Notable Games
Vladimir Kramnik
15 celebrated games · 1134 in the full archive
◈The games that made the legend
Kramnik – Kasparov · 1994 · 1–0
Linares 1994: at eighteen Kramnik beats reigning World Champion Kasparov in a King's Indian — the breakthrough classical win that announced him among the world's best.
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Topalov – Kramnik · 1995 · 0–1
Belgrade 1995: a razor-sharp Sicilian in which Kramnik's Black counterattack hunts the white king clean across the board until Topalov resigns.
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Kasparov – Kramnik · 1996 · 0–1
Dos Hermanas 1996: Kramnik outplays Kasparov with Black in a Semi-Slav Meran, one of his signature wins over his great rival.
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Ivanchuk – Kramnik · 1996 · 0–1
Dos Hermanas 1996: Ivanchuk snatches a rook with 16.Qxa8, but in this Richter-Rauzer Sicilian Kramnik's Black pieces swarm the offside queen and the white king.
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Gelfand – Kramnik · 1996 · 0–1
European Club Cup, Berlin 1996: Kramnik meets Gelfand's sharp Shabalov g4 thrust head-on in a Semi-Slav and mates first, ending 28...Qa2+.
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Kramnik – Karpov · 1997 · 1–0
Dortmund 1997: a classical win over former World Champion Karpov, an English in which Kramnik's kingside build-up is crowned by a passed f-pawn that queens with check.
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Kramnik – Kasparov · 2000 · 1–0
Game 2 of the 2000 Classical World Championship in London: the prepared 11.Rxb7 in Kasparov's beloved Grünfeld draws first blood in the match that dethroned the champion.
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Kramnik – Kasparov · 2000 · 1–0
Game 10 of the 2000 title match: a 25-move Nimzo-Indian demolition — 15.Bxe6 tears open Kasparov's king — giving Kramnik the 2–0 lead he never relinquished on the way to the crown.
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Kramnik – Anand · 2001 · 1–0
Dortmund 2001: a model attacking win over Anand — the central break 15.d5 and a kingside pawn-storm overrun the future World Champion in a Queen's Gambit Accepted.
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Leko – Kramnik · 2004 · 0–1
Game 1 of the 2004 title defence in Brissago: Kramnik sacrifices his queen for rook and bishop in the Petroff and grinds down the ending to strike first against Leko.
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Kramnik – Leko · 2004 · 1–0
Trailing by a point in the final game, Kramnik must win to keep his title — and does, a Caro-Kann Advance where Leko resigns facing mate. The 2004 match is levelled 7–7 and the crown retained.
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Topalov – Kramnik · 2006 · 0–1
The wild second game of the 2006 reunification match in Elista: Kramnik weathers Topalov's kingside storm and wins with Black to go 2–0 up, on the way to uniting the classical and FIDE crowns.
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Kramnik – Morozevich · 2007 · 1–0
Mexico City 2007: a precise 27-move Catalan from the World Championship tournament in which Kramnik's queenside passed pawns crash through, queening on c8.
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Kramnik – Carlsen · 2009 · 1–0
Dortmund 2009: Kramnik out-manoeuvres the eighteen-year-old Magnus Carlsen, squeezing from 29.Nb5 and finishing with the shot 31.Rxe6+ against the future World Champion.
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Aronian – Kramnik · 2018 · 0–1
Candidates 2018, Berlin: at forty-two Kramnik never castles and throws everything at Aronian's king in the Berlin — the rook sacrifice 19...Rxg5 and a pawn avalanche force mate.
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