Vladimir Kramnik
Biography (1975)
A pupil of Botvinnik chess school, Vladimir Kramnik showed great potential early and debuted in the Russian team at Olympiad in Manila (1992) at 17. He built an awe-inspiring tournament record in the following years and became #1 in the FIDE rating list in January 1996. In 2000 Kasparov organized a title match against Kramnik in London. Kramnik dethroned Kasparov in a memorable battle 8½–6½ without losing a single game. Four years later, he defended his title, drawing the match against Peter Leko (Brissago, 2004).In April 2006, FIDE announced a reunification match between Kramnik and Topalov (the FIDE World Chess Championship 2006). The competition took place in Elista, Kalmykia. Vladimir Kramnik beat Veselin Topalov on a tiebreaker and became an undisputed World Champion.Kramnik played in the 2013 Candidates Tournament in London and finished with 8½ points, sharing the first place with Magnus Carlsen, but lost in tiebreak.Kramnik publicly announced his retirement as a professional chess player in January 2019.
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On Kramnik
Garry Kasparov
He was a good pupil of Botvinnik and a good pupil of Garry Kasparov. He designed the strategy, and great strategy, to drag me from the territories where I felt most comfortable. He was very smart to know exactly where I can make mistake. The match was a disaster for me. I was outprepared
Viswanathan Anand
One of the most influential chess players of our times. His rivalry was a constant inspiration
Want more?
Vladimir Kramnik, Iakov Damsky. My Life and Games
2000
Evgeny Bareev, Ilya Levitov. From London to Elista: The Inside Story of the World Chess Championship Matches that Vladimir Kramnik Won Against Garry Kasparov, Peter Leko, and Veselin Topalov
2007
Cyrus Lakdawala. Kramnik: Move by Move
2012
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