Kramnik-Leko 2004 Match Game 8

Match Game 8 – 10/7/2004
Kramnik (2760) - Leko (2743)
Ruy Lopez, Marshall Gambit [C89]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 [Allowing the Marshall Gambit, unlike games 2, 4 and 6.] d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Re1 Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Re4 [15. Be3 is the usual line (Goldsby), but this old line is gaining popularity (New In Chess).] g5 16. Qf1 [16. Nd2 or 16. Qf3] Qh5 [16. ... Qxf1, Peng-Grischuk, Shanghai 2001] 17. Nd2!? [TN] Bf5 18. f3 Nf6 [18. ... Bxe4 is advantageous for White.] 19. Re1 Rae8 20. Rxe8 Rxe8 21. a4 Qg6! 22. axb5? [22. Ne4 - Kramnik] Bd3! 23. Qf2? [23. Qd1 Be2 24. Qc2 Bd3 - Geuzendam] Re2 24. Qxe2? [Illescas Cordoba recommended 24. bxa6, but after 24. ... Rf2 25. Kf2 Qh5 26. Kg1 Qh3! 27. a7 Bg3 28. a8=Q Kg7 29. hxg3 Qxg3 30. Kh1 g4! White can not avoid mate.] Bxe2 25. bxa6 Qd3!! [Very nice and deeply calculated. - Knaak] 26. Kf2 Bxf3! 27. Nxf3 [27. a7 is also mate. - Geuzendam] Ne4+ 28. Ke1 Nxc3! [28. ... Qxf3?? actually manages to lose.] 29. bxc3? [Loses quickly. - Knaak] Qxc3+ 30. Kf2 Qxa1 31. a7 [31. Bxg5 - Knaak] h6! [Precise till the end. - Geuzendam] 32. h4 g4 0-1 [Leko won brilliantly. We can hope for more games of this level. - Knaak]

I agree. A great game. One of the two best in the match. Leko takes the lead 4.5-3.5; the next game is Saturday 10/9/2004 at 3:00 pm Brissago time (9:00 am Eastern Time).

Leko-Kramnik 2004 Match Game 7

Game 7 was a short draw in 21 moves. So far, four of the seven games have been draws of 23 moves or less. Hardly what I'd call fighting chess, even if the quality has been pretty good!

Match Game 7 – 10/5/2004
Leko (2743) - Kramnik (2760)
QGD Slav Defense [D16]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 [Converting the position to one more typical of the Queen's Gambit Accepted.] 5. a4 e6 6. e3 [6. e4 - Pachman] c5 7. Bxc4 Nc6 8. O-O cxd4 [8. ... Be7 - ECO] 9. exd4 Be7 10. Be3 O-O 11. Ne5 Nb4 12. a5 Bd7 13. d5 exd5 14. Nxd5 Nbxd5 15. Bxd5 Nxd5 16. Qcd5 Bc8 17. Rfd1 Qxd5 18. Rxd5 Be6 19. Rb5 Bf6 20. Nf3 b6 21. axb6 1/2-1/2

If you visit the http://www.worldchesschampionship.com/com/index.php website, you can follow the games with live master analysis. The schedule of remaining games is (all times are Brissago local time, which is UTC/GMT +1 hour)
8. 2004-10-07 KRAMNIK - LEKO 3:00 p.m.
9. 2004-10-09 LEKO - KRAMNIK 3:00 p.m.
10. 2004-10-10 KRAMNIK - LEKO 3:00 p.m.
11. 2004-10-12 LEKO - KRAMNIK 3:00 p.m.
12. 2004-10-14 KRAMNIK - LEKO 3:00 p.m
13. 2004-10-16 LEKO - KRAMNIK 3:00 p.m.
14. 2004-10-18 KRAMNIK - LEKO 3:00 p.m.

At the halfway point in the match, the score stands at 3.5-3.5, with 1 win apiece and 5 draws.

[edited]

Alekhine-Capablanca, 1924

Alekhine-Capablanca
New York, 4/2/1924, Round 12
QGD Slav Defense (D10)

Going into the 12th round (the halfway mark), the scores were: Em. Lasker 7.5, Alekhine 6.5, Reti and Capablanca at 6, and four players following at 5.

1. PQ4 PQ4 2. PQB4 PQB3 3. NQB3 NKB3 4. PK3 BB4 [In the tournament book, Alekhine gave some (imo unwarranted) criticism of this move.] 5. PxP PxP [5. … NxP 6. BB4! – Rubinstein-Bogoljubow, Hastings 1922] 6. QN3 BB1 7. NB3 [7. PKB4!? – ECO] PK3 8. BQ3 [8. NK5!] NB3 9. O-O BQ2 [The only move which promises equalization. – Alekhine] 10. BQ2 QN3 11. QQ1 BQ3 12. RB1 [The pawn sacrifice 12.PK4!? would have led to equalization at the most. – Alekhine] O-O 13. NQR4 QQ1 14. NB5 BxN 15. RxB [15. PxB PK4! – Alekhine] NK5 [=, ECO] 16. BxN PxB 17. NK5 [17. NN5? PQN3! – Alekhine] NxN 18. PxN Draw agreed

Given the competitive situation, this grandmaster draw is somewhat surprising. After this round, the scores were: Em. Lasker 8.5, Reti and Alekhine 7, Capablanca 6.5 and two players following at 5.5.

Capablanca-Alekhine, 1924

Capablanca-Alekhine
New York, 3/21/1924, Round 4
French Defense (C12)

1. PQ4 PK3 2. PK4 PQ4 3. NQB3 NKB3 4. BN5 BN5 [Obviously, Alekhine had developed as a player in 10 years.] 5. PxP [5. PK5 – Pachman] QxP?! [But apparently not all that much; there is some difference of opinion here, but it appears that correct is 5. … PxP.] 6. BxN [6. NB3 NK5! – Pachman] BxN+ [The general consensus seems to be that better is 6. … PxB.] 7. PxB PxB 8. QQ2! [This was a theoretical novelty at the time; 8. NB3 was usually played here.] NQ2 [8. … PQN3 – Pachman; 8. … PQB4 – Alekhine] 9. PQB4 QK5+ 10. NK2 NN3 [10. … PQN3 is probably better.] 11. PKB3 QB3 12. PB5 NQ4 [12. … NB5? 13. QB3 PN4 14. PQR4 – Alekhine] 13. PQB4 NK2 14. NQB3 PKB4 15. BK2 [±, ECO] RKN1 16. O-O BQ2 [16. … PN3? 17. BQ1! – Alekhine] 17. QK3 PN3 18. KRQ1 PxP 19. PQ5 QQ3 [The only move; 19. … PxP 20. NxP QQ3 21. QRN1 decides matters very quickly. – Alekhine] 20. PxP QxP 21. QxP QQN3 22. QB2 PB5!? [Desperate continuation – Alekhine] 23. QB2 [Not 23. RQ4 QN7 24. QK1 BR6 – Alekhine] QxQ+ 24. KxQ BB3 25. RQ4 [Missing 25. NN5! – Alekhine] NN3 26. BQ3 NR5 27. BB1 NN3 28. NK2 KK2 29. RK1 KRQN1 30. NxP+ KB1 31. NxN+ RPxN 32. BQ3? [White overvalues his chances in the subsequent rook play; he should have striven not to exchange the bishops. – Alekhine] RN7+ 33. RK2 QRN1 34. BK4 RxR+ 35. KxR BxB 36. PxB KK2 37. RQ2 KK3 38. KK3 PQB3 39. PKR4? [The critical point in the game as Capablanca misses his best winning chance here. The position is discussed in great detail in Technique for the Tournament Player. Alekhine gives 39. PKR3! RKR1 40. PB5. If instead 39. ... PKB4, Dvoretsky gives 40. RQ5 RN7 41. PKN4 with "excellent winning chances."] RKR1! 40. PN3 RR4! 41. RR2 RR4! 42. KB4 PB3 43. RQB2 RK4 44. PB5 RR4 45. RB3 PR4 46. RB2 RK4 47. RB3 KK2 48. KB3 KK2 49. KN4 KB2 50. RB4 KN2 51. RQ4 RxP 52. RQ7+ KB1 53. KB4 KN1 54. RQR7 KB1 55. PQR4 KN1 56. PN4 [Not the most accurate, but Black no longer seems in any real danger of losing after White's 32nd and 39th move inaccuracies. Alekhine suggests 56. KK3.] PN4+ 57. PxP RxP 58. RR6 RQB4 59. KK3 KB2 60. KQ4 RKN4 61. RxBP RxP 62. RB5 RN4 Draw agreed [63. RxR KxR 64. KK5 KN3 65. KQ6 KB2 =]

Kramnik-Leko 2004 Match Game 6

Game 6 - 10/3/2004
Kramnik (2760) - Leko (2743)
Ruy Lopez, Closed Defense [C88]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0–0 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Na5 [Game 4 went 10. ... Nd7.] 11.Ba2 c5 12.Nbd2 Nc6 13.c3 Qd7!? [TN; 13. ... Bc8 =, Svidler-Anand, Dortmund 2004] 14.Nf1 d5! 15.Bg5 dxe4 16.dxe4 c4 17.Ne3!? [17. Bxf6! - Moskalenko] Rfd8 18.Nf5 Qe6 19.Qe2 Bf8 20.Bb1 h6 ½–½

The score stands at 1 win each with 4 draws. The next game is Tuesday 10/5/2004 at 3:00 pm Brissago time (9:00 am Eastern Time).

Leko-Kramnik 2004 Match Game 5

Game 5 – 10/2/2004
Leko (2743) - Kramnik (2760) {New rating list effective 10/1/2004}
QGD Semi-Tarrasch Defense [D37]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.a3 Nc6 11.Bd3 Bb6 12.0-0 Bg4 13.h3 Bh5 14.b4 Re8 15.Rc1 a6 [15. ... d4 is not very good, but the text has a drawback too. - Timman]16.Bxa6 [16. g4 =, Speelman-Geller, London 1982] Rxa6 17.b5 Rxa3 18.bxc6 bxc6 19.Rxc6 Ra7 [19. ... Re6 was played in Dreev-Kir (Sarajevo 2001), Atalik-Short (Ohrid 2001) and Schenk-Zumsande (Bremen 2002).] 20.Rd6 [20. Qb3 =, Malakhatko-Pigusov, Ohrid 2001] Rd7 21.Qxd5 Rxd6 22.Qxd6 Qxd6 23.Bxd6 Bxf3 [23. ... Rd8 was played in Karpov-Anand (Moscow 2002) and Istratescu-Malakhatko (Patras 2002).] 24.gxf3 Bd8 25.Rb1 Bf6 26.Kg2! [TN; 26. Rb5 =, Gritsak-Kruppa, Alushta 2002] g6 27.f4 Kg7 28.Rb7 Re6 29.Rd7 Re8 30.Ra7 Re6 31.Bc5 Rc6 32.Ra5 Bc3 33.Rb5 Ra6 [Alternatives are 33. ... Rc8 (Barsky) or 33. ... f5 (Timman).] 34.Rb3 Bf6 35.Rb8 h5 36.Rb5 Bc3 37.Rb3 Bf6 38.e4 Ra5 39.Be3 Ra4 40.e5! Be7 41.Rb7 Kf8 42.Rb8+ Kg7 43.Kf3 Rc4 44.Ke2 Ra4 45.Kd3 Bh4 46.Bd4 Ra3+ 47.Kc2 Ra2+ 48.Kd3 Ra3+ 49.Ke4 Ra4 50.Kd5 Ra5+ 51.Kc6 Ra4 52.Kc5 Be7+ 53.Kd5 Ra5+ 54.Ke4 Ra4 55.Rc8 Bh4 56.e6+ Bf6 [59. ... f5 was likewise insufficient in view of 60. Rc7. - Timman] 57.e7! Rxd4+ 58.Ke3 Bxe7 59.Kxd4 Bh4 60.f3 f5 61.Rc7+ Kf6 62.Kd5 Bg3 63.Rc6+ Kg7 64.Ke5 h4 65.Rc7+ Kh6 66.Rc4 Kg7 67.Ke6 Bh2 68.Rc7+ Kh6 69.Kf7 1-0

Leko evened up the score with this game 1-1 with 3 draws. The next game is tomorrow 10/3/2004 at 3:00 pm Brissago time (9:00 am Eastern Time).

My Great Predecessors Part I

I greatly enjoyed this book. But now Garry on his site is telling us that...

http://www.chesschamps.com/diary05.html

My plan is to do revised editions of the first four volumes after we have submitted Volume V. There will be a lot of revisiting Volumes I and II. Volumes III and IV are more or less as I want them but Volumes I and II are not up to the standard of III and IV. I am really proud of the quality of Volumes III and IV. In Volume I I want to add material on Gunsberg, Marshall, Schlechter, Janowski and Boguljubow. All players who played a World Championship match should be covered. I would like to also do more on the early champions, pre-Steinitz but there may be logistical problems with the size of the book. In Volume II we want material on Boleslavsky and Flohr. All the AVRO players should be covered since AVRO was a kind of world championship. We also want to enlarge the section on Keres and polish up Botvinnik and Smyslov who were written in the 90’s.

So he makes some idiotic mistakes ("all players who played a WC match should be covered", well duh!) and those of us who supported this project by buying his book when it first came out are supposed either to shell money out for a new edition of the book or make due with a lesser version of the book? What nerve! Has he been taking lessons from Microsoft?

Book recommendation

New York 1924 Tournament Book by Hermann Helms, Annotations by Alexander Alekhine

My highest recommendation. This tournament was replete with classic games that made chess history and are still worthy of study. This was some incredible competitive chess; only 38 of the 110 games were draws, and most of those were incredibly hard-fought.

Emmanuel Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Marshall, Reti, Maroczy, Bogoljubow, Tartakower, Yates, Edward Lasker, Janowksi. The world champion, the former and future champions, and three challengers for the crown.

Listing the great games in this tournament requires listing almost all the games...
3rd round: Tartakower - Yates
3rd round: Alekhine - Em. Lasker
4th round: Janowski - Em. Lasker
5th round: Reti - Capablanca (Capa's first loss in 8 years)
6th round: Capablanca - Tartakower (great endgame, Capa's first win in the tourney)
6th round: Em. Lasker - Ed. Lasker (fascinating endgame, ended in a draw after 103 moves)
6th round: Alekhine - Janowski
7th round: Capablanca - Yates
8th round: Alekhine - Reti
9th round: Bogoljubow - Capablanca
9th round: Marshall - Em. Lasker
10th round: Em. Lasker - Reti
12th round: Reti - Bogoljubow (first brilliancy prize)
12th round: Em. Lasker - Janowski
13th round: Reti - Alekhine
13th round: Maroczy - Capablanca
13th round: Em. Lasker - Bogoljubow
14th round: Capablanca - Em. Lasker (third brilliancy prize)
15th round: Bogoljubow - Tartakower
15th round: Capablanca - Janowski
16th round: Reti - Em. Lasker (one of the first games I ever analyzed in detail, still one of the best)
18th round: Marshall - Bogoljubow (second brilliancy prize)
19th round: Tartakower - Capablanca
21st round: Tartakower - Em. Lasker
22nd round: Em. Lasker - Marshall

The annotations by Alekhine are top-notch. Some of the opening analysis is dated of course, but otherwise these are still some of the most insightful positions that exist in the game of chess and Alekhine's analysis still repays careful study.

Alekhine-Capablanca, 1922

Alekhine-Capablanca
London, 8/11/1922, Round 9
QGD Orthodox Defense (D64)

1. PQ4 PQ4 2. NKB3 NKB3 3. PB4 PK3 4. NB3 QNQ2 5. BN5 BK2 6. PK3 O-O 7. RB1 PB3 8. QB2 PxP 9. BxP NQ4 10. BxB [10. NK4 QR4+] QxB [10. … NxN?] 11. O-O [11. NK4! – ECO] NxN! 12. QxN PQN3 13. QQ3 PQB4!? [ECO] 14. BR6 BxB 15. QxB PxP 16. NxP [16. PxP!? – Tartakower] NB4 17. QN5 [=, ECO] Draw agreed

Capablanca v Alekhine, Saint Petersburg Final, 1914

Alekhine-Capablanca
Saint Petersburg, 5/15/1914
Final Tournament, Round 5
Four Knights Game (C48)

1. PK4 PK4 2. NKB3 NQB3 3. NB3 NB3 4. BN5 NQ5 5. NxN PxN 6. PK5 PxN 7. PxN QxP 8. QPxP QK2+ 9. QK2 QxQ+ 10. BxQ PQ4 11. BKB4 PQB3 12. PQB4 BK3 13. PxP BxP 14. O-O BB4 15. KRK1 O-O 16. BQ3 KRK1 [=, ECO] 17. PQR3 PB3 18. KB1 PKN3 19. PKB3 KB2 20. RxR RxR 21. RK1 RxR+ 22. KxR KK2 23. KK2 BQ3 24. KK3 BB4+ 25. KK2 BQ3 26. KK3 BB4+ 27. KK2 Draw by repetition

Capablanca-Alekhine
Saint Petersburg, 5/22/1914
Final Tournament, Round 10
French Defense (C11)

1. PQ4 PK3 2. PK4 PQ4 3. NQB3 NKB3 4. BKN5 PKR3?! [Stepping outside the book early, but with poor results.] 5. BxN QxB 6. PxP BN5 7. BN5+ PB3 8. PB3 PxBP NxP 9. NK2 O-O 10. O-O RQ1 11. NK4 QR5 12. BxN PxB 13. PKB4 BR3 14. PB3 BKB1 15. QK1 QR4 16. RB2 PQB4 17. NxP BxN(B5) 18. PxB QxP 19. NQ4 RQ4 20. PKR3 R1Q1 21. QK3 PK4 22. PxP RxP 23. QB3 QK2 24.NB6 RK8+ 25. RxR QxR+ 26. KR2 RQ2 27. NQ4 BQ6 28. QN3 QK8 29. QN8+ KR2 30. QK8 RN2 31. NK6 BN4 32. QQB8 RK2 33. NB8+ KN1 34. NQ7+ KR2 35. QB5 QK8 36. QB5+ KN1 37. QxB RxN 38. RK2 QQ8 39. RK8+ KR2 40. QB5+ PN3 41. QK5 PB3 42. QxP QQ3+ 43. QxQ RxQ 44. RK7+ RN1 45. RxP Black resigns

Alekhine-Capablanca, 1914

Alekhine-Capablanca
Saint Petersburg, 4/29/1914
Preliminary Tournament, Round 6
Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense (C66)

1. PK4 PK4 2. NKB3 NQB3 3. BN5 PQ3 4. PQ4 PxP 5. NxP BQ2 6. NQB3 NB3 7. O-O BK2 8. NB5?! [ECO] BxN 9. PxB O-O 10. RK1 [Illogical; White should play 10. PKN4 NQ2! (10. … PQ4? 11. PN5 NK5 12. NxN PxN 13. BxN PxB 14. QN4 with advantage) 11. PB4. – Golombek] NQ2 11. NQ5 BB3 12. PQB3 NN3 13. NxB+ [13. PKN4! – Golombek] QxN 14. BxN PxB 15. QB3 KRK1 16. BK3 PB4 17. RK2 RK4 18. QRK1 QRK1! [18. … RxP? 19. BQ4! while 18. … QxP?! dissipates Black’s advantage. – Golombek] 19. QN7 [19. PKN4? PKN3! – Golombek] QxP 20. QxBP QK3 21. QxRP NQ4 22. KB1 NB5 23. RQ2 NxP! 24. KxN QN5+ 25, KB1 QR6+ 26. KK2 RxB+! 27. PxR QxKP+ 28. KQ1 QxR(K8)+ 29. KB2 QK5+ 30. KN3? [White is lost, but more resistance would have been offered by 30. KB1 PKR3 31. QB7. – Golombek] QB3 31. PQR4 [31. PB4 – Golombek] PQ4! 32. PR5 [A more prolonged fight could have been put up with 32. RKB2. – Golombek] QN4+ 33. KR3 RN1 34. KR2 PR3 35. PR6 QN6+ White resigns

Alekhine-Capablanca, 1913

Alekhine – Capablanca
Saint Petersburg, 12/23/1913
Exhibition Match Game 2
Ruy Lopez, Closed Defense (C90)

1. PK4 PK4 2. NKB3 NQB3 3. BN5 PQR3 4. BR4 NB3 5. O-O BK2 6. RK1 PQN4 7. BN3 PQ3 8. PB3 NQR4 [8. … O-O is more usual] 9. BB2 PB4 10. PQ4 QB2 11. PQR4! [This is the reason that 8. … NQR4 has fallen out of favor. – Pachman] PN5 [Later 11. … RN1 was tried in Löwenfisch-Lilienthal, Moscow 1939, but appears to be weaker. Tartakower recommended 11. … RR2, which seems too passive. Pachman recommends 11. … BN2.] 12. QNQ2 [Keres-Reshevsky, Stockholm 1937, seems to have found an improvement with 12. PxNP.] O-O 13. NB1? [ECO] BPxP 14. PxQP BK3 15. NK3 KRB1 16. BQ2 NB5 17. NxN QxN 18. RQB1 PN6 19. BN1 QxRP 20. PxP PxP 21. NxP RxR 22. BxR RQ1 23. QK2 PR3 24. PR3 BQB4 25. BB4 NQ2 26. RQ1 BN3 27. NB3 BB5 28. QK1 NB4 29. BQ6 NQ6 30. BxN RxB 31. RR1 QN4 32. BxB QxB 33. RB1 QB7 34. KR2 QxNP 35. PK5 BxP 36. QB1 RKN3 37. RB8+ KR2 38. RB8 QB7 39. RxP PN7 40. RN7 BN3 41. NQ2 QxN 42. PK6 PN8=Q White resigns

Capablanca-Alekhine, 1913

Capablanca – Alekhine
Saint Petersburg, 12/14/1913
Exhibition Match Game 1
QGD Slav Defense (D30)

1. PQ4 PQ4 2. PQB4 PQB3 3. PK3 NB3 4. NKB3 PK3 5. QNQ2!? [With the idea of retaking with the Queen's Knight when Black plays ...PxP thus controlling e5. - Capablanca; However, 5. NB3 is the usual and best move.] QNQ2?! [5…. PB4! is best. The lost tempo is made up for in the bad position of White’s QN.] 6. BQ3 BK2 [Usually ...BQ3 is played, but I believe the text move is superior. - Alekhine] 7. O-O O-O 8. QB2 [This is not as strong as 8. PQN3, reserving the Queen for K2. – Golombek; Played on the spur of the moment to change the ordinary course of the game but not to be recommended, 8. PQN3 would be the natural way to continue. - Capablanca] PxP? [This move plays into White’s hands and gives him control of K5, correct was 8. … PB4. – Golombek; He should have played ...PB4 before ...PxP. - Capablanca] 9. NxP PB4 10. QNK5 PxP 11. PxP [A position similar to the Panov attack of the Caro-Kann defense now arises, White has the initiative by virtue of his advanced knight and greater space. - Alburt] NN3 12. NN5 [Compelling Black to play ...PKN3, which will weaken his Kingside and make holes for White's Queen's Bishop. - Capablanca] PKN3 [If 12. ... PKR3? 13. BR7+! - Alburt] 13. N(N5)B3 [Best, if 13. QK2!?, then not 13. … QxP? 14. N(N5)B3! with a violent attack but 13. … QNQ4!] KN2 14. BKN5 QNQ4 15. QRB1 BQ2 16. QQ2 NN1 17. BxB QxB 18. BK4! [White wants to exchange his bad Bishop for Black’s strong defensive Knight.] BN4? [Better was 18. … KNB3 19. BxN NxB 20. NN4 PB3 21. QR6+ KR1 with a fair defensive position. – Golombek] 19. KRK1 QQ3 20. BxN PxB [20. … QxB? – Golombek] 21. QR5! [The winning move.] PQR3 [21. … BB3 likewise leads to a lost endgame.] 22. QB7! QxQ 23. RxQ PR3 [White threatened NN5. - Capablanca] 24. RxP QRB1 25. PQN3 RB7 26. PQR4 BK7 27. NR4! [The knockout blow. - Capablanca] PKR4 28. N(R4)xP RK1 29. RxP+ KR3 30. PB4 PR4 31. NR4 RxN 32. BPxR KN4 33. PN3 KN5 34. RN7+ KR6 35. NN2 [Mate follows by 36. NB4. - Alburt] Black resigns

Chessmetrics

I found a fascinating website (http://www.chessmetrics.com/) that has developed a modified Elo rating system to rate historical players before the advent of the current FIDE rating system. These historical ratings, despite their obvious shortcomings, nevertheless provide a great deal of insight into the playing strength of the contenders in this historic match. One of the calculations ChessMetrics performs is the determination of all-time rating leaders across their peak 1, 3, 5, 9 and 15-year periods. Some of their results are reproduced below.

If you click on the names or dates in the following tables, you will link to the ChessMetrics website where more details are available.

One-year period
1 - Capablanca, José R - 2921 - 1921
2 - Fischer, Robert J - 2914 - 1971
3 - Kasparov, Garry K - 2895 - 1999
4 - Lasker, Emanuel - 2886 - 1919
5 - Morphy, Paul C - 2840 - 1864
6 - Anand, Viswanathan - 2836 - 1997
7 - Steinitz, Wilhelm - 2834 - 1877
8 - Kramnik, Vladimir - 2831 - 2000
9 - Botvinnik, Mikhail M - 2828 - 1949
10 - Alekhine, Alexander A - 2827 - 1930

Fifteen-year period
1 - Kasparov, Garry K - 2853 - 1986 to 2000
2 - Capablanca, José R - 2841 - 1914 to 1928
3 - Fischer, Robert J - 2794 - 1960 to 1974 (*)
4 - Karpov, Anatoly E - 2788 - 1976 to 1990
5 - Botvinnik, Mikhail M - 2770 - 1943 to 1957
6 - Alekhine, Alexander A - 2762 - 1921 to 1935
(*) Although Fischer was world champion in 1973 and 1974, he played no games in those years.

Confused about the world chess championship?

Me too. Here’s the short version.

In 1993, Kasparov broke from FIDE and participated in title matches outside the umbrella of that organization, defending his title against Short (1993) and Anand (1995) before losing it to Kramnik (2000).

Meanwhile, FIDE had Karpov and Timman (two of the runners-up from the candidates' cycle won by Short - Yusupov was left out) play a match, which Karpov won. Karpov then defended his title in matches against Kamsky (1996) and Anand (1998). FIDE then completely changed the format of its world championship cycle, and Karpov resigned his title in protest and unsuccessfully sued to stop the changes. Since then, the title has been held by Khalifman (1999), Anand (2000), Ponomariov (2002) and Kasimdzhanov (2004).

But a plan for unifying the two titles was crafted in 2002. It read in part, “The Dortmund [2002 Challenger’s Tournament] winner will play the Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the present FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov will play Garry Kasparov, the current World's number one rated player. The two match winners will play a reunification Classical Chess World Championship match in October/November 2003.”

Obviously the dates are all fubar at this point, and Ponomariov is not even the FIDE champion anymore. But the ball is rolling on this. The first step is the Kramnik-Leko (Leko won Dortmund) 14-game match taking place right now in Switzerland.

There is no date scheduled for the Kasparov-Kasimdzhanov match yet.

This discussion of the world championship reminds me to bring up this site I found recently. It rocks; it has all world championship games in PGN format back to Labourdonnais-MacDonnell in 1834! I strongly encourage everyone to check it out and enjoy!

Some Chess Trivia

As of 10/1/2004, the list of "super-GMs" (those rated 2700+) numbers 15:
1 GM Kasparov, Garry (RUS) 2813
2 GM Anand, Viswanathan (IND) 2781
3 GM Kramnik, Vladimir (RUS) 2760
4 GM Morozevich, Alexander (RUS) 2758
5 GM Topalov, Veselin (BUL) 2757
6 GM Leko, Peter (HUN) 2743
7 GM Adams, Michael (ENG) 2740
8 GM Svidler, Peter (RUS) 2735
9 GM Polgar, Judit (HUN) 2728
10 GM Shirov, Alexei (ESP) 2726
11 GM Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) 2718
12 GM Bareev, Evgeny (RUS) 2715
13 GM Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) 2710
14 GM Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR) 2705
15 GM Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) 2704

The only players ever to break a 2800 rating are Kasparov and Kramnik. The only players ever to have been #1 in the FIDE rating list between 1976 and 2004 are Karpov, Kasparov and Kramnik. Since Karpov fell out of the top three, the only players to have held any of the top three slots are Kasparov, Kramnik and Anand.

Karpov currently stands at #23 with a rating of 2682. At age 53, he is the oldest player in the Top 100 list.

The highest Elo tournament performance rating ever recorded was 2977, earned by Karpov at Linares 1994. He was undefeated and earned 11 points out of 13 possible (the best world-class tournament winning percentage since Alekhine won San Remo 1930), beating second-place Kasparov and Shirov by 2.5 points.

The former Soviet Union or Russia has won the Chess Olympiad every year since 1952 (the first time they participated), with the exception of 1976 (which the Soviet bloc boycotted, and the USA won) and 1978 (when they came in second behind Hungary). In 1992 right after the Soviet Union broke up, instead of one team there were 12 teams. None of these countries finished with a minus score and three of them took Gold (Russia), Silver (Uzbekhistan), and Bronze (Armenia).

Kramnik v Leko 2004, first four games

This is a historic moment.  For the first time in 32 years, there's a world championship match taking place without either Karpov or Kasparov sitting at the table.  The last time we saw that was Fischer-Spassky 1972.

The first four games of the match between Kramnik and Leko have been played. The score stands at Kramnik 1 win, Leko 0 wins, and 3 draws.

The official website of the match is www.worldchesschampionship.com. Also, Chessbase and the London Chess Centre have some interesting stories about the match and analysis of some of the games. For my part, I'm just going to post the games here with minimum commentary.

Game 1 – 9/25/2004
Leko (2741) - Kramnik (2770)
Petroff Defense [C42]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 [8. Re1 - ECO] Nb4 [8. ... Nf6 - Pachman] 9.Be2 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.h3 Be4 [16. ... Bf6, Kramnik-Anand, Wijk aan Zee 2003] 17.Be3 Na5 [TN; 17. ... Rcd8, Leko-Bologan, Dortmund 2002] 18.c4 [Alternatives were 18. Qa4, 18. Nd2 and 18. Ne5. - Timman] Nxc4 19.Bxc4 Qxc4 20.Nd2 Qd5 21.Nxe4 Qxe4 22.Bg5 Qxe1+ 23.Qxe1 Bxg5 24.Qa5 Bf6 25.Qxa7 c5 26.Qxb7 Bxd4 27.Ra2 c4 28.Re2 Red8 29.a4 [A superficial move after which White will have to work hard to keep the balance; 29. Rd2 would have aimed for a draw. - Timman] c3 30.Qe4 Bb6! 31.Qc2 g6 32.Qb3 Rd6! 33.Rc2 Ba5 34.g4 Rd2 35.Kg2 Rcd8 [Black's best practical chance. - Timman] 36.Rxc3 Bxc3 37.Qxc3 R2d5 38.Qc6 Ra5 39.Kg3 Rda8 40.h4 R5a6 41.Qc1 Ra5 42.Qh6 Rxa4 43.h5 R4a5 44.Qf4? [Probably the decisive mistake; 44. hxg6 was necessary. - Coleman & Pein] g5 45.Qf6 h6! 46.f3 R5a6 47.Qc3 Ra4 48.Qc6 R8a6 49.Qe8+ Kg7 50.Qb5 R4a5 51.Qb4 Rd5 52.Qb3 Rad6 53.Qc4 Rd3 54.Kf2 Ra3 55.Qc5 Ra2+ 56.Kg3 Rf6 57.Qb4 Raa6 58.Kg2 Rf4 59.Qb2+ Raf6 60.Qe5 Rxf3 61.Qa1 Rf1 62.Qc3 R1f2+ 63.Kg3 R2f3+ 64.Qxf3 Rxf3+ 65.Kxf3 Kf6 0-1

Game 2 – 9/26/2004
Kramnik (2770) - Leko (2741)
Ruy Lopez, Closed Defense [C88]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 [avoiding the Marshall] Bb7 9.d3 Re8 [9. ... d6 - ECO] 10.Nc3 Bb4 11.Ng5 Rf8 12.a3 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Na5 14.Ba2 c5 15.f4 exf4 16.e5 Nd5 17.Bxd5 Qxg5 18.Bxb7 1/2-1/2
Game 3 – 9/28/2004
Leko (2741) – Kramnik (2770)
Petroff Defense [C42]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.c4 [Game 1 went 16. h3.] Qe4 17.Be3 Qc2 [TN - New In Chess] 18.d5 Na5 19.Nd4 Qxd1 20.Rexd1 Bd7 21.Bd2 Bf6 22.Bxa5 Bxd4 23.Rxd4 Rxe2 1/2-1/2
Game 4 – 9/30/2004
Kramnik (2770) - Leko (2741)
Ruy Lopez, Closed Defense [C88]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 [Reverting to the main line after trying 9. ... Re8 in game 2.] 10.a3 [10. c3 - ECO] Nd7 11.Nc3 Nd4 12.Ba2 [TN] Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 Bg5 14.Bxg5 Qxg5 15.Nd5 c6 16.Ne3 g6 17.Rad1 Rad8 18.c3 c5 19.Bd5 Bc8 20.b4 Nb6 21.c4 Nxd5 22.Nxd5 Be6 23.bxc5 dxc5 24.Rb1 Rb8 25.cxb5 Bxd5 26.exd5 axb5 27.d6 b4 28.a4 Rfd8 29.Qd5 Qf6 30.Qxc5 Qxd6 31.Qxd6 Rxd6 32.Rxe5 b3 33.Rb5 Ra8 34.R1xb3 Rxa4 35.Rb6 Rd7 36.Rf6 Ra1+ 37.Kh2 Rd1 38.Rf3 h5 39.h4 Rd2 40.g3 Kg7 41.Kg2 Rd1 42.Re3 Kh7 43.Kf3 Rd2 ½-½.
The next game is tomorrow 10/2/2004 at 3:00 pm Brissago time (9:00 am Eastern Time).

[edited with additional analysis]

World Championship Matches

1886, Steinitz-Zukertort
1889, Steinitz-Chigorin
1890, Steinitz-Gunsberg
1892, Steinitz-Chigorin
1894, Lasker-Steinitz
1896, Lasker-Steinitz
1907, Lasker-Marshall
1908, Lasker-Tarrasch
(1909, Lasker-Janowsky, not a title match)
1910, Lasker-Schlecter
1910, Lasker-Janowsky
1921, Capablanca-Lasker
1927, Alekhine-Capablanca
1929, Alekhine-Bogoljubov
1934, Alekhine-Bogoljubov
1935, Euwe-Alekhine
1937, Alekhine-Euwe
1948, Botvinnik over Smyslov, Reshevsky, Keres, Euwe (tournament)
1951, Botvinnik-Bronstein
1954, Botvinnik-Smyslov
1957, Smyslov-Botvinnik
1958, Botvinnik-Smyslov
1960, Tal-Botvinnik
1961, Botvinnik-Tal
1963, Petrosian-Botvinnik
1966, Petrosian-Spassky
1969, Spassky-Petrosian
1972, Fischer-Spassky (1975 - Karpov gets title by default when Fischer refuses to defend)
1978, Karpov-Korchnoi
1981, Karpov-Korchnoi
1984, Karpov-Kasparov
1985, Kasparov-Karpov
1986, Kasparov-Karpov
1987, Kasparov-Karpov
1990, Kasparov-Karpov
1993, Kasparov-Short
(1993, Karpov-Timman, FIDE title)
1995, Kasparov-Anand
(1996, Karpov-Kamsky, FIDE title)
(1998, Karpov-Anand, FIDE title)
2000, Kramnik-Kasparov

A quarter century of Capablanca v Alekhine

I just bought a new book on Capablanca's games (volume 1 and volume 2), so I will be updating my entries on the Capablanca-Alekhine rivalry. Rather than reposting all of them, I thought I'd just create this entry linking to all of them and just leave the posts where they are.

Capablanca-Alekhine, Saint Petersburg Match 1913 (Capa)
Alekhine-Capablanca, Saint Petersburg Match 1913 (Capa)
Alekhine-Capablanca, Saint Petersburg Preliminary Tournament 1914 (Capa)
Capablanca v Alekhine, Saint Petersburg Final Tournament 1914 (two games) (1 Capa win, 1 draw)
Alekhine-Capablanca, London 1922 (draw)
Capablanca-Alekhine, New York 1924 (draw)
Alekhine-Capablanca, New York 1924 (draw)
Capablanca v Alekhine, New York 1927 (four games) (1 Capa win, 3 draws)
Capablanca-Alekhine, Nottingham 1936 (Capa)
Capablanca-Alekhine, AVRO 1938 (draw)
Alekhine-Capablanca, AVRO 1938 (Alekhine)

Rating Lists 2001-2003

JANUARY 2001

1 Kasparov, Gary g RUS 2849 0 1963
2 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2790 16 1969
3 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2772 0 1975
4 Adams, Michael g ENG 2746 35 1971
5 Leko, Peter g HUN 2745 16 1979
6 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2745 16 1977
7 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2718 57 1972
8 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2718 26 1975
9 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2717 39 1969
10 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2712 37 1968
11 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2709 22 1966
12 Van Wely, Loek g NED 2700 62 1972

APRIL 2001

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2827 38 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2802 28 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2794 13 1969
4 Adams, Michael g ENG 2750 13 1971
5 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2749 13 1977
6 Leko, Peter g HUN 2731 23 1979
7 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2731 13 1969
8 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2723 23 1972
9 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2712 0 1968
10 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2709 0 1966
11 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2707 13 1975

JULY 2001

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2838 10 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2802 10 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2797 6 1969
4 Adams, Michael g ENG 2744 19 1971
5 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2739 22 1977
6 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2731 0 1969
7 Leko, Peter g HUN 2730 0 1979
8 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2719 29 1966
9 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2714 13 1968
10 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2711 9 1975
11 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2706 21 1972
12 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam g UZB 2704 20 1979

OCTOBER 2001

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2838 0 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2809 10 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2770 10 1969
4 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2742 10 1977
5 Leko, Peter g HUN 2739 10 1979
6 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2733 10 1975
7 Adams, Michael g ENG 2731 10 1971
8 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2731 0 1969
9 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2719 0 1966
10 Van Wely, Loek g NED 2714 26 1972
11 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam g UZB 2706 8 1979
12 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2706 0 1972
13 Khalifman, Alexander g RUS 2702 6 1966
14 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2701 19 1968

JANUARY 2002

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2838 0 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2809 0 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2757 14 1969
4 Adams, Michael g ENG 2742 25 1971
5 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2742 6 1977
6 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2739 8 1975
7 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2727 38 1983
8 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2717 39 1969
9 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2715 26 1972
10 Leko, Peter g HUN 2713 11 1979
11 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2708 18 1968
12 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2707 19 1966
13 Smirin, Ilia g ISR 2702 33 1968

APRIL 2002

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2838 12 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2809 0 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2752 12 1969
4 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2745 9 1975
5 Adams, Michael g ENG 2744 25 1971
6 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2743 19 1983
7 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2724 22 1966
8 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2718 22 1977
9 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2711 19 1969
10 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2710 22 1968
11 Leko, Peter g HUN 2707 22 1979
12 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2704 12 1972
13 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2702 22 1983

JULY 2002

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2838 0 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2807 3 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2755 2 1969
4 Adams, Michael g ENG 2752 18 1971
5 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2745 0 1975
6 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2743 0 1983
7 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2726 12 1966
8 Leko, Peter g HUN 2722 9 1979
9 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2716 2 1977
10 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2711 0 1969
11 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2710 0 1968
12 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2702 2 1983

OCTOBER 2002

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2836 0 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2809 0 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2755 0 1969
4 Adams, Michael g ENG 2745 6 1971
5 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2743 14 1975
6 Leko, Peter g HUN 2743 13 1979
7 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2743 0 1983
8 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2737 10 1966
9 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2709 2 1969
10 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2707 6 1977
11 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2704 6 1968
12 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2702 0 1983

JANUARY 2003

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2847 9 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2809 0 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2753 11 1969
4 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2743 0 1975
5 Leko, Peter g HUN 2736 11 1979
6 Adams, Michael g ENG 2734 20 1971
7 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2734 11 1983
8 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2729 7 1966
9 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2723 16 1972
10 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2712 18 1983
11 Akopian, Vladimir g ARM 2703 18 1971
12 Khalifman, Alexander g RUS 2702 22 1966
13 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2700 25 1976
14 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2700 14 1968

APRIL 2003

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2830 12 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2789 25 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2764 25 1969
4 Leko, Peter g HUN 2746 12 1979
5 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2735 22 1972
6 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2735 13 1975
7 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2734 13 1966
8 Adams, Michael g ENG 2723 9 1971
9 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2718 25 1983
10 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2715 13 1976
11 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2713 29 1976
12 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2704 13 1969
13 Akopian, Vladimir g ARM 2703 0 1971
14 Khalifman, Alexander g RUS 2702 0 1966
15 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2701 22 1983
16 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2700 0 1968

JULY 2003

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2830 0 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2785 2 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2774 7 1969
4 Leko, Peter g HUN 2739 9 1979
5 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2735 0 1975
6 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2732 38 1983
7 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2732 23 1972
8 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2723 34 1976
9 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2721 11 1966
10 Adams, Michael g ENG 2719 29 1971
11 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2718 9 1976
12 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2718 0 1983
13 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2710 22 1969
14 Akopian, Vladimir g ARM 2703 0 1971
15 Azmaiparashvili, Zurab g GEO 2702 24 1960
16 Short, Nigel D. g ENG 2701 19 1965

OCTOBER 2003

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2830 0 1963
2 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2777 11 1975
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2766 10 1969
4 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2739 11 1966
5 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2737 2 1972
6 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2735 0 1975
7 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2732 0 1983
8 Adams, Michael g ENG 2725 10 1971
9 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2723 0 1976
10 Leko, Peter g HUN 2722 10 1979
11 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2722 9 1976
12 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2718 0 1983
13 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2710 0 1969
14 Dreev, Alexey g RUS 2705 9 1969
15 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2703 11 1968
16 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2702 10 1977
17 Short, Nigel D. g ENG 2701 0 1965