Nd3 30. Rc3 Nf4 31. Bc2 Ne6 32. Kg3 Rd4 1/2-1/2

Anand-Kramnik Game 1 from the 2008 World Chess Championship

2008 World Chess Championship game 1 (source:chessbase.com)

Kramnik faced off against Anand in Game 1 of the World Chess Championship Match on October 14, 2008. The “Battle of Bonn” began with little surprise as Anand chose to play one of his main weapons referred to as the Slav Defense to the Queen’s Gambit Declined. The game concluded after move 32 when a draw was agreed to.

2… c6 Anand chooses to play the Slav.

4. cxd5 Kramnik decides to use boxing strategy. Rather than go for a knock-out in the first round, Kramnik feels his opponent out and takes little risk. This move also gave Kramnik little chance for a win against Anand as the resulting positions tend to be very symmetrical and drawish.

9… 0-0 Anand breaks symmetry but continues along the well known Slav Exchange mainline.

11… Rc8 Anand avoids the trouled pawn weaknesses occurs should he have played bxc3.

12… Ng4 Anand does not play Ne4 13.Qa3 bxc6 because it would lead to problems for Black due to the weakened pawn structure. White was victorious in Ivanov vs. Torres Los Angeles, 1992 when play continued 12…bxc6 13. Rc1 c5 14. 0-0 Ne4 15.Qa3 f6.

14. Qb4 To my knowledge this is an original idea by Kramnik. Previously, 14.Qa3 Rxc6 was played in  the game Reynaldo Vera and Ivan Morovic-Fernandez in 2002. This idea can be risky for white if play continues 14.Qa3 Rxc6 15.Qxa7 Qe7 16.O-O Rfc8.

14… Rxc6 I believe this was the best move of the game. Black takes the file and avoids the previously discussed pawn weakness. 14… bxc6 15.Bd6 would also leave Kramnik with a much better Bishop.

16… Rfxc8 For the sacraficed pawn, Anand gets two very active rooks and control of the open “C” file.

17… a5 Anand stops Kramnik from playing b4 and moves a weak pawn closer to wear it can be traded.

21. e4 Kramnik attempts to create some counter play.

23… Rc2 Anand gets a rook to the “seventh.”

25. Bxe5 Kramnik finally improves his Bishop.

25… Rxa2 Anand gets his sacrificed pawn back. A position such as this between players such as these will produce a draw. Kramnik began the match cautiously while Anand spiced up the game with a pawn sacrifice leading to significant initiative which in the end was enough to secure the draw.

 

 

[Event “Anand-Kramik World Championship”]
[Site “Bonn, Germany”]
[Date “2008.10.14”]
[EventDate “2008.10.14”]
[Round “1”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[White “Kramnik”]
[Black “Anand”]
[ECO “D14”]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Bf4 Nc6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Nf3 e6 8.Qb3 Bb4 9.Bb5 O-O 10.Bxc6 Bxc3+ 11.Qxc3 Rc8 12.Ne5 Ng4 13.Nxg4 Bxg4 14.Qb4 Rxc6 15.Qxb7 Qc8 16.Qxc8 Rfxc8 17.O-O a5 18.f3 Bf5 19.Rfe1 Bg6 20.b3 f6 21.e4 dxe4 22.fxe4 Rd8 23.Rad1 Rc2 24.e5 fxe5 25.Bxe5 Rxa2 26.Ra1 Rxa1 27.Rxa1 Rd5 28.Rc1 Rd7 29.Rc5 Ra7 30.Rc7 Rxc7 31.Bxc7 Bc2 32.Bxa5 Bxb3  1/2-1/2