Kramnik and the Reti (Part 1)

An evolving repertoire

Throughout his carreer Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik has been known for his deep opening preparation. From the 1992 Olympiad, where then 17-year old Vladimir made his entrance to the ranks of the world elite, to this day, when Kramnik retains a 2800+ rating and still harbors World Championship aspirations, his openings have always been top notch. One need only remember Kramnik's surprise weapon for the battle with Kasparov in London, 2000 — the Berlin variation of the Ruy Lopez, the opening now adopted by virtually every top player — to appreciate his contributions to theory.

Kramnik still plays the Berlin, albeit not too many of his opponents dare venturing into it, resorting instead to the d3 lines. Similarly, Vladimir has revived another forgotten variation, the Semi-Tarrasch, as a solid system against 1.d4, to complement his excellent Semi-Slav and Nimzo-Indian. In short, when commanding the Black pieces, Kramnik thinks equality first, and is often satisfied with a draw.

The Berlin Wall

On top level the Berlin Defense is a popular defensive weapon but it also offers Black good chances to win if White does not proceed precisely. On this DVD Victor Bologan shows what Black can and should do if White tries to avoid the main lines of the Berlin Defense.

Naturally, for those times when a tournament situation called for a win at all costs, Vladimir would venture into less explored territory, famously trying the Benoni in Game 13 of his World Championship match with Leko in 2004, a game he almost won it should be added, and the Pirc Defense he employed in the last round of the London Candidates 2013 against Ivanchuk (with much less success).

With White Kramnik came up as a 1.Nf3 player, but in truth this has been more about choosing a move order that allowed him to avoid openings — such as the Benko Gambit, the Benoni, etc. — that young Kramnik found annoying to face. In reality, Vladimir was a 1.d4 player of a most classical mold. Just look at his handling of the White side of the King’s Indian and the Grunfeld, and you will see a full-fledged strategy of occupying the center with pawns.

As every 1.d4 player should, even as a young player Vladimir possessed excellent endgame technique and was very adept at exploiting small positional advantages. However, Kramnik did not "chicken out" when it came to “defending his turf” against “unruly” opposition that tried sharp lines. From the Vienna Variation to the Botvinnik and all things in-between, Kramnik's handling of the Queen’s Gambit has always been a mark of excellence.

A complete player as he was by the mid-1990s, Kramnik at times opened his games with 1.e4, particularly in rapid and blitz games.

Vladimir Kramnik 1-0 Yasser Seirawan, Amsterdam 1996

It seemed, he liked to surprise his opponents, often relying on sidelines and/or specific preparation against their favorite lines. However, the databases show he completely abandoned 1.e4 sometime in 1996, with exception of the Hoogovens Blitz, 1998.

There has been a lot of speculation as to why World Champion Kramnik returned to 1.e4 in 2003. I dare say, his opposition wasn't terribly impressed. The 2003-2007 stretch of match and tournament play saw Kramnik tumbling down to 2729, 80 points off his career best, and prompted his World Championship opponent, Veselin Topalov, to declare Kramnik “not quite my league”.

Vladimir Kramnik 0-1 Veselin Topalov, Sofia 2005

Play the Sicilian Najdorf

In 60 minutes you will get a crash course how to play such a complicated opening like the Sicilian Najdorf by the hands of GM van Wely who knows by experience how the dangers look like! The contents:
• Video 1, 2, 3: how to survive versus whites most aggressive approach: 6. Bc4, 6. Be3 and 6 Bg5
• Video 4: how to deal with the latest fashion in the Najdorf 6. h3 and last but not least
• Video 5: how to play vs the more classical set ups 6. Be2 and 6. g3

When the chips went down in Elista 2007, Kramnik greeted Topalov with a steady diet of 1.d4, introducing the Catalan as his powerful new weapon. The Catalan brought Vladimir many memorable victories and remained his opening of choice throughout 2014.

The next year, however, brought another change. Kramnik returned to his old flame, 1.Nf3, but this time he wasn’t doing it just for the move order purposes. Suddenly, it was the full-fledged Reti and even the Kings Indian Attack!

Vladimir Kramnik 1-0 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shamkir 2015

Reti - A Repertoire for White

Starting with 1.Nf3 the Reti is designed for those players who like strategy, manoeuvres and plans. Bologan presents a repertoire based on 1.Nf3 giving you options for all major replies.

Compare this positional gem with my own effort below:

Alex Yermolinsky ½-½ Jaan Ehlvest, Kuybyshev 1986

Clearly, I wasn't able to take control of the queenside, and this is why White's ambitions remained unfulfilled. It might seem that the capture on f3, as Jaan Ehlvest's choice in the game above, is a better idea, rather than keep the bishop on h5, but the next game shows how flexible Kramnik's plans can be.

Vladimir Kramnik 1-0 Alexei Shirov, Zurich 2016

The Reti, a flexible attacking opening

The Nimzo-Indian, the Gruenfeld and the King's Indian Defence are three incredibly uncomfortable defences to meet. This hypermodern DVD gives new ideas on how to squash these setups with sound, positional play based on double fianchetto systems.

The following is another example of Kramnik's implementation of the main idea of the Reti Opening: blasting open the long diagonal for the fianchetto bishop!

Vladimir Kramnik 1-0 Wesley So, Leuven 2016

To be continued...

Previous articles on World Champions by Alex Yermolinsky

• Capablanca and the Nimzo-Indian
• Botvinnik and the Pirc/Modern