Vladimir Kramnik
Encyclopedia
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. He has also won the two strongest tournaments (by rating strength) in chess history: the 2009 Mikhail Tal Memorial
and the 2010 Grand Slam Masters Final.
In October 2000, he defeated Garry Kasparov
in a match played in London, and became the Classical World Chess Champion. In late 2004, Kramnik successfully defended his title against challenger Péter Lékó
in a drawn match
played in Brissago
, Switzerland.
In October 2006, Kramnik, the Classical World Champion, defeated reigning FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov
in a unification match, the World Chess Championship 2006. As a result Kramnik became the first undisputed World Champion, holding both the FIDE and Classical titles, since Kasparov split from FIDE in 1993.
In 2007, Kramnik lost the title to Viswanathan Anand
, who won the World Chess Championship
tournament ahead of Kramnik. He challenged Anand at the World Chess Championship 2008
to regain his title, but lost.
Kramnik qualified for the Candidates Tournament
which determined the challenger to face World Champion Anand in the World Chess Championship 2012. He advanced to the semifinals before losing to Alexander Grischuk
.
, on the shores of the Black Sea
. His father's birth name was Boris Sokolov, but he took his stepfather's surname when his mother (Vladimir's grandmother) remarried. As a child, Vladimir Kramnik studied in the chess school established by Mikhail Botvinnik
. His first notable result in a major tournament was his gold medal win as first reserve for the Russian team in the 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila
. His selection for the team caused some controversy in Russia at the time, as he was only sixteen years old and had not yet been awarded the grandmaster
title, but his selection was supported by Garry Kasparov
. He scored eight wins, one draw
, and no losses.
The following year, Kramnik played in the very strong tournament in Linares
. He finished fifth, beating the then world number three, Vassily Ivanchuk, along the way. He followed this up with a string of good results, but had to wait until 1995 for his first major tournament win at normal time controls, when he won the strong Dortmund tournament
, finishing it unbeaten.
In 1995, Kramnik served as a second for Kasparov in the Classical World Chess Championship 1995
match against challenger Viswanathan Anand
. Kasparov won the match 10½-7½.
In January 1996, Kramnik became the world number-one rated player; although having the same FIDE rating as Kasparov (2775), Kramnik became number-one by having played more games during the rating period in question. This was the first time since December 1985 that Kasparov was not world number-one, and Kramnik's six month stretch (January through June 1996) as world number-one would be the only time from January 1986 through March 2006 where Kasparov was not world number-one. By becoming number-one, Kramnik became the youngest ever to reach world number-one, breaking Kasparov's record; this record would stand for 14 years until being broken by Magnus Carlsen
in January 2010.
Kramnik continued to produce good results, including winning at Dortmund (outright or tied) ten times from 1995 to 2011. He is the second of only six chess players to have reached a rating
of 2800 (the first being Kasparov).
Ironically, during his reign as world champion, Kramnik never regained the world number-one ranking, doing so only in January 2008 after he had lost the title to Viswanathan Anand
; as in 1996, Kramnik had the same FIDE rating as Anand (2799) but became number-one due to more games played within the rating period. Kramnik's 12 years between world-number one rankings is the longest since the inception of the FIDE ranking system in 1971.
. He is one of the toughest opponents to defeat, losing only one game in over one hundred games leading up to his match with Kasparov, including eighty consecutive games without loss. Kasparov was unable to defeat Kramnik during their 2000 World Championship match, mainly due to Kramnik's very solid black opening repertoire where he, surprisingly, adopted the Berlin Defence of the Ruy Lopez
which allowed him to neutralise Kasparov's 1.e4.
1½-4½, and later that year, lost a semifinal candidates match for the FIDE championship to Boris Gelfand
with the score 3½-4½. In 1998, Kramnik faced Alexei Shirov
in a Candidates match
for the right to play Garry Kasparov
for the Classical World Chess Championship, and lost 3½-5½. In 1999, Kramnik participated in the FIDE knockout championship in Las Vegas
, and lost in the quarterfinals to Michael Adams 2-4.
In 2000, Kramnik played a sixteen game match against Garry Kasparov
in London, for the Classical Chess World Championship. Kramnik began the match as underdog, but his adoption of the Berlin Defence to Kasparov's Ruy Lopez
opening was very effective. With the white pieces, Kramnik pressed Kasparov hard, winning Games Two and Ten and overlooking winning continuations in Games Four and Six. Kasparov put up little fight thereafter, agreeing to short draws with the white pieces in Games 9 and 13. Kramnik won the match 8½-6½ without losing a game (this was only the second time in history that a World Champion had lost a match without winning a single game). This event marked the first time Kasparov had been beaten in a World Championship match.
Kramnik's performance won him the Chess Oscar
for 2000; this was the first time he had received the award.
, an eight game match against the chess computer Deep Fritz in Bahrain
. Kramnik started well, taking a 3 - 1 lead after four games. However, in game five, Kramnik made what has been described as the worst blunder of his career (a blunder that pales in comparison to his loss against Deep Fritz 10 in 2006), losing a knight in a position which was probably drawn. He quickly resigned. He also resigned game six after making a speculative sacrifice, although subsequent analysis showed that with perfect play, he might have been able to draw from the final position. The last two games were drawn, and the match ended tied at 4 - 4.
In February 2004 Kramnik won the Tournament of Linares
outright for the first time (he had tied for first with Kasparov in 2000), finishing undefeated with a +2 score, ahead of Garry Kasparov
, the world's highest-rated player at the time.
at Brissago
, Switzerland, by barely drawing the match in the last game. The 14-game match was poised in favor of Lékó right up until Kramnik won the final game, thus forcing a 7 - 7 draw and ensuring that Kramnik remained world champion. The prize fund was 1 million Swiss franc
s, which was about USD $770,000 at the time. Because of the drawn result, the prize was split between the two players.
, he created a rift in the chess world. In response, FIDE sanctioned a match between Anatoly Karpov
and Jan Timman
for the FIDE World Championship, which Karpov won. Subsequently, the chess world has seen two "champions": the "classical" championship, claiming lineage dating back to Steinitz
; and the FIDE endorsed champion.
When Kramnik defeated Kasparov and inherited Kasparov's title, he also inherited some controversies because he was handpicked to play for the title after he had just lost the qualifying match against Alexei Shirov in 1998.
At the next FIDE world championship (FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
), Kramnik refused to participate, but indicated his willingness to play a match against the winner to unify the world championship. After the tournament, negotiations began for a reunification match between Kramnik and the new FIDE World Champion — Veselin Topalov
of Bulgaria
.
In April 2006, FIDE announced a reunification match between Kramnik and Topalov — the FIDE World Chess Championship 2006
. The match took place in Elista
, Kalmykia
. After the first four games, Kramnik led 3-1 (out of a maximum of 12). After the fourth game, however, Topalov protested that Kramnik was using the toilet suspiciously frequently, implying that he was somehow receiving outside assistance whilst doing so. Topalov said that he would refuse to shake hands with Kramnik in the remaining games. The Appeals committee decided that the players' toilets be locked and that they be forced to use a shared toilet, accompanied by an assistant arbiter.
Kramnik refused to play the fifth game unless the original conditions agreed for the match were adhered to. As a result, the point was awarded to Topalov, reducing Kramnik's lead to 3-2. Kramnik stated that the appeals committee was biased and demanded that it be replaced. As a condition to continue the match, Kramnik insisted on playing the remaining games under the original conditions of the match contract
, which allows use of the bathroom at the players' discretion.
The controversy resulted in a heavy volume of correspondence to Chessbase and other publications. The balance of views from fans was in support of Kramnik. Prominent figures in the chess world, such as John Nunn, Yasser Seirawan, and Bessel Kok also sided with Kramnik.
The Russian and Bulgarian Chess Federations supported their respective players. Kramnik's behaviour during the match earned him widespread support in the chess community.
After twelve regular games the match was tied 6-6, although Kramnik continued to dispute the result of the unplayed fifth game until the end of the match. On 13 October 2006 the result of this disputed game became irrelevant as Kramnik won the rapid tie-break by a score of 2½-1½.
Kramnik's victory helped him win the Chess Oscar
for 2006, the second of his career.
In the tournament, held in September 2007, Kramnik finished in a second-place tie with Boris Gelfand
. The tournament, and the world championship, was won by Viswanathan Anand
.
. He fell victim to Anand's superior preparation and was convincingly outplayed, losing three of the first six games (two with the white pieces). Kramnik's play gradually improved, and although he managed a 29 move victory in game 10, he was unable to win any others, and lost the match to Anand by a score of 6½ to 4½ (three wins to Anand, one win to Kramnik, seven draws).
, Levon Aronian
, Boris Gelfand
, former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov
, Peter Leko
, Peter Svidler
and Alexander Morozevich
. At the time, the average Elo rating of the field made it the strongest tournament in history. Following this result, Kramnik stated that his goal was to regain the World Championship title.
He also participated in the London Chess Classic in December, finishing second to Magnus Carlsen
, losing their head-to-head encounter on the Black side of the English Opening
. Kramnik's performance in 2009 allowed his rating (average of July 2009 and January 2010 ratings) to be high enough to qualify for the Candidates Tournament
to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2012.
in the Netherlands, during which he defeated new world number-one Carlsen with the Black pieces in their head-to-head encounter, ending Carlsen's 36-match unbeaten streak. A late loss to Viswanathan Anand
knocked him out of first place, and Kramnik finished with 8/13, tying for second place with Alexei Shirov
behind Carlsen's 8½ points.
In May 2010 it was revealed that Kramnik had aided Viswanathan Anand
in preparation for the World Chess Championship 2010 against challenger Veselin Topalov
. Anand won the match 6½-5½ to retain the title.
Kramnik also participated in Dortmund, but had a subpar showing, losing to eventual champion Ruslan Ponomariov
and finishing in joint third place with 5/10.
He then participated in the Grand Slam Chess Masters preliminary tournament in Shanghai from September 3 to 8, where he faced world #4 Levon Aronian
, Alexei Shirov
, and Wang Hao
; the top two scorers qualified for the Grand Slam final supertournament from October 9 to 15 in Bilbao against Carlsen and Anand. Scoring 3/6, Kramnik tied for second place with Aronian behind the winner Shirov's 4½/6. In the blitz playoff, Kramnik defeated Aronian to qualify along with Shirov for the Grand Slam final.
Shortly after qualifying for the last stage of the Grand Slam, Kramnik played on board one for the Russian team in the 2010 Olympiad. He played 9 games of which he won 2 and drew 7.
Following the Olympiad, Kramnik participated in the Grand Slam Chess Masters final in Bilbao where he competed against Anand, Carlsen and Shirov. The average rating of the field was 2789, surpassing the 2009 Tal Memorial to become the strongest tournament in history. After defeating world #1 Carlsen for the second consecutive time, and then Shirov in his first two games, Kramnik drew his final four games to finish in clear first with 4.0/6. This gave Kramnik the distinction of having won the two strongest tournaments in chess history.
Kramnik will next attempt to defend his 2009 title at the Tal Memorial in Moscow, followed by playing in the London Chess Classic in England for the second consecutive year.
, Germany from 25 November to 5 December 2006, losing 2-4 to the machine, with 2 losses and 4 draws. He received 500,000 Euro
s for playing and would have received another 500,000 Euros had he won the match. Deep Fritz version 10 ran on a computer containing two Intel Core 2 Duo
CPUs. Kramnik received a copy of the program in mid-October for testing, but the final version included an updated opening book
. Except for limited updates to the opening book, the program was not allowed to be changed during the course of the match. The endgame tablebase
s used by the program were restricted to five pieces even though a complete six-piece tablebase is widely available.
On 25 November the first game ended in a draw at the 47th move. A number of commentators believe Kramnik missed a win. Two days later, the second game resulted in a victory for Deep Fritz, when Kramnik made what might be called the "blunder of the century" according to Susan Polgar
, when he failed to defend against a threatened mate-in-one. (see also Deep Fritz vs. Vladimir Kramnik blunder). The third, fourth and fifth games in the match ended in draws. In the last game Fritz with the white pieces impressively defeated the World Champion, winning the match.
There is now speculation that interest in human vs. computer chess competition will plummet as a result of the Bonn match and other recent matches involving Kasparov, Kramnik, Adams
, and various chess programs. According to McGill University computer science professor Monty Newborn, for example, "the science is done".
, called ankylosing spondylitis
. It causes him great physical discomfort while playing. In January 2006, Kramnik announced that he would skip the Corus Chess Tournament
in Wijk aan Zee
to seek out treatment for his arthritis. He returned from treatment in June 2006, playing in the 37th Chess Olympiad
. He scored a +4 result, earning the highest performance rating (2847) of the 1307 participating players.
On 30 December 2006 he married French journalist Marie-Laure Germon. He has a daughter named Daria who was born 28 December 2008.
| after = Garry Kasparov
Viswanathan Anand
| title = World No. 1
| years = January 1, 1996 - June 30, 1996
January 1, 2008 - March 31, 2008
|}}
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
. He was the Classical World Chess Champion
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...
from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007. He has also won the two strongest tournaments (by rating strength) in chess history: the 2009 Mikhail Tal Memorial
Mikhail Tal Memorial
The Tal Memorial is a chess tournament played in Moscow each year since 2006, to honour the memory of the former World Champion Mikhail Tal who died in 1992....
and the 2010 Grand Slam Masters Final.
In October 2000, he defeated Garry Kasparov
Garry 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....
in a match played in London, and became the Classical World Chess Champion. In late 2004, Kramnik successfully defended his title against challenger Péter Lékó
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:...
in a drawn match
Classical World Chess Championship 2004
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....
played in Brissago
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.
In October 2006, Kramnik, the Classical World Champion, defeated reigning FIDE World Champion 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....
in a unification match, the World Chess Championship 2006. As a result Kramnik became the first undisputed World Champion, holding both the FIDE and Classical titles, since Kasparov split from FIDE in 1993.
In 2007, Kramnik lost the title to 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....
, who won the World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
tournament ahead of Kramnik. He challenged Anand at the World Chess Championship 2008
World Chess Championship 2008
The World Chess Championship 2008 was a best-of-twelve-games match between the World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand, and the previous World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik...
to regain his title, but lost.
Kramnik qualified for 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...
which determined the challenger to face World Champion Anand in the World Chess Championship 2012. He advanced to the semifinals before losing to Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Igorevich Grischuk is a Russian chess grandmaster and Russian Champion in 2009.-Chess career:In the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000, Grischuk he made it to the semifinals, losing to Alexei Shirov....
.
Early career
Vladimir Kramnik was born in the town of TuapseTuapse
Tuapse is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. It serves as the administrative center of Tuapsinsky District, although administratively it is separate from it...
, on the shores of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. His father's birth name was Boris Sokolov, but he took his stepfather's surname when his mother (Vladimir's grandmother) remarried. As a child, Vladimir Kramnik studied in the chess school established by Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
. His first notable result in a major tournament was his gold medal win as first reserve for the Russian team in the 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila
30th Chess Olympiad
The 30th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between June 7 and June 25, 1992, at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila, Philippines.-Individual...
. His selection for the team caused some controversy in Russia at the time, as he was only sixteen years old and had not yet been awarded the grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
title, but his selection was supported by Garry Kasparov
Garry 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....
. He scored eight wins, one draw
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
, and no losses.
The following year, Kramnik played in the very strong tournament in Linares
Linares chess tournament
The Linares International Chess Tournament , is an annual chess tournament, usually played around the end of February, takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia, Spain, in which it is held...
. He finished fifth, beating the then world number three, Vassily Ivanchuk, along the way. He followed this up with a string of good results, but had to wait until 1995 for his first major tournament win at normal time controls, when he won the strong Dortmund tournament
Dortmund 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...
, finishing it unbeaten.
In 1995, Kramnik served as a second for Kasparov in the Classical World Chess Championship 1995
Classical World Chess Championship 1995
The Classical World Chess Championship 1995, known at the time as the PCA World Chess Championship 1995, was held from September 10, 1995, to October 16, 1995, on the 107th floor of the former World Trade Center in New York City. Garry Kasparov, the defending champion, played Viswanathan Anand, the...
match against challenger 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....
. Kasparov won the match 10½-7½.
In January 1996, Kramnik became the world number-one rated player; although having the same FIDE rating as Kasparov (2775), Kramnik became number-one by having played more games during the rating period in question. This was the first time since December 1985 that Kasparov was not world number-one, and Kramnik's six month stretch (January through June 1996) as world number-one would be the only time from January 1986 through March 2006 where Kasparov was not world number-one. By becoming number-one, Kramnik became the youngest ever to reach world number-one, breaking Kasparov's record; this record would stand for 14 years until being broken by Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list...
in January 2010.
Kramnik continued to produce good results, including winning at Dortmund (outright or tied) ten times from 1995 to 2011. He is the second of only six chess players to have reached a rating
Elo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
of 2800 (the first being Kasparov).
Ironically, during his reign as world champion, Kramnik never regained the world number-one ranking, doing so only in January 2008 after he had lost the title to 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....
; as in 1996, Kramnik had the same FIDE rating as Anand (2799) but became number-one due to more games played within the rating period. Kramnik's 12 years between world-number one rankings is the longest since the inception of the FIDE ranking system in 1971.
Playing style
Garry Kasparov described Kramnik's style as pragmatic and tenacious, in the latter similar to Anatoly KarpovAnatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
. He is one of the toughest opponents to defeat, losing only one game in over one hundred games leading up to his match with Kasparov, including eighty consecutive games without loss. Kasparov was unable to defeat Kramnik during their 2000 World Championship match, mainly due to Kramnik's very solid black opening repertoire where he, surprisingly, adopted the Berlin Defence of the Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
which allowed him to neutralise Kasparov's 1.e4.
Early setbacks
In the mid- and late-90s, Kramnik, although considered one of the strongest players in the world, suffered several setbacks in his attempts to qualify for a World Championship match. In 1994, he lost a quarterfinal candidates match for the PCA championship to Gata KamskyGata Kamsky
Gata Kamsky is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and the current World Rapid Chess Champion. He is also the current United States Chess Champion. As of September 2011, he is rated No. 1 in the United States and No...
1½-4½, and later that year, lost a semifinal candidates match for the FIDE championship to 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:...
with the score 3½-4½. In 1998, Kramnik faced 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...
in a Candidates match
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...
for the right to play Garry Kasparov
Garry 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....
for the Classical World Chess Championship, and lost 3½-5½. In 1999, Kramnik participated in the FIDE knockout championship in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, and lost in the quarterfinals to Michael Adams 2-4.
2000 World Championship
Suitable sponsorship was not found for a Kasparov-Shirov match, and it never took place. In 2000, sponsorship was secured for a Kasparov-Kramnik match instead. This was somewhat controversial, making Kramnik the first player since 1935 to play a world championship match without qualifying.In 2000, Kramnik played a sixteen game match against Garry Kasparov
Garry 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....
in London, for the Classical Chess World Championship. Kramnik began the match as underdog, but his adoption of the Berlin Defence to Kasparov's Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
opening was very effective. With the white pieces, Kramnik pressed Kasparov hard, winning Games Two and Ten and overlooking winning continuations in Games Four and Six. Kasparov put up little fight thereafter, agreeing to short draws with the white pieces in Games 9 and 13. Kramnik won the match 8½-6½ without losing a game (this was only the second time in history that a World Champion had lost a match without winning a single game). This event marked the first time Kasparov had been beaten in a World Championship match.
Kramnik's performance won him the Chess Oscar
Chess Oscar
Chess Oscar is an international award given to the best chess player every year. The winner is selected by a poll of chess experts across the world, including Grandmasters...
for 2000; this was the first time he had received the award.
After London
In October 2002, Kramnik competed in Brains in BahrainBrains in Bahrain
Brains in Bahrain was an eight-game chess match between World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the computer program Deep Fritz 7, held in October 2002. The match ended in a tie 4-4, with two wins for each participant and four draws.-Outcome of games:...
, an eight game match against the chess computer Deep Fritz in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. Kramnik started well, taking a 3 - 1 lead after four games. However, in game five, Kramnik made what has been described as the worst blunder of his career (a blunder that pales in comparison to his loss against Deep Fritz 10 in 2006), losing a knight in a position which was probably drawn. He quickly resigned. He also resigned game six after making a speculative sacrifice, although subsequent analysis showed that with perfect play, he might have been able to draw from the final position. The last two games were drawn, and the match ended tied at 4 - 4.
In February 2004 Kramnik won the Tournament of Linares
Linares chess tournament
The Linares International Chess Tournament , is an annual chess tournament, usually played around the end of February, takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia, Spain, in which it is held...
outright for the first time (he had tied for first with Kasparov in 2000), finishing undefeated with a +2 score, ahead of Garry Kasparov
Garry 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....
, the world's highest-rated player at the time.
2004 title defense
From 25 September 2004 until 18 October 2004, retained his title as Classical World Chess Champion against challenger Péter LékóPéter 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:...
at Brissago
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, by barely drawing the match in the last game. The 14-game match was poised in favor of Lékó right up until Kramnik won the final game, thus forcing a 7 - 7 draw and ensuring that Kramnik remained world champion. The prize fund was 1 million Swiss franc
Swiss franc
The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein; it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione d'Italia. Although not formally legal tender in the German exclave Büsingen , it is in wide daily use there...
s, which was about USD $770,000 at the time. Because of the drawn result, the prize was split between the two players.
2006 Reunification match
When Garry Kasparov broke with FIDE, the federation governing professional chess, to play the 1993 World Championship with Nigel ShortNigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
, he created a rift in the chess world. In response, FIDE sanctioned a match between Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
and Jan Timman
Jan Timman
Jan Timman is a Dutch chess Grandmaster who was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At the peak of his career he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as "The Best of the West"...
for the FIDE World Championship, which Karpov won. Subsequently, the chess world has seen two "champions": the "classical" championship, claiming lineage dating back to Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz
Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
; and the FIDE endorsed champion.
When Kramnik defeated Kasparov and inherited Kasparov's title, he also inherited some controversies because he was handpicked to play for the title after he had just lost the qualifying match against Alexei Shirov in 1998.
At the next FIDE world championship (FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 took place in Potrero de los Funes, San Luis Province in Argentina from September 27 to October 16, 2005. It was won by Veselin Topalov.-Background:...
), Kramnik refused to participate, but indicated his willingness to play a match against the winner to unify the world championship. After the tournament, negotiations began for a reunification match between Kramnik and the new FIDE World Champion — 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....
of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
.
In April 2006, FIDE announced a reunification match between Kramnik and Topalov — 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...
. The match took place in Elista
Elista
-Twin towns/sister cities:Elista is twinned with the following sister cities. Howell, New Jersey, United States Lhasa, Tibet, China. Ulan-Ude, Buryat Republic, Russia-See also:*Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery*Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume-External links:...
, Kalmykia
Kalmykia
The Republic of Kalmykia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: It is the only Buddhist region in Europe. It has also become well-known as an international chess mecca because its former President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation .-Geography:*Area:...
. After the first four games, Kramnik led 3-1 (out of a maximum of 12). After the fourth game, however, Topalov protested that Kramnik was using the toilet suspiciously frequently, implying that he was somehow receiving outside assistance whilst doing so. Topalov said that he would refuse to shake hands with Kramnik in the remaining games. The Appeals committee decided that the players' toilets be locked and that they be forced to use a shared toilet, accompanied by an assistant arbiter.
Kramnik refused to play the fifth game unless the original conditions agreed for the match were adhered to. As a result, the point was awarded to Topalov, reducing Kramnik's lead to 3-2. Kramnik stated that the appeals committee was biased and demanded that it be replaced. As a condition to continue the match, Kramnik insisted on playing the remaining games under the original conditions of the match contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
, which allows use of the bathroom at the players' discretion.
The controversy resulted in a heavy volume of correspondence to Chessbase and other publications. The balance of views from fans was in support of Kramnik. Prominent figures in the chess world, such as John Nunn, Yasser Seirawan, and Bessel Kok also sided with Kramnik.
The Russian and Bulgarian Chess Federations supported their respective players. Kramnik's behaviour during the match earned him widespread support in the chess community.
After twelve regular games the match was tied 6-6, although Kramnik continued to dispute the result of the unplayed fifth game until the end of the match. On 13 October 2006 the result of this disputed game became irrelevant as Kramnik won the rapid tie-break by a score of 2½-1½.
Kramnik's victory helped him win the Chess Oscar
Chess Oscar
Chess Oscar is an international award given to the best chess player every year. The winner is selected by a poll of chess experts across the world, including Grandmasters...
for 2006, the second of his career.
2007 world championship tournament in Mexico
When Kramnik won the 2006 unification match, he also won Topalov's berth in the 2007 World Championship as the incumbent FIDE champion. Although the rationale behind his (and Garry Kasparov's) "classical" title is that the title should change hands by challenge match rather than by tournament, Kramnik stated that he would recognize the winner of this tournament as being the world champion.In the tournament, held in September 2007, Kramnik finished in a second-place tie with 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:...
. The tournament, and the world championship, was won by 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....
.
2008 match
Kramnik was granted a rematch to challenge Anand for the world title in 2008 in BonnBonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
. He fell victim to Anand's superior preparation and was convincingly outplayed, losing three of the first six games (two with the white pieces). Kramnik's play gradually improved, and although he managed a 29 move victory in game 10, he was unable to win any others, and lost the match to Anand by a score of 6½ to 4½ (three wins to Anand, one win to Kramnik, seven draws).
2009
Kramnik had exceptionally good results in 2009, winning once again in Dortmund and then winning the Category 21 (average Elo = 2763) Tal Memorial in Moscow with 6/9 and a 2883 performance rating ahead of world champion Anand, Vassily Ivanchuk, Magnus CarlsenMagnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list...
, Levon Aronian
Levon Aronian
Levon Grigor Aronian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2807, making him number three in the world and Armenia's number one...
, 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:...
, former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov is a Ukrainian chess player and former FIDE World Champion.-Early career:Ponomariov was born in Horlivka in Ukraine. In 1994 he placed third in the World Under-12 Championship at the age of ten. In 1996 he won the European Under-18 Championship at the age of just...
, 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:...
, Peter Svidler
Peter Svidler
Peter Veniaminovich Svidler is a Russian chess grandmaster.He is six-time Russian champion ....
and 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....
. At the time, the average Elo rating of the field made it the strongest tournament in history. Following this result, Kramnik stated that his goal was to regain the World Championship title.
He also participated in the London Chess Classic in December, finishing second to Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list...
, losing their head-to-head encounter on the Black side of the English Opening
English Opening
In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
. Kramnik's performance in 2009 allowed his rating (average of July 2009 and January 2010 ratings) to be high enough to qualify for 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 for the World Chess Championship 2012.
2010
Kramnik began 2010 at the Corus chess tournamentCorus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
in the Netherlands, during which he defeated new world number-one Carlsen with the Black pieces in their head-to-head encounter, ending Carlsen's 36-match unbeaten streak. A late loss to 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....
knocked him out of first place, and Kramnik finished with 8/13, tying for second place with 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...
behind Carlsen's 8½ points.
In May 2010 it was revealed that Kramnik had aided 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....
in preparation for the World Chess Championship 2010 against challenger 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....
. Anand won the match 6½-5½ to retain the title.
Kramnik also participated in Dortmund, but had a subpar showing, losing to eventual champion Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov is a Ukrainian chess player and former FIDE World Champion.-Early career:Ponomariov was born in Horlivka in Ukraine. In 1994 he placed third in the World Under-12 Championship at the age of ten. In 1996 he won the European Under-18 Championship at the age of just...
and finishing in joint third place with 5/10.
He then participated in the Grand Slam Chess Masters preliminary tournament in Shanghai from September 3 to 8, where he faced world #4 Levon Aronian
Levon Aronian
Levon Grigor Aronian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2807, making him number three in the world and Armenia's number one...
, 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...
, and Wang Hao
Wang Hao (chess player)
Wang Hao is a Chinese chess Grandmaster. In November 2009, Wang Hao became the fourth ever Chinese player to cross the 2700 Elo rating mark. He is the reigning Chinese Chess Champion, with a ranking of No. 1 in China, No. 2 in Asia behind Viswanathan Anand and No. 19 in the world...
; the top two scorers qualified for the Grand Slam final supertournament from October 9 to 15 in Bilbao against Carlsen and Anand. Scoring 3/6, Kramnik tied for second place with Aronian behind the winner Shirov's 4½/6. In the blitz playoff, Kramnik defeated Aronian to qualify along with Shirov for the Grand Slam final.
Shortly after qualifying for the last stage of the Grand Slam, Kramnik played on board one for the Russian team in the 2010 Olympiad. He played 9 games of which he won 2 and drew 7.
Following the Olympiad, Kramnik participated in the Grand Slam Chess Masters final in Bilbao where he competed against Anand, Carlsen and Shirov. The average rating of the field was 2789, surpassing the 2009 Tal Memorial to become the strongest tournament in history. After defeating world #1 Carlsen for the second consecutive time, and then Shirov in his first two games, Kramnik drew his final four games to finish in clear first with 4.0/6. This gave Kramnik the distinction of having won the two strongest tournaments in chess history.
Kramnik will next attempt to defend his 2009 title at the Tal Memorial in Moscow, followed by playing in the London Chess Classic in England for the second consecutive year.
Deep Fritz match
Kramnik played a six-game match against the computer program Deep Fritz in BonnBonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Germany from 25 November to 5 December 2006, losing 2-4 to the machine, with 2 losses and 4 draws. He received 500,000 Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s for playing and would have received another 500,000 Euros had he won the match. Deep Fritz version 10 ran on a computer containing two Intel Core 2 Duo
Intel Core 2
Core 2 is a brand encompassing a range of Intel's consumer 64-bit x86-64 single-, dual-, and quad-core microprocessors based on the Core microarchitecture. The single- and dual-core models are single-die, whereas the quad-core models comprise two dies, each containing two cores, packaged in a...
CPUs. Kramnik received a copy of the program in mid-October for testing, but the final version included an updated opening book
Opening book
Chess opening book refers either to a book on chess openings, or to a database of chess openings used by chess programs.-Literature:Opening books, which discuss chess openings, are by far the most common type of literature on Chess play...
. Except for limited updates to the opening book, the program was not allowed to be changed during the course of the match. The endgame tablebase
Endgame tablebase
An endgame tablebase is a computerized database that contains precalculated exhaustive analysis of a chess endgame position. It is typically used by a computer chess engine during play, or by a human or computer that is retrospectively analysing a game that has already been played.The tablebase...
s used by the program were restricted to five pieces even though a complete six-piece tablebase is widely available.
On 25 November the first game ended in a draw at the 47th move. A number of commentators believe Kramnik missed a win. Two days later, the second game resulted in a victory for Deep Fritz, when Kramnik made what might be called the "blunder of the century" according to Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar is a Hungarian-American chess Grandmaster...
, when he failed to defend against a threatened mate-in-one. (see also Deep Fritz vs. Vladimir Kramnik blunder). The third, fourth and fifth games in the match ended in draws. In the last game Fritz with the white pieces impressively defeated the World Champion, winning the match.
There is now speculation that interest in human vs. computer chess competition will plummet as a result of the Bonn match and other recent matches involving Kasparov, Kramnik, Adams
Hydra (chess)
Hydra was a chess machine, designed by a team with Dr. Christian "Chrilly" Donninger, Dr. Ulf Lorenz, GM Christopher Lutz and Muhammad Nasir Ali. Since 2006 the development team consised only of Donninger and Lutz. Hydra was under the patronage of the PAL Group and Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al...
, and various chess programs. According to McGill University computer science professor Monty Newborn, for example, "the science is done".
Private life and health
Kramnik has been diagnosed with an uncommon form of arthritisArthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
, called ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis , previously known as Bekhterev's disease, Bekhterev syndrome, and Marie-Strümpell disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton with variable involvement of peripheral joints and nonarticular structures...
. It causes him great physical discomfort while playing. In January 2006, Kramnik announced that he would skip the Corus Chess Tournament
Corus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
in Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee is a small town on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk in the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel chess tournament formerly Corus chess tournament and before that called Hoogovens tournament takes place there every year.Due...
to seek out treatment for his arthritis. He returned from treatment in June 2006, playing in the 37th Chess Olympiad
37th Chess Olympiad
The 37th Chess Olympiad, comprising an open and women's tournament and the general assembly of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , took place between 20 May and 6 June 2006, in Turin, Italy.-Open tournament:...
. He scored a +4 result, earning the highest performance rating (2847) of the 1307 participating players.
On 30 December 2006 he married French journalist Marie-Laure Germon. He has a daughter named Daria who was born 28 December 2008.
Notable tournament victories
Viswanathan AnandViswanathan 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....
| after = Garry Kasparov
Viswanathan Anand
| title = World No. 1
| years = January 1, 1996 - June 30, 1996
January 1, 2008 - March 31, 2008
|}}