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VladimirKramnik
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

"Kramnik"redirectshere.ForthePolishvillage,seeKramnik,Poland.
VladimirBorisovichKramnik
(Russian:

born25June1975)isa
Russianchessgrandmaster.He
wastheClassicalWorldChess
Championfrom2000to2006,and
theundisputedWorldChess
Championfrom2006to2007.He
haswonthreeteamgoldmedals
andthreeindividualmedalsat
ChessOlympiads.[2]

VladimirKramnik

InOctober2000,hedefeatedGarry
Kasparovinamatchplayedin
Kramnikatthe2005Coruschesstournament
London,andbecametheClassical
Fullname
VladimirBorisovichKramnik
WorldChessChampion.Inlate
2004,Kramniksuccessfully
Country
Russia
defendedhistitleagainst
Born
25June1975
challengerPterLkinadrawn
Tuapse,KrasnodarKrai,Russian
matchplayedinBrissago,
SFSR,SovietUnion
Switzerland.InOctober2006,
Title
Grandmaster
Kramnik,theClassicalWorld
Champion,defeatedreigningFIDE WorldChampion
200006(Classical)
WorldChampionVeselinTopalov
200607(undisputed)
inaunificationmatch,theWorld
FIDErating
2783
ChessChampionship2006.Asa
(http://ratings.fide.com/card.phtml?
result,Kramnikbecamethefirst
undisputedWorldChampion,
event=4101588)(October2015)
holdingboththeFIDEand
Peakrating
2811(May2013)[1]
Classicaltitles,sinceKasparov
Ranking
No.9(December2014)
splitfromFIDEin1993.In2007,
Kramniklostthetitleto
(http://ratings.fide.com/toplist.phtml)
ViswanathanAnand,whowonthe
Peakranking
No.1(January1996)
WorldChessChampionship2007
tournamentaheadofKramnik.He
challengedAnandattheWorldChessChampionship2008toregainhistitle,butlost.

Contents
1Earlycareer
2Chesscareer
2.1Earlysetbacks

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2.1Earlysetbacks
2.22000WorldChampionship
2.3AfterLondon
2.42004titledefense
2.52006Reunificationmatch
2.62007worldchampionshiptournamentinMexico
2.72008match
2.82009
2.92010
2.102011
2.112012
2.122013
2.132015
3DeepFritzmatch
4Personallife
5Notabletournamentvictories
6Worldchampionshipmatchesandqualifiers
7Headtoheadrecordversusselectedgrandmasters
8Assessmentandlegacy
8.1Playingstyle
8.2Contributionstochess
9Chessbooks
10Seealso
11References
12Externallinks

Earlycareer
VladimirKramnikwasborninthetownofTuapse,ontheshoresoftheBlackSea.Hisfather'sbirthname
wasBorisSokolov,buthetookhisstepfather'ssurnamewhenhismother(Vladimir'sgrandmother)
remarriedhismotherisUkrainian.[3]Asachild,VladimirKramnikstudiedinthechessschoolestablished
byMikhailBotvinnik.Hisfirstnotableresultinamajortournamentwashisgoldmedalwinasfirstreserve
fortheRussianteaminthe1992ChessOlympiadinManila.Hisselectionfortheteamcausedsome
controversyinRussiaatthetime,ashewasonlysixteenyearsoldandhadnotyetbeenawardedthe
grandmastertitle,buthisselectionwassupportedbyGarryKasparov.[4]Hescoredeightwins,onedraw,
andnolosses.
Thefollowingyear,KramnikplayedintheverystrongtournamentinLinares.Hefinishedfifth,beatingthe
thenworldnumberthree,VassilyIvanchuk,alongtheway.Hefollowedthisupwithastringofgood
results,buthadtowaituntil1995forhisfirstmajortournamentwinatnormaltimecontrols,whenhewon
thestrongDortmundtournament,finishingitunbeaten.
In1995,KramnikservedasasecondforKasparovintheClassicalWorldChessChampionship1995match
againstchallengerViswanathanAnand.Kasparovwonthematch107.
InJanuary1996,KramnikbecametheworldnumberoneratedplayeralthoughhavingthesameFIDE
ratingasKasparov(2775),Kramnikbecamenumberonebyhavingplayedmoregamesduringtherating
periodinquestion.ThiswasthefirsttimesinceDecember1985thatKasparovwasnotworldnumberone,
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andKramnik'ssixmonthstretch(JanuarythroughJune1996)asworldnumberonewouldbetheonlytime
fromJanuary1986throughMarch2006whereKasparovwasnotworldnumberone.Bybecomingnumber
one,Kramnikbecametheyoungestevertoreachworldnumberone,breakingKasparov'srecordthis
recordwouldstandfor14yearsuntilbeingbrokenbyMagnusCarlseninJanuary2010.
Kramnikcontinuedtoproducegoodresults,includingwinningatDortmund(outrightortied)tentimes
from1995to2011.Heisthesecondofonlyeightchessplayerstohavereachedaratingof2800(thefirst
beingKasparov).
Duringhisreignasworldchampion,Kramnikneverregainedtheworldnumberoneranking,doingsoonly
inJanuary2008afterhehadlostthetitletoViswanathanAnandasin1996,KramnikhadthesameFIDE
ratingasAnand(2799)butbecamenumberoneduetomoregamesplayedwithintheratingperiod.
Kramnik's12yearsbetweenworldnumberonerankingsisthelongestsincetheinceptionoftheFIDE
rankingsystemin1971.

Chesscareer
Earlysetbacks
Inthemidandlate90s,Kramnik,althoughconsideredoneofthestrongestplayersintheworld,suffered
severalsetbacksinhisattemptstoqualifyforaWorldChampionshipmatch.In1994,helostaquarterfinal
candidatesmatchforthePCAchampionshiptoGataKamsky14,andlaterthatyear,lostasemifinal
candidatesmatchfortheFIDEchampionshiptoBorisGelfandwiththescore34.In1998,Kramnik
facedAlexeiShirovinaCandidatesmatchfortherighttoplayGarryKasparovfortheClassicalWorld
ChessChampionship,andlost35.In1999,KramnikparticipatedintheFIDEknockoutchampionship
inLasVegas,andlostinthequarterfinalstoMichaelAdams24.

2000WorldChampionship
Mainarticle:ClassicalWorldChessChampionship2000
SuitablesponsorshipwasnotfoundforaKasparovShirovmatch,anditnevertookplace.In2000,
sponsorshipwassecuredforaKasparovKramnikmatchinstead.Thiswassomewhatcontroversial,making
Kramnikthefirstplayersince1935toplayaworldchampionshipmatchwithoutqualifying.
In2000,KramnikplayedasixteengamematchagainstGarryKasparovinLondon,fortheClassicalChess
WorldChampionship.Kramnikbeganthematchasunderdog,buthisadoptionoftheBerlinDefenceto
Kasparov'sRuyLopezopeningwasveryeffective.Withthewhitepieces,KramnikpressedKasparovhard,
winningGamesTwoandTenandoverlookingwinningcontinuationsinGamesFourandSix.Kasparovput
uplittlefightthereafter,agreeingtoshortdrawswiththewhitepiecesinGames9and13.Kramnikwonthe
match86withoutlosingagame(thiswasonlythesecondtimeinhistorythataWorldChampionhad
lostamatchwithoutwinningasinglegame).ThiseventmarkedthefirsttimeKasparovhadbeenbeatenin
aWorldChampionshipmatch.
Kramnik'sperformancewonhimtheChessOscarfor2000thiswasthefirsttimehehadreceivedthe
award.

AfterLondon
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InOctober2002,KramnikcompetedinBrainsinBahrain,aneightgamematchagainstthechesscomputer
DeepFritzinBahrain.Kramnikstartedwell,takinga31leadafterfourgames.However,ingamefive,
Kramnikmadewhatwasdescribedastheworstblunderofhiscareer,losingaknightinapositionwhich
wasprobablydrawn.Hequicklyresigned.Healsoresignedgamesixaftermakingaspeculativesacrifice,
althoughsubsequentanalysisshowedthathehaddrawingchancesinthefinalposition.Thelasttwogames
weredrawn,andthematchendedtiedat44.
InFebruary2004KramnikwontheTournamentofLinaresoutrightforthefirsttime(hehadtiedforfirst
withKasparovin2000),finishingundefeatedwitha+2score,aheadofGarryKasparov,theworld's
highestratedplayeratthetime.

2004titledefense
Mainarticle:ClassicalWorldChessChampionship2004
From25September2004until18October2004,retainedhistitleasClassicalWorldChessChampion
againstchallengerPterLkatBrissago,Switzerland,bybarelydrawingthematchinthelastgame.The
14gamematchwaspoisedinfavorofLkrightupuntilKramnikwonthefinalgame,thusforcinga77
drawandensuringthatKramnikremainedworldchampion.[5]Theprizefundwas1millionSwissfrancs,
whichwasaboutUSD$770,000atthetime.Becauseofthedrawnresult,theprizewassplitbetweenthe
twoplayers.

2006Reunificationmatch
Mainarticle:FIDEWorldChessChampionship2006
WhenGarryKasparovbrokewithFIDE,thefederationgoverningprofessionalchess,toplaythe1993
WorldChampionshipwithNigelShort,hecreatedariftinthechessworld.Inresponse,FIDEsanctioneda
matchbetweenAnatolyKarpovandJanTimmanfortheFIDEWorldChampionship,whichKarpovwon.
Subsequently,thechessworldhadseentwo"champions":the"classical"championship,claiminglineage
datingbacktoSteinitzandtheFIDEendorsedchampion.
WhenKramnikdefeatedKasparovandinheritedKasparov'stitle,healsoinheritedsomecontroversies.
BecausethearrangementsfortheKasparovShirovmatchfellthrough,(itappearsShirovrefusedtoplayfor
whatheconsideredtoosmallaprizefund[6])Kasparovdecidedtotrytoarrangeamatchwiththehighest
ratedplayeraccordingtoFIDE'sratinglist.AtthetimeAnandwasthehighestratedplayerbutAnand
refusedthematch.[7][8]InthemeantimeKramnikovertookAnandinratingandsohewasofferedthe
match.Kramnikacceptedandendedupplayingthematchdespitehislossofthequalifyingmatchagainst
AlexeiShirovin1998.
AtthenextFIDEworldchampionship(FIDEWorldChessChampionship2005),Kramnikrefusedto
participate,butindicatedhiswillingnesstoplayamatchagainstthewinnertounifytheworld
championship.Afterthetournament,negotiationsbeganforareunificationmatchbetweenKramnikandthe
newFIDEWorldChampionVeselinTopalovofBulgaria.
InApril2006,FIDEannouncedareunificationmatchbetweenKramnikandTopalovtheFIDEWorld
ChessChampionship2006.ThematchtookplaceinElista,Kalmykia.Afterthefirstfourgames,Kramnik
led31(outofamaximumof12).Afterthefourthgame,however,Topalov'scoach/managerSilvio
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DanailovprotestedthatKramnikwasusingthetoiletsuspiciouslyfrequently,implyingthathewas
somehowreceivingoutsideassistancewhilstdoingso.Topalovsaidthathewouldrefusetoshakehands
withKramnikintheremaininggames.TheAppealscommitteedecidedthattheplayers'toiletsbelocked
andthattheybeforcedtouseasharedtoilet,accompaniedbyanassistantarbiter.
Kramnikrefusedtoplaythefifthgameunlesstheoriginalconditionsagreedforthematchwereadheredto.
Asaresult,thepointwasawardedtoTopalov,reducingKramnik'sleadto32.Kramnikstatedthatthe
appealscommitteewasbiasedanddemandedthatitbereplaced.Asaconditiontocontinuethematch,
Kramnikinsistedonplayingtheremaininggamesundertheoriginalconditionsofthematchcontract,
whichallowsuseofthebathroomattheplayers'discretion.
ThecontroversyresultedinaheavyvolumeofcorrespondencetoChessbaseandotherpublications.The
balanceofviewsfromfanswasinsupportofKramnik.[9]Prominentfiguresinthechessworld,suchas
JohnNunn,YasserSeirawan,andBesselKokalsosidedwithKramnik.[10][11][12]TheRussianand
BulgarianChessFederationssupportedtheirrespectiveplayers.[13]
Aftertwelveregulargamesthematchwastied66,althoughKramnikcontinuedtodisputetheresultofthe
unplayedfifthgameuntiltheendofthematch.On13October2006theresultofthisdisputedgame
becameirrelevantasKramnikwontherapidtiebreakbyascoreof21.
Kramnik'svictoryhelpedhimwintheChessOscarfor2006,thesecondofhiscareer.

2007worldchampionshiptournamentinMexico
Mainarticle:WorldChessChampionship2007
WhenKramnikwonthe2006unificationmatch,healsowon
Topalov'sberthinthe2007WorldChampionshipastheincumbent
FIDEchampion.Althoughtherationalebehindhis(andGarry
Kasparov's)"classical"titleisthatthetitleshouldchangehandsby
challengematchratherthanbytournament,Kramnikstatedthathe
wouldrecognizethewinnerofthistournamentasbeingtheworld
champion.[14]
Inthetournament,heldinSeptember2007,KramnikandAnand
drewbothoftheirgamesbutKramnikfinishedsecond.The
tournament,andtheworldchampionship,waswonbyViswanathan
Anand.

2008match

Kramnik,winneratDortmund2007

Mainarticle:WorldChessChampionship2008
Pursuanttotheagreementreachedbeforethe2007tournamentKramnikandAnandplayedamatchofthe
WorldChampionshiptitlein2008inBonn.HefellvictimtoAnand'ssuperiorpreparation,andlostthreeof
thefirstsixgames(twowiththewhitepieces).Kramnik'splaygraduallyimproved,andalthoughhe
manageda29movevictoryingame10,[15]hedidnotwinanyothergame,andlostthematchtoAnandby
ascoreof6to4(threewinstoAnand,onewintoKramnik,sevendraws).
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2009
Kramnikhadexceptionallygoodresultsin2009,winningonceagaininDortmundandthenwinningthe
Category21(averageElo=2763)TalMemorialinMoscowwith6/9anda2883ratingperformanceahead
ofworldchampionAnand,VassilyIvanchuk,MagnusCarlsen,LevonAronian,BorisGelfand,former
FIDEworldchampionRuslanPonomariov,PeterLeko,PeterSvidlerandAlexanderMorozevich.Atthe
time,theaverageEloratingofthefieldmadeitthestrongesttournamentinhistory.Followingthisresult,
KramnikstatedthathisgoalwastoregaintheWorldChampionshiptitle.[16]
HealsoparticipatedintheLondonChessClassicinDecember,finishingsecondtoMagnusCarlsen,losing
theirheadtoheadencounterontheBlacksideoftheEnglishOpening.Kramnik'sperformancein2009
allowedhisrating(averageofJuly2009andJanuary2010ratings)tobehighenoughtoqualifyforthe
CandidatesTournamenttodeterminethechallengerfortheWorldChessChampionship2012.

2010
Kramnikbegan2010attheCoruschesstournamentintheNetherlands,duringwhichhedefeatednew
worldnumberoneCarlsenwiththeBlackpiecesintheirheadtoheadencounter,endingCarlsen's36
matchunbeatenstreak.[17]AlatelosstoViswanathanAnandknockedhimoutoffirstplace,andKramnik
finishedwith8/13,tyingforsecondplacewithAlexeiShirovbehindCarlsen's8points.
InMay2010itwasrevealedthatKramnikhadaidedViswanathanAnandinpreparationfortheWorld
ChessChampionship2010againstchallengerVeselinTopalov.Anandwonthematch65toretainthe
title.[18]
InAprilMay2010hetiedfor1st3rdwithShakhriyarMamedyarovandGataKamskyinthePresident's
CupinBakuandwontheeventontiebreakafterallfinishedon5/7.[19]
KramnikalsoparticipatedinDortmund,buthadasubparshowing,losingtoeventualchampionRuslan
Ponomariovandfinishinginjointthirdplacewith5/10.[20]
HethenparticipatedintheGrandSlamChessMasterspreliminarytournamentinShanghaifromSeptember
3to8,wherehefacedworldnumberfourLevonAronian,AlexeiShirov,andWangHaothetoptwo
scorersqualifiedfortheGrandSlamfinalsupertournamentfromOctober9to15inBilbaoagainstCarlsen
andAnand.[21]Scoring3/6,KramniktiedforsecondplacewithAronianbehindthewinnerShirov's4/6.
Intheblitzplayoff,KramnikdefeatedAroniantoqualifyalongwithShirovfortheGrandSlamfinal.[22]
ShortlyafterqualifyingforthelaststageoftheGrandSlam,KramnikplayedonboardonefortheRussian
teaminthe2010Olympiad.Hescored+20=7.
FollowingtheOlympiad,KramnikparticipatedintheGrandSlamChessMastersfinalinBilbaowherehe
competedagainstAnand,CarlsenandShirov.Theaverageratingofthefieldwas2789,thehighestin
history.AfterdefeatingworldnumberoneCarlsenforthesecondconsecutivetime,andthenShirovinhis
firsttwogames,Kramnikdrewhisfinalfourgamestofinishinclearfirstwith4/6.ThisgaveKramnikthe
distinctionofhavingwonthetwostrongesttournamentsinchesshistory.

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Kramnik'sattempttodefendhis2009titleattheTalMemorialinMoscowendedwitha7thplace,whilehe
finished5thintheLondonChessClassicinEngland.

2011
2011broughtvariedresults.InWijkaanZeeKramniksharedfifthwithMaximeVachierLagrave,andin
theCandidateshewaseliminatedbyAlexanderGrischuk.HewonDortmundforthetenthtime,withL
QuangLiminsecondplace,andsharedthirdbehindPeterSvidlerandAlexanderMorozevichinthe
RussianSuperfinal.KramnikwonthethirdLondonChessClassicwithfourwinsandfourdraws,anda
ratingperformanceover2900Elo.HikaruNakamuracamesecond.[23]However,intheearlier6thTal
Memorial2011Moscowhecame8thoutof10,with2losses(toNepomniachtchiandSvidler)and7draws,
withMagnusCarlsenwinningtheoveralltournamentontiebreakfromLevonAronian.

2012
KramnikplayedafriendlymatchagainstLevonAronian,whichfinished33(withawinforAronianina
rapidgamethatdidn'tcountastiebreak).InTalMemorialhesharedfourthplacebehindMagnusCarlsen,
FabianoCaruanaandTeimourRadjabov.HefinishedsecondintheLondonChessClassicbehindCarlsen.

2013
Kramnikplayedinthe2013CandidatesTournament,whichtookplaceinLondon,from15Marchto1
April.Hefinishedwith+41=9,sharingthefirstplacewithMagnusCarlsen,whowonduetohavingbetter
tiebreaks.[24]
Inthe2013AlekhineMemorialtournament,heldfrom20Aprilto1May,Kramnikfinishedseventh,with
+22=5.[25]
Inthe2013TalMemorialtournament,heldfrom13Juneto23June,Kramnikfinishedtenthoutoften,
with+03=6.[26]
IntheChessWorldCup2013,heldinNorwayfrom11Augustto2September,Kramnikfinishedinfirst
place,defeatingDmitryAndreikininthefourgamefinalmatch21.[27]

2015
KramnikdidnotsucceedindefendinghistitleintheChessWorldCup.Inthethirdroundhewasdefeated
byAndreikin.

DeepFritzmatch
KramnikplayedasixgamematchagainstthecomputerprogramDeepFritzinBonn,Germanyfrom25
Novemberto5December2006,losing24tothemachine,with2lossesand4draws.Hereceived500,000
Eurosforplayingandwouldhavetwiceasmuchhadhewonthematch.DeepFritzversion10ranona
computercontainingtwoIntelCore2DuoCPUs.KramnikreceivedacopyoftheprograminmidOctober
fortesting,butthefinalversionincludedanupdatedopeningbook.[28]Exceptforlimitedupdatestothe
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openingbook,theprogramwasnotallowedtobechangedduringthecourseofthematch.Theendgame
tablebasesusedbytheprogramwererestrictedtofivepieces[29]eventhoughacompletesixpiecetablebase
waswidelyavailable.
Thefirstgameendedinadraw.[30]AnumberofcommentatorsclaimedthatKramnikmissedawin.[31]The
secondgamewaswonbyDeepFritz,duetoamistakebyKramnik,whofailedtodefendagainsta
threatenedmateinone.SusanPolgarcalleditthe"blunderofthecentury".[32]Thethird,fourthandfifth
gamesofthematchendedindraws.InthelastgameFritzwiththewhitepiecesdefeatedtheWorld
Champion,winningthematch.[33]

Personallife
On30December2006KramnikmarriedFrenchjournalistMarie
LaureGermon.Theyhavetwochildren:daughterDaria,andson
VadimVladimirovich.[34]
Kramnikhasbeendiagnosedwithankylosingspondylitis,an
uncommonformofarthritis.Itcauseshimgreatphysicaldiscomfort
whileplaying.InJanuary2006,Kramnikannouncedthathewould
skiptheCorusChessTournamentinWijkaanZeetoseekout
treatmentforhisarthritis.[35]HereturnedfromtreatmentinJune
2006,playinginthe37thChessOlympiad.Hescoreda+4result,
achievingthehighestratingperformance(2847)ofthe1307
participatingplayers.

VladimirKramnik(right)playing
chesswithVitaliKlitschko,
Dortmund,2002.

Notabletournamentvictories
1990RussianChampionship,Kuibyshev(classical)I
1991WorldChampionship(U18),Guarapuava(classical)I
1992Chalkidiki(classical)7/11I
1994OverallresultPCAIntelGrandPrix'94I
1995Dortmund(classical)7/9I
1995Horgen(classical)7/10III
1995Belgrade(classical)8/11III
1996Monaco16/22I
1996DosHermanas(classical)6/9III
1996Dortmund(classical)7/9III
1997DosHermanas(classical)6/9III
1997Dortmund(classical)6/9I
1997Tilburg(classical)8/11IIII
1998WijkaanZee(classical)8/13III
1998Dortmund(classical)6/9IIII
1998Monaco(blindfoldandrapidplay)15/22I
1999Monaco(blindfoldandrapidplay)14/22I
2000Linares(classical)6/10III
2000Dortmund(classical)6/9III
2001MatchKramnikvs.Leko(rapidplay)75
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2001MatchBotvinnikmemorialKramnikvs.Kasparov(classical)22
2001MatchBotvinnikmemorialKramnikvsKasparov(rapidplay)33
2001Monaco(blindfoldandrapidplay)15/22III
2001MatchKramnikvs.Anand(rapidplay)55
2001Dortmund(classical)6/10III
2002MatchAdvancedChessKramnikvs.Anand(Len)32
2003Linares(classical)7/12III
2003Capd'Agde(France)
2004HandicapSimul(classical)
2004Kramnikvs.NationalTeamofGermany21
2004Linares(classical)7/12I
2004Monaco(overallresult)14/22III
2006GoldmedalatTurinOlympiadwithoverallbestperformance(2847)7/10
2006Dortmund(classical)4/7I
2007Monaco(blindfoldandrapidplay)15/22I
2007Dortmund(classical)5/7I
2007TalMemorial6/9I
2009Dortmund6/9I
2009Zrich(rapidplay)5/7I
2009TalMemorial6/9I
2010President'sCupinBaku(rapidplay)5/7IIII
2010BilbaoGrandSlamfinal4/6I
2011Dortmund7/10I
2011Hoogeveen4/6I
2011LondonChessClassic6/8I
2013ChessWorldCup2013

Worldchampionshipmatchesandqualifiers
PCAQuarterfinals,June1994,NewYork,KramnikGataKamsky(14).
FIDESemifinals,August1994SanghiNagar,KramnikBorisGelfand(34).
ClassicalWCCCandidatesMatch,1998,Cazorla,KramnikAlexeiShirov(35).
FIDEWCCKnockoutQuarterfinals,July1999,LasVegas,KramnikMichaelAdams(24,
includingrapidplayoff).
ClassicalWorldChessChampionship2000,London,KramnikGarryKasparov(86)
ClassicalWorldChessChampionship2004,Brissago,KramnikPterLk(77),Kramnikretains.
FIDEWorldChessChampionship2006,Elista,KramnikTopalov(66,21rapidplayoff),
Kramnikunifiesthetitle
FIDEWorldChessChampionship2007Runnerup,MexicoCity(losesthetitletoAnand,joint
secondGelfand).
WorldChessChampionship2008,Bonn,KramnikAnand(46),Anandretains
WorldChessChampionship2012CandidatesMatchQuarterfinals,April2011,Kazan,
KramnikRadjabov(22,22rapidplayoff,21blitzplayoff),Kramnikadvances
WorldChessChampionship2012CandidatesMatchSemifinals,April2011,Kazan,
KramnikGrischuk(22,22rapidplayoff,1blitzplayoff),Kramnikeliminated
WorldChessChampionship2013Runnerup,CandidatesTournament,MarchApril2013,London,
+41=9
WorldChessChampionship2014Thirdplace,CandidatesTournament,KhantyMansiysk,+33=8

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Headtoheadrecordversusselectedgrandmasters
(Rapid,blitzandblindfoldgamesnotincludedlistedas+winslosses=drawsasof25January2014.)[36]
PlayerswhohavebeenWorldChampioninboldface

MichaelAdams+84=25
VladimirAkopian+11=5
EvgenyAlekseev+20=1
ViswanathanAnand+810=67
AlexanderAreshchenko+00=2
LevonAronian+73=19
tienneBacrot+01=3
ViktorBologan+10=8
LzaroBruzn+10=1
MagnusCarlsen+44=12
FabianoCaruana+12=5
LeinierDomnguez+00=2
AlexeyDreev+10=2
PavelEljanov+20=0
VugarGashimov+21=3
BorisGelfand+63=38
AnishGiri+40=2
AlexanderGrischuk+20=12
VassilyIvanchuk+105=29
DmitryJakovenko+00=4
GataKamsky+14=10
SergeyKarjakin+02=8
AnatolyKarpov+23=10
GarryKasparov+54=40
RustamKasimdzhanov+00=1
AlexanderKhalifman+10=7
PeterLeko+116=53
ShakhriyarMamedyarov+20=7
LukeMcShane+41=1
AlexanderMorozevich+43=8
ArkadijNaiditsch+62=7
HikaruNakamura+35=7
DavidNavara+00=2
IanNepomniachtchi+12=3
JuditPolgr+140=11
RuslanPonomariov+43=8
TeimourRadjabov+30=14
AlexeiShirov+1511=28
NigelShort+114=10
IvanSokolov+21=5
PeterSvidler+73=18
VeselinTopalov+149=32
MaximeVachierLagrave+10=5
RafaelVaganian+20=4
FranciscoVallejoPons+00=5
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LoekvanWely+83=6
WangHao+10=5

Assessmentandlegacy
Playingstyle
GarryKasparovdescribedKramnik'sstyleaspragmaticandtenacious,inthelattersimilartoAnatoly
Karpov.[37]Heisoneofthetoughestopponentstodefeat,losingonlyonegameinoveronehundredgames
leadinguptohismatchwithKasparov,includingeightyconsecutivegameswithoutloss.[38][39]Kasparov
didnotdefeatKramnikduringtheir2000WorldChampionshipmatch,partlyduetoKramnik'suseofthe
BerlinDefenceoftheRuyLopez.Kramnikisrenownedforhisendgameskills.[40][41][42][43]

Contributionstochess
Kramnikhassignificantlyshapedopeningtheoryinchess.ViswanathanAnandhassaidofhim"Idon't
knowexactlyhowmanylineshe'sestablished,butyougettheimpressionthatforthelast10yearswe've
onlybeenusinghisideas....Hisstamponopeningtheoryismuchmoresignificantthanmine."[44]
Kramnik'sresultswiththewhitepiecesagainsttheKing'sIndianDefencemadeKasparovdroptheopening
fromhisrepertoire,andcausedtheopeningtodisappearfromtoplevelplayformanyyears.[45]Kramnik's
useoftheBerlinDefenceinhis2000matchagainstKasparovledtoanincreaseintheopening's
popularity.[46]KramnikalsorevivedtheCatalanOpening.[47]

Chessbooks
VladimirKramnik(1994).MikhailTalIIII(2017Games)3ChessBooks.ChessStars.
S.W.Gordon,T.Taylor(1994).YoungLions:VladimirKramnik.3GirlsPublishing.
EduardE.Gufeld(1994).FhrendeSchachmeisterderGegenwartWladimirKramnik.Rochade
Europa.
VladimirKramniketal.(1996).PositionalPlay.BatsfordLtd.ISBN9780713478792.
VladimirKramnik,IakovDamsky(2000).MyLifeandGames.EverymanChess.ISBN9781
857442700.
VladimirKramniketal.(2000).Proryv.ISBN9785784600325.
YevgenyBareev,IlyaLevitov(2006).ZapiskiSekundanta.RipolKlassik.ISBN9785790547379.
D.Barlov,P.Ostojic(2006).VladimirKramnik.ChessEmperors.
IgorSukhin,VladimirKramnik(2007).ChessGems:1,000CombinationsYouShouldKnow.
MongoosePress.ISBN9780979148255.
DanielLovas(2007).VladmirKramnik(TheChessGreatsoftheWorld).CaissaChessBooks.
ISBN9638714158.
A.Kalinin(2011).VladimirKramnik.GreatChessCombinations.RussianChessHouse.ISBN978
5946931717.
RichardForster,VladimirKramnik(2011).TheZurichChessClub,18092009.McFarland&CoInc.
ISBN9780786460649.
CyrusLakdawala(2012).Kramnik:MovebyMove.EverymanChess.ISBN9781857449914.

Seealso
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Kramnik

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Officialwebsite:biographyandbestgames(http://www.kramnik.com/)
ListofchessgamesbetweenAnandandKramnik
ListofchessgamesbetweenKasparovandKramnik

References
1. Kramnikmayhavealsoreached2811inJanuary2002.ThisistheinformationprovidedontheFIDEsite([1]
(http://ratings.fide.com/id.phtml?event=4101588)),butitiscontradictedbyFIDE'spublishedratingsforJanuary
([2](http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=25))andApril([3](http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=29))
2002,aswellasbythereportsinTheWeekinChessforJanuary([4]
(http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic374.html))andApril([5]
(http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic388.html))2002.ThesourceofdisagreementiswhetherFIDEratedornot
hisfourgamematchagainstKasparovinDecember2001.
2. "Men'sChessOlympiads:VladimirKramnik".OlimpBase.Retrieved1January2012.
3. 'MymotherisUkrainian'.(http://www.chessvibes.com/anandbeatsaronianinfirstround
candidates%E2%80%99tournament)
4. VladimirKramnikandIakovDamsky,Kramnik:MyLifeandGames(London:EverymanChess,2000),pp.21
22.
5. "ClassicalWorldChessChampionship2004".Retrieved20061014.
6. "VladimirKramnik:"KasparovWasBlamingMeforFollowingtheConditionsoftheContractThatWasPut
TogetherbyHim" ".chessnews.ru.20111016.Retrieved20131207.
7. "VladimirKramnik:"KasparovWasBlamingMeforFollowingtheConditionsoftheContractThatWasPut
TogetherbyHim" ".chessnews.ru.20111016.Retrieved20131207.
8. "KasparovKramnikWorldChampionshipMatch(2000)".Chessgames.com.Retrieved20131207.
9. "ChessBase.comChessNewsWorldChampionshipCrisiswhatourreadersthink".Chessbase.com.
Retrieved20081104.
10. "ChessBase.comChessNewsBesselKokontheWorldChampionshipcrisis".Chessbase.com.Retrieved
20081104.
11. "ChessBase.comChessNewsJohnNunn:'It'saboutimposingyourwillontheopponent' ".Chessbase.com.
Retrieved20081104.
12. "ChessBase.comChessNewsSeirawan:highlychargedsituationcallsforacompromise".Chessbase.com.
Retrieved20081104.
13. "ChessBase.comChessNewsElista2006:Matchtocontinuewithgamesix".Chessbase.com.Retrieved
20081104.
14. VladimirKramnikontheworldofchess(Part2)(http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3899),
Chessbase,1Jun2007
15. Kramnikwith29movevictoryagainstAnand(http://live.chessdom.com/kramnikanand2008g10.html),game
analysisbyGMDimitrov
16. "Kramnik:Iamcountingonregainingtheworldtitle".Chessbase.20091117.Retrieved20100519.
17. Valaker,Ole(26January2010)."StapteMagnus"(inNorwegian).Nettavisen.Retrieved31January2010.
18. "ChessNewsAnandinPlaychessthehelpersinSofia".Chessbase.20100519.Retrieved20100519.
19. Crowther,Mark(20100503)."TheWeekinChess:President'sCupBaku2010".Chess.co.uk.Retrieved
17December2011.
20. TheWeekinChess:Dortmund2010(http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/sparkassenchessmeeting
dortmund2010)
21. FinalChessMasters2010inShanghaiandBilbao(http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6567)
22. ShanghaiMasters2010
(http://archive.is/20120906100047/http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/shanghaimasters2010)
23. LondonChessClassic2011(http://www.londonchessclass.com)
24. Ramrez,Alejandro(1April2013)."CandidatesR14leaderslose,Carlsenqualifies".ChessBaseNews.
Retrieved6April2013.
25. "AronianandGelfandwinAlekhineMemorial2013".ChessBaseNews.1May2013.Retrieved2May2013.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Kramnik

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26. "TalFinal:Gelfandwins,Carlsenclearsecond".ChessbaseNews.23June2013.Retrieved25June2013.
27. Doggers,Peter(2September2013)."KramnikwinsTromsWorldCup".ChessVibes.Retrieved2September
2013.
28. Thelastmanvsmachinematch?(http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3504),translatedfrom
SpiegelOnline,23November2006
29. OfficialrulesofthematchKramnikvs.Fritz(http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2006/11/importantofficialrules
ofkramnik.html),fromSusanPolgar'sblog.
30. (Russian) Echo.MSK.ru(http://echo.msk.ru/news/345910.html)
31. SeirawanonKramnikvsDeepFritzgameone(http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3508)
32. Blunderofthecentury(http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2006/11/blunderofcenturybiggestblunder.html)
33. KramnikvsDeepFritz:Computerwinsmatchby4:2(http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3524),
ChessbaseNews,6December2006
34. "VadimVladimirovichKramnikHasBorn".chessnews.ru.1February2013.Retrieved14February2014.
35. "ChessBase.comChessNewsKramnikdropsoutofWijkSuperTournament".Chessbase.com.Retrieved
20081104.
36. "ChessGames".Chessgames.com.Retrieved25January2014.
37. GarryKasparov,MyGreatPredecessors,vol1(London:Everyman,2003),p.9.
38. RaymondKeeneandDonMorris,TheBrainGamesWorldChessChampionship(London:EvermanChess,
2000),p.42.
39. BobCiaffone,"WorldChampionshipChessMatch,"MichiganChessMagazine(2001)
http://www.michess.org/webzine_200102/worldchampionship.shtml.
40. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/crosswords/chess/03chess.html?_r=0
41. http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review884.pdf
42. "Kramnik:MovebyMoveProducts".NewInChess.20091126.Retrieved20131021.
43. "Kramnikwinsandisnowinsolethirdplace".Chessdom.20130324.Retrieved20131021.
44. "Anand'sWhyChessinterview".ChessinTranslation.10May2012.Retrieved2January2013.
45. "Dortmund2012KramnikshocksGustafssonwithaKID...asblack!".ChessBase.com.14July2012.
Retrieved2January2013.
46. "RadjabovCarlsen".Chessdom.16April2008.Retrieved2January2013.
47. "DortmundRd7:Kramnikmisseshischance".WhyChess.Retrieved10February2013.

Externallinks
VladimirKramnik
WikimediaCommonshas
(http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=12295)
mediarelatedtoVladimir
playerprofileandgamesatChessgames.com
Kramnik.
Officialwebsite(http://www.kramnik.com/)
Kramnik,Vladimir(Russian)MensChessOlympiads.
(http://www.olimpbase.org/players/xfh7zp5h.html)OlimpBase.
FredericFriedel:Kramnikonhealth,plansandcomputers.(http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?
newsid=2975)ChessBase,13March2006.
PavelMatocha:InterviewwithVladimirKramnik.(http://www.latestchess.com/showInterview.php?
id=11)LatesChess,25July2008.
MarinaMakarycheva:IndepthinterviewwithVladimirKramnik.
(http://en.chessbase.com/post/indepthinterviewwithvladimirkramnik120413)ChessBase,4
November2013.Retrieved25January2014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Kramnik

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Awards
Precededby
GarryKasparov

ClassicalWorldChessChampion
20002007

Precededby
VeselinTopalov

FIDEWorldChessChampion
20062007

Succeededby
ViswanathanAnand

Achievements
Precededby
GarryKasparov
ViswanathanAnand

WorldNo.1
January1,1996June30,1996
January1,2008March31,2008

Succeededby
GarryKasparov
ViswanathanAnand

Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vladimir_Kramnik&oldid=683645382"
Categories: 1975births Livingpeople Chessgrandmasters ChessOlympiadcompetitors
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