A STUDY OF DIFFERENT WORLD

CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

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 INTRODUCTION

Chess is a recreational and competitive game played between two players.

Sometimes called Western chess or international chess to distinguish it from its
predecessors and other chess variants, the current form of the game emerged in
Southern Europe during the second half of the 15th century after evolving from
similar, much older games of Indian and Persian origin. Today, chess is one of
the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide in
clubs, online, by correspondence, in tournaments and informally.

The game is played on a square chequered chessboard with 64 squares

arranged in an eight-by-eight square. At the start, each player (one controlling
the white pieces, the other controlling the black pieces) controls sixteen pieces:
one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The
object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is
under immediate attack (in "check") and there is no way to remove it from
attack on the next move.

The tradition of organized competitive chess started in the sixteenth century and
has developed extensively. Chess today is a recognized sport of the
International Olympic Committee. The first official World Chess Champion,
Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886; Viswanathan Anand is the current
World Champion. Theoreticians have developed extensive chess strategies and
tactics since the game's inception. Aspects of art are found in chess
composition.

One of the goals of early computer scientists was to create a chess-playing

machine, and today's chess is deeply influenced by the abilities of current chess
programs and by the possibility to play online. In 1997, a match between Garry

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Kasparov, then World Champion, and a computer proved for the first time that
machines are able to beat even the strongest human players.

Chess

From left, a white king, black rook and queen, white pawn, black knight, and
white bishop

Players

Setup time

Under one minute

Playing time

Casual games without time control last usually 10–60 minutes

Random chance

None

Skills required

Tactics, Strategy

Rules

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 Setup

Initial position. First row: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and
rook. Second row: pawns.

Chess is played on a square board of eight rows (called ranks and denoted with
numbers 1 to 8) and eight columns (called files and denoted with letters a to h)
of squares. The colors of the sixty-four squares alternate and are referred to as
"light squares" and "dark squares". The chessboard is placed with a light
square at the right hand end of the rank nearest to each player, and the pieces
are set out as shown in the diagram, with each queen on its own color.

The pieces are divided, by convention, into White and Black sets. Each player is
referred to by the color of their pieces and begins the game with sixteen pieces.
These comprise one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and
eight pawns. White moves first. The players alternate moving one piece at a
time (with the exception of castling, when two pieces are moved
simultaneously). Pieces are moved to either an unoccupied square, or one
occupied by an opponent's piece, capturing it and removing it from play. With
one exception (en passant), all pieces capture opponent's pieces by moving to
the square that the opponent's piece occupies.

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When a king is under immediate attack by the opponent's pieces, the king is said
to be in check. When in check, only moves that result in a position in which the
king is not in check are permitted. Each player must not make any move that
would place their king in check. The object of the game is to checkmate the
opponent; this occurs when the opponent's king is in check, and there is no way
to remove the king from attack.

Moves

Each chess piece has its own style of moving. The X's mark the squares where
the piece can move if no other pieces are on the X's between the piece's initial
position and destination. If there is an opponent's piece at the destination
square, then moving piece can capture the opponent's piece. The only exception
is the pawn which can only capture the white circles.

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 Special moves

Castling

Once in every game, each king is allowed to make a special move, known as
castling. Castling consists of moving the king two squares towards a rook, then
placing the rook immediately on the far side of the king. Castling is only
permissible if all of the following conditions hold:

Neither of the pieces involved in the castling may have been previously moved
during the game;

 There must be no pieces between the king and the rook;

 The king may not currently be in check, nor may the king pass through
squares that are under attack by enemy pieces. As with any move,
castling is illegal if it would place the king in check.

 The king and the rook must be on the same rank (to exclude castling with
a promoted pawn, described later).

c-pawn can promote, e- or g-pawn may capture en passant, provided that

Black's last move was ...f7-f5.

When a pawn advances two squares, if there is an opponent's pawn on an

adjacent file next to its destination square, then the opponent's pawn can
capture it and move to the square the pawn passed over, but only on the next
move. For example, if the black pawn has just advanced two squares from f7 to
f5, then either of the white pawns on e5 and g5 can take it via en passant on f6.

Promotion

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When a pawn advances to its eighth rank, it is exchanged for the player's choice
of a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. Usually, the pawn is
chosen to be promoted to a queen, but in some cases another piece is chosen,
called underpromotion. In the diagram on the right, the pawn on c7 can choose
to advance to the eighth rank to promote to a better piece.

End of the game

Chess games do not have to end in checkmate — either player may resign if the
situation looks hopeless. Games also may end in a draw (tie). A draw can occur
in several situations, including draw by agreement, stalemate, threefold
repetition of a position, the fifty move rule, or a draw by impossibility of
checkmate (usually because of insufficient material to checkmate).

Time control

Besides casual games without exact timing, chess is also played with a time
control, mostly by club and professional players. If a player's time runs out
before the game is completed, the game is automatically lost (provided his
opponent has enough pieces left to deliver checkmate). The timing ranges from
long games played up to seven hours to shorter rapid chess games lasting
usually 30 minutes or one hour per game. Even shorter is blitz chess with a time
control of three to fifteen minutes for each player and bullet chess (under three
minutes).

The international rules of chess are described in more detail in the FIDE
Handbook, section Laws of Chess.

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 Strategy and tactics

Chess strategy consists of setting and achieving long-term goals during the
game — for example, where to place different pieces — while tactics
concentrate on immediate maneuver. These two parts of chess thinking cannot
be completely separated, because strategic goals are mostly achieved by the
means of tactics, while the tactical opportunities are based on the previous
strategy of play.

Because of different strategic and tactical patterns, a game of chess is usually

divided into three distinct phases: Opening, usually the first 10 to 25 moves,
when players develop their armies and set up the stage for the coming battle;
middlegame, the developed phase of the game; and endgame, when most of the
pieces are gone and kings start to take an active part in the struggle.

Fundamentals of strategy

Chess strategy is concerned with evaluation of chess positions and with setting
up goals and long-term plans for the future play. During the evaluation, players
must take into account the value of pieces on board, pawn structure, king safety,
space, and control of key squares and groups of squares (for example,
diagonals, open-files, and dark or light squares).

The most basic step in evaluating a position is to count the total value of pieces
of both sides.[4] The point values used for this purpose are based on experience;
usually pawns are considered worth one point, knights and bishops about three
points each, rooks about five points (the value difference between a rook and a
bishop being known as the exchange), and queens about nine points. In the
endgame, the king is generally more powerful than a minor piece but less
powerful than a rook, thus it is sometimes assigned a fighting value of four
points. These basic values are then modified by other factors like position of the

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piece (for example, advanced pawns are usually more valuable than those on
initial positions), coordination between pieces (for example, a pair of bishops
usually coordinates better than the pair of a bishop and knight), or type of
position (knights are generally better in closed positions with many pawns while
bishops are more powerful in open positions).

Another important factor in the evaluation of chess positions is the pawn

structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton), or the configuration of
pawns on the chessboard.[5] Pawns being the least mobile of the chess pieces,
the pawn structure is relatively static and largely determines the strategic
nature of the position. Weaknesses in the pawn structure, such as isolated,
doubled or backward pawns and holes, once created, are usually permanent.
Care must therefore be taken to avoid them unless they are compensated by
another valuable asset (for example, by the possibility to develop an attack).

Fundamentals of tactics

A tactical puzzle from Lucena's 1497 book

In chess, tactics in general concentrate on short-term actions — so short-term

that they can be calculated in advance by a human player or by a computer. The

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possible depth of calculation depends on the player's ability or speed of the
processor. In quiet positions with many possibilities on both sides, a deep
calculation is not possible, while in "tactical" positions with a limited number of
forced variants, it is possible to calculate very long sequences of moves.

Simple one-move or two-move tactical actions — threats, exchanges of

material, double attacks etc. — can be combined into more complicated
variants, tactical maneuvers, often forced from one side or from both.
Theoreticians described many elementary tactical methods and typical
maneuvers, for example pins, forks, skewers, discovered attacks (especially
discovered checks), zwischenzugs, deflections, decoys, sacrifices, underminings,
overloadings, and interferences.

A forced variant which is connected with a sacrifice and usually results in a

tangible gain is named a combination.[7] Brilliant combinations — such as those
in the Immortal game — are described as beautiful and are admired by chess
lovers. Finding a combination is also a common type of chess puzzle aimed at
development of players' skills.

Opening

A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a game (the "opening moves").
Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings and have
been given names such as the Ruy Lopez or Sicilian Defence. They are
catalogued in reference works such as the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings.

There are dozens of different openings, varying widely in character from quiet
positional play (e.g. the Réti Opening) to very aggressive (e.g. the Latvian
Gambit). In some opening lines, the exact sequence considered best for both
sides has been worked out to 30–35 moves or more.[8] Professional players

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spend years studying openings, and continue doing so throughout their careers,
as opening theory continues to evolve.

The fundamental strategic aims of most openings are similar:[9]

 Development: To place (develop) the pieces (particularly bishops and

knights) on useful squares where they will have an impact on the game.
 Control of the center: Control of the central squares allows pieces to be
moved to any part of the board relatively easily, and can also have a
cramping effect on the opponent.

 King safety: Correct timing of castling can enhance this.

 Pawn structure: Players strive to avoid the creation of pawn weaknesses

such as isolated, doubled or backward pawns, and pawn islands.

Apart from these fundamentals, other strategic plans or tactical sequences may
be employed in the opening.

Most players and theoreticians consider that White, by virtue of the first move,
begins the game with a small advantage. Black usually strives to neutralize
White's advantage and achieve equality, or to develop dynamic counterplay in
an unbalanced position.

Middlegame

The middlegame is the part of the game when most pieces have been developed.
Because the opening theory has ended, players have to assess the position, to
form plans based on the features of the positions, and at the same time to take
into account the tactical possibilities in the position.[10]

Typical plans or strategical themes — for example the minority attack, that is
the attack of queenside pawns against an opponent who has more pawns on the

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queenside — are often appropriate just for some pawn structures, resulting
from a specific group of openings. The study of openings should therefore be
connected with the preparation of plans typical for resulting middlegames.

Middlegame is also the phase in which most combinations occur. Middlegame

combinations are often connected with the attack against the opponent's king;
some typical patterns have their own names, for example the Boden's Mate or
the Lasker—Bauer combination.

Another important strategical question in the middlegame is whether and how

to reduce material and transform into an endgame (i.e. simplify). For example,
minor material advantages can generally be transformed into victory only in an
endgame, and therefore the stronger side must choose an appropriate way to
achieve an ending. Not every reduction of material is good for this purpose; for
example, if one side keeps a light-squared bishop and the opponent has a dark-
squared one, the transformation into a bishops and pawns ending is usually
advantageous for the weaker side only, because an endgame with bishops on
opposite colors is likely to be a draw, even with an advantage of one or two
pawns.

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An example of zugzwang: The side which is to make a move is in a
disadvantage.

The endgame (or end game or ending) is the stage of the game when there are
few pieces left on the board. There are three main strategic differences between
earlier stages of the game and endgame:

During the endgame, pawns become more important; endgames often revolve
around attempting to promote a pawn by advancing it to the eighth rank.

 The king, which has to be protected in the middlegame owing to the

threat of checkmate, becomes a strong piece in the endgame and it is
often brought to the center of the board where it can protect its own
pawns, attack the pawns of opposite color, and hinder movement of the
opponent's king.
 Zugzwang, a disadvantage because the player has to make a move, is
often a factor in endgames and rarely in other stages of the game. For
example, in the diagram on the right, Black on move must go 1...Kb7 and
allow white to queen after 2.Kd7, while White on move must allow a draw
either after 1.Kc6 stalemate or losing the last pawn by going anywhere
else.

Endgames can be classified according to the type of pieces that remain on

board. Basic checkmates are positions in which one side has only a king and the
other side has one or two pieces and can checkmate the opposing king, with the
pieces working together with their king. For example, king and pawn endgames
involve only kings and pawns on one or both sides and the task of the stronger
side is to promote one of the pawns. Other more complicated endings are

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classified according to the pieces on board other than kings, e.g. "rook and
pawn versus rook endgame".

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CHESS

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 CHESS

History

Predecessors

Iranian chess set, glazed fritware, twelfth century. New York Metropolitan
Museum of Art.

Chess originated in India, where its early form in the 6th century was
chaturanga, which translates as "four divisions of the military" – infantry,
cavalry, elephants, and chariots, represented respectively by pawn, knight,
bishop, and rook. In Persia around 600 the name became shatranj and the rules
were developed further. Shatranj was taken up by the Muslim world after the
Islamic conquest of Persia, with the pieces largely retaining their Persian
names. In Spanish "shatranj" was rendered as ajedrez, in Portuguese as xadrez,
and in Greek as zatrikion, but in the rest of Europe it was replaced by versions
of the Persian shāh ("king").

Knights Templar playing chess, Libro de los juegos, 1283.

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The game reached Western Europe and Russia by at least three routes, the
earliest being in the 9th century. By the year 1000 it had spread throughout
Europe. Introduced into the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors in the 10th century,
it was described in a famous 13th century manuscript covering shatranj,
backgammon, and dice named the Libro de los juegos.

Another theory, championed by David H. Li, contends that chess arose from the
game xiangqi, or at least a predecessor thereof, existing in China since the 2nd
century BC.

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 Origins of the modern game (1450–1850)

Original Staunton chess pieces by Nathaniel Cook from 1849

Around 1200, rules of shatranj started to be modified in southern Europe, and

around 1475, several major changes rendered the game essentially as it is
known today. These modern rules for the basic moves had been adopted in
Italy[15] and in Spain. Pawns gained the option of advancing two squares on
their first move, while bishops and queens acquired their modern abilities. This
made the queen the most powerful piece; consequently modern chess was
referred to as "Queen's Chess" or "Mad Queen Chess".These new rules quickly
spread throughout western Europe, with the exception of the rules about
stalemate, which were finalized in the early nineteenth century.

This was also the time when chess started to develop a corpus of theory. The
oldest preserved printed chess book, Repetición de Amores y Arte de Ajedrez
(Repetition of Love and the Art of Playing Chess) by Spanish churchman Luis
Ramirez de Lucena was published in Salamanca in 1497.[16] Lucena and later
masters like Portuguese Pedro Damiano, Italians Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona,
Giulio Cesare Polerio and Gioachino Greco or Spanish bishop Ruy López de
Segura developed elements of openings and started to analyze simple
endgames.

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François-André Danican Philidor, eighteenth century French chess Master

In the eighteenth century the center of European chess life moved from the
Southern European countries to France. The two most important French
masters were François-André Danican Philidor, a musician by profession, who
discovered the importance of pawns for chess strategy, and later Louis-Charles
Mahé de La Bourdonnais who won a famous series of matches with the Irish
master Alexander McDonnell in 1834. Centers of chess life in this period were
coffee houses in big European cities like Café de la Régence in Paris[20] and
Simpson's Divan in London.

As the nineteenth century progressed, chess organization developed quickly.

Many chess clubs, chess books and chess journals appeared. There were
correspondence matches between cities; for example the London Chess Club
played against the Edinburgh Chess Club in 1824. Chess problems became a
regular part of nineteenth century newspapers; Bernhard Horwitz, Josef Kling
and Samuel Loyd composed some of the most influential problems. In 1843, von
der Lasa published his and Bilguer's Handbuch des Schachspiels (Handbook of
Chess), the first comprehensive manual of chess theory.

Birth of a sport (1850–1945)

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The "Immortal Game", Anderssen-Kieseritzky, 1851

The first modern chess tournament was held in London in 1851 and won,
surprisingly, by German Adolf Anderssen, relatively unknown at the time.
Anderssen was hailed as the leading chess master and his brilliant, energetic —
but from today's viewpoint strategically shallow — attacking style became
typical for the time.[23] Sparkling games like Anderssen's Immortal game or
Morphy's Opera game were regarded as the highest possible summit of the
chess art.

Deeper insight into the nature of chess came with two younger players.
American Paul Morphy, an extraordinary chess prodigy, won against all
important competitors, including Anderssen, during his short chess career
between 1857 and 1863. Morphy's success stemmed from a combination of
brilliant attacks and sound strategy; he intuitively knew how to prepare attacks.
Prague-born Wilhelm Steinitz later described how to avoid weaknesses in one's
own position and how to create and exploit such weaknesses in the opponent's
position. In addition to his theoretical achievements, Steinitz founded an
important tradition: his triumph over the leading German master Johannes
Zukertort in 1886 is regarded as the first official World Chess Championship.
Steinitz lost his crown in 1894 to a much younger German mathematician

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Emanuel Lasker, who maintained this title for 27 years, the longest tenure of all
World Champions.

Wilhelm Steinitz, the first World Chess Champion

It took a prodigy from Cuba, José Raúl Capablanca (World champion 1921–
27), who loved simple positions and endgames, to end the German-speaking
dominance in chess; he was undefeated in tournament play for eight years until
1924. His successor was Russian-French Alexander Alekhine, a strong
attacking player, who died as the World champion in 1946, having briefly lost
the title to Dutch player Max Euwe in 1935 and regaining it two years later.

Between the world wars, chess was revolutionized by the new theoretical
school of so-called hypermodernists like Aron Nimzowitsch and Richard Réti.
They advocated controlling the center of the board with distant pieces rather
than with pawns, inviting opponents to occupy the center with pawns which
become objects of attack.

Since the end of 19th century, the number of annually held master tournaments
and matches quickly grew. Some sources state that in 1914 the title of chess
grandmaster was first formally conferred by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia to
Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Marshall, but this is a disputed
claim. This tradition was continued by the World Chess Federation (FIDE),

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founded in 1924 in Paris. In 1927, Women's World Chess Championship was
established; the first to hold it was Czech-English master Vera Menchik.

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 Post-war era (1945 and later)

World Champions José Raúl Capablanca (left) and Emanuel Lasker in 1925

After the death of Alekhine, a new World Champion was sought in a tournament
of elite players ruled by FIDE, who have, since then, controlled the title. The
winner of the 1948 tournament, Russian Mikhail Botvinnik, started an era of
Soviet dominance in the chess world. Until the end of the Soviet Union, there
was only one non-Soviet champion, American Bobby Fischer (champion 1972–
1975).

In the previous informal system, the World Champion decided which

challenger he would play for the title and the challenger was forced to seek
sponsors for the match. FIDE set up a new system of qualifying tournaments
and matches. The world's strongest players were seeded into "Interzonal
tournaments", where they were joined by players who had qualified from "Zonal
tournaments". The leading finishers in these Interzonals would go on the
"Candidates" stage, which was initially a tournament, later a series of knock-
out matches. The winner of the Candidates would then play the reigning
champion for the title. A champion defeated in a match had a right to play a
rematch a year later. This system worked on a three-year cycle.

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Current World Champion Viswanathan Anand

The next championship, the so-called Match of the Century, saw the first non-
Soviet challenger since World War II, American Bobby Fischer, who defeated
his Candidates opponents by unheard-of margins and clearly won the world
championship match. In 1975, however, Fischer refused to defend his title
against Soviet Anatoly Karpov when FIDE refused to meet his demands, and
Karpov obtained the title by default. Karpov defended his title twice against
Viktor Korchnoi and dominated the 1970s and early 1980s with a string of
tournament successes.

Karpov's reign finally ended in 1985 at the hands of another Russian player,
Garry Kasparov. Kasparov and Karpov contested five world title matches
between 1984 and 1990; Karpov never won his title back.

In 1993, Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short broke with FIDE to organize their
own match for the title and formed a competing Professional Chess Association
(PCA). From then until 2006, there were two simultaneous World Champions
and World Championships: the PCA or Classical champion extending the
Steinitzian tradition in which the current champion plays a challenger in a
series of many games; the other following FIDE's new format of many players
competing in a tournament to determine the champion. Kasparov lost his
Classical title in 2000 to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia.

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The FIDE World Chess Championship 2006 reunified the titles, when Kramnik
beat the FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov and became the undisputed
World Chess Champion. In September 2007, Viswanathan Anand became the
next champion by winning a championship tournament.

Place in culture

Noble chess players, Germany, c. 1320

Pre-modern

In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, chess was a part of noble
culture; it was used to teach war strategy and was dubbed the "King's
Game".Gentlemen are "to be meanly seene in the play at Chestes," says the
overview at the beginning of Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier
(1528, English 1561 by Sir Thomas Hoby), but chess should not be a
gentleman's main passion. Castiglione explains it further:

And what say you to the game at chestes? It is truely an honest kynde of
enterteynmente and wittie, quoth Syr Friderick. But me think it hath a fault,
whiche is, that a man may be to couning at it, for who ever will be excellent in
the playe of chestes, I beleave he must beestowe much tyme about it, and applie
it with so much study, that a man may assoone learne some noble scyence, or

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compase any other matter of importaunce, and yet in the ende in beestowing all
that laboure, he knoweth no more but a game. Therfore in this I beleave there
happeneth a very rare thing, namely, that the meane is more commendable, then
the excellency.

Beautiful chess sets used by the aristocracy of the time are mostly lost, but some
of the surviving examples, like the twelfth century Lewis chessmen, are of high
artistic quality.

At the same time, chess was often used as a basis of sermons on morality. An
example is Liber de moribus hominum et officiis nobilium sive super ludo
scacchorum ('Book of the customs of men and the duties of nobles or the Book
of Chess'), written by an Italian Dominican monk Jacobus de Cessolis circa
1300. The popular work was translated into many other languages (first printed
edition at Utrecht in 1473) and was the basis for William Caxton's The Game
and Playe of the Chesse (1474), one of the first books printed in English.]
Different chess pieces were used as metaphors for different classes of people,
and human duties were derived from the rules of the game or from visual
properties of the chess pieces.

Two kings and two queens from the Lewis chessmen at the British Museum.

The knyght ought to be made alle armed upon an hors in suche wyse that he
haue an helme on his heed and a spere in his ryght hande/ and coueryd wyth his
sheld/ a swerde and a mace on his lyft syde/ Cladd wyth an hawberk and plates

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to fore his breste/ legge harnoys on his legges/ Spores on his heelis on his
handes his gauntelettes/ his hors well broken and taught and apte to bataylle
and couerid with his armes/ whan the knyghtes ben maad they ben bayned or
bathed/ that is the signe that they shold lede a newe lyf and newe maners/ also
they wake alle the nyght in prayers and orysons vnto god that he wylle gyue
hem grace that they may gete that thynge that they may not gete by nature/ The
kynge or prynce gyrdeth a boute them a swerde in signe/ that they shold abyde
and kepe hym of whom they take theyr dispenses and dignyte.

On the other side, political and religious authorities in many places forbade
chess as frivolous or as a sort of gambling.

Known in the circles of clerics, students and merchants, chess entered into the
popular culture of Middle Ages. An example is the 209th song of Carmina
Burana from the thirteenth century, which starts with the names of chess pieces,
Roch, pedites, regina…

Honoré Daumier, The Chess Players

Modern

To the Age of Enlightenment, chess appeared mainly for self-improvement.

Benjamin Franklin, in his article "The Morals of Chess" (1750), wrote:

"The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable
qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and

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strengthened by it, so as to become habits ready on all occasions; for life is a
kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or
adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill
events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By
playing at Chess then, we may learn: 1st, Foresight, which looks a little into
futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action… 2nd,
Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: - the
relation of the several Pieces, and their situations… 3rd, Caution, not to make
our moves too hastily…"

Through the Looking-Glass, Red King snoring, illustration by John Tenniel

With these or similar hopes, chess is taught to children in schools around the
world today and used in armies to train minds of cadets and officers. [45] Many
schools hold chess clubs and there are many scholastic tournaments specifically
for children. In addition, many countries have chess federations, such as the
United States Chess Federation, that hold tournaments regularly in addition to
FIDE.

Moreover, chess is often depicted in the arts; significant works, where chess
plays a key role, range from Thomas Middleton's A Game at Chess over
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll to The Royal Game by Stefan
Zweig or Vladimir Nabokov's The Defense. Chess is also important in films like
Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal or Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players.[46]

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Chess is also present in the contemporary popular culture. For example, J. K.
Rowling's Harry Potter plays "Wizard's Chess" while the characters of Star
Trek prefer "Tri-Dimensional Chess" and the hero of Searching for Bobby
Fischer struggles against adopting the aggressive and misanthropic views of a
real chess Grandmaster.[47]. Chess has also been used as the core theme of a
musical, Chess, by Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson.

Notation for recording moves

Algebraic chess notation

Chess games and positions are recorded using a special notation, most often
algebraic chess notation.[48] Abbreviated (or short) algebraic notation generally
records moves in the format abbreviation of the piece moved - file where it
moved - rank where it moved, e.g. Qg5 means "queen moves to the g-file and
5th rank (that is, to the square g5). If there are two pieces of the same type that
can move to the same square, one more letter or number is added to indicate the
file or rank from which the piece moved, e.g. Ngf3 means "knight from the g-file
moves to the square f3". The letter P indicating a pawn is not used, so that e4
means "pawn moves to the square e4".

If the piece makes a capture, "x" is inserted before the destination square, e.g.
Bxf3 means "bishop captures on f3". When a pawn makes a capture, the file
from which the pawn departed is used in place of a piece initial, and ranks may
be omitted if unambiguous. For example, exd5 (pawn on the e-file captures the
piece on d5) or exd (pawn on e-file captures something on the d-file).

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The "Scholar's mate"

If a pawn moves to its last rank, achieving promotion, the piece chosen is
indicated after the move,[49]for example e1Q or e1=Q. Castling is indicated by
the special notations 0-0 for kingside castling and 0-0-0 for queenside. A move
which places the opponent's king in check usually has the notation "+" added.
Checkmate can be indicated by "#" (occasionally "++", although this is
sometimes used for a double check instead). At the end of the game, "1-0"
means "White won", "0-1" means "Black won" and "½-½" indicates a draw.

Chess moves can be annotated with punctuation marks and other symbols. For
example ! indicates a good move, !! an excellent move, ? a mistake, ?? a
blunder, !? an interesting move that may not be best or ?! a dubious move, but
not easily refuted.

For example, one variant of a simple trap known as the Scholar's mate,
animated in the picture to the right, can be recorded:

1. e4 e5
2. Qh5?! Nc6

3. Bc4 Nf6??

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 4. Qxf7# 1-0

Chess composition

Richard Réti

Ostrauer Morgenzeitung 4 December 1921

White to play and draw

One of the most famous chess studies ever. It seems impossible to catch the
advanced black pawn, while the black king can easily stop the white pawn. The
solution is diagonal advance, bringing the king to both pawns at the same time:
1. Kg7! h4 2. Kf6 Kb6 (or 2. …h3 3. Ke7 and the white king can support its
pawn) 3. Ke5!! (now the white king comes just in time to his pawn, or catches
the black one) 3. …h3 4. Kd6 draw.

Chess composition is the art of creating chess problems (these problems

themselves are sometimes also called chess compositions). A person who
creates such problems is known as a chess composer.

Most chess problems exhibit the following features:

 The position is composed, that is, it has not been taken from an actual
game, but has been invented for the specific purpose of providing a
problem.
 There is a specific stipulation, that is, a goal to be achieved; for example,
to checkmate black within a specified number of moves.

 There is a theme (or combination of themes) that the problem has been
composed to illustrate: chess problems typically instantiate particular
ideas. Many of these themes have their own names, often by persons who
used them first, for example Novotny or Lacny theme.

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  The problem exhibits economy in its construction: no greater force is
employed than that required to guarantee that the problem's intended
solution is indeed a solution and that it is the problem's only solution.

 The problem has aesthetic value. Problems are experienced not only as
puzzles but as objects of beauty. This is closely related to the fact that
problems are organized to exhibit clear ideas in as economical a manner
as possible.

There are many types of chess problems. The two most important are:

 Directmates: white to move first and checkmate black within a specified

number of moves against any defense. These are often referred to as
"mate in n" - for example "mate in three" (a three-mover).
 Studies: orthodox problems in which the stipulation is that white to play
must win or draw. Almost all studies are endgame positions.

Chess composition is a distinct branch of chess sport, and tournaments (or

tourneys) exist for both the composition and solving of chess problems.

Competitive play

Organization of competitions

Contemporary chess is an organized sport with structured international and

national leagues, tournaments and congresses. Chess's international governing
body is FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Most countries have a
national chess organization as well (such as the US Chess Federation and
English Chess Federation), which in turn is a member of FIDE. FIDE is a
member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but the game of chess
has never been part of the Olympic Games; chess does have its own Olympiad,
held every two years as a team event. An estimated 605 million people

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worldwide know how to play chess, and 7.5 million are members of national
chess federations, which exist in 160 countries worldwide. This makes chess one
of the most popular sports worldwide.

The current World Chess Champion is Viswanathan Anand of India. The

reigning Women's World Champion is Xu Yuhua from China. However, the
world's highest rated female player, Judit Polgar, has never participated in the
Women's World Chess Championship, instead preferring to compete with the
leading men and maintaining a ranking among the top 20 male players.

Other competitions for individuals include the World Junior Chess

Championship, the European Individual Chess Championship and the National
Chess Championships. Invitation-only tournaments regularly attract the world's
strongest players and these include Spain's Linares event, Monte Carlo's
Melody Amber tournament, the Dortmund Sparkassen meeting, Sofia's M-tel
Masters and Wijk aan Zee's Corus tournament.

Regular team chess events include the aforementioned Chess Olympiad and the
European Team Championship. The 37th Chess Olympiad was held 2006 in
Turin, Italy; Armenia won the gold in the unrestricted event, and Ukraine took
the top medal for the women. The World Chess Solving Championship and
World Correspondence Chess Championships are both team and individual
events.

Besides these prestigious competitions, there are thousands of other chess

tournaments, matches and festivals held around the world every year, which
cater to players of all levels, from beginners to experts.

Titles and rankings

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Grandmaster Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion

The best players can be awarded specific lifetime titles by the world chess
organization FIDE:

Grandmaster (shortened as GM, sometimes International Grandmaster or IGM

is used) is awarded to world-class chess masters. Apart from World Champion,
Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Before FIDE will
confer the title on a player, the player must have an Elo chess rating (see
below) of at least 2500 at one time and three favorable results (called norms) in
tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries
other than the applicant's. There are also other milestones a player can achieve
to attain the title, such as winning the World Junior Championship.

 International Master (shortened as IM). The conditions are similar to

GM, but less demanding. The minimum rating for the IM title is 2400.
 FIDE Master (shortened as FM). The usual way for a player to qualify
for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE Rating of 2300 or more.

 Candidate Master (shortened as CM). Similar to FM, but with a FIDE

Rating of at least 2200.

All the titles are open to men and women. Separate women-only titles, such as
Woman Grandmaster (WGM), are also available. Beginning with Nona

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Gaprindashvili in 1978, a number of women have earned the GM title, and most
of the top ten women in 2006 hold the unrestricted GM title.

International titles are awarded to composers and solvers of chess problems,

and to correspondence chess players (by the International Correspondence
Chess Federation). Moreover, national chess organizations may also award
titles, usually to the advanced players still under the level needed for
international titles; an example is the Chess expert title used in the United
States.

In order to rank players, FIDE, ICCF and national chess organizations use the
Elo rating system developed by Arpad Elo. Elo is a statistical system based on
assumption that the chess performance of each player in their games is a
random variable. Arpad Elo thought of a player's true skill as the average of
that player's performance random variable, and showed how to estimate the
average from results of player's games. The US Chess Federation implemented
Elo's suggestions in 1960, and the system quickly gained recognition as being
both fairer and more accurate than older systems; it was adopted by FIDE in
1970.[55]

The highest ever FIDE rating was 2851, which Garry Kasparov had on the July
1999 and January 2000 lists. In the most recent list (January 2008), the highest
rated players are the current world champion Viswanathan Anand of India and
the former one Vladimir Kramnik of Russia with a rating of 2799.

Mathematics and computers

Mathematicians Euler, de Moivre and Vandermonde studied the knight's tour.

Chess is interesting from the mathematical point of view. Many combinatorical

and topological problems connected to chess were known of for hundreds of

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years. In 1913, Ernst Zermelo used it as a basis for his theory of game
strategies, which is considered as one of the predecessors of game theory.

The number of legal positions in chess is estimated to be between 10 43 and 1050,

with a game-tree complexity of approximately 10123. The game-tree complexity
of chess was first calculated by Claude Shannon as 10120, a number known as
the Shannon number. Typically an average position has thirty to forty possible
moves, but there may be as few as zero (in the case of checkmate or stalemate)
or as many as 218.

The most important mathematical challenge of chess is the development of

algorithms which can play chess. The idea of creating a chess playing machine
dates to the eighteenth century; around 1769, the chess playing automaton
called The Turk became famous before being exposed as a hoax. Serious trials
based on automatons, such as El Ajedrecista, were too complex and limited to
be useful.

Since the advent of the digital computer in the 1950s, chess enthusiasts and
computer engineers have built, with increasing degrees of seriousness and
success, chess-playing machines and computer programs. The groundbreaking
paper on computer chess, "Programming a Computer for Playing Chess", was
published in 1950 by Shannon. He wrote:

The chess machine is an ideal one to start with, since: (1) the problem is
sharply defined both in allowed operations (the moves) and in the ultimate goal
(checkmate); (2) it is neither so simple as to be trivial nor too difficult for
satisfactory solution; (3) chess is generally considered to require "thinking" for
skillful play; a solution of this problem will force us either to admit the
possibility of a mechanized thinking or to further restrict our concept of

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"thinking"; (4) the discrete structure of chess fits well into the digital nature of
modern computers.

1990s chess-playing computer

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) held the first major chess
tournament for computers, the North American Computer Chess Championship,
in September 1970. CHESS 3.0, a chess program from Northwestern University,
won the championship. At first considered only a curiosity, the best chess
playing programs, for example Rybka or Hydra, have become extremely strong.
Garry Kasparov, then ranked number one in the world, lost a match against
IBM's Deep Blue in 1997. Nevertheless, from the point of view of artificial
intelligence, chess-playing programs are relatively simple: they essentially
explore huge numbers of potential future moves by both players and apply an
evaluation function to the resulting positions, an approach described as "brute
force" because it relies on the sheer speed of the computer.

With huge databases of past games and high analytical ability, computers also
help players to learn chess and prepare for matches. Additionally, Internet
Chess Servers allow people to find and play opponents all over the world. The
presence of computers and modern communication tools have also raised
concerns regarding cheating during games, most notably the "bathroom
controversy" during the 2006 World Championship.

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 Psychology

There is an extensive scientific literature on chess psychology. Alfred Binet and

others showed that knowledge and verbal, rather than visuospatial, ability lies
at the core of expertise. Adriaan de Groot, in his doctoral thesis, showed that
chess masters can rapidly perceive the key features of a position. According to
de Groot, this perception, made possible by years of practice and study, is more
important than the sheer ability to anticipate moves. De Groot also showed that
chess masters can memorize positions shown for a few seconds almost perfectly.
Memorization ability alone does not account for this skill, since masters and
novices, when faced with random arrangements of chess pieces, had equivalent
recall (about half a dozen positions in each case). Rather, it is the ability to
recognize patterns, which are then memorized, which distinguished the skilled
players from the novices. When the positions of the pieces were taken from an
actual game, the masters had almost total positional recall.

More recent research has focused on the respective roles of knowledge and
look-ahead search; brain imaging studies of chess masters and novices;
blindfold chess; the role of personality and intelligence in chess skill, gender
differences, and computational models of chess expertise. In addition, the role
of practice and talent in the development of chess and other domains of
expertise has led to a lot of research recently. Ericsson and colleagues have
argued that deliberate practice is sufficient for reaching high levels of expertise,
like master in chess. However, more recent research indicates that factors other
than practice are important. For example, Gobet and colleagues have shown
that stronger players start playing chess earlier, that they are more likely to be
left-handed, and that they are more likely to be born in late winter and early

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spring. There are also some attempts to use the game of chess as mental
training.

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 Variants

Glinski's hexagonal chess, a chess variant popular in 1930s

Chess variants are forms of chess where the game is played with a different
board, special fairy pieces or different rules. There are more than two thousand
published chess variants, the most popular being xiangqi in China and shogi in
Japan. Chess variants can be divided into:

 Direct predecessors of chess, chaturanga and shatranj.

 Traditional national or regional chess variants like xiangqi, shogi, janggi
and makruk, which share common predecessors with Western chess.

 Modern variants of chess, such as Chess960, where the initial position is

selected randomly before each game. This random positioning makes it
more difficult to prepare the opening play in advance.

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WOMEN'S WORLD CHESS
CHAMPIONSHIP

98
 Women's World Chess Championship

The Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's

world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is
administered by FIDE.

Unlike most sports, women are able to compete against men in chess, and so
some women do not compete for the women's title. Notably, the world's top
rated female player, Judit Polgar, has never competed for the women's title.

Women's World Champions

Name Years Country

Vera Menchik 1927–1944 Czechoslovakia / United Kingdom

Lyudmila Rudenko 1950–1953 Soviet Union / Ukraine

Elisabeth Bykova 1953–1956 Soviet Union / Russia

Olga Rubtsova 1956–1958 Soviet Union / Russia

Elisabeth Bykova 1958–1962 Soviet Union / Russia

Nona Gaprindashvili 1962–1978 Soviet Union / Georgia

Maya Chiburdanidze 1978–1991 Soviet Union / Georgia

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Xie Jun 1991–1996 China

Susan Polgar 1996–1999 Hungary / USA

Xie Jun 1999–2001 China

Zhu Chen 2001–2004 China

Antoaneta Stefanova 2004–2006 Bulgaria

Xu Yuhua 2006–present China

Era of Menchik

The Women's World Championship was established by FIDE in 1927 as a

single tournament held alongside the Chess Olympiad. The winner of that
tournament, Vera Menchik, did not have any special rights as the men's
champion did — instead she had to defend her title by playing as many games
as all the challengers. She did this successfully in every other championship in
her lifetime (1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1937 and 1939).

Georgian dominance

Menchik died, still champion, in 1944 in a German air raid on Kent. The next
championship was another round-robin tournament in 1949-50 and was won by
Lyudmila Rudenko. Thereafter a system similar to that of the men's
championship was established, with a cycle of Candidates events (and later
Interzonals) to pick a challenger to face the reigning champion.

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The first such Candidates tournament was held in Moscow, 1952. Elisabeth
Bykova won and proceeded to defeat Rudenko with seven wins, five losses, and
two draws to become the third champion. The next Candidates tournament was
won by Olga Rubtsova. Instead of directly playing Bykova, however, FIDE
decided that the championship should be held between the three top players in
the world. Rubtsova won at Moscow in 1956, one-half point ahead of Bykova,
who finished five points ahead of Rudenko. Bykova regained the title in 1958
and defended it against Kira Zvorykina, winner of a Candidates tournament, in
1959.

The fourth Candidates tournament was held in 1961 in Vrnjacka Banja, and
was utterly dominated by Nona Gaprindashvili of Georgia, who won with ten
wins, zero losses, and six draws. She then decisively defeated Bykova with seven
wins, no losses, and four draws in Moscow, 1962 to become champion.
Gaprindashvili defended her title against Alla Kushnir of Russia at Riga 1965
and Tbilisi/Moscow 1969. In 1972, FIDE introduced the same system for the
women's championship as with the men's: a series of Interzonal tournaments,
followed by the Candidates matches. Kushnir won again, only to be defeated by
Gaprindashvili at Riga 1972. Gaprindashvili defended the title one last time
against Nana Alexandria of Georgia at Pitsunda/Tbilisi 1975.

In 1976-1978 Candidates cycle, 17-year-old Maya Chiburdanidze of Georgia

ended up the surprise star, defeating Nana Alexandria, Elena Akhmilovskaya,
and Alla Kushnir to face Gaprindashvili in the 1978 finals at Tbilisi.
Chiburdanidze proceeded to soundly defeat Gaprindashvili, marking the end of
one Georgian's domination and the beginning of another's. Chiburdanidze
defended her title against Alexandria at Borjomi/Tbilisi 1981 and Irina Levitina
at Volgograd 1984. Following this, FIDE reintroduced the Candidates
tournament system. Akhmilovskaya, who had earlier lost to Chiburdanidze in
the Candidates matches, won the tournament was but was still defeated by

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Chiburdanidze at Sofia 1986. Chiburdanidze's final title defense came against
Nana Ioseliani at Telavi 1988.

Rise of the Chinese and Hungarians

Chiburdanidze's domination ended at Manila 1991, where the young Chinese

star Xie Jun defeated her, after finishing second to the still-active
Gaprindashvili in an Interzonal, tying with Alisa Maric in the Candidates
tournament, and then beating Maric in a tie-breaker match.

It was during this time that the three Polgar sisters Susan (also known as
Zsuzsa), Sofia (Zsófia), and Judit emerged as dominant players. However they
tended to compete in men's tournaments, avoiding the women's championship.

Susan Polgar eventually changed her policy, which meant ploughing through
preliminary rounds against greatly inferior players. She won the 1992
Candidates tournament at Shanghai. The Candidates final - an 8 game match
between the top two finishers in the tournament - was a drawn match between
Polgar and Ioseliani, even after two tiebreaks. The match was decided by a
lottery, which Ioseliani won. She was then promptly crushed by Xie Jun in the
championship at Monaco 1993.

The next cycle was dominated by Polgar. She tied with Chiburdanidze in the
Candidates tournament, defeated her easily in the match, and then decisively
defeated Xie Jun at Jaén 1996 for the championship.

In 1997, Alisa Galliamova and Xie Jun finished first and second, but
Galliamova refused to play the final match entirely in China. FIDE eventually
awarded the match to Xie Jun by default.

However, by the time all these delays were sorted out, Polgar had given birth to
her first child. She requested that the match be postponed. FIDE refused, and

98
eventually set up the championship to be between Galliamova and Xie Jun. The
championship was held in Kazan, Tatarstan and Shenyang, China, and Xie Jun
won with five wins, three losses, and seven draws.

In 2000 a knock-out event, similar to the FIDE men's title and held alongside it,
was the new format of the women's world championship. It was won by Xie Jun.
In 2001 a similar event determined the champion, Zhu Chen. Another knock-
out, this one held separately from the men's event, in Elista, the capital of the
Russian republic of Kalmykia (of which FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is
president), from May 21 to June 8, 2004, produced Bulgarian Antoaneta
Stefanova as champion. As with Polgar seven years prior, Zhu Chen did not
participate due to pregnancy.

In 2006 the title returned to China. Interestingly, the new champion Xu Yuhua
was pregnant during the championship.

The title will be contested again in 2008, see Women's World Chess
Championship 2008.

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EUROPEAN INDIVIDUAL
CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

98
 European Individual Chess Championship

View of the tournament hall from the Men's (Zegrze) 2005 event

The European Individual Chess Championship is a chess tournament organized

by the European Chess Union. It was established in 2000 and has since then
taken place on a yearly basis. Apart from determining the European Champion,
another object of this tournament is to determine a number of players who
qualify for the FIDE world championship.

History

A tournament purporting to be the first European Championship

(Europameisterschaft) was held in Munich, 14–26 September 1942, organised
by Ehrhardt Post, a President of Nazi Grossdeutscher Schachbund. But given
that players from Germany's enemies (Soviet Union, Great Britain and Poland)
were unable to participate (because of World War II), and Jewish players
barred (because of Nazi policy), this tournament was simply a manifestation of
Nazi propaganda and has never received any form of official recognition as a
championship. Reuben Fine's comment in "Chess Marches On" (1945), page

98
136: "Alekhine has participated in a number of European shindigs, including
one so-called 'European Championship' ....his competitors were at best second-
rate second-raters." The last opinion is curious as Alekhine (World Champion),
Keres (pretendent for the title), Bogoljubow (former World Champion
challenger), Stoltz (winner, ahead of Alekhine, at Munich 1941), and Junge (co-
winner, with Alekhine, at Prague 1942) made Munich 1942 the world's
strongest tournament in 1942. The next-strongest tournaments were Salzburg
1942, New York (US Championship) 1942, Mar del Plata 1942, Prague (Duras
Memorial) 1942, and Moscow (Championship) 1942

The line-up at Munich 1942 was as follows:

# Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 Total

1  Alexander Alekhine (FRA) x 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 8½

2  Paul Keres (EST) 0 x 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 7½

3  Jan Foltys (CZE) ½0 x 1 ½1 0 ½1 1 ½1 7

4  Efim Bogoljubow (GER) ½½0 x 1 0 1 1 ½1 ½1 7

5  Kurt Richter (GER) 0 1 ½0 x ½½1 ½1 1 1 7

6  Gedeon Barcza (HUN) 0 0 0 1 ½ x ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 5½

7  Klaus Junge (GER) 0 ½1 0 ½½x 1 ½0 0 1 5

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 8  Ludwig Rellstab (GER) 1 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 x 0 ½ 1 ½ 4½

9  Gösta Stoltz (SWE) 0 ½0 ½½0 ½1 x 0 0 1 4

10  Ivan Vladimir Rohaček (SVK) ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 x ½ 0 4

11  Mario Napolitano (ITA) 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 1 ½ x 0 3½

12  Braslav Rabar (CRO) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 1 x 2½

Wertungsturnier – Qualification Tournament

# Player Total

1  Gösta Danielsson (SWE) 8

2  József Szily (HUN) 7

3-5  Géza Füster (HUN) 6.5

3-5  Federico Norcia (ITA) 6.5

3-5  Hans Müller (GER) 6.5

6  Vincenzo Nestler (ITA) 6

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 7-8  Sergiu Samarian (ROM) 5.5

 Alexander
7-8 5.5
Tsvetkov (BUL)

9  Mladen Šubarić (CRO) 5

10  Carl Ahues (GER) 4.5

11  Charles Roele (NED) 4

12  Olof Kinnmark (SWE) 1

Two books have appeared to date on this event. They are: Europa-Schach-
Rundschau: Band 1 Europameisterschaft Munchen 1942 by Alfred Brinckmann
(probably published 1943), and A müncheni sakkmesterverseny Európa
bajnokságáért 1942 (Kecskemét 1942) by Gedeon Barcza. The games of the
second group (Wertungsturnier - Qualification Tournament) were, in the main,
published in a small booklet by Erich Friebel, published (in Vienna?) in 1990.

Mode of play

The tournament is held separately for men and women as a Swiss system
tournament, with a varying number of rounds. The only exception was the first
Women's Championship tournament in 2000, which was held as a knock-out-
tournament. It should be noted that, as with all chess competitions, the "men's"
section is in fact an open tournament in which female players may participate,
but not vice versa. In 2002, Judit Polgar narrowly missed the bronze medal in

98
the men's competition by losing a play-off match against Zurab
Azmaiparashvili.

Apart from the first edition in 2000, where in case of a tie the Buchholz-Rating
was used as a tie-breaker, rapid-play play-off matches were used to determine
the medal winners as well as the world championship qualifiers.

Controversy

A number of recurrent issues have been marring the event from the very
beginning:

 At most venues, participants and accompanying persons were obliged to

accommodate at the "official hotel", appointed by the local organizers.
The room rates, however, would be significantly higher than for other
hotel guests. This in fact triggered the founding of the ACP. Also the
standard of the hotels as well as of the food has been a focus of
complaints by players and journalists.

 As the European Championships are part of the FIDE World

Championship cycle, starting with the 2001 edition, the new, faster FIDE
time control was used. This led to many complaints by the participants
about increased stress, incessant time trouble and a steep deterioration of
the quality of the games.

 A more indirect problem is the uncertainty whether a player's

qualification for the World Championship will be of any value at all due
to the inconsistent staging of the World Championship Tournaments since
the change of the tournament format in 1999. For example, the 2002
European Championships provided five qualifying spots for the 2003
World Championship which in fact never took place.

98
 Overview of results (Men)

Players/
Year Venue Gold Silver Bronze
rounds

Saint- Aleksej Tomasz

 Pavel
2000 Vincent, Aleksandr Markowski 120 / 11
Tregubov (RUS)
Italy ov (BLR) (POL)

Ohrid, Ruslan Zurab

 Emil
2001 Macedoni Ponomario Azmaiparashv 203 / 13
Sutovsky (ISR)
a v (UKR) ili (GEO)

Mikhail
Batumi,  Bartlomiej Sergey Volkov
2002 Gurevich 101 / 13
Georgia Macieja (POL) (RUS)
(BEL)

 Zurab Vladimir
Istanbul, Alexander
2003 Azmaiparashvili ( Malakhov 207 / 13
Turkey Graf (GER)
GEO) (RUS)

Predrag Levon
Antalya,  Vasyl
2004 Nikolic Aronian 74 / 13
Turkey Ivanchuk (UKR)
(BIH) (ARM)

2005 Zegrze,  Liviu-Dieter Teimour Levon 229 / 13

Poland Nisipeanu (ROM) Radjabov Aronian

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 (AZE) (ARM)

Vasyl
Kuşadası,  Zdenko Kiril Georgiev
2006 Ivanchuk 138 / 11
Turkey Kozul (CRO) (BUL)
(UKR)

Emil Dmitry
Dresden,  Vladislav
2007 Sutovsky Jakovenko 403 / 11
Germany Tkachiev (FRA)
(ISR) (RUS)

Sergei
Plovdiv,  Sergei Sergey Volkov
2008 Movsesian 323 / 11
Bulgaria Tiviakov (NED) (RUS)
(SVK)

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 Overview of results (Women)

Players/
Year Venue Gold Silver Bronze
rounds

Maia
Chiburdanidz
Ekaterina
Batumi,  Natalia e (GEO)
2000 Kovalevskay 32 / K.O.
Georgia Zhukova (UKR) Tatiana
a (RUS)
Stepovaya
(RUS)

 Almira Ekaterina Ketevan

Warsaw,
2001 Skripchenko (M Kovalevskay Arakhamia 157 / 11
Poland
DA) a (RUS) (GEO)

Lilit Alisa
Varna,  Antoaneta
2002 Mkrtchian Galliamova 114 / 11
Bulgaria Stefanova (BUL)
(ARM) (RUS)

Viktorija Tatiana
Istanbul,  Pia
2003 Cmilyte Kosintseva 113 / 11
Turkey Cramling (SWE)
(LTU) (RUS)

Antoaneta
Dresden,  Alexandra Zhaoqin
2004 Stefanova 108 / 12
Germany Kosteniuk (RUS) Peng (NED)
(BUL)

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 Nadezhda Yelena
Chişinău,  Kateryna
2005 Kosintseva Dembo 164 / 12
Moldova Lahno (UKR)
(RUS) (GRE)

Tea
Lilit
Kuşadası,  Ekaterina Bosboom-
2006 Mkrtchian 96 / 11
Turkey Atalik (TUR) Lanchava
(ARM)
(NED)

 Tatiana Antoaneta Nadezhda

Dresden,
2007 Kosintseva (RUS Stefanova Kosintseva 150 / 11
Germany
) (BUL) (RUS)

Viktorija Anna
Plovdiv,  Kateryna
2008 Cmilyte Ushenina 157 / 11
Bulgaria Lahno (UKR)
(LTU) (UKR)

98
 International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

Comité International Olympique

Formation June 23, 1894

Type Sports federation

Headquarters Lausanne, Switzerland

205 National Olympic

Membership
Commitees

Official languages English, French

President Jacques Rogge

Website http://www.olympic.org

The seat of the IOC in Lausanne.

The International Olympic Committee

(French: Comité International Olympique) is an organization based in
Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas

98
on June 23, 1894. Its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic
Committees.

The IOC organizes the modern Olympic Games held in Summer and Winter,
every four years. The first Summer Olympics organized by the International
Olympic Committee held in Athens, Greece, in 1896; the first Winter Olympics
in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics
were held in the same year. After that year, however, the IOC shifted the Winter
Olympics to the even years between Summer Games, to help space the planning
of the two events two years apart from one another.

Presentation

Stamp

On June 23, 1894 the Olympic games were re-created by Pierre de Coubertin
after a hiatus of 1500 years. The baron hoped to foster international
communication and peace through the Olympic Games. The IOC is a parent
organization intended to localize administration and authority for the Games,
as well as to provide a single legal entity which owns copyrights, trademarks,
and other intangible properties associated with the Olympic games. For
example, the Olympic logos, the design of the Olympic flag, the motto, creed,
and anthem are all owned and administered by the IOC. There are other
organizations which the IOC coordinates as well, which are collectively called
the Olympic Movement. The IOC President is responsible for representing the

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IOC as a whole, and there are members of the IOC which represent the IOC in
their respective countries.

Professor David C. Young of the University of Florida has conducted research

suggesting that the revival of the modern Olympic Games was planted firmly in
both Greece and the United Kingdom by Evangelos Zappas and Dr William
Penny Brookes respectively.

Presidents

President Years

Demetrius Vikelas 1894 - 1896

Pierre de Coubertin 1896 - 1925

Henri de Baillet-Latour 1925 - 1942

Sigfrid Edström 1942 - 1952

Avery Brundage 1952 - 1972

Lord Killanin 1972 - 1980

Juan Antonio Samaranch 1980 - 2001

Jacques Rogge 2001 - present (term expires in 2009)

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 Mission and role

The mission of the IOC is to promote Olympism throughout the world and to
lead the Olympic Movement.

The IOC’s role is to:

1. Encourage and support the promotion of ethics in sport as well as

education of youth through sport and to dedicate its efforts to ensuring
that, in sport, the spirit of fair play prevails and violence is banned;
2. Encourage and support the organisation, development and coordination
of sport and sports competitions;

3. Ensure the regular celebration of the Olympic Games;

4. Cooperate with the competent public or private organizations and

authorities in the endeavour to place sport at the service of humanity and
thereby to promote peace;

5. Take action in order to strengthen the unity and to protect the

independence of the Olympic Movement;

6. Act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic Movement;

7. Encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and
in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of
men and women;

8. Lead the fight against doping in sport;

9. Encourage and support measures protecting the health of athletes;

10.Oppose any political or commercial abuse of sport and athletes;

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 11.Encourage and support the efforts of sports organisations and public
authorities to provide for the social and professional future of athletes;

12.Encourage and support the development of sport for all;

13.Encourage and support a responsible concern for environmental issues,

to promote sustainable development in sport and to require that the
Olympic Games are held accordingly;

14.Promote a positive legacy from the Olympic Games to the host cities and
host countries;

15.Encourage and support initiatives blending sport with culture and

education;

16.Encourage and support the activities of the International Olympic

Academy (IOA) and other institutions which dedicate themselves to
Olympic education.

Organization

The IOC Session

The Session is the general meeting of the members of the IOC, held once a year
in which each member has one vote. It is the IOC’s supreme organ and its
decisions are final.

Extraordinary Sessions may be convened by the President or upon the written

request of at least one third of the members.

Among others, the powers of the Session are:

 To adopt or amend the Olympic Charter.

 To elect the members of the IOC, the Honorary President and the
honorary members.

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  To elect the President, the Vice-Presidents and all other members of the
IOC Executive Board.

 To elect the host city of the Olympic Games.

The IOC Executive Board

The IOC Executive Board consists of the President, four Vice-Presidents and
ten other members. All members of the IOC Executive Board are elected by the
Session, in a secret ballot, by a majority of the votes cast. The IOC Executive
Board assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the
IOC and the management of its affairs.

The IOC Session elects, by secret ballot, the IOC President from among its
members for a term of eight years renewable once for four years. The next
President election will then take place in 2009. The President represents the
IOC and presides over all its activities. Former President Juan Antonio
Samaranch has been elected Honorary President For Life.

Honours

In addition to the Olympic medals for competitors, the IOC awards a number of
other honours:

 the IOC President's Trophy is the highest sports award given to athletes
who have excelled in their sport and had an extraordinary career and
created a lasting impact on their sport.
 the Pierre de Coubertin medal is awarded to athletes who demonstrate a
special spirit of sportsmanship in Olympic events

 the Olympic Cup is awarded to institutions or associations with a record

of merit and integrity in actively developing the Olympic Movement

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  the Olympic Order is awarded to individuals for particularly
distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, and superseded
the Olympic Certificate.

Publications

The IOC publishes Olympic Review and Revue Olympique since 1894.

IOC members

For most of its existence, the IOC was controlled by members who were co-
opted, which means they were selected by other members. Countries that had
hosted the Games were allowed two members, others one or none. When
named, they became not representatives of their respective countries to the IOC,
but rather the opposite, IOC members in their respective countries.

For a long time, members of royalty have been members of co-option, such as
Prince Albert de Monaco, as have former athletes. These last 10 years, the
composition has evolved, in order to get a better representation of the sports
world. Members seats have been allocated specifically to athletes, International
Federations leaders and National Olympic Committees leaders.

Membership

The total number of IOC members may not exceed 115. Each member of the
IOC is elected for a term of eight years and may be re-elected for one or several
further terms.

1. A majority of members whose memberships are not linked to any specific

function or office; their total number may not exceed 70; there may be no
more than one such member national of any given country;

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 2. Active athletes, the total number of whom may not exceed 15, elected for
eight years by their peers during the Olympic Games;

3. Presidents or persons holding an executive or senior leadership position

within IFs, associations of IFs or other organisations recognised by the
IOC, the total number of whom may not exceed 15;

4. Presidents or persons holding an executive or senior leadership position

within NOCs, or world or continental associations of NOCs, the total
number of whom may not exceed 15; there may be no more than one such
member national of any given country within the IOC.

Cessation of membership

The membership of IOC members ceases in the following circumstances:[3]

1. Resignation: any IOC member may cease their membership at any time
by delivering his written resignation to the President.
2. Non re-election: any IOC member ceases to be a member without further
formality if they are not re-elected.

3. Age limit: any IOC member ceases to be a member at the end of the
calendar year during which they reach the age of 70.

4. Failure to attend Sessions or take active part in IOC work for two
consecutive years.

5. Transfer of domicile or of main centre of interests to a country other than

the country which was theirs at the time of their election.

6. Members elected as active athletes cease to be a member upon ceasing to

be a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission.

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 7. Presidents and individuals holding an executive or senior leadership
position within NOCs, world or continental associations of NOCs, IFs or
associations of IFs or other organisations recognised by the IOC cease to
be a member upon ceasing to exercise the function they were exercising
at the time of their election.

8. Expulsion: an IOC member may be expelled by decision of the Session if

such member has betrayed their oath or if the Session considers that such
member has neglected or knowingly jeopardised the interests of the IOC
or acted in a way which is unworthy of the IOC.

Olympic marketing

Revenue

The Olympic Movement generates revenue through five major programmes. The
International Olympic Committee (IOC) manages broadcast partnerships and
the TOP worldwide sponsorship programme. The Organising Committees for
the Olympic Games (OCOGs) manage domestic sponsorship, ticketing and
licensing programmes within the host country under the direction of the IOC.
The Olympic Movement generated a total of more than US$4 billion in revenue
during the most recent Olympic quadrennium (2001 – 2004).

Revenue distribution

The IOC distributes approximately 92% of Olympic marketing revenue to

organisations throughout the Olympic Movement to support the staging of the
Olympic Games and to promote the worldwide development of sport. The IOC
retains approximately 8% of Olympic marketing revenue for the operational
and administrative costs of governing the Olympic Movement.

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 The Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs)

The IOC provides TOP programme contributions and Olympic broadcast

revenue to the OCOGs to support the staging of the Olympic Games and
Olympic Winter Games:

 TOP Programme Revenue to OCOGs; the two OCOGs of each Olympic

quadrennium generally share approximately 50% of TOP programme
revenue and value-in-kind contributions, with approximately 30%
provided to the summer OCOG and 20% provided to the winter OCOG.
 Broadcast Revenue to OCOGs; the IOC contributes 49% of the Olympic
broadcast revenue for each Games to the OCOG. During the 2001 - 2004
Olympic quadrennium, the Salt Lake 2002 Organising Committee
received US$443 million in broadcast revenue from the IOC, and the
Athens 2004 Organising Committee received US$732 million.

 Domestic Programme Revenue to OCOGs; the OCOGs generate

substantial revenue from the domestic marketing programmes that they
manage within the host country, including domestic sponsorship,
ticketing and licensing.

National Olympic Committees (NOCs)

The NOCs receive financial support for the training and development of
Olympic teams, Olympic athletes and Olympic hopefuls. The IOC distributes
TOP programme revenue to each of the NOCs throughout the world. The IOC
also contributes Olympic broadcast revenue to Olympic Solidarity, an IOC
organisation that provides financial support to NOCs with the greatest need.

The continued success of the TOP programme and Olympic broadcast

agreements has enabled the IOC to provide increased support for the NOCs

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with each Olympic quadrennium. The IOC provided approximately US$318.5
million to NOCs for the 2001 - 2004 quadrennium.

International Olympic Sports Federations (IFs)

The IOC is now the largest single revenue source for the majority of IFs, with
its contributions of Olympic broadcast revenue that assist the IFs in the
development of their respective sports worldwide. The IOC provides financial
support from Olympic broadcast revenue to the 28 IFs of Olympic summer
sports and the seven IFs of Olympic winter sports after the completion of the
Olympic Games and the Olympic Winter Games, respectively.

The continually increasing value of Olympic broadcast partnership has enabled

the IOC to deliver substantially increased financial support to the IFs with each
successive Games. The seven winter sports IFs shared US$85.8 million in Salt
Lake 2002 broadcast revenue. The contribution to the 28 summer sports IFs
from Athens 2004 broadcast revenue has not yet been determined, but the
contribution is expected to mark a significant increase over the US$190 million
that the IOC provided to the summer IFs following Sydney 2000.

Other organisations

The IOC contributes Olympic marketing revenue to the programmes of various

recognised international sports organisations, including the International
Paralympic Committee, the Paralympic Organising Committee, and the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Bidding to host the games

Countries bidding to host the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic
Games compete aggressively to have their bid accepted by the IOC. The IOC

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members, representing most of the member countries, vote to decide where the
Games will take place. Members from countries which have cities bidding to
host the games are excluded from the voting process, up until the point where
their city drops out of the contest. Sochi, Russia, was elected as the host city of
the 2014 Winter Olympics on July 4, 2007 during the 119th International
Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The next
host city for the 2016 Summer Games will be announced at the 121st Session
(which will also be the XIIIth Olympic Congress) held in Copenhagen,
Denmark, on October 2, 2009.

In recent years, the contest for the right to host the games has grown
increasingly fierce. Allegations were levelled after the 1996 Olympics that
Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) organizers bribed members
of the IOC to obtain the Olympic Games. However, ACOG documents were
destroyed prior to a formal inquiry and the allegations remain unproven. In his
defense, ACOG Chairman Billy Payne said "Atlanta's bidding effort included
excessive actions, even thought processes, that today seem inappropriate but, at
the time, reflected the prevailing practices in the selection process and an
extremely competitive environment." In 2002, Salt Lake City was involved in a
bribery scandal but earlier stories, reported by British journalists Vyv Simson
and Andrew Jennings, date back decades. Corruption in the IOC has been
documented by numerous investigations. After the Salt Lake City scandal in
which a number of IOC members were expelled following an extensive
investigation, efforts were made to clamp down on abuses of the bid city
process. More stringent rules were introduced and an advisory board of
recently retired former athletes was set up. Critics of the organisation believe
more fundamental reform is required, for instance replacing the self-
perpetuating system of delegate selection with a more democratic process.

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Even legal attempts to sway the IOC to accept a city's bid can spark
controversy, such as Beijing's successful bid to host the 2008 Summer
Olympics. Several human rights organizations spoke out against the deplorable
human rights condition of China, in conflict with the Olympic Charter of the
IOC. In an August 2007 interview on the Beijing 2008 website, IOC President
Jacques Rogge said, the IOC "definitely would love to see the continents that
have not yet organized the Games like Africa or Latin America do that in the
future. I cannot tell you exactly when, but I will see it in my life... We believe in
the near future we can determine the host country under this rotating system. As
of now, we haven’t set a timetable for starting this system”.

Criticism of the 2002 Olympic Games host selection

Scandal broke on December 10, 1998, when Swiss IOC member Marc Hodler,
head of the coordination committee overseeing the organization of the 2002
games, announced that several members of the IOC had taken bribes. Soon four
independent investigations were underway: by the IOC, the USOC, the SLOC,
and the United States Department of Justice.

Before any of the investigations could even get under way both Welch and
Johnson resigned their posts as the head of the SLOC. Many others soon
followed. The Department of Justice filed charges against the two: fifteen
charges of bribery and fraud. Johnson and Welch were eventually acquitted of
all criminal charges in December 2003.

As a result of the investigation ten members of the IOC were expelled and
another ten were sanctioned. This was the first expulsion or sanction for
corruption in the more than a century the IOC had existed. Although nothing
strictly illegal had been done, it was felt that the acceptance of the gifts was
morally dubious. Stricter rules were adopted for future bids and ceilings were

98
put into place as to how much IOC members could accept from bid cities.
Additionally new term and age limits were put into place for IOC membership,
and fifteen former Olympic athletes were added to the committee.

In 2006, a report ordered by the Nagano region's governor said the Japanese
city provided millions of dollars in an "illegitimate and excessive level of
hospitality" to IOC members, including $4.4 million spent on entertainment
alone.

Controversy of the 2008 Olympic Games host selection

Some international groups attempted to pressure the IOC to reject Beijing's bid
in protest of the state of human rights in the People's Republic of China. One
Chinese dissident who expressed similar sentiments was arrested and sentenced
to two years in prison for calling on the IOC to do just that at the same time that
IOC inspectors were touring the city. Amnesty International expressed concern
in 2006 regarding the Olympic Games to be held in China in 2008, likewise
expressing concerns over the human rights situation. The second principle in
the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, Olympic Charter states that The goal
of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of
man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the
preservation of human dignity Amnesty International considers the policies and
practices of the People's Republic as failing to meet that principle, and urged
the IOC to press China to immediately enact human rights reform.

In August 2008 the IOC issued DMCA take down notices on Tibetan Protest
videos of the Beijing Olympics hosted on youtube. YouTube and the Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF) both pushed back against the IOC, which then
withdrew their complaint.

98
There are questions raised on China's usage of gymnasts under 16 years old
The IOC began an inquiry. With more documents submitted as strong evidence
including the current and former passport, ID card and family residence permit,
there is no proof China cheated.

The Swedish government received a letter from the Vice President of IOC where
she asked the minister of justice to take action against the file sharing network
The Pirate Bay, that contains links to the opening ceremony from the olympics.
In Sweden that would consitute the crime of "ministerstyre" (minister rule). The
vice president of IOC is Swedish and has been reported to the police, since she
should have known this is a crime

98
 WORLD CHESS
CHAMPIONSHIP

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 World Chess Championship 2006
  

The World Chess Championship 2006 was a chess match between Classical
World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik, and FIDE World Chess Champion
Veselin Topalov. The match, which was won by Kramnik, determined, for the
first time in 13 years, the undisputed World Chess Champion. The match was
played between September 23 and October 13, 2006, in Elista, Kalmykia,
Russia.[1]

On September 29, Kramnik refused to play Game 5 due to a dispute over

bathroom arrangements. Topalov won the game on forfeit, and the match was
delayed as administrators sought to resolve the controversy.

On October 2 the match resumed with Game 6, but with Kramnik still protesting
the result of Game 5.[2] The scheduled match finished on October 12 with the
score even at 6-6. A series of games with rapid time controls was played as a
tie-breaker. Kramnik won the fourth game to take the tie-break 2.5-1.5 and win
the match, becoming the 14th undisputed World Chess Champion.

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 Background
Russia Bulgaria
After Garry Kasparov split
Vladimir Kramnik Veselin Topalov from FIDE in 1993, there were
Classical World Chess FIDE World Chess two world chess champions.
Champion Champion There was the 'Classical' world
champion, the title that only
by virtue of defeating passes on to a player when he
previous champion by virtue of winning defeats the previous world
Garry Kasparov in a the FIDE-sanctioned champion. This was held by
title match in 2000; World Championship Kasparov, until he was
then defending his title Tournament in 2005 defeated by Kramnik in the
in 2004 Classical World Chess
Championship 2000. There
was also the 'Official' FIDE
31 years old 31 years old
world champion, determined
by various tournament formats,
Rating: 2750 (3rd in Rating: 2813 (1st in
held since 2005 by Topalov.
the world) in the the world) in the
October 2006 FIDE October 2006 FIDE From 1993 to 2006, no match
rating list[3] rating list was ever held between the
various classical and official
champions. This match brought the two titleholders together to unify the World
Chess Championship for the first time since the 1993 split.

Negotiations

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Match logo
Kramnik was invited to the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 in San Luis,
Argentina. As "Classical" World Champion, he refused to play, but indicated
his willingness to play the winner in a match to unify the title. [4] Negotiations for
a match began soon after Topalov won in San Luis, but broke down after the
two camps were unable to overcome substantial differences of opinion.[5]

However, in April 2006, FIDE announced that Kramnik would play current
FIDE Champion Veselin Topalov in a world championship match to unify the
"Classical" champion line with the FIDE championship. [6] The prize fund of $1
million will be evenly divided between the players - regardless of the outcome of
the match.

Head to head

In past encounters, Kramnik had defeated Topalov 10 times, lost 5 games, with
24 draws.[7] (This becomes +19 −9 =34 if rapid and blindfold games are
included). In classical time control games since the beginning of 2004, the score
was 2 wins each, with 3 draws.

Match conditions

The match was a best of 12 games. Players scored 1 point for a win and half a
point for a draw. If, after 12 games, the score was tied at 6 points each, then a

98
tie-break would be held. As it turned out, a tie-break was indeed required, and
was held on October 13, 2006.[8]

Time control
From the match conditions:

The primary time control for each game shall be: 40 moves in the first 120
minutes, and if that is met, then a secondary time control of 20 moves in 60
minutes, and if that is also met, then the rest of the game shall be played out in
15 minutes, with an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 61.

Tie-break method
 The tie break is only used if the match is tied at 6 points apiece after the
12 regular games.
 In the event of the tie-break, the players play four "rapid" games (each
with a time limit of 25 minutes, plus 10 seconds per move).

 If the score is still tied, this is followed by two "lightning" games (each
with a time limit of 5 minutes, plus 10 seconds per move).

 If the score is still tied, this is followed by a sudden death game: white
has 6 minutes and needs to win, black has five minutes and needs to draw
or win.

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 Schedule and results

colors were determined for the regular games by the drawing of lots at the
opening ceremony on 21 September, 2006. The colors reversed between games
6 and 7. The colors for the first tie-break game were decided by drawing lots
again. All regular games, and the first tie-break game, began at 3:00 p.m. local
time, which corresponds to 1100 UTC.[9]

Regular games

Game Date White Black Result Standing

23 Kramni Kramnik leads 1 –

Game 1 Topalov Kramnik win
September k 0

24 Kramni Kramnik leads 2 –

Game 2 Topalov Kramnik win
September k 0

26 Kramni Kramnik leads 2½

Game 3 Topalov Draw
September k –½

27 Kramni Kramnik leads 3 –

Game 4 Topalov Draw
September k 1

29 Kramni Topalov win Kramnik leads 3 –

Game 5 Topalov
September k (forfeit) 2

Kramni Kramnik leads 3½

Game 6 2 October Topalov Draw
k – 2½

Game 7 4 October Topalov Kramni Draw Kramnik leads 4 –

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 k 3

Kramni
Game 8 5 October Topalov Topalov win Match level 4 – 4
k

Kramni
Game 9 7 October Topalov Topalov win Topalov leads 5 – 4
k

Game Kramni
8 October Topalov Kramnik win Match level 5 – 5
10 k

Game Kramni Match level 5½ -

10 October Topalov Draw
11 k 5½

Game Kramni
12 October Topalov Draw Match tied 6 - 6
12 k

Rapid tie-break games

Game Date White Black Result Standing

Game 13 Kramni
Topalov Draw Tie-break level ½ – ½
13 October k

Game 13 Kramni Kramnik Kramnik leads tie-break

Topalov
14 October k win 1½ – ½

Game 13 Kramni Topalov

Topalov Tie-break level 1½ – 1½
15 October k win

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Game 13 Kramni Kramnik Kramnik wins tie-break 2½
Topalov
16 October k win – 1½

Games

This is the only world chess championship match where the same opening move
(1.d4) was played in every game. Only two openings were played; the Slav
Defense and the Catalan.

[edit] Game 1, Kramnik-Topalov, 1-0

Game 1: Topalov's 57...f5?? led to a loss.

Kramnik won the first round of this match in a 75-move game that lasted six
and a half hours. Topalov, whose style is more tactical than positional,
blundered when he played a risky move late in the game. Topalov had a drawn
position throughout most of the game and made a fatal miscalculation.[10]

Catalan, E04

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. Qc2

Bxd2+ 8. Qxd2 c6 9. a4 b5 10. axb5 cxb5 11. Qg5 O-O 12. Qxb5 Ba6
13.Qa4 Qb6 14. O-O Qxb2 15. Nbd2 Bb5 16. Nxc4 Bxa4 17. Nxb2 Bb5
18. Ne5 Ra7 19. Bf3 Nbd7 20. Nec4 Rb8 21. Rfb1 g5 22. e3 g4 23. Bd1
Bc6 24.Rc1 Be4 25. Na4 Rb4 26. Nd6 Bf3 27. Bxf3 gxf3 28. Nc8 Ra8 29.
Ne7+ Kg7 30. Nc6 Rb3 31. Nc5 Rb5 32. h3 Nxc5 33. Rxc5 Rb2 34. Rg5+
Kh6 35. Rgxa5 Rxa5 36. Nxa5 Ne4 37. Rf1 Nd2 38. Rc1 Ne4 39. Rf1 f6
40. Nc6 Nd2 41. Rd1 Ne4 42. Rf1 Kg6 Topalov plays for a win. 42...Nd2
43.Rd1 Ne4 would repeat moves, with a likely draw. 43. Nd8 Rb6 44. Rc1
h5 45. Ra1 h4 46. gxh4 Kh5 47. Ra2 Kxh4 48. Kh2 Kh5 49. Rc2 Kh6 50.
Ra2 Kg6 51. Rc2 Kf5 52. Ra2 Rb5 53. Nc6 Rb7 54. Ra5+ Kg6 55. Ra2
Kh5 56. d5 e5 57. Ra4 f5?? 57...Nxf2! 58.Kg3 e4! 59.Kxf2 Rb2+ 60.Ke1
Rb1+ 61.Kf2 Rb2+ followed by continued checks on b1 and b2 draws.
White cannot vary from this line with 60.Kg3?? because 60...Rg2+
61.Kf4 f2 62.Ra1 Rg1 wins, nor with 60.Ke1 Rb1+ 61.Kd2?? because
61...f2 wins. 58. Nxe5 Rb2 59. Nd3 Rb7 60. Rd4 Rb6 61. d6 Nxd6 62. Kg3
Ne4+ 63. Kxf3 Kg5 64. h4+ Kf6 65. Rd5 Nc3 66. Rd8 Rb1 67. Rf8+ Ke6

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 68. Nf4+ Ke5 69. Re8+ Kf6 70. Nh5+ Kg6 71. Ng3 Rb2 72. h5+ Kf7 73.
Re5 Nd1 74. Ne2 Kf6 75. Rd5 1-0

[edit] Game 2, Topalov-Kramnik, 0-1

Game 2: Topalov missed victory by playing 32. Qg6+ in this position.

Kramnik won the second game of the match after 63 moves, taking a 2-0 lead.
Topalov missed winning continuations at move 32 and 36. Some inaccuracies
later in the game cost him the draw.

Slav Defense, D19

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8.

O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 Bg6 10. e4 O-O 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5
14. Qe3 Bg6 15. Ng5 Re8 16. f4 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 f5 18. Be3 Nf8 19. Kh1
Rc8 20. g4 Qd7 21. Rg1 Be7 22. Nf3 Rc4 23. Rg2 fxg4 24. Rxg4 Rxa4 25.
Rag1 g6 26. h4 Rb4 27. h5 Qb5 28. Qc2 Rxb2 29. hxg6 h5 Kramnik said
that he wanted to play 29...Nxg6, but saw 30.Qxg6+!! hxg6 31.Rxg6+
Kh7 (31...Kf7 32.Rg7+ Kg8 33.Rg8+ Kg7 34.R1g7#) 32.R6g3! forcing
mate.[11] 30. g7! hxg4 31. gxf8Q+ Bxf8? 31...Kxf8! 32. Qg6+? 32.Rxg4+
wins immediately, e.g. 32...Bg7 33.Qc7! Qf1+ 34.Ng1, or 32...Kh8
33.Qg6.[12] Bg7 33. f5 Re7 34. f6 Qe2 35. Qxg4 Rf7 36. Rc1 (36.Qh5! still
wins[) 36...Rc2 37. Rxc2 Qd1+ 38. Kg2 Qxc2+ 39. Kg3 Qe4 40. Bf4 Qf5
41. Qxf5 exf5 42. Bg5 a5 43. Kf4 a4 44. Kxf5 a3 45. Bc1 Bf8 46. e6 Rc7
47. Bxa3 Bxa3 48. Ke5 Rc1 49. Ng5 Rf1 50. e7 Re1+ 51. Kxd5 Bxe7 52.
fxe7 Rxe7 53. Kd6 Re1? (GM John Nunn demonstrated that 53...Re3! was
the only winning move.) 54. d5 Kf8 55. Ne6+? GM Mihail Marin,
annotating the game on the ChessBase site after the game, noted that
endgame tablebases show that 55.Kd7! still draws.[15] Ke8 56. Nc7+ Kd8
57. Ne6+ Kc8 58. Ke7 Rh1 59. Ng5 b5 60. d6 Rd1 61. Ne6 b4 62. Nc5
Re1+ 63. Kf6 Re3 0-1

Game 3, Kramnik-Topalov,
Game 3: position after 35. ... f5!. With less than a minute on his clock, Kramnik
sacrificed his rook to obtain perpetual check.

The third game ended in a draw after 38 moves keeping Kramnik in a 2.5-0.5
lead. Kramnik (white) had the advantage for much of the game. According to

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commentators he at least twice avoided moves with more winning chances but
which also carried more risk: 17. Ne4 and 32. exd5.[16]

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 Catalan, E02
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bd7 7. Qxc4
Na5 8. Qd3 c5 9. 0-0 Bc6 10. Nc3 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bc5 12. Rd1 Bxg2 13.
Qb5+! Nd7 14. Kxg2 a6 15. Qd3 Rc8 16. Bg5! Be7 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18.
Rac1 Nc4 19. Na4 b5 20. b3 0-0 21. bxc4 bxa4 22. Nc6 Rxc6 23. Qxd7
Qc5 24. Rc3 g6 25. Rb1 h5 26. Rb7 e5 27. e4 Rf6 28. Rc2 Qa3 29. Qd1
Rd6 30. Rd2 Rfd8 31. Rd5 Rxd5 32. cxd5 Qxa2 33. Qf3 Rf8 34. Qd3 a3
35. Rb3 f5! 36. Qxa6 36.Rxa3 fxe4 37.Rxa2 exd3 would give Black the
advantage.36...Qxb3 37. Qxg6+ Kh8 38. Qh6+ Kg8

Game 4, Topalov-Kramnik,

The fourth game ended in a draw after White's 54th move, leaving Kramnik with
a 3-1 lead. Topalov pressed hard, sacrificing a pawn. He achieved an
advantageous endgame but despite five hours of play he failed to convert it
(47.Qxc4! gave good chances, according to Sergei Shipov on chesspro.ru).

Semi-Slav Defense, D47

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5
8.Bd3 Bb7 9.a3 b4 10.Ne4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 bxa3 12.0-0 Bd6 13.b3 Nf6
14.Nd2 Qc7 15.Bf3!? Bxh2+ 16.Kh1 Bd6 17.Nc4 Be7 18.Bxa3 0-0
19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.Ra5 Rfd8 21.Kg1 c5 22.Rxc5 Ne4 23.Bxe4 Bxe4 24.Qg4
Bd3 25.Ra1 Rac8 26.Raa5 Rb8 27.Qd1 Be4 28.Qa1 Rb7 29.Nd2 Bg6
30.Qc3 h6 31.Ra6 Kh7 32.Nc4 Be4 33.f3 Bd5 34.Nd2 Rdb8 35.Qd3+ f5
36.Rc3 Qh4 37.Ra1 Qg3 38.Qc2 Rf7 39.Rf1 Qg6 40.Qd3 Qg3 41.Rfc1
Rfb7 42.Qc2 Qg5 43.Ra1 Qf6 44.Qd3 Rd7 45.Ra4 Rbd8 46.Rc5 Kg8
47.Nc4 Bxc4 48.Raxc4 f4 49.Rc6 fxe3 50.Qxe3 Rxd4 51.Rxe6 Qh4
52.Rxd4 Qxd4 53.Re8+ Kh7 54.Qxd4

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 Game 5, Kramnik-Topalov, 0-1 (forfeit)

Kramnik was due to play the white pieces. The game ended with Topalov
winning by forfeit, after Kramnik refused to play and his clock had been
allowed to run for one hour. Kramnik's lead was reduced to 3-2.

Game 6, Topalov-Kramnik,

Game 6 was due to be played on September 30, but was postponed until
October 2 by the decision of the FIDE president. On September 30 and October
1 negotiations over match continuation between players, their teams, and FIDE
took place instead. Kramnik agreed to play Game 6 under protest, with the
status of Game 5 to be resolved later. The game was uneventful, ending in a
draw after 31 moves. Kramnik played a rare sideline and gradually equalized.
Kramnik now led 3½–2½.

Slav Defense, D17

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.f3 c5 8.e4 Bg6
9.Be3 cxd4 10.Qxd4 Qxd4 11.Bxd4 Nfd7! 12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.Bxc4 a6
14.Ke2 Rg8 15.Rhd1 Rc8 16.b3 Bc5 17.a5 Ke7 18.Na4 Bb4 19.Nb6 Nxb6
20.Bxb6 f6 21.Rd3 Rc6 22.h4 Rgc8 23.g4 Bc5 24.Rad1 Bxb6 25.Rd7+
Kf8 26.axb6 Rxb6 27.R1d6 Rxd6 28.Rxd6 Rc6! 29.Rxc6 bxc6 30.b4 e5
31.Bxa6

Game 7, Topalov-Kramnik,

The 5-hour game, a Semi-Slav Defence, was characterized as "a hard-fought

60-move draw". Topalov successfully defended a RBvRN ending a pawn down.
Kramnik now led 4-3.

Semi-Slav Defense, D47

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 c5 7.0-0 a6 8.Bb3
cxd4 9.exd4 Nc6 10.Nc3 Be7 11.Re1 0-0 12.a4 Bd7 13.Ne5 Be8 14.Be3
Rc8 15.Rc1 Nb4 16.Qf3 Bc6 17.Qh3 Bd5 18.Nxd5 Nbxd5 19.Rcd1 Rc7
20.Bg5 Qc8 21.Qf3 Rd8 22.h4 h6 23.Bc1 Bb4 24.Rf1 Bd6 25.g3 b6

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 26.Qe2 Ne7 27.Rfe1 Bxe5 28.dxe5 Rxd1 29.Qxd1 Nfd5 30.Bd2 Rc5
31.Qg4 Nf5 32.Qe4 b5 33.h5 bxa4 34.Qxa4 Rb5 35.Rc1 Qb7 36.Bc2 Nb6
37.Qg4 Rxb2 38. Be4 Qd7 39. Be1 Nd5 40. Bd3 Nb4 41.Bf1 Nd3 42.Qd1
Nxe5 43.Qxd7 Nxd7 44.Rc8+ Kh7 45.Rc7 Rb1 46.Rxd7 Rxe1 47.Rxf7 a5
48.Kg2 Kg8 49.Ra7 Re5 50.g4 Nd6 51.Bd3 Kf8 52.Bg6 Rd5 53.f3 e5
54.Kf2 Rd2+ 55.Ke1 Rd5 56.Ke2 Rb5 57.Rd7 Rd5 58.Ra7 Rb5 59.Bd3
Rd5 60.Bg6

Game 8, Kramnik-Topalov, 0-1

Game 8: Kramnik played 41. Kxg3?, worsening his position.

Game 8 lasted 4 hours, and resulted in Topalov's first win over the board in the
match, tying the score at 4-4. It featured the strategically unbalanced Meran
Variation Semi-Slav Defense. Topalov's 15...Qa5 was a theoretical novelty.
After 21 moves, the players reached a sharp, complicated, queenless
middlegame with Topalov having two knights for Kramnik's rook and pawn.
Topalov spun a mating web with his knights and rook, aided by Kramnik's
mistakes on moves 32 and 41.

Semi-Slav Defense, D47

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5

8. Be2 Bb7 9. O-O b4 10. Na4 c5!? Sharper than the standard 10...Be7
11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Bb5+ This has been played before, but GM Sveshnikov
considered it inferior, leaving White's knight awkwardly placed at a4.
Ncd7 13. Ne5 Qc7 14. Qd4 Rd8! 15. Bd2 Qa5 16. Bc6 Be7! If 17. Bxb7
Nxe5 17. Rfc1 17. b3!? avoids the trade of two knights for rook and pawn
that now occurs. Bxc6 18. Nxc6 Qxa4 19. Nxd8 Bxd8 20. Qxb4 Qxb4 21.
Bxb4 Nd5 22. Bd6 f5 Commenting during the game, Susan Polgar wrote,
"Yasser Seirawan says: 'I'm not sure what Vladimir thought was
"attractive" about this ending. With Kf7 and Bb6 in the offing... Black
looks very good.' I agree with Yasser." 23. Rc8 N5b6 24. Rc6 Be7 25. Rd1
Kf7 26. Rc7 Ra8 27.Rb7 Ke8 28. Bxe7 Kxe7 29. Rc1 a5 30. Rc6 Nd5 31.

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 h4 Polgar wrote that here GMs Avrukh, Karjakin, and Fedorowicz
preferred White, while Zagrebelnyi and Radjabov preferred Black. h6 32.
a4?! After the game, Polgar wrote of this move, "A positional mistake!
Better was simply 32. Kf1 g5 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Ke2." Now White has a
backward pawn on b3, which comes under attack on move 42. g5 33.
hxg5 hxg5 34. Kf1 g4! Now f2-f3 can be met by g3 35. Ke2 N5f6 36. b3
Ne8 37. f3 g3! Keeping more pawns on the board in order to play for the
win. 38. Rc1 Nef6 39. f4 Kd6 40. Kf3 Nd5 41. Kxg3? (41. Rb5 holds.
Polgar called this "a horrible move" in her live commentary, but thought
White's position was now very bad in any case. 41... Nc5 42. Rg7 Rb8
Now White's position is a mass of weaknesses. White cannot stop Black
from invading on either the b- or the g-file. 43. Ra7 Rg8+ 44. Kf3 Ne4
45. Ra6+ Ke7 46. Rxa5 Rg3+ 47. Ke2 Rxe3+ 48. Kf1 Rxb3 49. Ra7+ Kf6
50. Ra8 Nxf4 51. Ra1 Rb2 52. a5 Rf2+ 0-1

Game 9, Topalov-Kramnik, 1-0

Game 9: position after 34 moves. The following attack by Topalov forced
Kramnik to resign.

Game 9 was a 3-hour tussle featuring a Slav Defense. Topalov's 6.Nh4 and
7.Nxg6 is a standard idea gaining White the advantage of the bishop pair.
Topalov followed up in unusual fashion, however, with a3, g3, and f4 on the
next three moves, leading Susan Polgar to observe that, "Topalov made way too
many Pawn moves in the opening." However, Kramnik was unable to find an
effective response and eventually ended up in a middlegame position where his
two knights were outmatched by Topalov's powerful bishops. Topalov steadily
improved his position, seizing space and launching an attack on the king-side. A
strong tactical blow by Topalov on move 38 won the game for him. Kramnik,
who had struggled with a steadily deteriorating position in time trouble,
resigned following Topalov's 39th move. Topalov took the lead for the first time
in the match, with the score now 5-4.

Slav Defense, D12

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 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6
8. a3 Nbd7 9. g3 Be7 10. f4 dxc4 11. Bxc4 O-O 12. e4 b5 13. Be2 b4 14.
axb4 Bxb4 15. Bf3 Qb6 16. O-O e5 17. Be3 Rad8 18. Na4 Qb8 19. Qc2
exf4? Polgar: "This is not a good move. He had to take the d pawn." 20.
Bxf4 Qb7 21. Rad1 Rfe8 22. Bg5 Be7 23. Kh1 Nh7 24. Be3 Bg5 25. Bg1
Nhf8 26. h4 Be7 27. e5 Nb8 28. Nc3 Bb4 Yasser Seirawan: "Vladimir's
position is slip sliding away..." 29. Qg2 Qc8 30. Rc1 Bxc3?? 31. bxc3
Ne6 32. Bg4 Qc7 33. Rcd1 Nd7 34. Qa2 Nb6 35. Rf3 Nf8? 36. Rdf1 Re7
37. Be3 Nh7 38. Rxf7 Nd5 39. R7f3 1-0

Game 10, Kramnik-Topalov, 1-0

Game 10: Topalov played 24... f6??, sealing his doom.

Kramnik played the solid Catalan System. At move 17, Topalov, playing Black,
offered Kramnik the opportunity to win a pawn if he was willing to give up his
fianchettoed king bishop for a knight (and thus weaken his king position).
Kramnik accepted the offer. Susan Polgar wrote that Topalov's "compensation
is his Bishop pair, good Knight on e4 and the White Knight is pinned on b5."
However, Topalov blundered on move 24, allowing Kramnik to win a second
pawn. Topalov then gave up his rook for a knight and two pawns. That left
Kramnik ahead a rook for a knight and, after forcing the trade of queens, he
won the endgame easily. The match was now level 5-5.

Catalan, E08

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O c6
8.Bf4 Nbd7 9.Qc2 a5 10.Rd1 Nh5 11.Bc1 b5 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.e4 dxe4
14.Qxe4 Rb8 15.Qe2 Nhf6 16.Bf4 Rb6 17.Ne5 Nd5 18.Bxd5 exd5 19.Nc3
Nf6 20.Nxb5 Ba6 21.a4 Ne4 22.Rdc1 Qe8 23.Rc7 Bd8 24.Ra7 f6??
Polgar: "This is a blunder!" 25.Nd7 Rf7 26.Nxb6 Rxa7 27.Nxd5 Rd7

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 28.Ndc3 Rxd4 29.Re1 f5 30.Qc2 Rb4 31.Nd5 Rxb5 32.axb5 Qxb5 33.Nc7
Qc4 34.Qd1 Bxc7 35.Qd7! The point of Kramnik's clever 34.Qd1 (rather
than the expected 34.Qxc4, which also would have won). Now White
threatens both the bishop and 36.Qe8#. h6 36.Qxc7 Qb4 37.Qb8+ Qxb8
38.Bxb8 Nd2 39.Ra1 g5 40.f4 Nb3 41.Ra3 Bc4 42.Bc7 g4 43. Bxa5 1-0

Game 11, Topalov-Kramnik,

Game 11: Position after Kramnik's 20... Qxd4+, equalizing.

The eleventh game ended in a draw after 66 moves, leaving the match level at
5½-5½. Towards the end, Kramnik was pressing hard for the full point, a pawn
ahead in a rook and bishop endgame, but was unable to convert his advantage.

Slav Defense, D12

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Nxg6 hxg6
8.Rb1 (This move is a novelty. 8... Nbd7 9.c5 a5 10.a3 e5 11.b4 axb4
12.axb4 Qc7 13.f4 exf4 13...Nh5 14.fxe5 Ng3 15.Rg1 Rxh2 16.Qf3 Be7
17.Bd3 Bh4 18.Kd1 14.exf4 Be7 15.Be2 Nf8 16.O-O Ne6 17.g3 Qd7
18.Qd3 18.b5? Nxc5! 19.dxc5 Bxc5+ 20.Kh1 Qh3 or 20.Kg2 Qh3+
21.Kf3 Ng4 wins18.b5 Nxc5! 19.dxc5 Bxc5+ 20.Kh1 Qh3 or 20.Kg2
Qh3+ 21.Kf3 Ng4 wins Ne4 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Qxe4 Qxd4+ 21.Qxd4 Nxd4
22.Bc4 0-0 23.Kg2 Ra4 24.Rd1 Rd8 25.Be3 Bf6 26.g4 Kf8 27.Bf2 Ne6
28.Rxd8+ Bxd8 29.f5 gxf5 30.gxf5 Nf4+ 31.Kf3 Nh5 32.Rb3 Bc7 33.h4
Nf6 34.Bd3 Nd7 35.Be4 Ne5+ 36.Kg2 Ra2 37.Bb1 Rd2 38.Kf1 Ng4
39.Bg1 Bh2 40.Ke1 Rd5 41.Bf2 Ke7 42.h5 Nxf2 43.Kxf2 Kf6 44.Kf3 Rd4
45.b5 Rc4 46.bxc6 bxc6 47.Rb6 Rxc5 48.Be4 Kg5 49.Rxc6 Ra5 50.Rb6
Ra3+ 51. Kg2 Bc7 52. Rb7 Rc3 53. Kf2 Kxh5 54. Bd5 f6 55. Ke2 Kg4 56.
Be4 Kf4 57. Bd3 Rc5 58. Rb4+ Kg3 59. Rc4 Re5+ 60. Re4 Ra5 61.Re3+
Kg2 62.Be4+ Kh2 63.Rb3 Ra2+ 64.Kd3 Bf4 65.Kc4 Re2 66.Kd5

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 Game 12, Kramnik-Topalov,

This game featured the same variation of the Slav Defense (6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Nxg6
hxg6) as in games 9 (a Topalov win) and 11 (a draw), but for the first time
Kramnik played the White side of this line. In a queen and rook endgame, with
both kings open, Topalov forced a draw by perpetual check. This left the score
tied 6-6 at the end of regular time-control play (Kramnik 6-Topalov 5 in played
games, plus the game 5 forfeit in favor of Topalov). Tie-breaker games were
now played to determine the outcome of the match.

Slav Defense, D12

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.g3
Nbd7 9.Bd2 Bb4 10.Qb3 Bxc3 11.Bxc3 Ne4 12.Bg2 Nxc3 13.Qxc3 f5
14.0-0 Qe7 15.cxd5 exd5 16.b4 Nf6 17.Rfc1 Ne4 18.Qb2 0-0 19.b5 Rac8
20.bxc6 bxc6 21.Qe2 g5 22.Rab1 Qd7 23.Rc2 Rf6 24.Rbc1 g4 25.Rb2
Rh6 26.Qa6 Rc7 27.Rb8+ Kh7 28.Qa3 Rb7 29.Qf8 Rxb8 30.Qxb8 Qf7
31.Qc8 Qh5 32.Kf1 Nd2+ 33.Ke1 Nc4 34.Bf1 Rf6 35.Bxc4 dxc4 36.Rxc4
Qxh2 37.Ke2 Qh1 38.Rc5 Qb1 39.Qa6 Qb2+ 40.Kf1 Qb1+ 41.Ke2 Qb2+
42.Kf1 Rh6 43.Qd3 g6 44.Qb3

Game 13, Topalov-Kramnik,

In the middlegame of this first game in the rapid tie-break Topalov made a
pawn offer, which Kramnik accepted. Kramnik then exploited some tactics to
return the pawn and trade into a level endgame.

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 Slav Defense, D18

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8.

O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 O-O 10. e4 Bg6 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5
14. Qe3 Re8 15. Ne1 Rc8 16. f4 Bxe1 17. Rxe1 Bg6 18. Bf1 Rc2 19. b3
Qa5 20. Bb5 Rd8 21. Re2 Rcc8 22. Bd2 Qb6 23. Rf2 a6 24. Bf1 Rc6 25.
b4 Rc2 26. b5 a5 27. Bc3 Rxf2 28. Qxf2 Qa7 29. Qd2 Ra8 30. Rc1 Nb6
31. Bb2 Nxa4 32. Ba3 h6 33.h3 Be4 34. Kh2 Nb6 35. Bc5 a4 36. Ra1 Nc4
37. Bxc4 b6 38. Qe3 Rc8 39. Bf1 bxc5 40. dxc5 Qxc5 41. Qxc5 Rxc5 42.
b6 Rc6 43. b7 Rb6 44. Ba6 d4 45. Rxa4 Bxb7 46. Bxb7 Rxb7 47. Rxd4

Game 14, Kramnik-Topalov, 1-0

White obtained a minimal advantage from the opening, which he maintained

until queens were exchanged. Then, Kramnik gave a convincing endgame
demonstration after a few inaccuracies by Topalov to go up 1.5-0.5.

Semi-Slav Defense, D45

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. b3 O-O

8. Be2 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Bb2 Re8 11. Rad1 Qe7 12. Rfe1 Rac8 13. Bd3
e5 14. e4 dxc4 15. Bxc4 b5 16. Bf1 g6 17. Qd2 Rcd8 18. Qg5 a6 19. h3
exd4 20. Nxd4 Qe5 21. Qxe5 Nxe5 22. Nc2 g5 23. Bc1 h6 24. Be3 c5 25.
f3 Bf8 26. Bf2 Bc8 27. Ne3 Be6 28. Ned5 Bxd5 29. exd5 Ned7 30. Rxe8
Rxe8 31. a4 b4? Conceding White the passed a-pawn "was equivalent
with complete strategic surrendering." - GM Mihail Marin commenting
on Chessbase. 32. Ne4 Nxe4 33. fxe4 Nf6 34. d6 Nxe4 35. d7 Rd8 36.
Bxa6 f5 37. a5 Bg7 38. Bc4+ Kf8 39. a6 Nxf2 40. Kxf2 Bd4+ 41. Rxd4!
cxd4 42. a7 Ke7 43. Bd5 Kxd7 44. a8=Q Rxa8 45. Bxa8 1-0

Game 15, Topalov-Kramnik, 1-0

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Topalov equalized the tiebreak match with the sort of brilliant kingside attack
he has become famous for.

Slav Defense, D12

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Be2 Nbd7

8.O-O Bd6 9. g3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nb6 11. Be2 O-O 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. e4
e5 14. f4 exd4 15. Qxd4 Qe7 16. Kg2 Bc5 17. Qd3 Rad8 18. Qc2 Bd4 19.
e5 Nfd5 20. Rf3 Nxc3 21. bxc3 Bc5 22. Bd2 Rd7 23. Re1 Rfd8 24. Bd3
Qe6 25. Bc1 f5 26. Qe2 Kf8 27. Rd1 Qe7 28. h4 Rd5 29. Qc2 Nc4 30. Rh1
Na3 31. Qe2 Qd7 32. Rd1 b5 33. g4! fxg4 34. Rg3 Ke7? 35. f5 gxf5 36.
Bg5+ Ke8 37. e6 Qd6 38. Bxf5! Rxd1 39. Bg6+ Kf8 40. e7+ Qxe7 41.
Bxe7+ Bxe7 42. Bd3 Ra1 43. Qb2 Rd1 44. Qe2 Ra1 45. Qxg4 Rxa2+ 46.
Kh3 Bf6 47. Qe6 Rd2 48. Bg6 R2d7 49. Rf3 b4 50. h5 1-0

Game 16: Topalov played 44...Rxc5?? losing the rook, the game and the match.

Just like in the second tiebreak game, Kramnik displayed his skill in positions
where the queens have been exchanged. Topalov's small inaccuracy on move 20
was punished by a precise sequence of moves from Kramnik, which eventually
won him a pawn. In an extremely difficult position, Topalov made one final
blunder, and the match was over.

Semi-Slav Defense, D47

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5

8. Be2 Bb7 9. O-O Be7 10. e4 b4 11. e5 bxc3 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. bxc3 c5
14. dxc5 Nxc5 15. Bb5+ Kf8 16. Qxd8+ Rxd8 17. Ba3 Rc8 18. Nd4 Be7
19. Rfd1 a6!? 20. Bf1 Na4?! 20...Ne4 was better. 21. Rab1! Be4 22. Rb3!

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 Bxa3 23. Rxa3 Nc5 24. Nb3! Ke7 25. Rd4! Bg6 26. c4 Rc6 27. Nxc5 Rxc5
28. Rxa6 Rb8 29. Rd1 Rb2 30. Ra7+ Kf6 31. Ra1 Rf5 32.f3 Re5 33. Ra3
Rc2 34. Rb3 Ra5 35. a4 Ke7 36. Rb5 Ra7 37. a5 Kd6 38. a6 Kc7 39. c5
Rc3 40. Raa5 Rc1 41. Rb3 Kc6 42. Rb6+ Kc7 43. Kf2 Rc2+ 44. Ke3
Rxc5?? 45. Rb7+ 1-0 since 45...Rxb7 46.Rxc5+ Kb6 47.axb7 and Black
cannot recapture the rook without allowing White's pawn to promote.

Topalov's 44. ... Rxc5?? cost him the game and the title. However, in a post-
match interview, Kramnik claimed that he had a decisive advantage even before
Topalov's blunder. According to Australian GM Ian Rogers in Chess Life
Online, White should still win against the superior defense 44...e5 with 45.Rab5

Bathroom controversy

Allegations and forfeit

On September 28, 2006, the rest day between games 4 and 5, Topalov's
manager Silvio Danailov complained to the match organizers and the press
about Kramnik's repeated visits to the bathroom. He noted that the bathrooms
are the only place not under audio or video surveillance, and called the
frequency of the breaks "strange, if not suspicious". Danailov suggested that
Topalov would abandon the match if the concerns were not addressed.

On September 29, 2006, the Appeals Committee determined that, although the
frequency of Kramnik's visits to the toilet had been exaggerated, the private
bathrooms would be closed and a common toilet opened for both players.

In response, Kramnik's manager Carsten Hensel issued a public statement

insisting that the original match conditions be adhered to – defending
Kramnik's actions by saying, "The restroom is small and Mr Kramnik likes to
walk and therefore uses the space of the bathroom as well...It should also be

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mentioned that Mr Kramnik has to drink a lot of water during the games."
Otherwise, "Mr Kramnik will stop playing this match as long as FIDE is not
ready to respect Mr Kramnik’s rights, in this case to use the toilet of his own
restroom whenever he wishes to do so." Hensel also declared his lack of
confidence in the Appeals Committee and demanded that its members be
changed.

Awaiting a reversal of the Appeal Committee's decision, Kramnik refused to

play Game 5. At 5:00 p.m. local time, the Chief Arbiter declared that Kramnik
had forfeited.

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov told Kramnik "...I hereby inform you of my
full trust in the members of the Match Appeals Committee and their latest
decision taken in respect of the appeal of Topalov's team dated 28 September
2006. I am also asking you in good faith to continue your participation in this
match..."

Later, it emerged that Kramnik’s team made a procedural blunder by not filing
their protest before he defaulted the fifth game.

The players were invited for a meeting by Ilyumzhinov "to discuss the actual
situation of the match and to solve the problems". Ilyumzhinov stated that
cancelling the forfeit was possible, but that if no compromise were reached by
noon on 1 October, the match would not continue.

On October 1, 2006, FIDE announced that agreement had been reached that
the original bathroom arrangements would be reinstated and that the Appeals
Committee had resigned and would be replaced.

Later that day, FIDE announced that Game 6 would be played on October 2,
with the forfeit standing and the score Kramnik 3 - Topalov 2. ] Kramnik replied

98
that he was "ready to proceed playing the match by reserving all my rights. My
further participation will be subject to the condition to clarify my rights
regarding game five at later stage." This is the first world chess championship
match since Spassky-Fischer 1972 in which a game was forfeited. In both
matches, it was the forfeiting player who won the title.

On October 3, 2006, the new Appeals Committee responded to Kramnik's

appeal against the Game 5 forfeit saying that they had no powers to vary the
decisions of the original Appeals Committee.] Earlier, Kramnik had said that if
his appeal fails, "the only thing I know for sure is that in this case I will sue
FIDE."

ramnik's manager expressed concern that a member of Topalov's team might

attempt to plant an electronic device in Kramnik's bathroom to foster suspicion
that Kramnik is cheating. He suggested several measures relating to the
inspection of the bathroom and Kramnik's person meant to forestall this
possibility.

zeactions
On October 2, 2006, more than 30 GMs, WGMs, and IMs expressed open support for
Kramnik's position – including former World Champions Anatoly Karpov and Boris
Spassky, whose opponent also famously disputed the match conditions.
Kramnik protests
On October 10, 2006, in a press release Team Kramnik said: "Should the
decision of FIDE regarding the fifth game have any influence on the awarding
of the World Championship title, with Mr. Topalov receiving the title after being
granted a free point for the unplayed game, Mr Kramnik declares
unequivocally: 'I will not recognize Mr Topalov as World Champion under
these conditions, and I will take legal action against FIDE at the end of the
World Championship.'"

98
Since Kramnik won the match, this situation did not eventuate.

Later allegations
On October 4, Topalov's manager, Silvio Danailov, issued a press release that
identified what it labeled "coincidence statistics" showing the percentage of
times that Kramnik played a move that would be recommended by Chessbase's
Fritz 9 chessplaying software in that position (about 78% on average).

GM Susan Polgar - who does not believe Kramnik is using computer assistance
- characterized this as "another black eye for Danailov and chess. Even if he
believes that it is true, he should complain to the committee and not through a
press release. This is unprofessional and unacceptable."

At the press conference following Game 7, Kramnik commented on the second

game where the Fritz analysis had shown a match with 87% of Kramnik's
moves. Kramnik said "A proper analysis must take into consideration that in the
second game we both blundered a mate in three! First of all, this 87% is total
nonsense – everything depends on the time allotted to the engine for analyzing a
given position. Secondly, Topalov’s percentages in San Luis, for example, were
even higher."

In an interview with the Spanish daily ABC published on 14 December 2006,

Topalov alleged that Kramnik had cheated with computer help during the
match, that network cables had been found in the bathroom ceiling, that threats
were issued, and that he felt physically unsafe during the match.

98
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98
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Further reading

 Fine, Reuben (1983). The World's Great Chess Games. Courier Dover
Publications. ISBN 0-486-24512-8.
 Gobet, Fernand, de Voogt, Alex, & Retschitzki, Jean (2004). Moves in
mind: The psychology of board games. Psychology Press. ISBN 1-84169-
336-7.

 Mason, James (1947). The Art of Chess. Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-
20463-4. (see the included supplement, "How Do You Play Chess")

 Rizzitano, James (2004). Understanding Your Chess. Gambit

Publications. ISBN 1-904600-07-7.

 Tarrasch, Siegbert (1994). The Game of Chess. Algebraic Edition. Hays

Publishing. ISBN 1-880673-94-0.

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