Kramnik-Leko 2004 Match Game 14

Kramnik keeps his Classical Chess Champion title!

Match Game 14 – 10/18/2004
Kramnik (2760) - Leko (2743)
Caro-Kann Defense [B12]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 [When I made this move during the game, it suddenly occurred to me how absurd it is from the viewpoint of the general logic of opening play; it is strange that during my preparations the move seemed to me to be quite normal. - Kramnik] h6 [4. ... h5 is more popular. - Kramnik] 5. g4 Bd7 [5. ... Bh7? 6. e6! - Kramnik] 6. Nd2! [TN; 6. h5 and 6. c3 were played in the Tal-Botvinnik 1961 match] c5 7. dxc5 [7. c3?! Nc6! - Knaak] e6 8. Nb3 Bxc5 9. Nxc5 Qa5+ [Leko wins the pawn back, but giving a Bishop for a Knight can not be good here. - Knaak] 10. c3 Qxc5 11. Nf3 [11. Be3 - Fritz; Outwardly White's position looks attractive, but in fact it is not easy for him to complete his development without losing his e5 pawn in the process - Kramnik] Ne7 12. Bd3 [12. h5 - Knaak] Nbc6 [12. ... Qc7 is also interesting. - Kramnik] 13. Be3 Qa5 14. Qd2! [14. Qc2? Rc8!, 14. Qe2? Ng6! - Knaak] Ng6 [14. ... d4!? - Kasparov] 15. Bd4! [15. Bg6? - Kramnik] Nxd4 16. cxd4 Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 [White is clearly better. - Knaak; At this moment I was not very happy with the situation as I realized how difficult it would be to win this endgame against a high-class player. - Kramnik] Nf4 18. Rac1 [18. Bf1? h5! - Kramnik] h5 19. Rhg1! [Maintaining the tension and retaining the dynamics of the position. - Kramnik] Bc6 20. gxh5 Nxh5 21. b4! a6 22. a4! [White opens a second front. - Kramnik] Kd8 [22. ... Bxa4!? - Kasparov; may be the decisive mistake - Kramnik] 23. Ng5 Be8 24. b5! [A very important resource. - Kramnik] Nf4 25. b6! [There is no longer any satisfactory defense. - Kramnik] Nxd3 [25. ... f6 is likewise insufficient.] 26. Kxd3 Rc8 27. Rxc8+ Kxc8 28. Rxc1+ Bc6 29. Nxf7 Rxh4 30. Nd6+ Kd8 31. Rg1 [The most direct way to win. - Kramnik] Rh3+ [31. ... Rh7 would not have offered Black any chances. - Kramnik] 32. Ke2 Ra3 33. Rxg7 Rxa4 34. f4! Ra2+ 35. Kf3 Ra3+ 36. Kg4 Rd3? [36. ... Ra1 was somewhat more tenacious although the endgame is hopeless. - Kramnik] 37. f5 Rxd4+ 38. Kg5 exf5 39. Kf6 Rg4 40. Rc7 Rh4 41. Nf7+ 1-0 [41. ... Ke8 42. Rc8+ Kd7 43. Rd8#]

One of the two best games in the match! With this win, Kramnik ties up the match 7-7 and successfully defends his title from Leko. Previously, only Kasparov (1987) managed to keep the title in a must-win situation in the last game of the match. It was the worst of matches, it was the best of matches. There were some really shabby draws, there were some really exciting games. But overall, the quality was quite high. Thanks to both players!