Vladimir Kramnik (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster and the current Classical World Chess Champion. In the October 2006 FIDE Elo rating list Kramnik is rated 2750, ranking third in the world by rating.

In October 2000, he beat Garry Kasparov in a sixteen game match played in London, becoming the Classical World Chess Champion. In the fall of 2004, Kramnik successfully defended his title against challenger Péter Lékó in a fourteen game match played in Brissago, Switzerland.

Kramnik is currently playing FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov in a twelve-game title unification match. Kramnik refused to play Game 5 after Topalov’s team accused him of improper and too-frequent use of the bathroom during the first four games and he was defaulted. The match resumed on Monday, October 2. Kramnik’s appeal against the forfeit was dismissed. The match is currently drawn at 5.5-5.5 with one game remaining.

Biography

Kramnik was born in the town of Tuapse, on the shores of the Black Sea. As a child, he studied in the chess school established by Mikhail Botvinnik. His first notable result in a major tournament was his gold medal win as first reserve for the Russian team in the 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila. His selection for the team caused some controversy in Russia at the time, as he was only sixteen years old and had not yet been awarded the grandmaster title, but his selection was supported by Garry Kasparov. He went on to win eight games and one draw with no losses.

The following year, Kramnik played in the very strong tournament in Linares. He finished fifth, beating the then world number three, Vassily Ivanchuk along the way. He followed this up with a string of good results, but had to wait until 1995 for his first major tournament win at normal time controls, when he won the strong Dortmund tournament, finishing it unbeaten. Kramnik continued to produce good results, including winning at Dortmund (outright or tied) for three successive years between 1996 and 1998. He is the second of only four chess players to have reached a rating of 2800 (the first being Kasparov).

World Champion

In 2000, he played a sixteen game match against Garry Kasparov in London, for the Classical Chess World Championship. Kramnik began the match as underdog, but his adoption of the Berlin Defense to Kasparov’s Ruy Lopez opening was very effective, and although pressed hard by Kasparov in those games where the latter played white, repeatedly managed to avoid defeat. Kramnik won the match 8.5 – 6.5 without losing a game. This event marked the first time Kasparov had been beaten in a World Championship match.

After London

In October 2002, Kramnik competed in Brains in Bahrain, an eight game match against the chess computer Deep Fritz in Bahrain. Kramnik started well, taking a 3 – 1 lead after four games. However, in game five, Kramnik made what has been described as the worst blunder of his career, losing a knight in a position which was probably drawn. He quickly resigned. He also resigned game six, although subsequent analysis showed that with perfect play, he might have been able to draw from the final position. The last two games were drawn, and the match ended tied at 4 – 4.

In February 2004 Kramnik won the Tournament of Linares outright for the first time (he had tied for first with Kasparov in 2000), finishing undefeated with a +2 score, ahead of Garry Kasparov, the world’s highest-rated player at that time.

Title Defense

From September 25, 2004 until October 18, 2004 he successfully defended his title as Classical World Chess Champion against challenger Péter Lékó at Brissago, Switzerland. The 14-game match was poised in favour of Lékó right up until Kramnik won the final game, thus forcing a 7 – 7 draw and ensuring that Kramnik remained world champion. The prize fund was 1 million Swiss francs, which was about USD $770,000 at the time. Because of the drawn result, the prize was split between the two players.

Notable Tournament Victories

• 1990 Russian Championship, Kuibyshev (classical) I
• 1991 World Championship (U18), Guarapuav (classical) I
• 1992 Chalkidiki (classical) 7,5/11 I
• 1993 Belgrade (classical) 6/9 II
• 1993 Interzonal Tournament, Biel (classical) 8,5/13 II
• 1994 Overall result PCA Intel Grand Prix’94 I
• 1995 Dortmund (classical) 7/9 I
• 1995 Horgen (classical) 7/10 I-II
• 1995 Belgrade (classical) 8/11 I-II
• 1996 Monaco 16/22 I
• 1996 Dos Hermanas (classical) 6/9 I-II
• 1996 Dortmund (classical) 7/9 I-II
• 1997 Dos Hermanas (classical) 6/9 I-II
• 1997 Dortmund (classical) 6,5/9 I
• 1997 Tilburg (classical) 8/11 I-III
• 1998 Wijk aan Zee (classical) 8,5/13 I-II
• 1998 Dortmund (classical) 6/9 I-III
• 1998 Monaco (blindfold and rapidplay) 15/22 I
• 1999 Monaco (blindfold and rapidplay) 14,5/22 I
• 2000 Linares (classical) 6/10 I-II
• 2000 Dortmund (classical) 6/9 I-II
• 2000 Classical World Chess Championship
• 2000 Match Kramnik v. Kasparov 8,5:6,5
• 2001 Match Kramnik v. Leko (rapidplay) 7,0:5,0
• 2001 Monaco (blindfold and rapidplay) 15/22 I-II
• 2001 Match Kramnik v. Anand (rapidplay) 5;0:5,0
• 2001 Dortmund (classical 6th win!) 6,5/10 I-II
• 2002 Advanced Chess Match (computer usage allowed) Kramnik v. Anand (Leon) 3,5:2.5
• 2002 Man vs Machine (Bahrain) 4,0:4,0
• 2003 Linares (classical) 7,0/12 I-II
• 2003 Dortmund (classical) 5,5/10 II-III
• 2003 Cap d’Agde (France)
• 2003 Rapid World Chess Championships 8,5/13 II
• 2004 Handicap Simul (classical)
• 2004 Kramnik vs. National Team of Germany 2,5:1,5
• 2004 Linares (classical) 7,0/12 I
• 2004 Monaco (Overall result) 14,5/22 I-II
• 2006 Gold medal at Turin Olympiad with overall best performance (2847) 7/10
• 2006 Dortmund (classical) 4.5/7 I

World Championship Matches

• PCA Quarterfinals, June 1994, New York, Kramnik- Gata Kamsky (1.5-4.5).
• FIDE Quarterfinals, January 1994 Wijk aan Zee, Kramnik- Leonid Yudasin (4.5-2.5).
• FIDE Semifinals, August 1994 Sanghi Nagar, Kramnik- Boris Gelfand (3.5-4.5).
• WCC Candidates, 1998, Carzola, Kramnik- Alexei Shirov (3.5-5.5).
• FIDE Knockout, July 1999, Las Vegas, Kramnik-Tikiakov (1.5-0.5); Kramnik- Victor Korchnoi (1.5-0.5); Kramnik- Veselin Topalov (3-1, including rapid playoff); Kramnik- Michael Adams (Quarterfinal) (2-4, including rapid playoff).
• Classical World Chess Championship 2000, London, Kramnik- Garry Kasparov (8.5-6.5)
• Classical World Chess Championship 2004, Brissago, Kramnik- Péter Lékó (7-7), Kramnik retains.
• FIDE World Chess Championship 2006, Elista, Topalov-Kramnik