The Classical world championship final match between match Kramnik-Leko
After been delayed for more than a year due to the collapse of the sponsorship of Einstein Group the CENTRO DANNEMANN welcomed Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), the reigning (classical) World Chess Champion, and his challenger, Peter Leko (Hungary), in scenic Brissago by Lake Maggiore from September 25th until October 18th 2004. The contest was consisted of 14 games (with draws counting) for a prize fund of SF 1,000,000. In an interesting contest which moved the chess world moved closer to unification as mentioned in the Prague agreement, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia scored a come-from-behind victory over Peter Leko of Hungary. The score ended 7-7, but Kramnik maintains his title in the event of a tie. Leko held the lead after winning the 8th game convincingly and fended off last-minute attempts by Kramnik to wrestle the lead away.
Game 1
Game 1
Vladimir Kramnik won the first game, a Petroff, of the Dannemann world championship. It was everything a world champion’s game should be. Superior opening preparation, an excellent queen sacrifice, and total precision in the endgame. However in the post game press conference the players agreed that result of the game should be a draw.
Game 2
Game 2
The second game — a closed Ruy Lopez — lasted only 18 moves, it was not a drab draw, as Leko, the challenger trying to recover from his loss with white pieces on day one, opted for a double-edged line. Kramnik gave a pawn — a temporary sacrifice — on the 15th move before offering a draw three moves later, following the exchange of the light-squared bishops. White had no obvious advantage at the stage and the proposal to split the point was indeed the wise thing for him to do.
Game 3
Game 3
The Petroff ended in a disappointing draw after 23 moves. Playing the black side of a Petroff, Kramnik produced a novelty with 17…Qc2. Peter Leko sank into a 40-minute think, without being able to find anything for White. The two traded pieces and the game was drawn.
Game 4
Game 4
The game, a Ruy Lopez, ended in a draw after 43 moves. Unlike the previous two games it was hard-fought, with challenger Peter Leko pushing for a speculative advantage with the black pieces and then almost losing the game. In the end Vladimir Kramnik was unable to cash in on the extra pawn in the rook ending and had to concede a draw.
Game 5
Game 5
With 1.d4 Leko surprised Kramnik with a quiet line of the Queen’s Gambit, something that Kramnik likes to play himself. The world champion defended well and reached an endgame a pawn down but with a draw looking very likely. However Peter Leko managed to keep the bishops and rooks on the board, and started to push his pawns. He brought his bishop onto the long diagonal and the position starts to look dangerous. Kramnik was forced to give up the exchange and tried to construct a fortress with three pawns and bishop against Leko’s three pawns and rook. But it was futile and Peter Leko won the game in a fine effort.
Of chess it has been said that life is not long enough for it, but that is the fault of life, not chess.
Irving Chernev
” Chess is a sport. A violent sport.”
Marcel Duchamp
I don’t particularly like being searched electronically. It is inconceivable that such a thing would happen in any other sport. It is fundamentally anti-chess, and I think the people who are behind this decision need their heads looked at! They are sick! They are ruining the very beauty that is chess.
Nigel Short 2016
Do you realize, Fischer almost never has any bad pieces? He exchanges them, and the bad pieces remain with his opponents.
Yury Balashov
We must finish once and for all with the neutrality of chess. We must condemn once and for all the formula “chess for the sake of chess”, like the formula “art for art’s sake”. We must organize shock brigades of chess-players, and begin immediate realization of a Five-Year Plan for chess.
Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko
