Rounds 9 and 10 were from Kasparov vs Kramnik, 2000. London and from Anand vs Kramnik, 2008. Bonn, Germany
Although Garry Kasparov was not recognized as champion by FIDE, the rest of the chess world continued to acknowledged him as the best player. He had continued to dominate the chess tournaments while FIDE’s new system to select their champion, consisting of a single tournament of short knockout matches, offended the sensibilities of both players and fans. However, Kasparov had not played a match in 5 years, and believed that for his title to maintain its credibility, it was time to take on a new challenger. The Braingames organization was created by a group headed by Grandmaster Ray Keene specifically to organize a match for Kasparov. Whereas the champion’s challenger had since 1948 been the winner of a series of tournaments and matches, this time Kasparov’s opponent was simply picked by GM Keene.
Keene writes:
“I personally selected Kramnik as the most worthy and dangerous opponent to play Kasparov in 2000. We wanted the best opponent possible for Kasparov. We chose the highest rated opponent, Anand, but he refused, so we went to the next man down on the ratings, Kramnik, who, by the way, overtook Anand in the ratings while the latter was considering whether to play or not”.
Vladimir Kramnik, born in Tuapse, Russia exhibited great potential very early in his chess career. At only 16, he won the under-18 World Championship. He then won first prize in many top International tournaments and was unbeaten in 86 classical games over 18 months up to July 2000. The match was held in London England from October 8th to November 4th. Only 16 games were to be played, with Kasparov retaining his title in case of a tie. The purse was $2,000,000 dollars with 2/3rds going to the winner. Kramnik took an early lead by winning game 2, this was followed by 7 draws until Kramnik scored again in game 10. In the remaining games, Kasparov could not break through Kramnik’s super-solid defences, notably the Berlin Defense of the Ruy Lopez.
After 15 games, with a final score of 8½ to 6½ Kasparov’s long tenure as World Champion had finally come to an end. Vladimir Kramnik’s had become the 14th World Chess Champion.
After Viswanathan Anand’s victory in the 2007 World Championship Tournament, preparations were made to stage a title contest with former champion Vladimir Kramnik to be held in Bonn, Germany.
This match was a one-off event in which the previous world champion (Vladimir Kramnik) has been given the right to challenge to regain his title. Its origin lies in the complications of re-unifying the world title in 2006. This event is especially significant because Anand did not win the 2007 FIDE World Championship in the traditional manner, by defeating the standing champion in a head-to-head match, but instead by winning a tournament. By winning this match, Anand cemented the legitimacy of his World Championship status beyond reproach. The match format was a best of 12 games. In the event that the 12 games end in a 6-6 tie, the match is decided by a short series of rapid games, then blitz (if necessary), and finally, if needed, a single decisive “Armageddon game.”
In the game 3, Anand scored a stunning victory from the black side of the Meran variation of the Semi-Slav Defense, giving him the lead. In game 5 the same variation was tested again, and once more Anand triumphed with the black pieces. Anand then won the 6th game (playing White against the Nimzo-Indian Defense) giving him a commanding three point lead in the first half of the match. Kramnik scored his first victory in game 10, but Anand needed only one draw in the remaining two games to secure victory.
After a draw in the 11th game, Viswanathan Anand defended his title and became the undisputed 15th World Chess Champion.
The game scores for games 9 and 10 are below
Kasparov-Kramnik World Championship Match (2000) • Gruenfeld Defense: Exchange. Modern Exchange Variation (D85) • 1-0
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Be3
Qa5 9. Qd2 Bg4 10. Rb1 a6 11. Rxb7 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Nc6 13. Bc4 O-O 14. O-O cxd4 15. cxd4 Bxd4 16. Bd5 Bc3 17. Qc1 Nd4 18. Bxd4 Bxd4 19. Rxe7 Ra7 20. Rxa7 Bxa7 21. f4 Qd8 22. Qc3 Bb8 23. Qf3 Qh4 24. e5 g5 25. Re1 Qxf4 26. Qxf4 gxf4 27. e6 fxe6 28. Rxe6 Kg7 29. Rxa6 Rf5 30. Be4 Re5 31. f3 Re7 32. a4 Ra7 33. Rb6 Be5 34. Rb4 Rd7 35. Kg2 Rd2 36. Kh3 h5 37. Rb5 Kf6 38. a5 Ra2 39. Rb6 Ke7 40. Bd5
Anand-Kramnik World Championship Match (2008) • Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical. Noa Variation (E34) • 1-0
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 Qxd5 6. Nf3 Qf5 7. Qb3 Nc6 8. Bd2 O-O 9. h3 b6 10. g4 Qa5 11. Rc1 Bb7 12. a3 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Qd5 14. Qxd5 Nxd5 15. Bd2 Nf6 16. Rg1 Rac8 17. Bg2 Ne7 18. Bb4 c5 19. dxc5 Rfd8 20. Ne5 Bxg2 21. Rxg2 bxc5 22. Rxc5 Ne4 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Nd3 Nd5 25. Bd2 Rc2 26. Bc1 f5 27. Kd1 Rc8 28. f3 Nd6 29. Ke1 a5 30. e3 e5 31. gxf5 e4 32. fxe4 Nxe4 33. Bd2 a4 34. Nf2 Nd6 35. Rg4 Nc4 36. e4 Nf6 37. Rg3 Nxb2 38. e5 Nd5 39. f6 Kf7 40. Ne4 Nc4 41. fxg7 Kg8 42. Rd3 Ndb6 43. Bh6 Nxe5 44. Nf6 Kf7 45. Rc3 Rxc3 46. g8=Q Kxf6 47. Bg7
Hamilton Chess Club 