Vladimir Kramnik

Garry Kasparov

At the finish

Game 2 Tuesday 10th October 2000. Kramnik-Kasparov: Gruenfeld Defence: Main Line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Be3 (Slight pause from Kasparov who has played this as white a couple of times. Kramnik specialised in 8. Rb1 here for many years and has never played this in a serious game.) Qa5 9.Qd2 Bg4 (The main line is 9. ..Nc6) 10.Rb1!? (Highly unusual. Kramnik played 10. Rc1 a couple of times against Shirov in 3 minute games on the Internet Chess Club on December 12th 1999 and Kasparov beat Yermolinsky with black in the same line in Wijk aan Zee 1999.) 10. ...a6 11. Rxb7 [11.Rb3 b5 12.d5 Nd7 13.c4 b4 14.Qc2 Qc7 15.Nd2 Nb6 16.f4 a5 17.Bd3 a4 18.Rb1 g5 19.f5 Be5 20.h3 Bg3+ 21.Kf1 Bh5 22.e5 Qxe5 23.Ne4 Qxf5+ 24.Kg1 Qe5 25.Bxc5 b3 26.axb3 Nd7 27.Ba3 axb3 28.Rxb3 Qa1+ 29.Qb1 Rxa3 30.Rxa3 Qxa3 31.Nxg3 Bg6 32.Qb7 0-0 33.Qxd7 Qxd3 34.Kh2 h5 35.Re1 h4 36.Nf1 Qxc4 37.Qxe7 Qf4+ 38.Kg1 Rb8 39.d6 Qd4+ 40.Kh2 Qf4+ 41.Kg1 Qd4+ 42.Kh2 ½-½ Timman,J-Ivanchuk,V/Linares 1992] Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nc6 (In Vassily Ivanchuk and Felix Levin's notes in New in Chess No3 1992 to the Timman-Ivanchuk game he describes 11. Rxb7 as being bad and ends with the comment that after 12. ...Nc6 (this position) white's centre collapses. Kramnik has clearly prepared this, what is his idea?) 13.Bc4 TN 13.Bh3 e6 14.0-0 cxd4 15.cxd4 Qxd2 16.Bxd2 Nxd4 17.Bb4 Nxf3+ 18.Kg2 Nh4+ 19.Kg3 Bf6 20.Rd1 g5 21.Rdd7 a5 22.Bd6 Rc8 23.f3 Rc3 24.Bg4 h5 25.Rxf7 hxg4 26.Rxf6 Nxf3 27.Rxe6+ Kd8 28.Kxg4 1-0 was played in the game Schilly,H-Krueger,H/IECG 1999. 0-0 14.0-0 cxd4 15.cxd4 Bxd4 16.Bd5 Bc3(Kramnik has 1:43 left - Kasparov 0:49) 17.Qc1 After a long think (over 40 minutes) from Kramnik Nd4 (Kasparov played this quickly) 18.Bxd4 Bxd4 19.Rxe7 Ra7 20.Rxa7 Bxa7 Its clear that Kramnik is pressing here. 21. f4 Qd8 (Kramnik 40 mins Kasparov 38) 22. Qc3 Bb8 Kasparov played this quickly and gave Kramnik a hard stare. 23.Qf3 Qh4 24.e5 g5 Kasparov said after the game that perhaps he had relaxed a little here. He missed Kramnik's next. 25.Re1 Qxf4 26.Qxf4 gxf4 27.e6 fxe6 28.Rxe6 Kg7 29.Rxa6 Rf5 30.Be4 Re5 (Times: Kramnik 21 minutes, Kasparov 15) 31. f3 (Times: Kramnik 19 Kasparov 11)Re7 32. a4 (Kasparov down to 8 moves in 8 minutes) Ra7? Probably the final decisive moment. Kasparov suggested plan of Be5-d4 with only then the idea of Ra7 after the game. Another possibility was Ba7-e3. 33.Rb6 Be5 34.Rb4 Rd7 (6 moves in 3.5 minutes for Kasparov. Kramnik 12) 35.Kg2 Rd2+ 36.Kh3 h5 37.Rb5 Kf6 38.a5 Ra2 39.Rb6+ Ke7? Its immediately over after this but the position is lost anyway. 40.Bd5 1-0

(Notes: Mark Crowther. Additional game references Geoffrey D Borg)

"After 24. ...g5 I missed 25. Re1" Kasparov. But he still felt although it was difficult he should have held the position. He pointed to 32. ..Ra7 as a possible turning point. The plan of Be5-d4 with the idea of Ra7 might have been better. Its hard to say at first sight where the turning point were. Kasparov still had chances probably until near the end although Kramnik felt he was winning from some way out. g5 and perhaps the previous move Qh4 needed planning more completely if they were correct. 17. ...Nd4 was played very fast in a critical position (were Rac8 and Ne5 so very bad?). I don't believe white's opening amounted to so very much but what was key that Kramnik has so far dictated the opening choice and Kasparov has had to do all the work in the early phases of the opening. Very much according to style Kramnik sought a minor but lasting edge with white today. If he is content with that he can manage almost an infinite number of surprises for Kasparov with white. Kasparov looks a little short of full power so far. Winning the first game in a match is far from a guarantee of winning it overall. In fact it certainly used to be said that the winner of the first game lost the match. Kasparov now needs to pick up the pace which I'm sure he will, especially with white. There is a long way to go. This win can't have harmed Kramnik's chances though. Can he play 14 more surprise opening systems? A final thought. If my spell checker had its way this would be a match between Caspar and Cranky (second choice Kermit).

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