2004 World Chess Championship
Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) vs. Peter Leko (Hungary)
Brissago, Switzerland
September 25 - October 18, 2004
Conditions: Best of 14 Games. In the event of
a 7-7 tie, Kramnik retains the title.
| Switzerland, 2004
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
|
Score
|
| Kramnik
|
1
|
½
|
½
|
½
|
0
|
½
|
½
|
0
|
½
|
½
|
½
|
½
|
½
|
1
|
|
7
|
| Leko
|
0
|
½
|
½
|
½
|
1
|
½
|
½
|
1
|
½
|
½
|
½
|
½
|
½
|
0
|
|
7
|
Result: Vladimir Kramnik retains the World Title
Kramnik's FIDE rating going into the match was 2770, Leko's was 2741.
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.09.25"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "1"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Peter Leko"]
[Black "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "130"]
1.e4 { Notes by Raymond Keene *** 1. e4 No surprise; Leko
plays little else. I felt a pang of sympathy for those
commenting live on this game. After the combinational flurry
ending on move 23, it was too easy to reach for the script
that was titled "And White converts his material
advantage". However, that account had to be shelved hastily as
Kramnik emphatically showed the virtues of Black's position,
rapidly attaining at least equality, then having some
pressure, and finally seeing Leko go astray in a much
simplified ending where the best White could hope for was a
draw.} e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 {The Petroff Defence was originally
designed as an equaliser, but it also gives Black dynamic
counterchances.} 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 {This
move order has supplanted the ancient debate between 6...Bd6
and 6...Be7.} 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 {As we shall see, the
Petroff is a defence where Kramnik appears to be equally at
home with both White and Black.} 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3
Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf4 Rac8
16. h3 {So far, we are still well inside 'theory', the current
habitual move order of modern masters. 16.h3 is an interesting
psychological ploy by Leko, as it was Kramnik's own choice
when he played against Anand in Corus 2003.} Be4 { Kramnik -
Anand, Wijk aan Zee 2003 saw 16...Bf6 but, according to
Huzman, after 17 Nh2 Qa5 18 Bd2 Rcd8 19 Bf3 h6 20 Ng4 Bxg4 21
hxg4 Bg5 22 Bxg5 hxg5 White could have got a clear advantage
by 23 Qc1 Rxe1+ 24 Qxe1 Kf8 25 Rb1 Re8 26 Qc1.} 17. Be3 Na5
{"Provocative," said Leko afterwards, but also "the most
thematic in this position, It reminds me of the Grunfeld,
which I love to play with Black.". He had this position as
White against Bologan at Dortmund earlier this year, but his
opponent that day played now 17...Rcd8; the game was drawn in
26 moves.} 18. c4 {Leko is provoked! This forcing sequence
leads ineluctably to a situation where Black will have rook
and bishop for the white queen. Also possible was 18 Nd2 as
18...Bxg2 fails to 19 c4 Qc6 20 d5 Qg6 21 Bh5 Bf3+ 22 Bxg6
Bxd1 23 Bf5.} Nxc4 19. Bxc4 Qxc4 20. Nd2 Qd5 21. Nxe4 Qxe4
22. Bg5 Qxe1+ 23. Qxe1 Bxg5 24. Qa5 Bf6 {!? A tremendous
decision. Black could probably draw with 24...Bf4 25Qxa7 b6
followed by ...Bd6 when it is doubtful that White can break
through. The text is considerably more ambitious. Black
creates a passed pawn for himself, but he must also take
account of the fact that White's passed apawn could become
exceedingly dangerous.} 25. Qxa7 c5 {! This is a key move,
creating a situation with rival racing pawns. One might expect
this still to favour the side with the material advantage, but
Leko's Queen and Rook are out-numbered and out-manoeuvred by
Kramnik's pieces.} 26. Qxb7 Bxd4 27. Ra2 c4 28. Re2 Red8
29. a4 c3 30. Qe4 Bb6 31. Qc2 g6 32. Qb3 {In the press
conference afterwards, Leko with cheerful self-deprecation
commented that "Once I got my queen to b3, I then spent time
trying to get it to e4!"} Rd6 33. Rc2 Ba5 34. g4 Rd2 35. Kg2
Rcd8 36. Rxc3 {Leko, with only a few minutes left, tires of
the bind that Black is exerting and chooses to go into and
endgame where only Black has winning chances. It might have
been better to stay passive and trust in his blockade.} Bxc3
37. Qxc3 R2d5 {Susan Polgar, commenting live online, pointed
out that an ending with the same material and the same
distribution of pawns on the king's-side occurred in
Gurgenidze-Averbakh, Baku 1961, and it saw a win for the
rooks. However, Leko's pawns stand better placed for defence
here than did Averbakh's.} 38. Qc6 Ra5 39. Kg3 Rda8 40. h4
R5a6 {When Leko played h4, Kramnik should have quickly replied
...h7h6, so as to meet h4h5 with ...g5. It's important to
retain pawns here, as explained below. After the game, Leko
mentioned that he was thinking about the idea Qe1!? but
rejected it as too ugly for such a game(!).} 41. Qc1 Ra5
42. Qh6 {White's last two moves inhibit this ...h6 manoeuvre
by Black.} Rxa4 43. h5 R4a5 44. Qf4 {? This is a blunder,
which allows Black to fix the pawn formation and ultimately
gang up on the weak white fpawn. White must play 44 hxg6 as
they say in the beginner's books, swap pawns in the ending to
reduce the opponent's winning chances. Even after the superior
44 hxg6 hxg6 it is not obvious that White can reach the safe
haven of a draw, as the basic black strategy of piling up with
his rooks against the white f-pawn still seems valid. However,
with only two pawns each on the board, White can place his
g-pawn on g5, so that even if black trades both rooks for
queen and f-pawn, the resulting king and pawn ending is a
draw.} g5 45. Qf6 h6 {This is a very clever move from Kramnik,
clearly overlooked by Leko, whose last move could have no
other purpose than to threaten h6. If now 46Qxh6, then ...R8a6
traps the white queen.} 46. f3 R5a6 47. Qc3 Ra4 48. Qc6 R8a6
49. Qe8+ Kg7 50.Qb5 R4a5 51. Qb4 Rd5 52. Qb3 Rad6 53. Qc4 Rd3
54. Kf2 Ra3 55. Qc5 Ra2+ 56. Kg3 Rf6 57. Qb4 Raa6 58.Kg2 Rf4
{Black weaves a net inexorably around White's sorry f-pawn.}
59.Qb2+ Raf6 60. Qe5 Rxf3 {Kramnik's manoeuvres, though
lengthy, have finally triumphed. If White does not trade his
queen for Black's rooks, the white king will soon be hunted
down. If White does exchange, then Black has an easy win in
the king and pawn endgame.} 61.Qa1 Rf1 62. Qc3 R1f2+ 63. Kg3
R2f3+ 64. Qxf3 Rxf3+ 65. Kxf3 Kf6 {White resigns. The pawn
endgame is a trivial win, e.g. 66 Ke4 Ke6 67 Kd4 f5 68 gxf5+
Kxf5 69 Ke3 g4 70 Kf2 Kg5 71 Kg3 Kxh5 72 Kg2 Kg5 73 Kg3 h5 and
the black pawns march down to promote. A marvellously dramatic
encounter and a fine riposte to critics who thought the match
would be dull. In the press conference after the game, Kramnik
looked drained, Leko cheerful and phlegmatic. Kramnik insisted
throughout that the position objectively is drawn, and pulled
many sceptical faces when describing his win. The following
day, both players remarked how hard it is to move on from such
a battle, Kramnik musing "I tried to get the two rooks out of
my mind, and to stop trying to coordinate them in different
attacking patterns. I think it was four o'clock in the morning
when I was able to sleep." Leko added, "I needed until five
a.m. to get rid of those two black rooks."} 0-1
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.09.26"]
[EventDate "2004.09.25"]
[Round "2"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Black "Peter Leko"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[PlyCount "35"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5
7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 Re8 10. Nc3 Bb4 11. Ng5 Rf8 12. a3
Bxc3 13. bxc3 Na5 14. Ba2 c5 15. f4 exf4 16. e5 Nd5 17. Bxd5
Qxg5 18. Bxb7 1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.09.28"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "3"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Peter Leko"]
[Black "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "46"]
1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6
7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3
12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf4 Rac8 16. c4 Qe4
17. Be3 Qc2 18. d5 Na5 19. Nd4 Qxd1 20. Rexd1 Bd7 21. Bd2 Bf6
22. Bxa5 Bxd4 23. Rxd4 Rxe2 1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.09.30"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "4"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Black "Peter Leko"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "86"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5
7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. a3 Nd7 11. Nc3 Nd4 12. Ba2
Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 Bg5 14. Bxg5 Qxg5 15. Nd5 c6 16. Ne3 g6
17. Rad1 Rad8 18. c3 c5 19. Bd5 Bc8 20. b4 Nb6 21. c4 Nxd5
22. Nxd5 Be6 23. bxc5 dxc5 24. Rb1 Rb8 25. cxb5 Bxd5 26. exd5
axb5 27. d6 b4 28. a4 Rfd8 29. Qd5 Qf6 30. Qxc5 Qxd6 31. Qxd6
Rxd6 32. Rxe5 b3 33. Rb5 Ra8 34. R1xb3 Rxa4 35. Rb6 Rd7
36. Rf6 Ra1+ 37. Kh2 Rd1 38. Rf3 h5 39. h4 Rd2 40. g3 Kg7
41. Kg2 Rd1 42. Re3 Kh7 43. Kf3 Rd2 1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.02"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "5"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Peter Leko"]
[Black "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "137"]
1. d4 {Grandmaster Peter Leko equalised the score in the World
Championship at Brissago, Switzerland by holding game four and
exploiting Kramnik's endgame errors in game five. Leko won a
pawn in the opening. However, this was known theory and most
experts assumed that Kramnik had worked out in advance how to
draw. Nevertheless, after many hours of play Kramnik committed
an error in a seemingly drawn position that annihilated his
prospects of salvation. (Notes by Raymond Keene.)} Nf6 {1.d4
is a definite surprise. Kramnik chooses a line that he likes
to play against as White, but one that he also knows well. For
example, Kramnik had the position after 11.Bd3 as White
against Nigel Short at the Corus tournament, Wijk aan Zee,
2000. This wasn't Leko's first outing with 1 d4, but 2 c4 was
new for him . "It felt exciting," he said.} 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5
4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 {White's next move
heads for a small but clear plus. The more complicated
alternative is 8 Qc2.} 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. a3 {White
has inflicted an isolated dpawn on Black's camp, but black has
free piece activity in compensation.} Nc6 11. Bd3 Bb6 {Kramnik
also chose this move playing Black against Van Wely in the
Melody Amber rapidplay in 2001; Short preferred 11...Be7. I've
played this position myself, and in Keene-Rodriguez, Indonesia
1982, Black came up with the idea 12 h3 d4!?} 12. O-O Bg4
13. h3 Bh5 14. b4 Re8 15. Rc1 a6 {Black does not want to see
his knight driven from its central post and therefore prevents
white from advancing with b5. However, this move permits a
small fork trick combination that enables White to retain an
edge.} 16. Bxa6 {! Outwardly startling, but in fact the point
of White's play.} Rxa6 17. b5 Rxa3 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. Rxc6 Ra7
20. Rd6 Rd7 21. Qxd5 Rxd6 22. Qxd6 Qxd6 23. Bxd6 Bxf3
{Informator 84 gave Kramnik's choice "?!", but it seems likely
Kramnik knew of this Doubling White's pawns would appear to
secure the draw, but when Anand reached this position against
Karpov (Russia vs. Rest of the World 2002) he felt it would be
safer to maintain the bishop pair as compensation. White could
make no progress in that game, which was drawn in 114
moves. White's winning task is complicated by the fact that
all the pawns are restricted to one side of the board, and as
Fine briskly asserted in 1943: "If you are just one pawn
ahead, in 99 cases out of 100 the game is drawn if there are
pawns on only one side of the board." Leko of course knew
this, but as he said afterwards: "Objectively, this is a draw,
but Black needs to prove it there is no forced draw, and also
no draw familiar to everyone as there might be in a Rook
endgame. With the Bishops on the board it is already
unusual."} 24. gxf3 Bd8 25. Rb1 Bf6 {IM Jacob Aagaard,
commenting live on the official website during one of Leko's
long thinks, reminded us that "Kramnik won the World
Championship in 2000 from Kasparov by being better than the
old champion in positions without queens. He frustrated him by
drawing with Black in positions where White had chances, but
could not win. Later, Kramnik talked about positions in which
he knew was worse but also knew how to draw. I think he would
include the [current] position among them."} 26. Kg2 {Only
here is the first new move. 26 Rb5 g6 27 f4 Rd8 28 Bb4 h5 was
Gritsak - Kruppa, Alushta 2002, which was drawn.} g6 27. f4
Kg7 28. Rb7 Re6 29. Rd7 {White manoeuvres carefully, but
ultimately he must gain central terrain with e3-e4 and e4-e5,
committal though this might be.} Re8 30. Ra7 Re6 31. Bc5 Rc6
32. Ra5 Bc3 33. Rb5 Ra6 34. Rb3 Bf6 {That's a hat-trick of
Bf6s in this match for Kramnik...} 35. Rb8 h5 36. Rb5 Bc3
37. Rb3 Bf6 {With the return of the bishop to f6, White makes
his central move.} 38. e4 Ra5 39. Be3 Ra4 40. e5 {The only way
to make progress he has to place his bishop on d4 and his king
on e4, and submit to any tactics Black may be able to conjure
up. Kramnik said afterwards he was right to stay passive, but
lost concentration, and was "already thinking about next
game". After the time control, he found himself with serious
problems.} Be7 41. Rb7 Kf8 42. Rb8+ Kg7 {Kramnik cannot be
tempted to weaken his position, so Leko must try something
else.} 43. Kf3 Rc4 44. Ke2 Ra4 45. Kd3 Bh4 46. Bd4 {This
combined with the threat of e6+ is White's only chance.} Ra3+
47. Kc2 Ra2+ 48. Kd3 Ra3+ 49. Ke4 Ra4 50. Kd5 Ra5+ 51. Kc6 Ra4
52. Kc5 Be7+ 53. Kd5 Ra5+ 54. Ke4 Ra4 {White now gets his Rook
off a dark square, in case of Bd6, forking b8 and f4.} 55. Rc8
Bh4 {Leko has now placed his pieces as well as he can, and
makes his push. Kramnik is obliged to sacrifice the exchange.}
56. e6+ Bf6 57.e7 Rxd4+ 58. Ke3 Bxe7 59. Kxd4 Bh4 {Immediately
after the game, GM Amador Rodriguez commented on Kramnik's own
website www.kramnik.com, "The above position is well-known as
a theoretical draw, and therefore the result of the game was
still unclear." At the top of that web page was the chess
proverb, "A chess master is a good informed amateur": all over
the world there were GMs on the Internet explaining why it
could only be a draw, but Leko was in no hurry to
agree... After the game, he commented "In the Rb1 variation of
the Grunfeld, there is a long variation, which arrives in
exactly this endgame, and this was part of my repertoire as
black. I knew if the bishop stays on long diagonal, it's a
draw, but after the time control, Black is not in time to
place bishop on long diagonal." There are a couple of well
known theoretically drawn positions relevant here known as
'fortresses', because while White has a plus in material and
freedom to manoeuvre, there is no way to make progress. [notes
w/ diagrams omitted] What makes the real difference is that
Black has yet to set up the fortress, and before he can do so
Leko's check on move 61 pushes the Black king to a square that
the bishop would like to use.} 60. f3 f5 61. Rc7+ Kf6 62. Kd5
Bg3 {? Leko in the press conference afterwards suggested
62...Be1 as more awkward: with idea if 63 Rc6+ Kf7 64 Ke5 then
64...Ba5 stopping Rc7+ for the moment, when it's not easy to
make progress. Now, after either 65 Ra6 Bc3+ 66 Kd5 Bf6 or 65
Rc4 Bd8 and 66 Bf6, Black has his fortress. If White
temporises with 64 Rc8, for example, then 64...Bb6. Leko hoped
he might still win this position, but I can't see how.}
63. Rc6+ Kg7 64. Ke5 {Kramnik's next appears to make life
easier for White. After 64.Bh4, it is not at all clear White
can penetrate the black fortress, but GM Shipov gave 64 Bh4 65
Rc7+ Kg8 66 Ke6 Kf8 67 Rc8+ Kg7 68 Rb8! with zugzwang, eg 68
Bg3 69 Rb7+ Kh6 70 Kf7 Bxf4 71 Rb6 Kg5 72 Rxg6+ Kh4 73 Kf6,
etc.} h4 65. Rc7+ Kh6 66. Rc4 Kg7 67. Ke6 Bh2 68. Rc7+ Kh6
69. Kf7 {Black resigns. Tom Furstenburg found a neat finish in
analysis, involving an under-promotion: 69 Kf7 Bxf4 70 Rc6 Kh5
71 Rxg6 Be3 72 Kf6 f4 73 Rg8 Bd4+ 74 Kf5 Kh6 75 Kxf4 Bf2 76
Kg4 Kh7 77 Rg5 Kh6 78 f4 Be1 79 f5 Kh7 80 f6 Kh6 81 f7 Bc3 82
f8=N Be5 83 Rg6#. After six-and-a-half hours of play, Peter
Leko has done something that Kasparov could not -- won a WCC
match game from Kramnik.} 1-0
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.03"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "6"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Black "Peter Leko"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "40"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5
7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. a3 Na5 11. Ba2 c5 12. Nbd2
Nc6 13. c3 Qd7 14. Nf1 d5 15. Bg5 dxe4 16. dxe4 c4 17. Ne3
Rfd8 18. Nf5 Qe6 19. Qe2 Bf8 20. Bb1 h6 1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.05"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "7"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Peter Leko"]
[Black "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[ECO "D16"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "41"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 e6 6. e3 c5
7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 Be7 10. Be3 O-O 11. Ne5 Nb4
12. a5 Bd7 13. d5 exd5 14. Nxd5 Nbxd5 15. Bxd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5
Bc8 17. Rfd1 Qxd5 18. Rxd5 Be6 19. Rb5 Bf6 20. Nf3 b6 21. axb6
1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.07"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "8"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Black "Peter Leko"]
[ECO "C89"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "64"]
1. e4 {Notes by Raymond Keene.} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4
Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 {The dangerous
Marshall Gambit, which Kramnik had avoided in earlier games.}
9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4
14. g3 Qh3 15. Re4 g5 {This was first played in the game
Petrosian-Averbakh, Moscow 1947. That game saw 16 Nd2 Bf5 17
Qe2 Nf6 18 Re5 Bxe5 19 dxe5 Ng4 and Black went on to win. The
point of 15 ... g5 is to prevent Rh4, while 16 Bxg5 fails to
16 ... Qf5.} 16. Qf1 Qh5 17. Nd2 Bf5 18. f3 Nf6 19. Re1 Rae8
20. Rxe8 Rxe8 21. a4 Qg6 22. axb5 {Starting on the road to
perdition. White must play 22 Ne4 Nxe4 23 fxe4 when 23
... Bxe4 24 axb5 axb5 (24 ... Bd3 fails to 25 Bxf7+) 25 Bxg5
is in White's favour. In this line Black must play 22 Ne4 Bxe4
23 fxe4 Nxe4 with approximate equality.} Bd3 23. Qf2 Re2
24. Qxe2 {This was played quickly in the evident belief that
White was winning. In fact White must now turn his thoughts to
survival by 24 bxa6 Rxf2 25 Kxf2 Qh5 26 Ke3 Bxa6 27 Rxa6 Qxh2
when there is still some fight left in the game. In this line
26 Kg1 loses to 26 ... Qh3 27 a7 Bxg3 28 a8=Q+ Kg7 29 hxg3
Qxg3+ 30 Kh1 g4 31 Qxc6 Qh3+ 32 Kg1 g3} Bxe2 25. bxa6 Qd3 {The
key move which Kramnik and his team had underestimated before
the game. If now 26 a7 Qe3+ 27 Kg2 Bxf3+ 28 Nxf3 Qe2+ 29 Kg1
Ng4 30 a8=Q+ Kg7 31 Qxc6 Qf2+ 32 Kh1 Qf1+ 33 Ng1 Nf2
mate. Alternatively 30 Be3 Nxe3 31 a8=Q+ Kg7 32 Nh4 gxh4 33
Qxc6 hxg3 34 hxg3 Bxg3 and mate follows. White can also play
26 Bc4 which is refuted by 26 ... Qe3+ 27 Kg2 g4 28 f4 Ne4 29
a7 Qf2+ 30 Kh1 Nxd2 31 a8=Q+ Kg7 and White is defenceless.}
26. Kf2 Bxf3 27. Nxf3 Ne4+ 28. Ke1 Nxc3 {Much stronger than 28
... Qxf3. This final sacrifice lays White's position to
waste.} 29. bxc3 Qxc3+ 30. Kf2 Qxa1 31. a7 h6 32. h4 g4 {At
the end of the game Kramnik said, sportingly: "a beautiful
game that will be remembered in the history of chess."} 0-1
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.09"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "9"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Peter Leko"]
[Black "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "32"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7
7. Nc3 Bb7 8. Bg2 d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O O-O 11. Bf4 Na6
12. Qc2 Re8 13. Rfd1 c6 14. Ne5 h6 15. a3 Nc7 16. e4 Ne6
1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.10"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "10"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Black "Peter Leko"]
[ECO "C78"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "69"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Bc5 6. c3 b5
7. Bc2 d5 8. exd5 Qxd5 9. a4 b4 10. d4 exd4 11. Bb3 Qd8
12. Re1+ Be7 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Qxd4 15. cxd4 Bb7 16. Bg5
h6 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Nd2 Rg8 19. g3 Rd8 20. Rac1 Rd7 21. Nc4
Rg5 22. Ne3 Kf8 23. h4 Ra5 24. d5 Rc5 25. Rcd1 c6 26. Nf5 cxd5
27. Rd4 Rdc7 28. Red1 Rc1 29. Bxd5 Rxd1 30. Rxd1 Bc8 31. Be4
Bxf5 32. Bxf5 b3 33. Rd3 Rc4 34. Bd7 Rb4 35. Bc6 1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.12"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "11"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Peter Leko"]
[Black "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "34"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qa4 Bb7 6. Bg2 c5
7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 Be7 10. Bf4 a6 11. Rfd1 d6
12. Qc2 Qc7 13. Rac1 Rd8 14. Qd2 Nh5 15. Bg5 Nf6 16. Bf4 Nh5
17. Bg5 Nf6 1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.14"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "12"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Black "Peter Leko"]
[ECO "B18"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "68"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6
7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bf4 Qa5+
12. Bd2 Qc7 13. O-O-O Ngf6 14. Ne4 O-O-O 15. g3 Nxe4 16. Qxe4
Bd6 17. Kb1 Rhe8 18. Qh7 Rg8 19. c4 c5 20. d5 Nf6 21. Qc2 exd5
22. cxd5 Qd7 23. Bc3 Rde8 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Qd3 f5 26. Nd2 b5
27. Rhe1 Kb8 28. Qc3 Rxe1 29. Rxe1 c4 30. Nf3 f4 31. g4 Bc7
32. Qd4 Qxg4 33. Qe4 Qxh5 34. Nd4 Qg6 1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.16"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "13"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Peter Leko"]
[Black "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[ECO "A61"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "129"]
1. d4 {(Notes by Raymond Keene.) After all the predictions of
a dull event, this is proving to be one of the most dramatic
sporting contests of recent WCC matches. Kramnik needed at
least one win from the last two games, and was not going to
leave it all to the very last game. He chose as Black a
strongly counter-attacking, unbalanced system, the Modern
Benoni, and one could not help but recall how this defence
gave Fischer his first win against Spassky in 1972. Kramnik, a
long-time 1 d4 player, must have been more familiar with this
structure than the neophyte Leko, and played in true Benoni
style, putting pressure on White with a King's-side pawn
advance. Leko seemed to escape any difficulties and a rook
endgame emerged on the board, but again Kramnik found ways to
set his opponent problems. Leko faced pressure on the board
and the clock, probably missing some chances to obtain a more
clearly drawn position, but with characteristic determination
found a series of 'miracle' saves and Kramnik could not find a
final decisive manoeuvre. Perhaps through sheer momentum, the
players continued until the most clearly drawn position of all
was reached... two lonely Kings. Did Kramnik miss a win?
Probably! I have been greatly assisted in my understanding of
this endgame by comments from acirce, a chessgames.com
contributor who is also a noted endgame composer [Ulf
Hammarström], and the analysis published on
www.chessbase.com. } Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 {The Benoni is
often seen as a dubious defence, but Kramnik is desperately in
need of something irrational to disturb the balance, given his
dire match situation.} 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. cxd5 g6 7. Nd2
Bg7 {Or 7...Nbd7 8 Nc4 Nb6 9 e4 Bg7 10 Ne3 O-O 11 Bd3 Nh5 12
O-O Be5 13 a4 Nf4 14 a5, was Nimzowitsch-Marshall, New York
1927. In this line, 11...Re8 12 O-O c4 13 Bc2 Bd7 14 Bd2 Rc8
15 Kh1 Rc5 16 f3 Nc8 17 a4 a6 18 Ne2 Ne7 19 Bb4 Rc8 20 Bc3
also greatly favours White (Keene-Pritchett, British Ch
1972).} 8.e4 O-O 9. Be2 Na6 10. O-O Ne8 11. Nc4 {This transfer
of the Knight to c4 was, I believe, first seen in the
Nimzowitsch game and is now standard in many main lines of the
Benoni.} Nac7 12. a4 f5 13. exf5 {Kramnik has had this
position as White, a number of years ago. He drew in 46 moves
after the continuation 13 f3 Qe7 14 Bf4 g5 15 Bg3 f4 in the
game Kramnik Ivanchuk, Belgrade 1995.} Rxf5 14. Bg4 Rf8 { A
new move, it seems. } 15. Bxc8 Rxc8 16. Qb3 b6 17. Nb5 {White
is playing for a light square grip, but there is something
rather static about the position for White that emerges. That
is, it looks impressive, but it is hard to see how to improve
the position thereafter, or to exchange White's advantages for
others. } Nxb5 18. axb5 Rc7 19. Bd2 Rcf7 20. Bc3 Qd7 {The
online audience were baying for Kramnik to 'launch' 20...Qh4,
but this may just get in the way of Black's actual plan.}
21. f3 {Kramnik now begins a bold King's-side pawn advance.}
g5 22. Ne3 Rf4 23. Rfe1 h5 {Black's play looks loosening but
at least he has a plan to improve his position. By going so
consistently for exchanges, White may have robbed himself of
any serious activity.} 24. Qc2 Qf7 25. h3 Bd4 26. Bxd4 {Black
faces an important choice. Kramnik of course spent some time
considering 26...cxd4, but could not find enough in its favour
at the board. His actual choice allows White to play a
liquidating combination. } Rxd4 27. Nf5 Qxf5 28. Qxf5 Rxf5
29. Rxe8+ Kf7 30. Rb8 Rdxd5 {Here the immediate ...Rd2
deserves attention. } 31. Rxa7+ Ke6 32. Re8+ Kf6 {The dust has
cleared, with an apparently level position. Leko now produces
the sort of move which might produce further clarification,
but which might simply create weaknesses. In fact, it turns
out to be the latter. White should play 33 Rh7! Kramnik now
devotes renewed energy to probing White's position. } 33. g4
hxg4 34. hxg4 Rd1+ 35. Kf2 Re5 36. Rh8 Rd2+ 37. Kg3 Ree2
{Given the looming mating net, White forces an exchange of
rooks.} 38. Rf8+ Kg6 39. Rg8+ Kf6 40. Rf8+ Ke6 41. Re8+ Kd5
42. Rxe2 Rxe2 43. Rg7 Re5 {Another example of trying to reach
the end of a story too soon. Everyone 'knew' that White was
completely lost in this position. But Garry Kasparov,
commenting on www.playchess.com, declared to some general
surprise, "Wait a minute. After 44.Rb7, White has chances to
draw." According to chessbase.com, "In spite of harsh
contradiction by the heavily armed spectators (equipped with
Fritz, Junior and even the 16-processor Hydra) Kasparov stuck
to his analysis, which Leko went on to play, almost move by
move. GM Jon Levitt called it 'a magical draw'."} 44. Rb7 c4
45. Rxb6 Re2 46. f4 {!! The key move in Kasparov's analysis,
and a defensive move of genius.} Re3+ 47. Kf2 gxf4 48. Rb8 Rb3
49. b6 {It seems that 49 g5 Ke5 50 b6 Rxb2+ 51 Kf3 holds the
draw} Ke4 {Kramnik's major alternative was 49...Rxb2+. All
night the computers whirred and the kibitzers muttered... One
chessgames.com kibitzer amongst many, Honza Cervenka gave
49...Rxb2+ as a win for Black after 50 Kf3 c3 e.g. 51 Rc8 (51
g5 fails to the neat trick 51...Rxb6! 52 Rxb6 c2) 51...Kd4 52
g5 (52 Rc6 d5 53 g5 c2 54 g6 Rxb6 55 Rxc2 Rxg6 56 Kxf4 Rf6+ 57
Kg5 Rf1) 52...Rxb6 53 g6 Rb7 54 Kxf4 d5 55 Kg5 Kd3 56 Kf6
d4. ChessBase gave instead 51 b7, marking it "winning for
Black" but analysing 51...Kd4 52.Rd8 Rxb7 53.Rxd6+ Kc5 54.Rd1
Rf7 55.g5 Kc4 56.g6 Rf8 57.g7 Rg8 58.Rd7 c2 59.Rc7+ Kd3
60.Rd7+ Kc3 61.Rc7+ Kd2 62.Rd7+ Kc1 63.Kxf4=} 50. Re8+
{Dionyseus queries this move, giving instead 50 g5 Rxb2+ 51
Ke1 c3 (simply "-+" ChessBase) and analysing 52 g6 Rb1+ 53 Kf2
c2 54 Rc8 Rb2 55 Ke1 Rxb6 56 g7 Rb1+ 57 Kf2 Rb2 58 Kf1 c1=Q+
59 Rxc1 Rb8 60 Kf2 Rg8 61 Re1+ Kf5 62 Rd1 Rxg7 63 Rxd6 with a
draw.} Kd3 {It's likely that this move lost the last chance of
holding the win. 50...Kd4! avoids the defensive plan chosen by
Leko during the game, and now neither 51 g5 Rxb2+ 52 Kf3 Rxb6
nor 51.Rb8 Rxb2+ 52.Kf3 c3 53.b7 c2 54.Rc8 Rb3 save White. The
best defence 51 Re2 can now be met with 51...f3!, which is
possible with the black king on d4 instead of d3. Now on 52
Rd2+ (also losing are 52 Re1 [ChessBase] and 52 Re6 [acirce] )
52...Ke4 White loses after both 53 Rc2 d5 54 Kg3 Rxb6 55 g5
d4–+ and 53 Rxd6 Rxb2+ 54 Kg3 f2 55 Kg2 c3 56 Rc6 c2 57 b7
Kd3-+. 'acirce' gave a long analysis of the position but the
conclusion remains the same: Black has a win with the accurate
50...Kd4!} 51. Re2 d5 52. Kf3 d4 53. g5 c3 54. bxc3 dxc3
55. Rg2 Rb2 56. b7 Rxb7 57. Kxf4 Rb2 58. Rg1 c2 59. Rc1 Rb1
60. Rxc2 Kxc2 61. g6 Kd3 62. Kf5 Rb5+ 63. Kf6 Rb6+ 64. Kf7
Rxg6 65. Kxg6 {Draw agreed. The players finally agree that
there is little left to play for in this position.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.10.18"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "14"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[Black "Peter Leko"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "81"]
1. e4 {(Notes by GM Ray Keene.) Kramnik, the defending world
champion, scored a brilliant victory in the 14th and final
game; Peter Leko resigned after 41 moves when faced with
checkmate. This is only the third time in the entire history
of the World Championship that the defending champion has
saved his title by winning in the final game. The game itself
was a jewel of controlled aggression. Despite consistent
exchanges throughout the game, Kramnik maintained an iron grip
on the position and ultimately blasted his way into the black
camp via the dark squares. Taking no account of material
sacrifices it was Kramnik’s king that dealt the fatal blow
when it marched right into the heart of the opposing
position. This outstanding game, the best of the match,
recalled the classic fifth game won by Petrosian against
Botvinnik in 1963 when a similarly epic king march in an
endgame brought White a classic victory. "I had to give
everything, especially at the end, to win against such an
opponent. Peter Leko is an incredible defender. For me it was
more difficult than my match against Kasparov in the year
2000", said Kramnik after the game. Leko said in conclusion:
"It was a very hard fight. In the end, it was not enough for
me to win the title. I'm disappointed, but I'm looking forward
to the future. I'm 25 years old, and I hope to get a new
chance to become world champion." } c6 {Leko is not averse to
repeating the main lines of the Caro-Kann.} 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {By
contrast, Kramnik must seek sharper paths. This move, favoured
by Nimzowitsch, Tal and Short, is ideal for a must-win
situation, since it locks pawn formations and avoids premature
exchanges.} Bf5 4. h4 {Nimzowitsch liked this 3 e5 variation
and would play here 4 Bd3. His most famous game with this line
is sadly a loss, a magnificent manoeuvring game against
Capablanca from New York 1927. The most common alternative
these days is 4 Nc3, as played for example by Kasparov in a
drastic win over Karpov at Linares 2001, which continued
4...e6 5 g4 Bg6 6 Nge2 Ne7 7 Nf4 c5 8 dxc5 Nd7 9 h4 Nxe5 10
Bg2 h5 11 Qe2 N7c6 12 Nxg6 Nxg6 13 Bg5 Be7 14 gxh5 Nf8 15 Nb5
Nd7 16 h6. The latest try for Black is 4 Nc3 a5!? as in
Sebag-Chiburdanidze, FIDE WCh Women KO, Elista 2004. Black won
in 33 moves after 5 Be3 a4 6 a3 Qb6 7 Rb1 Qa5 8 g4 Bd7 9 Bg2
e6 10 Nge2 c5 11 0–0 Nc6 12 f4 h5. This 4 h4 line was tested
repeatedly in the Tal-Botvinnik WCC match, Moscow 1961, with
generally favourable results for Black. The paths they
followed are retraced below.} h6 {4...h5 may be preferable,
after which Tal tried 5 Ne2 e6 6 Ng3 g6 7 Nxf5 gxf5 8 c4 c5 9
cxd5 Qxd5 but only drew their 14th game from 1961.} 5. g4
{Instead 5 Ne2 is possible and in their 20 th game 5 e6 6 Ng3
Ne7 7 Nc3 Nd7 8 Be3 Bh7 9 Bd3 Bxd3 10 cxd3 h5 led to a
marathon struggle and another draw.} Bd7 {It looks more
natural to retreat the bishop along the b1-h7 diagonal, but,
in that case, Black has to reckon with the dangerous pawn sac
e5-e6.} 6. Nd2 {This looks like a new move. In the 10th
Tal-Botvinnik game from 1961, we saw 6 h5 c5 7 c3 Nc6 8 Bh3 e6
9 Be3 Qb6 10 Qb3 cxd4 11 Qxb6 axb6 12 cxd4 Na5 and Black won
in 42; while the 18 th game followed the course 6 c3 c5 7 Bg2
e6 8 Ne2 Bb5 9 Na3 Bxe2 10 Qxe2 cxd4 11 cxd4 Bxa3 12 bxa3 Nc6
and Black won again. However, Tal persisted with this line,
and in Tal-Pachman, Bled 1961, he finally won after launching
an attack following 7... e6 8 f4 Qb6 9 Nf3 Nc6 10 Na3 cxd4 11
cxd4 O-O-O 12 Nc2 Kb8 13 Bd3 Nge7 14 Rb1 Na5 15 Bd2 Rc8 16
b4.} c5 {Black has one way to free himself before White's
pawns begin to exert a fatal grip.} 7. dxc5 e6 8. Nb3 Bxc5 {A
small combination that regains his pawn, but at the cost of
trading his dark squared bishop. 9...Qc7 would doubtless
transpose, but this is more forcing.} 9. Nxc5 Qa5+ 10. c3 Qxc5
11. Nf3 Ne7 12. Bd3 Nbc6 13.Be3 Qa5 14. Qd2 {The tone of play
for the middlegame is set -- Black's position is resilient,
but White has a promising future on the central dark
squares. Fritz now wanted to try the line-opening gambit
14...d4!?, but no human player would yet regard such drastic
measures as necessary. (It's a mark of how far computer
programs have advanced that Fritz makes this dynamic choice.)}
Ng6 15. Bd4 {Accepting some exchanges, but White's dark square
grip persists. In contrast, 15 Bxg6 gives black too much
counterplay along the half-open f-file.} Nxd4 16.cxd4 Qxd2+
17.Kxd2 Nf4 18.Rac1 {From now on, White's play is direct and
brutal. I would have played Bf1 and followed it with
Ke3. Kramnik has no truck with such sophisticated nuances and
goes directly for the jugular.} h5 {And here I would have left
Black's king's-side pawns severely alone and traded on
d3. After 18...Nxd3 19 Kxd3 Ke7 20 Rc7 Rab8 followed by
...Rhc8, I believe Black could withstand the onslaught from
White, though it must be admitted that White's knight will
always be superior to Black's bishop.} 19. Rhg1 {19 g5 is
possible instead, but Kramnik is all for open lines.} Bc6
20.gxh5 Nxh5 21.b4 a6 22.a4 {An admirable display of energy,
but, after 22...Bxa4 23 Rc7 Bb5 24 Rxb7 O-O, Black reduces the
tension and gains counterplay. Taking the pawn could even be
dangerous for White after 25 Bxb5 axb5 26 Rxb5 Ra2+. For this
reason, I prefer 22 Ke3 restricting Black's knight, and if
22...O-O then 23 Rg5 g6 24 Rcg1 Ng7 25 h5! or if 24...Kh8 25
Bxg6! fxg6 26 Rxg6 Rf7 27 Ng5 and wins.} Kd8 {? Leko exhibits
an alarming tendency towards a bunker mentality. After this
passive move, Black is strangled in the style of his hero
Petrosian or of Nimzowitsch, the arch-blockader and early
prophet of 3 e5 against the Caro-Kann.} 23. Ng5 Be8 24.b5 Nf4
{Clearing the a-file merely offers White a further avenue of
attack after 24...axb5 25 axb5 Ra3 26 Ra1!} 25.b6 {Creating a
terrible outpost on c7 for his rook. Black must prevent such
an invasion at all costs.} Nxd3 26.Kxd3 Rc8 27.Rxc8+ Kxc8
28.Rc1+ Bc6 {Black has plugged one path for White's forces but
more soon open. Black, we soon see, is fatally debilitated on
the central dark square complex.} 29.Nxf7 Rxh4 30.Nd6+ Kd8
31.Rg1 Rh3+ {Passive defence is hopeless, so Black tries to
clear off as many white pawns as he can. } 32.Ke2 Ra3 33.Rxg7
Rxa4 34.f4 {!! The decisive coup. White's small but highly
efficient army is ready to concentrate its powers and deal the
death blow. If now 34...Rxd4, then 35 f5 exf5 36 e6 Re4+ 37
Nxe4 fxe4 38 Rc7, threatening Rxc6, and if 37...Bb5+, 38 Ke3
when Black's b-pawn is doomed and White's king penetrates.}
Ra2+ 35.Kf3 Ra3+ 36.Kg4 Rd3 37.f5 {The same theme. The way
White's king now takes the Black fortress by storm with just
rook and knight against rook and bishop reminds me strongly of
the epic king march and superlative conclusion of game 5 from
the Petrosian-Botvinnik WCC match, Moscow 1963.} Rxd4+ 38.Kg5
exf5 39.Kf6 Rg4 40.Rc7 Rh4 41.Nf7+ {Black resigns since
41...Ke8 42 Rc8+ Kd7 43 Rd8 is mate. A jewel of a game and a
sublime atonement for the sins of omission in some previous
games of this match. Now compare the celebrated king march by
Petrosian that doubtless provided inspiration for Kramnik as
he conducted his final onslaught. } 1-0
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