Grandmaster Chess Ep 1: Vidit's flawless win over Kramnik

by Sagar Shah
11/18/2020 – Grandmaster Chess is a series hosted by IM Sagar Shah on the ChessBase India YouTube channel. The idea of the series is to give you a peek into the mind of a world class grandmaster. Every episode has a GM who shows his immortal game with 10 critical questions. Four famous stand-up comedians of India - Samay Raina, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Vaibhav Sethia and Anirban Dasgupta are the participants. It's a synthesis of great chess education by the GM along with a liveliness of the comedians! The first episode had GM Vidit Gujrathi who showed his immortal win against GM Vladimir Kramnik. We have all the 10 critical moments for you to solve! Try your hand and see how you fare!

Master Class Vol.11: Vladimir Kramnik Master Class Vol.11: Vladimir Kramnik

This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) how to successfully organise your games strategically, consequently how to keep y

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After 100 episodes of "improving chess with the comedians" it was time to take their game to the next level. That is how the idea of Grandmaster Chess was conceived. The plan was to invite a grandmaster, who would show his favourite game that he had played till date - the immortal, as we like to call it. Each game would have 10 critical moments and the stand-up comedians would guess the right move. If it was a good move, the grandmaster trainer would grant them 1 point, if it was not the best, but the move made sense then half a point was given. And if the move was bad, then a zero was awarded. Every episode would have a winner and at the end of the entire series we have a special prize for the overall winner. How many episodes are there in Grandmaster Chess? We will figure that out as time goes by, but 50 is what we would love to reach!

The four stand-up comedians on the show, who are the students, are Samay Raina, Biswa Kalyan Rath, Vaibhav Sethia and Anirban Dasgupta. Each one of them loves chess and desperately wants to get better at it. This is what makes the show fun! It's not just they are lively and entertaining, they are also inquisitive and truly want to pump up their rating. Although none of them is FIDE rated yet, all of them have an online Elo that is between 1200-1600.

The first episode of Grandmaster Chess began with India no.3, world no.24 and one of India's top chess streamers GM Vidit Gujrathi

About Vidit Gujrathi

GM Vidit Gujrathi | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Vidit Gujrathi (born 24 October 1994) is an Indian chess player. He attained the title of Grandmaster in January 2013, becoming the thirtieth player from India to do so. He is currently the third highest rated player in India, and is the fourth Indian player to have crossed the Elo rating threshold of 2700, the youngest ever in India to do so.

Vidit vs Kramnik

Vidit chose his win against Vladimir Kramnik from the Wijk Aan Zee tournament in 2019 as his favourite game!

The Fashionable Caro-Kann Vol.1 and 2

The Caro Kann is a very tricky opening. Black’s play is based on controlling and fighting for key light squares. It is a line which was very fashionable in late 90s and early 2000s due to the successes of greats like Karpov, Anand, Dreev etc. Recently due to strong engines lot of key developments have been made and some new lines have been introduced, while others have been refuted altogether. I have analyzed the new trends carefully and found some new ideas for Black.

The game was a very intense one. Vidit had lost his previous round to Teimour Radjabov, so he was definitely looking to strike back. On the other hand Vladimir Kramnik retired after the tournament, so definitely thoughts of hanging up his boots would have been crossing his mind! Vidit began aggressively with the 4.f3 variation in the Nimzo Indian and went on to win the game against a legendary chess player. This does remain as one of the most pleasant memories in Vidit's chess career till date.

Instructions on how to gain maximum from these tests:

There are 10 board positions along with 10 questions given below. We urge you to think on your own and write down the move that you think is the right one. Go chronologically from the first position so that you can benefit maximally from this exercise. Below each position we have given the move suggested by each comedian and also the points awarded to them. In this Grandmaster Chess Episode 1 we had only two comedians who were present - Biswa and Vaibhav.

 
Position 1

What is the move that Vidit played in this position? 23:37

Biswa: h4 - 0 point

Vaibhav: Qc2 - 0.5 point

Right answer: The right move is g4! The idea is to mobilize your kingside majority, gain space and also make a spot for the bishop to develop on g2 and castle. It just fits in perfectly with the entire plan of White's position.

 
Position 2

Black has already begun with his queenside play. How should White continue? 33:59

Biswa: Rxb3 - 0 point

Vaibhav: Ng3 - 0.5 point

Right answer: The right move is e4! The idea is to sacrifice material in order to gain activity. The move e4 opens up the bishop on c1 and also creates mobile central pawns!

 
Position 3 (variation in the game)

Black has gone ahead and captured the pawn on g4. What did Vidit have in his mind? 42:18

Biswa: e5 - 0 point

Vaibhav: e5 - 0 point

Right answer: Bg5! was the correct move. The fact that Black did not take the bishop on c1 with ...Nxc1 means that we can use the time to pin his knight with Bg5.

 
Position 4

A critical moment of the game. One move suggests itself here for White, but as we know Vidit is a master in stopping his opponent's ideas. White to play. 48:20

Biswa: Kh1 - 0.5 point

Vaibhav: h3 - 1 point

Right answer: h3! The reasoning behind this move is that White would like to play e5, but it is met with ...Nh5. So Vidit kicks away this bishop and prepares the move e5.

 
Position 5

Time for an easy point now. White to play. 55:08

Biswa: e5 - 1 point

Vaibhav: e5 - 1 point

Right answer: The move is e5, kicking away the knight and gaining more space! After h3 on the previous move, this was very natural.

 
Position 6

The knight is pushed back to e8. With such a dominating position, players often go wrong because they do not know how to continue their initiative. How should White continue here? 58:32

Biswa: Qc2 - 0 point

Vaibhav: Bd5 - 0 point

Right answer: Qe3! White's position is good, but not good enough to cash in. It would be greatly useful if you connect all your pieces and get them into the game before going for the final onslaught. Harmony is the word.

 
Position 7

1:08:09

Biswa: e6 - 0 point (gets half point for subsequent calculation)

Vaibhav: e6 - 0 point

Right answer: d6! Vidit was inspired by the game Kasparov vs Pribyl (game attached below) where Kasparov plays the move d7 to cut Black's position into two. Here with d6, Vidit would like to alienate the rook on b6 and never let him join in for the defence on the kingside.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 b6 7...c5 7...0-0 8.Be2 b6 8.Bb5+ c6 9.Bc4 0-0 10.0-0 10.Qe2 10...Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Qa4 12.Bg5 Qd7 13.Qd2 +/=/+/- 12...Qc8 13.Bg5 Qb7 14.Rfe1 e6 14...Rfe8 15.Rab1 /\ 16.c4 c5 15...h6 16.Be3 16.d5! 16.Red1 f5! 16...Bxc3 17.Red1 exd5 18.exd5N >< Na6 Bg7 18...Nc7 19.Be7 Rfe8 20.Qd7 18...Nb8 19.Qc4 19.Qh4 19...Bg7 20.Qxc5 19.d6 f6 20.d7! 20.Bf4N 20...fxg5 20...Nb4 21.Qb3+ Kh8 22.Ne5 fxe5 23.d8Q Raxd8 24.Rxd8 Rxd8 25.Bxd8± 20...Rad8 21.Qc4+ Kh8 22.Ne5! fxe5 23.Bxd8 Rxd8 24.Qe6! Qb8 24...Nc7 25.Qe7 Qb8 26.Rb3 e4 27.Rd6 Bf8 28.Qf6+ Bg7 29.Qf7 25.Rb3 c4 26.Rh3 Nc5 27.Qxg6 h6 28.Rg3+- 20...Kh8 21.Qc4 21.Bf4 21...fxg5 game 21.Qc4+ Kh8 22.Nxg5 Bf6 22...Bd4 23.Rxd4 cxd4 24.Qxd4+ Kg8 25.Ne6+- 23.Ne6 Nc7 23...Nb4 24.Qf4 Nc6 24...Nd5 25.Qd6 25.Nxf8 Rxf8 26.d8Q Nxd8 27.Rxd8+- 24.Nxf8 Rxf8 25.Rd6 25.Qxc5 Qxg2+ 26.Kxg2 bxc5 27.Rb7 Ne6 28.Rd6 Nf4+ 29.Kf1 Bd8 30.Rxa7± 25...Be7 25...Qb8 26.Rbd1 Qd8 27.Rc6 Bg7 28.h4 Zugzwang 25...Bd8 26.h4 Qa6 27.Qc3+ Kg8 28.Qc2 Bxh4 29.Rxg6++- 26.d8Q! Bxd8 26...Rxd8 27.Rxd8+ Bxd8 28.Qf7 Qd5 29.Qxd5 Nxd5 30.Rd1+- 27.Qc3+ Kg8 28.Rd7 Bf6 29.Qc4+ Kh8 30.Qf4 Qa6? 30...Bg7 31.Qxc7 Qxc7 32.Rxc7 Bd4 33.Rf1+- 31.Qh6 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kasparov,G2595Pribyl,J23901–01980D85EU-chT 07th Final5.8

Master Class Vol.7: Garry Kasparov

On this DVD a team of experts gets to the bottom of Kasparov's play. In over 8 hours of video running time the authors Rogozenko, Marin, Reeh and Müller cast light on four important aspects of Kasparov's play: opening, strategy, tactics and endgame.

 
Position 8

Perhaps the most critical moment of the game. Hint: Turn your prophylactic thinking on! 1:21:34

Biswa: Qg3 - 0 point

Vaibhav: Nf6 - 0 point

Right answer: Rf5!! Black's only active counterplay is to put his queen on g5 to activate it. Rf5! stops the idea and also builds up on the idea of doubling the rooks on the f-file.

 
Position 9

White to play. 1:32:33

Biswa: Rbf1 - 1 point

Vaibhav: Rbf1 - 1 point

Right answer: Rbf1! is a great move, just bringing in your last inactive piece into the attack. Now we are all set for the final blow!

 
Position 10

Time to cash in! How do you play? 1:34:54

Biswa: Ne7 - 1 point

Vaibhav: Ne7 - 1 point

Right answer: Ne7+ is correct because after Kh8, you can pick up the f7 pawn.

 
Bonus: Position 11

Vidit finishes off the game in style. Can you do it as well? 1:39:30

Biswa: Rf4 - 1 point

Vaibhav: Rf5 - 0.5 point

Right answer: There are many ways to win here, but Qf4 is the prettiest. It also has a point that after Ra1+ Kh2, it defends the e5 pawn. After Qf4! Kramnik resigned the game!

 
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After the end of Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Kramnik soon announced his decision of retiring from chess. Although he was far from his best form, I am lucky that I got a chance to play against the legend himself. In fact, he was the only player from the participants who I hadn't faced previously. Kurz nach dem Ende des Tata-Steel-Turniers verkündete Kramnik seine Entscheidung, sich vom Schach zurückzuziehen. Obwohl er dort bei weitem nicht in Bestform war, hatte ich das Glück, die Chance zu haben, gegen die Legende selbst zu spielen. Tatsächlich war er nämlich der einzige von den Teilnehmern, dem ich zuvor noch nicht am Brett gegenüber gesessen hatte. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 After a successful first half, I had scored only half a point in the next three games. (Yes, ironically that half point was against Anish Giri!) So I very much wanted to get back in the event, and with this move, I was aiming for an open fight with three results in mind. Nach erfolgreicher erster Hälfte hatte ich in den nächsten drei Partien nur einen halben Punkt erzielt (ja, ironischerweise war dieser gegen Anish Giri!). Daher wollte ich unbedingt ins Turnier zurückkommen, und mit diesem Zug strebte ich einen offenen Kampf an, mit drei Resultaten im Sinn. d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 I was a bit surprised by this choice. Although this line was used by Carlsen to defeat Vishy in their world championship match, it never really caught on. Ich war ein bisschen überrascht von seiner Wahl. Obwohl bei ihrem Weltmeisterschaftskampf Carlsen mit dieser Variante Vishy besiegt hatte, setzte sie sich nie wirklich durch. 8.e3 c4 9.Ne2 Nc6 10.g4 Na5 Carlsen went for castles first and then the same plan with Na5-b3. Carlsen wählte zunächst die kurze Rochade und dann den gleichen Plan mit Sa5-b3. 10...0-0 11.Bg2 Na5 12.0-0 Nb3 13.Ra2 b5 14.Ng3 a5 15.g5 Ne8 16.e4 Nxc1 17.Qxc1 Ra6 18.e5 Nc7 19.f4 b4 20.axb4 axb4 21.Rxa6 Nxa6 22.f5 b3 23.Qf4 Nc7 24.f6 g6 25.Qh4 Ne8 26.Qh6 b2 27.Rf4 b1Q+ 28.Nf1?? Qe1 0-1 (28) Anand,V (2775) -Carlsen,M (2870) Chennai IND 2013 0-1 (28) Anand,V (2775) -Carlsen,M (2870) Chennai IND 2013 11.Bg2 Nb3 12.Rb1 A novelty for over the board games. As this game was played on one of the chess on tour days, we had to leave earlier than usual, and while walking towards the bus, my coach informed me that the rook on b1 is better placed for a quick e2-e4. That's all I knew about this line. Eine Neuerung in praktischen Partien. Da diese Partie an einem der "Chess on Tour"-Tage gespielt wurde, mussten wir früher los als sonst, und auf dem Weg zum Bus informierte mich mein Coach, dass der Turm auf b1 besser steht für ein schnelles e2-e4. Das war alles, was ich über diese Variante wusste. 0-0 13.0-0 b5?! This opens the h1-a8 diagonal. Starting with the counter-intuitive a5 seems better. One advantage is that Black can play Ra6 and bring the rook in the game. Dies öffnet die Diagonale h1-a8. Mit dem kontraintuitiven a5 zu beginnen, sieht besser aus. Ein Vorteil ist, dass Schwarz Ta6 ziehen und den Turm ins Spiel bringen kann. 13...a5 14.e4 dxe4 15.fxe4 Bxg4 14.e4! I played this pawn sacrifice after thinking for 5 minutes. For one pawn White gets a lot of initiative, so it was not hard for me to convince myself. Peter Leko also remarked in the live commentary that it doesn't even feel like White is a pawn down! Dieses Bauernopfer spielte ich nach 5 Minuten Ãœberlegen. Für einen Bauern bekommt Weiß eine Menge Initiative, daher fiel es nicht schwer, mich dazu durchzuringen. Peter Leko merkte im Livekommentar auch an, dass es sich nicht mal so anfühlt, als ob Weiß einen Bauern weniger hat! dxe4 15.fxe4 Nxc1 Played instantly. I was a little surprised by the speed of his play. If it was his preparation, I didn't understand what I was missing. Sofort gespielt. Ich war ein wenig überrascht von seinem Tempo. Wenn es seine Vorbereitung war, verstand ich nicht, was mir entging. 15...Bxg4 This felt more natural, but the resulting position looks ugly. Dies fühlte sich natürlicher an, aber die entstehende Stellung sieht hässlich aus. 16.Bg5 Qb6 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Qe1 Getting out of the pin. Geht aus der Fesselung. Bxe2 19.Qxe2 Kh8 20.Kh1 Now I just double rooks on the f-file and sooner or later play e5. What can Black do? Jetzt verdopple ich einfach die Türme in der f-Linie und spiele früher oder später e5. Was kann Schwarz tun? 16.Qxc1 Bxg4 17.Nf4 Rb8 18.h3! An important point, the immediate e5 would allow ...Nh5 when White loses some momentum. Eine wichtige Pointe, sofortiges e5 würde ...Sh5 erlauben, wonach Weiß einigen Schwung verliert. 18.e5 Nh5 18...Bd7 Kramnik after the game told me that he mixed up his preparation and that he had ...Bc8 in his notes. Either I don't understand the position, or he mixed up some different line. White's play is still very very easy. Kramnik erzählte mir nach der Partie, er hätte seine Vorbereitung durcheinander gebracht und in seinen Notizen ...Lc8 stehen. Entweder verstehe ich die Stellung nicht oder er meinte irgendeine andere Variante. Das Spiel von Weiß ist so oder so superleicht. 18...Be6 Dieser Zug ergibt mehr Sinn. Der sofortige Bauernvormarsch lässt das Zentrum fragil werden. Weiß muss zuerst ein paar Vorbereitungszüge wie De3-Tbe1 machen und erst dann d5-e5 spielen. This move makes more sense. The immediate pushing of pawns leaves the centre fragile. White has to first make some preparatory moves like Qe3-Rbe1 and then play d5-e5 19.Qe3! 19.d5?! Bc8 20.e5 Nd7 21.Qe3 Qb6 is the point. ist die Pointe. 19...a5 20.Kh2± followed by d5-e5. nebst d5-e5. 18...Bc8 19.e5 Nd7 20.Qe3± 19.e5! I played this intuitively. Apparently move order is important. If I had played Qe3 first Black has extra defensive possibilities. Dies spielte ich intuitiv. Offenbar ist die Zugfolge wichtig. Bei zuerst De3 hat Schwarz zusätzliche Verteidigungsmöglichkeiten. 19.Qe3 Kh8! 20.e5 Ng8 Too cheeky for me to see it. Zu frech, als dass ich es gesehen hätte. 19...Ne8 20.Qe3 Finally, after this move, Kramnik thought for a long time. I feel the position is already very difficult for Black. I once read an interesting comment about Fischer's play. " His plans are simple and straightforward but at the same time very hard to stop" The current position gives a very similar vibe. I am just going to push my central pawns, and I don't see how Black can prevent it. Nach diesem Zug verfiel Kramnik endlich in langes Nachdenken. Meines Erachtens ist die Stellung bereits sehr schwierig für Schwarz. Ich las einmal einen interessanten Kommentar über das Spiel von Fischer: "Seine Pläne sind einfach und geradlinig, aber gleichzeitig sehr schwer zu stoppen." Die aktuelle Stellung verbreitet ein ganz ähnliches Gefühl. Ich rücke einfach meine Zentrumsbauern vor, und ich sehe nicht, wie Schwarz es verhindern kann. Rb6 21.d5 Nc7 22.d6 Kasparov,G (2595)-Pribyl,J (2390) EU Team-ch07 Final 1980 (5.8) 1-0 I was aware of the classic, Kasparov-Pribyl where Kasparov played d7! cutting the board in half. So, the decision to allow ...Ne6 at the cost of dividing the defenses was an easy one to make. Ich kannte sehr wohl den Klassiker Kasparov-Pribyl, wo Kasparov d7! spielte und damit das Brett zerteilte. Daher fiel die Entscheidung, ...Se6 zuzulassen, um dafür die Verteidiger zu entzweien, nicht schwer. Ne6 23.Nd5 Ra6 24.Rf5! It was important to stop Qg5. Now I have threats like Rh5-Ne7 Be4. The attack just plays by itself. Es war wichtig, ...Dg5 zu verhindern. Jetzt habe ich Drohungen wieTh5-Se7-Le4. Der Angriff spielt sich einfach von selbst. Qh4 25.Rbf1+- Rxa3 26.Ne7+ Kh8 27.Rxf7 Rxf7 28.Rxf7 I have threats like Qf3 and Rf8. Black is not in time to create any counterplay with the rook. Ich habe Drohungen wie Df3 und Tf8. Schwarz schafft es nicht rechtzeitig, irgendwelches Gegenspiel mit dem Turm aufzuziehen. Qh5 29.Qf4! A cute finish! After the game, my coach Alon Greenfeld and I were walking down the vibrant streets of Leiden where suddenly a stranger walked up to us and asked if I am Vidit. Upon confirmation, he congratulated me on the game and the final move. That's what makes Tata steel chess such a special event! :) Ein schönes Finale! Nach der Partie spazierten mein Trainer Alon Greenfeld und ich durch die pulsierenden Straßen von Leiden, als plötzlich ein Fremder auf uns zukam und fragte, ob ich Vidit sei. Als ich bejahte, gratulierte er mir zu der Partie und dem letzten Zug. Das macht Tata Steel Chess zu einem so besonderen Event! :) 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vidit,S2695Kramnik,V27771–02019E25Tata Steel-A 81st10

Final Score - Vaibhav Sethia wins the session

Biswa: 5 points

Vaibhav: 5.5 points

Let us know in the comments section below, how you enjoyed this game and how many points you scored!


Sagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.

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