Classical World Chess Championship 2000

Classical World Chess Championship 2000
Garri Kasparov
Vladimir Kramnik
Garry Kasparov Rating: 2849 Vladimir Kramnik Rating: 2772

The Classical World Chess Championship 2000, known at the time as the Braingames World Chess Championships,[1] was held from October 8, 2000 – November 4, 2000 in London, United Kingdom. Garry Kasparov, the defending champion, played Vladimir Kramnik. The match was the best of 16 games, and in the event of an 8-8 tie, Kasparov would keep his title.

Although Kasparov was the strong favourite,[2] Kramnik won the match with two wins, 13 draws and no losses.[3] To the supporters of the world championship by succession (later dubbed the "classical" world championship by Kramnik), Kramnik became the 14th world chess champion.

Contents

Background

Following the split in the world chess championship in 1993, there were two rival world titles: the official FIDE world title, and the PCA world title held by Garry Kasparov. The rationale behind Kasparov's title was that he had not been defeated in a match, but in fact had defeated the rightful challenger Nigel Short in 1993, so FIDE had no power to strip the title from him.

The PCA then held an Interzonal and Candidates matches in 1993-1995, and Kasparov successfully defended his PCA title in 1995, this time against Viswanathan Anand.

The PCA folded in 1996. However Kasparov still saw himself as the true world champion (as did many in the chess world), so Kasparov looked for other ways to select his next challenger.

Qualification

Without the sponsorship of the PCA, Kasparov found he was unable to organise a series of qualifying matches to choose a challenger. Eventually in 1998, he announced that, based on their ratings and results, Anand and Vladimir Kramnik were clearly the next two best players in the world, and that they would play a match to decide who would challenge for Kasparov's title.

However Anand, as a participant in the FIDE world championship cycle, believed he was contractually obligated to not participate in a rival cycle. So instead a match was organised between Kramnik and the next person in the ratings list, Alexei Shirov, in May-June 1998.

Despite being the underdog, Shirov won the match with two wins, seven draws and no losses.[4]

However during 1998 Kasparov, Shirov and sponsors were unable to come to an agreement. Shirov rejected one offer of a match in California,[5] but believed rejecting this offer did not mean waiving his rights for a match;[6] In December 1998, there was still talk of organising a Kasparov-Shirov match.[7]

In February 1999, Kasparov abandoned plans for a match with Shirov and pursued a match with Anand instead, on the basis that Anand was second to Kasparov on the ratings list.[8] Negotiations for a 1999 match failed,[9][10] as did negotiations in 2000, with Anand expressing dissatisfaction with the contract.[11] In March 2000 it was announced that negotiations with Anand had failed and so Kasparov would negotiate a match with the next player in the ratings list - ironically Kramnik.[12] This time negotiations were successful, and the company Braingames was formed to finance a Kasparov-Kramnik match in October 2000.

Shirov was understandably aggrieved, and even in 2006 maintained that Kramnik was not a valid world champion.[13] However most supporters of Kasparov's title believe that, despite the unsatisfactory way in which a challenger was chosen, nevertheless the winner of this match would be the true World Champion. Kramnik had a far better record against Kasparov than Shirov did (a point Kasparov emphasised when the match was announced in April 2000).[14] In the years that followed, Kasparov maintained an overwhelming plus score in his individual games against Shirov.[15]

The games

White Black Date Result Moves Winner Standing Opening Notes / Reference
1 Kasparov Kramnik 8 October ½–½ 25 ½–½ C67 Ruy Lopez [1]
2 Kramnik Kasparov 10 October 1–0 40 Kramnik Kramnik leads 1½–½ D85 Grünfeld Defence Kramnik uncorked a novelty in Grünfeld Defence, after which Kasparov did not use the Grünfeld [2]
3 Kasparov Kramnik 12 October ½–½ 53 Kramnik leads 2–1 C67 Ruy Lopez [3]
4 Kramnik Kasparov 14 October ½–½ 74 Kramnik leads 2½–1½ D27 Queen's Gambit [4]
5 Kasparov Kramnik 15 October ½–½ 24 Kramnik leads 3–2 A34 English Opening [5]
6 Kramnik Kasparov 17 October ½–½ 66 Kramnik leads 3½–2½ D27 Queen's Gambit [6]
7 Kasparov Kramnik 19 October ½–½ 11 Kramnik leads 4–3 A32 English Opening [7]
8 Kramnik Kasparov 21 October ½–½ 38 Kramnik leads 4½–3½ E32 Nimzo-Indian Defence [8]
9 Kasparov Kramnik 22 October ½–½ 33 Kramnik leads 5–4 C67 Ruy Lopez [9]
10 Kramnik Kasparov 24 October 1–0 25 Kramnik Kramnik leads 6–4 E54 Nimzo-Indian Defence [10]
11 Kasparov Kramnik 26 October ½–½ 41 Kramnik leads 6½–4½ C78 Ruy Lopez [11]
12 Kramnik Kasparov 28 October ½–½ 33 Kramnik leads 7–5 E55 Nimzo-Indian Defence [12]
13 Kasparov Kramnik 29 October ½–½ 14 Kramnik leads 7½–5½ C67 Ruy Lopez [13]
14 Kramnik Kasparov 31 October ½–½ 57 Kramnik leads 8–6 A30 English Opening [14]
15 Kasparov Kramnik 2 November ½–½ 38 Kramnik wins 8½–6½ E05 Catalan Opening [15]

By Kasparov's admission, Kramnik's victory stemmed from his superior opening preparation.[16] He relied on the Berlin Defence of the Ruy Lopez to defuse Kasparov's 1.e4, an opening Kasparov was not prepared for. Kramnik also won Game 2 with a new idea for White in Kasparov's favourite Grünfeld Defence, which Kasparov never played again in the match.

Aftermath

The world championship remained split until 2006, when Kramnik, still classical champion, defeated FIDE champion Veselin Topalov in a reunification match.

See also

References

  1. ^ Due to the sponsorship by Braingames, the match was known at the time as the Braingames World Chess Championships. Kramnik would later refer to the title as the "Classical" World Championship, hence this 2000 match was also a match for the "Classical" title.
  2. ^ The Week in Chess 308 2nd October 2000
  3. ^ World Chess Championship 2000 Kramnik - Kasparov, Mark Weeks' Chess Pages
  4. ^ 1998-99 World Chess Council, Mark Weeks' Chess Pages
  5. ^ The Week in Chess 200, 7th September 1998 (Also contains a statement at the time from Kasparov)
  6. ^ The Week in Chess 222, 8th February 1999 (contains a statement at the time from Shirov)
  7. ^ The Week in Chess 215, 21 December 1999, "Kasparov in England"
  8. ^ The Week in Chess 223, 15th February 1999 - "The reality is that nobody wants to organize such a match. Potential sponsors are much more interested in a match between the number 1 and 2 chess players: Kasparov & Anand." - Kasparov
  9. ^ The Week in Chess 254, 20 September 1999
  10. ^ The Week in Chess 255, 27 September 1999
  11. ^ The Week in Chess 281, 3 April 2000
  12. ^ The Week in Chess 281, 27 March 2000
  13. ^ Chessplayers deceived again by FIDE, Alexei Shirov, Chessbase, May 4, 2006
  14. ^ The Week in Chess 283, 10th April 2000
  15. ^ According to chessgames.com, Kasparov's lifetime score against Shirov is 17 wins, 15 draws and no losses.
  16. ^ The Week in Chess 313, 6th November 2000

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Classical World Chess Championship 2004 — The Classical World Chess Championship 2004 was held from September 25, 2004 October 18, 2004 in Brissago, Switzerland. Vladimir Kramnik, the defending champion, played Peter Leko, the challenger, in a fourteen game match. The match ended 7 7,… …   Wikipedia

  • Classical World Chess Championship 1995 — The Classical World Chess Championship 1995, known at the time as the PCA World Chess Championship 1995,[1] was held from September 10, 1995, to October 16, 1995, on the 107th floor of the former World Trade Center in New York City. Garry… …   Wikipedia

  • FIDE World Chess Championship 2000 — The FIDE World Chess Championship 2000 was held in New Delhi, India, and Tehran, Iran. The first six rounds were played in New Delhi between 27 November and 15 December 2000, and the final match in Tehran started on 20 December and ended on 24… …   Wikipedia

  • World Chess Championship — Current World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India. The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title. The official world championship is… …   Wikipedia

  • FIDE World Chess Championship 1999 — The FIDE World Chess Championship 1999 was held in Las Vegas, United States, between 31 July and 28 August 1999. The championship was won by Russian Alexander Khalifman, making him the FIDE World Chess Champion.FormatThe format was a knockout… …   Wikipedia

  • World Chess Championship 2008 — Viswanathan Anand (IND) Champion …   Wikipedia

  • World Chess Championship 1972 — The World Chess Championship 1972 was a match between challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the World Chess Championship. The match took place in the Laugardalshöll arena in… …   Wikipedia

  • World Chess Championship 1993 — The World Chess Championship 1993 was held from 1990 to 1993. It was one of the most controversial in history, with incumbent World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, and official challenger Nigel Short, splitting from FIDE, the official world… …   Wikipedia

  • Development of the World Chess Championship — Further information: World Chess Championship The concept of a world chess champion started to emerge in the first half of the 19th century, and the phrase world champion appeared in 1845. From this time onwards various players were acclaimed as… …   Wikipedia

  • FIDE World Chess Championship 2002 — The FIDE World Chess Championship 2002 was held in Moscow, Russia. The first six rounds were played between 27 November and 14 December 2001, and the final match started on 16 January and ended on 23 January 2002. The Ukrainian grandmaster Ruslan …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”