New: Masterclass Vladimir Kramnik

by ChessBase
2/19/2019 – For almost three decades Vladimir Kramnik has been one of the world's best players, and from 2000 to 2007 he was World Champion, the 14th in the history of chess. Kramnik has inspired countless players, from amateurs to grandmasters, and the new ChessBase Masterclass reviews the career of this outstanding player, improves your game and invites you to enjoy chess with Vladimir Kramnik.

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Vladimir Kramnik: An outstanding career

Garry Kasparov knows chess talent when he sees it and he was one of the strongest supporters of the young Kramnik. It was Kasparov who insisted on letting the 17-year old Kramnik play in the Russian National Team at the Chess Olympiad in Manila 1992 – though Russia had many strong and experienced grandmasters and Kramnik at that time was not even an International Master. But Kramnik did not disappoint: with a result of 8½/9 he helped the Russian team to win gold and also won gold for the best results as first reserve.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 c5!? Nunn's choice of defence involves Black giving up a pawn for unclear counterplay after the queens come off. 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Bxc5 Nc6 10.Ba3 10.Nd5 Nd7 11.Ba3 11.Bxe7 Nxe7 12.Nxe7+ Kf8 13.Nd5 13.Nxc8?! Bxb2! 13...Bxb2 14.Rb1 Bg7 15.Ne2!? 15.h4 Nc5 16.h5 g5 Vogt,L 15...Nc5 16.Nc1 16.Nec3 Be6 17.Be2 Bxc3+ 18.Nxc3 Nd3+= 16...Be6 17.Nd3 Rac8! Gheorghiu,F-Gelfand,B/Palma GMA-op/1989/0-1/36/ 11.Nxe7+ Nxe7 12.Bxe7 Bxb2= Gunawan,Ro-Khalifman,A/Minsk/1986/ 11...e6 12.Nc7 Rb8 13.0-0-0 a6 14.f4 Bf8 15.Bxf8 Kxf8 16.Nf3 Nc5 17.Rxd8+ Nxd8∞ 10.Nge2 10.Rd1 10...a5 10...b6 11.Be2 11.Nge2 11.Rd1 11...Nd7 12.0-0-0 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Ba6 14.c5 Bxe2 15.Nxe2 bxc5 16.Nf4 Nce5= 11.Rd1 11.Nd5?! Nxd5 12.cxd5 Nb4 13.0-0-0 e6! 14.Bc4 exd5 15.Bxb4 15.exd5? Bh6+! 16.Kb1 Bf5+-+ 15...axb4 16.Rxd5 16.Bxd5 Rxd5 17.Rxd5 17.exd5 Rxa2 17...Be6 18.Rd6 Bh6+ 19.Kc2 Rc8+ 20.Kd3 Bc4+ 21.Kd4 Bf1 16...Be6 17.Rxd8+ Rxd8 18.Bd5 18.Bxe6? Bh6+ 19.Kc2 Rd2+ 18...Bh6+ 19.f4 Bxf4+ 20.Kb1 Bxd5 21.exd5 Rxd5 22.Nf3 g5 23.h3 h5 24.Re1 Kg7 Beliavsky,A-Nunn,J/ Amsterdam/1990/ 11.Bc5 Nd7 12.Be3 a4 13.0-0-0 a3 14.Nge2 axb2+ 15.Kxb2 b6 16.Kb1 Ba6 17.Nd4 Na5∞ 11...Be6 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.cxd5 Nb4 14.Bb5 14.Bd3 Nxd3+ 15.Rxd3 e6 16.Ne2 exd5 17.e5 Ne8 18.f4 b5! 19.Bc5 f6 20.Be7 Rd7 21.exf6 Nxf6 22.Bxf6 Bxf6 14...Nc2+ 15.Kf2!? 15.Ke2 Nxa3 16.bxa3 Rac8 17.Nh3 Rc2+ 18.Rd2 Rxd2+ 19.Kxd2 e6 20.Ke2 exd5 21.Rd1 Bf8 22.a4 Bd6= Andrianov-Glek,I/URS/1987/ 15...Nxa3 16.bxa3 e6 16...Rac8 ! Knaak (CBM23-VC) 17.Ne2 Rc2 18.Rc1 Rxa2 19.Rc7 Bf8 20.a4∞ 17.d6! 17.Ne2!? 17...e5 18.Ne2 Bf8 19.d7 Bxa3 20.g4!N !? Knaak (CBM23_VC) 20.Rd3 Bc5+ +/=/= Van der Sterren,J-Shirov,A/Kerteminde/1991/1/ 2-1/2/40/ -> CBM23 [Knaak] 20...h6 21.h4 a4 22.Rd3 Bb2! 23.g5 hxg5 24.hxg5 Nh7 25.f4! Ra5? 25...exf4 Necessary 26.Rd5! Nf8 27.Nxf4 Kg7 The passed pawn on d7 is still a throat in Black's throat, but White must still improve the position of his pieces to exploit it. 26.Rd5 f6 27.Rxh7! Obtaining three very big connected passed pawns. Kramnik played all of his games with this decisivness and energy in Manila. Kxh7 28.gxf6 exf4 29.e5 Kh6 30.Nxf4 Bxe5 31.Rxe5 Rxd7 32.Bxd7 Rxe5 33.f7 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kramnik,V2590Nunn,J26151–01992E81Olympiad-3014.4

Eight years later Kramnik was World Champion. In 2000 he won the World Championship match against his former supporter Garry Kasparov in London to become the 14. World Champion in history of chess, and the first and only human player who managed to beat Kasparov in match.

However, Kramnik's perhaps most spectacular win against Kasparov was played four years before their match, at the tournament in Dos Hermanas 1996.

 
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Stohl: A crucial game between the two highest rated players in the world. Their score in decided normal games is now 2:2, with Kramnik being the first one to win with Black. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.0-0 a6 10.e4 c5 11.d5 c4 12.Bc2 Qc7 13.Nd4 Nc5 14.b4 This move was close to become popular in the beginning of 90th. cxb3 15.axb3 b4 16.Na4 Ncxe4 17.Bxe4 Stohl: Kasparov's novelty is designed to make use of Black's K stuck on e8. Nxe4 18.dxe6 Bd6 19.exf7+ Qxf7 Stohl: An exciting, if probably not fully correct concept. Now Black will be forced to sacrifice a piece to get his K out of the center. 20.f3 Qh5 21.g3 0-0!? 22.fxe4 Qh3 Stohl: Black doesn't have even a single pawn for the piece, but his attack is unexpectedly dangerous. Kasparov surprisingly cracks under the pressure. 23.Nf3? Bxg3
24.Nc5? I) 24.hxg3? Qxg3+ 25.Kh1 Bxe4-+ II) 24.Ra2!? Bxe4 25.hxg3 Rad8 26.Qe1 Rxf3 27.Rxf3 Bxf3 28.Rh2 Qg4 29.Rd2∞ III) 24.Qe2!? Rxf3 25.Rxf3 Bxh2+ 26.Qxh2 Qxf3 27.Qg2 Qxg2+ 27...Qd1+ 28.Kh2= 27...Qxb3?! 28.Bh6 and White seizes the initiative. 28.Kxg2 Bxe4+ 29.Kg1 and the endgame should end in a draw. 24...Rxf3! 25.Rxf3? Kasparov misses the last chance to liquidate into the endgame - which is worse for him but where he can still hope. 25.Ra2! Rxf1+ 26.Qxf1 Qxf1+ 27.Kxf1 Rc8 28.Be3 Bf4! 29.Nxb7 Bxe3 30.Rxa6 Bf4 (Kramnik). 25...Qxh2+ 26.Kf1 Bc6! White now has an extra R, but his K is so exposed that he has no defense in the long run. 26...Qh1+ 27.Ke2 Qh2+ 28.Ke3 Qh6+ 29.Kd3? 29.Ke2 Qh2+= 29...Qd6+ 30.Ke2 Qxc5 31.Rxg3 Qh5+ 32.Ke1 32.Rf3 Bxe4 32...Qe5-+ 27.Bg5 I) 27.Be3 Bb5+ 28.Nd3 Rd8 29.Bg1 Qh3+ 30.Ke2 Qg2+ 31.Bf2 Bxf2 32.Rxf2 Qxe4+-+ II) 27.Qd3 Qh1+ 28.Ke2 Qe1# III) 27.Ra5!? Bc7 28.Qd4!? 28.Ra1 Qh1+ 29.Ke2 Qg2+ 30.Ke3 Qg5+ 31.Kf2 Qxc5+-+ 28...Bxa5 29.Bb2 Qh6 29...Bb5+ 30.Nd3 Bxd3+ 31.Qxd3 Qh1+ 32.Kf2 Bb6+ 33.Kg3 and the situation remains unclear. 30.Rg3 Ra7 31.Ne6 Rf7+ 32.Kg1 Qxe6 33.Rxg7+ Kf8 34.Qc5+ Ke8 35.Rg8+ Kd7 36.Qxa5 Qxe4 37.Qd8+ Ke6 38.Qc8+ Kd6 39.Qb8+ Rc7 40.Qf8+ Re7 41.Qb8+ Kc5 42.Rg5+ Bd5 43.Qc8+ Kb6 44.Qb8+ Bb7 45.Qd6+ Bc6 46.Bd4+ Kb7 47.Qxb4+ Kc8 48.Rg8+ Kd7 27...Bb5+ 27...Qh1+? 28.Ke2 Qg2+ 29.Ke3 yields nothing. 28.Nd3 Re8! Black activates his last passive piece. 29.Ra2 29.Be3 Rd8-+ 29.Qd2 Qh1+ 30.Ke2 Rxe4+ 31.Re3 Qh5+ 32.Kf1 Qxg5-+ 29.Rc1 Qh1+ 30.Ke2 Rxe4+ 31.Kd2 Qg2+-+ 29.Rb1 Rxe4 30.Rf8+ Kxf8 31.Qf3+ Kg8 32.Qxe4 Qf2# 29...Qh1+?! Black could mate immediately but when Kramnik saw the winning line played in the game he did not calculate any further. 29...Bxd3+! 30.Rxd3 30.Qxd3 Qh1+ 31.Ke2 Qe1# 30...Qh1+ 31.Ke2 Qg2+ 32.Ke3 Rxe4# 30.Ke2 Rxe4+ 30...Bxd3+? 31.Kd2! 31.Kd2 31.Be3 Qg2+ 32.Rf2 Qxf2# 31...Qg2+ 32.Kc1 32.Nf2 Rd4+ 32...Qxa2 33.Rxg3 33.Rf8+ Kxf8 34.Qf3+ Bf4+ 35.Bxf4 Qa1+ 36.Kd2 Qc3+-+ 33...Qa1+ 34.Kc2 Qc3+ 35.Kb1 Rd4 Kasparov resigned. Certainly one of the most impressive games of the 90s. One possible line is 35...Rd4 36.Bf6 Bxd3+ 37.Ka2 Bb1+ 38.Qxb1 Rd2+ and Black mates.
0–1
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Kasparov,G2775Kramnik,V27750–11996D48Dos Hermanas6

It was thanks to Kramnik that the split between world championships which had begun in 1993 was brought to an end. Kramnik defended his title in 2004 against Peter Leko and in the reunification match in 2006 he defeated Veselin Topalov. In 2007 Kramnik lost the title to Viswanathan Anand at the world championship tournament in Mexico and was also defeated by the Indian in 2008 in the return match. Even after losing the title of world champion Vladimir Kramnik has continued to remain among the absolute elite of players in the world – till the present day.

He also continued to play spectacular games, e.g. the following win against Levon Aronian at the Candidates Tournament 2018 in Berlin.

 
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1.e4 A surprise on the very first move. I suspected that in this tournament overwhelmingly closed openings would be played against me. And least of all did I expect 1.e4 in my game against Aronian. e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 In our earlier encounters with 1.e4 played by Levon we continued into the main line of the Berlin Defence, but without much success – all these games ended as draws. Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 I do not know for what reasons Levon selected this variation. It is all the more difficult to understand because he never again played 1.e4 in this tournament. He certainly had his reasons for this, but his decision seemed somewhat strange to me. On the other hand, if it had been justified it would have been called correct, far-sighted, etc. 6.0-0 Such a treatment of the opening has always seemed dubious to me. Even after 3.. .a6 the exchange on c6 is not considered dangerous for Black - and in the variation from our game White is playing free of any compulsion... It is clear to me that this line is very prevalent in practice and contains some subtleties, but I will never be able to believe that by playing like this White can lay claim to an opening advantage. Naturally in today's theory many variations have been analysed all the way to a draw, so that one feels the desire to deviate at some point and simply "play chess", but in concrete terms here White has, in my opinion, absolutely no preconditions for even a minimal advantage and with my classical chess education I cannot take this variation seriously. For that reason, moreover, I have also lost some games in this line; on the other hand, not a few of them ended in a win for me. Qe7 There are various possibilities for Black here, but I have often played and analysed such positions and come to the conclusion that this queen move is very interesting. If White delays h2-h3, then Black also holds back with the move Nf6-d7 and first develops his bishop. For example: 7.Nbd2 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nc4 Nd7 – in my opinion this is an ideal setup for Black, in which he has hardly any problems. 7.h3 Not that I would be dissatisfied with that, but when I cam back to this variation a few years ago, Nicht, dass ich damit unzufrieden wäre, aber als ich vor ein paar Jahren zu dieser Variante wieder zurückkehrte, hat sich etwa als fünfter Computerzug... Rg8! ...had appeared as something like the fifth computer move (today's engines award it first or second place in their list of priorities). I thought about this and understood that although this continuation looks absurd at first glance, it makes perfect sense: Black will save a tempo. On further investigation it became clear to me that it is simply the "refutation" of White's whole system. After g7-g5 this pawn must not be taken under any circumstances, because Black then quickly obtains a mating attack. But even if White allows the opposing g-pawn to survive, Black pre-empts White with his threats – White's play in the centre is too late. I cannot say whether at that time I went into the position very deeply: Black was standing so well everywhere that I could not believe that I would ever meet the line in practice, though if I did – then in any case it is wonderful to get such a position. I did not go through the relevant variations in my preparation for the game against Aronian (as I said, I certainly wasn't expecting him to play 1.e4) and had almost nothing ready after 7...Rg8. Moreover, when I re-opened my earlier notes after the game I established that I had not written much at all about it. 8.Kh1 I could still remember that this is the best and practically the only move. If White does not play it he immediately gets a worse position. Levon took this in no way obvious decision very quickly. So far I have not yet talked to him on this subject, so I do not know if he had previously had a look at this variation, but could not believe the power of 7...Rg8, or whether he did not want to show that he was not prepared for this line. Nh5!? At the board I could still remember that I had previously analysed 8...h6 here. After the game I established that I had then even somewhat preferred it over 8...Nh5. A modern computer shows the following variation: 9.Nbd2 g5 10.Nc4 g4 11.Nfxe5 h5 (a cold blooded attack) 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 gxh3 and White is still hanging on, the evaluation is approximately "=/+". But I preferred the knight move which appeared to be ambitious and principled. From this point on my knowledge was clearly at an end, from then on I was acting "independently". Fortunately there is no need to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that if ...Nh5 was played, the a future g5-g4 is being planned. Play after this was not very complicated. 9.c3?! The most natural but unfortunate reaction. The computer recommends 9.Nh2 , but I do not like this panicky continuation. Black replies g6 and prepares to castle long; his position is simply one to dream about. Here, in my view, 9.Nc3 is the best move. As I later discovered, precisely this move was taken into account as the main continuation in my earlier notes. The play which follows is similar to the way the game went, but it is much better for White to have a knight on c3 rather than a pawn: g5 10.Nxe5 g4 11.d4 Bd6 12.g3 Bxe5 13.dxe5 Qxe5 Here White may not have the resource Qd4 available to him, but on the other hand his knight is already developed. After the further moves 14.h4 Bd7 the position is still more or less level, but playing it with Black is considerably more pleasant: he will castle long and have the initiative – White's king and light squares are weak. 9...g5 10.Nxe5 After 10.d4 the move exd4 During the game the continuation 10...g4!? 11.hxg4 Bxg4 12.dxc5 Qf6 with a subsequent activation of further reserves appeared to me to be interesting and I took the decision to think more seriously about it if 10.d4 were actually played. Of course, the computer first thinks that "White is a piece up", but then it begins to be less and less optimistic. I let it calculate until it had evaluated the position as level, then I stopped the analysis of this line. Probably 10...exd4 is stronger, but I cannot exclude the fact that Black also has a great game after 10...g4. 11.cxd4 Bb6 (a wonderful place for the bishop) is the simplest. Moreover, the computer can find nothing better than 12.Nh2 Nf6 13.e5 Nd5 It is irrelevant how great Black's advantage is here – it is absolutely clear that White has lost the opening duel. 10...g4 11.d4 This is obviously the only move, It is even somewhat embarrassing for me to point out the variation 11.hxg4 Qh4+ 12.Kg1 Ng3 with mate on h1. 11...Bd6 12.g3 Once more, the only continuation according to the computer. Bxe5 I think it would not be really appropriate to criticise this move. I took in the facts that I was facing no threats, but from a human point of view it seems somewhat strange to be dealing with development when it is possible to recover the material and be able to remain with an excellent position. In reality, after 12...Be6! the computer begins to be very worried for White. In the event of 13.hxg4? Bxe5 White will soon be mated. Otherwise Black plays 0-0-0 and obtains a powerful attack in return for the pawn. 13.dxe5 Qxe5 14.Qd4 The most logical continuation. There is still the possibility of 14.Kh2 but it looks rather eccentric. And if 14.h4 then Be6 – the threat is the capture on g3, when 15.Kh2 can at least be met with Qxe4 winning a pawn. 14...Qe7!? The decision, which is characteristic of my play in Berlin. In this case the plan brought me success; in a few other encounters it did not work, and in consequence I sometimes lost half a point, sometime the whole point. Be that as it may, this game turned out to be rather beautiful, which partially compensates for my losses. My seconds wondered why I did not steer the struggle into an endgame with an extra pawn: 14...Qxd4 15.cxd4 gxh3 16.Kh2 Be6 Of course, I had also planned specifically this liquidation a few moves before. Black gets in f7-f5, White exchanges on f5, plays Nc3, Be3 and reacts to ...Nf6 with f2-f3. Of course Black has an advantage but his win is still a long way away and in view of the bishops of opposite colours White has chances of a draw. During the game I got into a "reckless mood" and after the moves ...Rg8 and ...Nh5 I felt it a pity to go into an endgame. I noticed that after the retreat of the queen to e7 Black had good chances of gradually developing a dangerous attack. To put it like this: after the exchange of queens Black's advantage is objectively greater but after 14...Qe7 it is harder for White to play. If Black is lucky, the game can "win itself". That is what actually happened – my opponent did not manage to find the best defence. 15.h4 As good as forced. If Black were to get in ...gxh3, he would then not only have a file for the attack but also have obtained an extra pawn. c5 The idea behind this move is to transfer the bishop to c6, to castle and to start the attack with f7-f5. The knight does not look best placed on h5, but in the event of play on the light squares it will not be possible for White to hold on to the pawn on e4, whilst the white king is very weak. I was of the opinion that Black has very good prospects here. 16.Qc4? I suppose that Levon did not particularly like all that and he found another, in itself very cunning, defensive option. He is planning Bg5, because Black will not now have the reply f7-f6. 16.Qd5 would fail to Nf6 . but during the game I had seen that 16.Qd3 Bd7 17.c4 is ok. It is probably the only defensive idea here: plant the knight on d5 so that it fulfils the role of a barrier along the long diagonal even if after 0-0-0 18.Nc3 Rge8 19.Re1 Bc6 20.Nd5 At the board I thought that Bxd5 I did, e.g., consider 20...Qe5 , but with precise moves the computer can to some extent hang on: 21.Kg2 because f5 is met with 21...b6 21...Rd7 22.Bg5 , it suggests for Black to instead simply improve his position with 21...b6 or 21...Rd7. Black is better, But White's position is capable of being defended – thus we can understand the evaluation of 0.5-0.6. 21.cxd5 Nf6 22.Bg5 Nxe4!? was strong, but the computer starts to demonstrate some wonderful balancing acts: 23.Kg1! f6 24.Bf4 with various tactical resources which allow White to save the game. not 24.Bxf6 Qxf6 25.Rxe4 Qf5 26.Rae1 h5 and after the fall of the d5-pawn White is losing. 16...Be6 17.Qb5+ c6 18.Qa4 And now Black deprives his bishop of the c6-square, so that it cannot get on to the long diagonal. In addition Black cannot castle because then the a7-pawn is hanging. As I understand things, that was Aronian's idea and it would not be a bad one if the specific details did not reduce it to nothing.. 18.Qa4 could be regarded as the final mistake, but 18.Qe2 f5 19.Bg5 Rxg5 20.hxg5 f4 would not help either – that would only be a slightly better version of what happened in the game. The computer recommends 18.Qd3 , but firstly, that does not fit in with White's last two moves and secondly his situation would have remained terrible even then: Rd8 19.Qe3 19.Qe2 f5 19...Bc4 20.Rg1 20.Re1 Rd3 21.Qh6 Qe5 20...Rg6 21.Qe1 Bd3 and White has major strategic, tactical and soon material problems. However, he would not lose immediately. 18...f5! This is a typical idea, but Levon overlooked it or did not notice in time its tactical justification – 19.exf5 Nxg3+!. While he was thinking about his next move, I wondered what I would do in his place and suddenly I understood that White's position was absolutely hopeless. I was even amazed at how bad everything was for him. The computer also recognises that – if it is allowed some time, it gives roughly "-4" here. It was clear to me that the business was all over, but in a situation in which all ways appear to lead to Rome, it is also possible to make the wrong choice. So I used a lot of time for the rest of the game in order to check over several times even the simplest variations and not to do anything stupid – I have previously had sufficient negative experiences in this area. But fundamentally after f5-f4 Black's attack develops on its own. 19.Bg5 19.exf5 Nxg3+! 20.fxg3 Bd5+ 21.Kg1 Qe2 22.Rf2 Qe1+ with mate. 19...Rxg5 This move can hardly be considered a sacrifice. 20.hxg5 f4 White has no counterplay and is simply mated. Weiß hat kein Gegenspiel und wird einfach mattgesetzt. 21.Qd1 Rd8 Of course 21...fxg3 also wins. 22.Qc1 fxg3 23.Na3 Rd3! I suppose that there were simpler ways, but I decided to bring the rook closer to the main theatre of action. It later turned out that this is the computer's first continuation. 24.Rd1 Bd5! The only way to duff up such a position is by letting oneself be lulled to sleep by the plethora of available options. It was clear to me that after 24...Rxd1+ 25.Qxd1 gxf2 Black has an absolutely won position. On the other hand, some of the variations arising after 24...Bd5 were so beautiful that I felt the urge to finish the game in style. And so at this point I spent my time above all not on uncomplicated calculations but on an inner battle with myself: "That is beautiful! / But why do you need to play it? Be a professional, take on d1 and f2 and win the game. " In the end the artist had the upper hand. 25.f3 When looking at the variation 25.exd5 Qe4+ 26.Kg1 gxf2+ for safety's sake I calculated it out to mate, which was not particularly difficult. 25...gxf3 26.exd5 I had been hoping for 26.Rxd3 : Qxe4! of course I wanted to take with the queen, although 26...Bxe4 would also be more than sufficient: 27.Re3 f2+ 28.Rxe4+ Bxe4# , but that would have been somewhat too masochistic of Levon. In the final position Black is down by a queen and an exchange. I found it a pity that the knight is still there on h5. It was even more impressive without it. When I discovered this variation I could no longer resist the wish to play 24.. .Bd5. 26...Qe2 This too I checked over some five times – in the end the queen is really pinned. 27.Re1 Or 27.Qc2 g2+ 28.Kh2 g1Q+ 29.Kxg1 f2+ 30.Kh2 and here the simplest is Rh3+! 31.Kxh3 Qf3+ 32.Kh4 Qg3+ 33.Kxh5 Qh3# Again very beautiful. 27...g2+ White resigned. 27...g2+ 28.Kh2 After 28.Kg1 the number of black queens increases. f2+ 29.Kxg2 29.Kh2 g1Q+ 30.Rxg1 f1Q+ 29...f1Q# a rare mating pattern. Taking on e1 would also be mate, but I would have chosen the double check. 28...g1Q+ 29.Kxg1 f2+ 30.Kh1 Rh3+ 31.Kg2 f1Q# This game pleased both experts and spectators. All in all it is not complicated, but impressive and the plan with ...Rg8 is rather "fresh" and unexpected. It brought me aesthetic enjoyment, though all that glitters is not gold: the game I won against Levon with White is more interesting and more complex, so that I rate it higher from the point of view of the art of chess. But I understand that the struggle we have just analysed looks very spectacular and thus is not really such a usual occurrence in supertournaments - that is why it attracted so much attention. 0–1
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Aronian,L2794Kramnik,V28000–12018C65Candidates Tournament3

With his deep understanding of chess Vladimir Kramnik is considered one of the greatest masters of strategy in the history of the game. His flawless technique has enabled him to bring to a successful conclusion innumerable encounters in the endgame. In the realm of opening theory too Kramnik is one of the leading players. In addition to many other contributions, he has decisively shaped the theory of the Berlin Defence to the Ruy Lopez and that of the Catalan Opening with many original ideas.

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 (Yannick Pelletier, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh) how to successfully organise your games strategically, consequently how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure and how to bring your games to a successful conclusion with accurate technical endgame play. Through Vladimir Kramnik’s games it is possible, moreover, to follow the history and development of numerous popular openings and thus obtain a better understanding of the ideas behind them.

Master Class Vol.11: Vladimir Kramnik by Dr. Karsten Müller, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh, Yannick Pelletier

• Video running time: 9 h 36 min (English)
• All Kramnik’s games, and short biography
• Kramnik Powerbook: The opening repertoire of the 14th world champion as a variation tree
• Tactics training with 121 Kramnik games: 399 training questions, max. 835 points
• With ChessBase Reader 2017

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