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After a hard-fought game which ended in a draw after 34 moves, Peter Leko needs just one more point from two games to become World Champion. The challenger felt relieved. “It was a very tough game for me”, said Leko. “I had several nightmares during the game.” Finally the 25-year-old Hungarian was able to fend off all danger and even gain an advantage against title holder Vladimir Kramnik from Russia. The spectators applauded the protagonists after a hard fought and interesting game.
In game 12 Leko, who had the black pieces, changed his defense and played the Caro Kann. Kramnik came up with an interesting 18.Qh7 and managed to create a lot of pressure. Leko decided to let White exchange on f6 and get double pawns. The black position looked almost lost, but the challenger defended vigorously, using all chances to create counterplay. Kramnik tried to activate his knight and to bring it to c6. Meanwhile Leko collected two pawns on the kingside. Suddenly the position didn't look so good for White anymore. Leko suggested an exchange of the queens and offered a draw at the same time.
Now the challenger needs just one point out of the last two games to become world champion. Game 13, where Kramnik has black, starts on Saturday, 3 p.m. Game 14 is scheduled on Monday, October 18, also at 3 p.m.
From the press conference after game 12
Kramnik,V (2770) - Leko,P (2741) [B19]
WCh Brissago SUI (12), 14.10.2004
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 13.0-0-0 Ngf6 14.Ne4 0-0-0 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 ½-½.
The final position in which Black has two extra pawns
Current standing| Vladimir Kramnik | |||||||||||||||
| Peter Leko |
The World Chess Championship is always something special. So everybody thinks, and watches the games on Playchess.com, and analyzes them, and follows live video reports from Brissago. The Championship Dannemann should be something that I will tell about to my future grandchildren, so I thought traveling to Switzerland. What exactly will my grandchildren hear?
First of all, I would start my story to them with a confession. I knew that in Switzerland there are a lot of mountains, I knew the scenery is great, but I never thought it could be so beautiful.
From the train to on the way to Lago Maggiore
Palm trees in Switzerland – Brissago has a very mild climate
A small mountain brook which I could see (and hear) from my balcony
When I arrived in Brissago it was raining...
... so I spent the whole morning sitting in the hotel room and reading
a book by Kramnik and Damsky. The English title is “Kramnik – My
life and games”.
What can one learn during a World Championship? That would be a question
of my future grandchildren. Well, you meet interesting people, like Yannick
Pelletier, who made the first move in the game Kramnik-Leko.
Being a Swiss GM, Yannick speaks five languages, including Russian, and, as Arshak Petrosian said smiling, probably Armenian as well. Pelletier insisted on five languages without Armenian, but to be sure I shall be very careful in the future and do not tell any secrets in Armenian.
At the Centro Dannemann you can learn how to print beautiful chess pictures
... or how to make photos of the pictures with the reflections of palm
trees in the background
You can also sponsor a tree that will be planted in your name in Brazil.
So in future, when I tell this story to my grandchildren, I will have my own
tree growing in South America.
To sponsor the tree you have to write your name on a wooden panel and fill
out a questionnaire. That's me getting my piece of immortality in Brazil.
The program that Centro Dannemann offers to its visitors is outstanding. Everywhere you feel the atmosphere and the spirit of the enterprise. The halls are so stylish and well designed, it is pleasure to walk around. It is also very nice to have a cup of coffee and some sandwiches in the café, where people are friendly and speak a variety of languages. Somehow I feel I am beginning to understand Italian!
The café restaurant team
Arbiter Dr. Andrzej Filipowicz from Poland
Possibly the future first lady of chess: Sofia Leko and her mother
A man's gotta drink – Coke! Carsten Hensel, manager of Kramnik and
Leko, with the press officer Rolf Behovits
Luc Lippuner, who is always ready to help journalists
Sneak shot of ACP President Joel Lautier working in his office
The receptionist at the hotel who always asks me who won the game
What do they do in Brissago late in the evening, when the game of the championship
is over and it is getting dark? For sure, play some chess!
Ok, it was draw in the game, but I got a lot of new impressions. This story for my future grandchildren will not be just for one evening. My opinion was always that the most important in chess is people, and about interesting people it is possible to tell the very long story. Hmm, should I write a book?
|
Olena Boytsun is from Ukraine. She has an MA in International Economics, having graduated recently from the Dnipropetrovsk National University in Ukraine. She is currently doing research for her PhD on "The effects of financial globalization on developing countries". Olena has been playing chess since her childhood. Her current title is Women's International Master. For the last four years she has been cooperating with Internet and regular newspapers, writing mainly (but not only) about economics. She travels a lot around Europe in search of new impressions, and finds it astonishing how many interesting and unusual situations she finds herself in. Olena is 21 and will have to wait for quite some time before she can start telling her grandchildren about Brissago and this world championship match. |
Rolf Behovits
Press Officer World Chess Championship
CENTRO DANNEMANN
Via Ruggero Leoncavallo
CH-6614 Brissago
rbehovits@chessgate.de
