Classical World Chess Championship 2004
Encyclopedia
The Classical World Chess Championship 2004 was held from September 25, 2004 - October 18, 2004 in Brissago
, Switzerland
. Vladimir Kramnik
, the defending champion, played Peter Leko
, the challenger, in a fourteen game match.
The match ended 7-7, each player scoring two wins. Kramnik retained his title under the rules of the match.
's split from FIDE in 1993 resulted in two lines of world chess champions. There was the 'Classical' world champion, the title that only passes on to a player when he beats the previous world champion. This was held by Kasparov, until he was defeated by Kramnik in the Classical World Chess Championship 2000
.
There was also the 'Official' FIDE world champion who, at the time of this match, was Rustam Kasimdzhanov
.
This match was intended to be part of the "Prague Agreement" to reunite the World Championship, with the winner of this match (the "Classical" World Champion) to play the winner of a match between Kasparov and the FIDE World Champion, for a united world title. However these other matches never took place, although the title were later unified at the FIDE World Chess Championship 2006
.
acted as the Candidates Tournament
to determine the challenger to Kramnik's title. However not all of the top-ranked players were present. World #1 Garry Kasparov declined his invitation, instead insisting that he deserved a rematch with Kramnik based on his tournament results in 2001. Some other players, including world #2 Viswanathan Anand
, declined invitations because they believed they were in conflict with their obligations under the rival FIDE World Championship.
Leko won the Candidates Tournament:
Preliminaries
Group 1 1 2 3 4 Total
1= Alexei Shirov
x 1 1½ 1½ 4
1= Veselin Topalov
1 x 1½ 1½ 4
3 Boris Gelfand
½ ½ x 1½ 2½
4 Christopher Lutz
½ ½ ½ x 1½
Shirov won a two-game playoff 1½-½ to be placed first ahead of Topalov.
Group 2 1 2 3 4 Total
1 Evgeny Bareev
x 1 1 2 4
2 Peter Leko
1 x 1½ 1 3½
3 Michael Adams 1 ½ x 1 2½
4 Alexander Morozevich
0 1 1 x 2
Semi-finals:
Final:
Brissago
Brissago is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:An ax and ceramic pieces from the Neolithic era as well as Roman coins and other finds, discovered in 1846 in Brenscino, indicate that the area was prehistorically settled. In 1863, during the...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
, the defending champion, played Peter Leko
Péter Lékó
On the way to winning the prestigious Corus chess tournament in 2005, Lékó defeated Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand with the black pieces. The moves were:...
, the challenger, in a fourteen game match.
The match ended 7-7, each player scoring two wins. Kramnik retained his title under the rules of the match.
Background
Garry KasparovGarry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
's split from FIDE in 1993 resulted in two lines of world chess champions. There was the 'Classical' world champion, the title that only passes on to a player when he beats the previous world champion. This was held by Kasparov, until he was defeated by Kramnik in the Classical World Chess Championship 2000
Classical World Chess Championship 2000
The Classical World Chess Championship 2000, known at the time as the Braingames World Chess Championships, was held from October 8, 2000 – November 4, 2000 in London, United Kingdom. Garry Kasparov, the defending champion, played Vladimir Kramnik...
.
There was also the 'Official' FIDE world champion who, at the time of this match, was Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Rustam Kasimdzhanov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster, best known for winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic...
.
This match was intended to be part of the "Prague Agreement" to reunite the World Championship, with the winner of this match (the "Classical" World Champion) to play the winner of a match between Kasparov and the FIDE World Champion, for a united world title. However these other matches never took place, although the title were later unified at the FIDE World Chess Championship 2006
FIDE World Chess Championship 2006
The World Chess Championship 2006 was a chess match between Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik, and FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov. The match, which was won by Kramnik, determined the undisputed World Chess Champion for the first time in 13 years...
.
Qualification
The 2002 Dortmund Sparkassen Chess MeetingDortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting
The Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting is an elite chess tournament held every summer in Dortmund, Germany.Dortmund is an invite-only event, and only the strongest grandmasters are invited...
acted as the Candidates Tournament
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
to determine the challenger to Kramnik's title. However not all of the top-ranked players were present. World #1 Garry Kasparov declined his invitation, instead insisting that he deserved a rematch with Kramnik based on his tournament results in 2001. Some other players, including world #2 Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan Anand
V. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
, declined invitations because they believed they were in conflict with their obligations under the rival FIDE World Championship.
Leko won the Candidates Tournament:
Preliminaries
Group 1 1 2 3 4 Total
1= Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov
Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...
x 1 1½ 1½ 4
1= Veselin Topalov
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
1 x 1½ 1½ 4
3 Boris Gelfand
Boris Gelfand
Boris Abramovich Gelfand is a Belarus-born Israeli chess Grandmaster. He won the 2011 Candidates Tournament and will challenge Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship 2012.-Biography:...
½ ½ x 1½ 2½
4 Christopher Lutz
Christopher Lutz
Christopher Lutz is a German chess grandmaster and the German chess champion in 1995 and 2001. In 2000 he was a member of the German team that won a silver medal in the 34th Chess Olympiad in Istanbul....
½ ½ ½ x 1½
Shirov won a two-game playoff 1½-½ to be placed first ahead of Topalov.
Group 2 1 2 3 4 Total
1 Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Bareev is a Russian chess Grandmaster and chess coach. In October 2003, he was in fourth place in the world rankings, with an Elo rating of 2739....
x 1 1 2 4
2 Peter Leko
Péter Lékó
On the way to winning the prestigious Corus chess tournament in 2005, Lékó defeated Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand with the black pieces. The moves were:...
1 x 1½ 1 3½
3 Michael Adams 1 ½ x 1 2½
4 Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In the November 2011 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2762, making him the 9th-highest rated player in the world, although he has previously ranked as high as second, in the July 2008 list....
0 1 1 x 2
Semi-finals:
- Leko defeated Shirov 2½-½
- Topalov-Bareev was tied 2-2; Topalov won rapid playoff 1½-½
Final:
- Leko defeated Topalov 2½-1½
Match score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kramnik 2770 -29 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 7/14 |
| Leko 2741 +29 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 7/14 |
Highlights
- Game 1 - as black, Kramnik sacrifices his queen for rook and bishop, and outplays Leko in the ending to take the lead.
- Game 5 - Leko, as white, goes into an ending a pawn up with some winning chances, and outplays Kramnik to win, and level the match.
- Game 8 - Leko, as black in the Marshall Attack, plays into a line prepared by Kramnik's team, and finds the refutation over the board, to take a one point lead. ChessbaseChessBaseChessBase GmbH is a German company that markets chess software, maintains a chess news site, and operates a server for online chess. Set up in 1998, it maintains and sells massive databases, containing most historic games, that permit analysis that had not been possible prior to computing...
wrote, Many questions were answered by today's eighth match game. Does Leko have what it takes to beat Kramnik in a match? Is Kramnik's preparation simply unbeatable? Why don't many top players allow the Marshall Gambit with white? (That's "yes", "no", and "because no matter how well prepared you are you may get killed".) - Game 11 - Leko, with white, accepts a draw by agreement in 16 moves, and is criticised for an apparent desire to draw the remaining games to win the title.
- Game 12 - Leko switches to the Caro-Kann defence. Kramnik has winning chances, but Leko defends well and, with both players short on time, Leko offers a draw on move 34.
- Game 13 - Kramnik plays the Benoni, in a surprise attempt to win with black, but the game is drawn. Kramnik must now win the final game.
- Game 14 - Kramnik wins a dramatic final game to tie the match and retain his title.