The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
58-462: D77 may refer to: Neo-Grünfeld Defence , Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings code D77 (airport) , an American public airport HMS Nabob (D77) , a Bogue -class escort aircraft carrier HMS Trafalgar (D77) , a Battle-class destroyer HMS Whitshed (D77) , a V and W class escort destroyer [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
116-646: A 7th place, while he finished 5th in the London Chess Classic in England. 2011 brought varied results. In Wijk aan Zee Kramnik shared fifth with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave , and in the Candidates he was eliminated by Alexander Grischuk . He won Dortmund for the tenth time, with Lê Quang Liêm in second place, and shared third behind Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich in the Russian Superfinal. Kramnik won
174-454: A Kasparov–Shirov match, and it never took place. It appears Shirov refused to play for what he considered too small a prize fund. Kasparov decided to try to arrange a match with the highest rated-player according to FIDE's rating list. At the time Anand was the highes-rated player, but Anand refused the match. Therefore, in March 2000 Kasparov announced he would play a match against Kramnik, who at
232-565: A book reporting his games with Moheshchunder and other Indians in 1864. It gained popularity after Ernst Grünfeld introduced it into international play at the Bad Pistyan Tournament 7-28 April 1922, where, in his first game with the defense, he drew Friedrich Sämisch in 22 moves. Later the same year on November 18, 1922, Ernst Grünfeld defeated future world champion Alexander Alekhine in Vienna in 55 moves. Grünfeld usually employed
290-585: A game. This was only the second time in history that a World Champion had lost a match without winning a single game, the other time being Lasker in 1921 . It also marked the first time Kasparov had lost a World Championship match. Kramnik's performance won him the Chess Oscar for 2000; this was the first time he had received the award. In October 2002, Kramnik competed in Brains in Bahrain , an eight-game match against
348-599: A match against the winner to unify the world championship. After the tournament, negotiations began for a reunification match between Kramnik and the new FIDE World Champion— Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria . In April 2006, FIDE announced a reunification match between Kramnik and Topalov—the FIDE World Chess Championship 2006 . The match took place in Elista , Kalmykia . After the first four games, Kramnik led 3–1 (out of
406-416: A maximum of 12). After the fourth game, however, Topalov's coach/manager Silvio Danailov protested that Kramnik was using the toilet suspiciously frequently, implying that he was somehow receiving outside assistance whilst doing so. Topalov said that he would refuse to shake hands with Kramnik in the remaining games. The Appeals committee decided that the players' toilets be locked and that they be forced to use
464-551: A peak rating of 2817 in October 2016, which makes him the joint-eighth-highest-rated player of all time . Kramnik publicly announced his retirement as a professional chess player in January 2019. He stated he intends to focus on projects relating to chess for children and education. Vladimir Kramnik was born in the town of Tuapse , on the shores of the Black Sea . His father's birth name
522-616: A result, Kramnik became the first undisputed World Champion, holding both the FIDE and Classical titles, since Kasparov split from FIDE in 1993. In 2007, Kramnik lost the title to Viswanathan Anand , who won the World Chess Championship 2007 tournament ahead of Kramnik. He challenged Anand at the World Chess Championship 2008 to regain his title, but lost. He remained a top player, playing in four more Candidates tournaments between 2012 and 2018, very nearly winning in 2013 . He reached
580-497: A safer continuation for White. White opts for the initiative on the queenside with a smaller pawn centre. In the main line (D82), play proceeds with 4...Bg7 5.e3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5, with White's choices at their seventh move being cxd5, Qb3, Qa4, or Rc1. Despite its reputation, in statistical databases this variation shows only a slightly higher percentage of White wins and draws, as opposed to the Exchange Variation. The variation
638-422: A shared toilet, accompanied by an assistant arbiter. Kramnik refused to play the fifth game unless the original conditions agreed for the match were adhered to. As a result, the point was awarded to Topalov, reducing Kramnik's lead to 3–2. Kramnik stated that the appeals committee was biased and demanded that it be replaced. As a condition to continue the match, Kramnik insisted on playing the remaining games under
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#1732884127993696-721: A subpar showing, losing to eventual champion Ruslan Ponomariov and finishing in joint third place with 5/10. He then participated in the Grand Slam Chess Masters preliminary tournament in Shanghai from 3 to 8 September, where he faced world number four Levon Aronian , Alexei Shirov , and Wang Hao ; the top two scorers qualified for the Grand Slam final supertournament from 9 to 15 October in Bilbao against Carlsen and Anand. Scoring 3/6, Kramnik tied for second place with Aronian behind
754-605: A very classical style. The defence was later adopted by a number of prominent players, including Vasily Smyslov , Viktor Korchnoi , Leonid Stein and Bobby Fischer . Garry Kasparov often used the defence, including in his World Championship matches against Anatoly Karpov in 1986, 1987 and 1990, and Vladimir Kramnik in 2000. Notable 21st-century players who have employed the opening include Magnus Carlsen , Maxime Vachier-Lagrave , Loek van Wely , Peter Svidler , Peter Leko , Viswanathan Anand , Luke McShane , Ian Nepomniachtchi and Gata Kamsky . Anand employed it twice in
812-574: A win for Aronian in a rapid game that didn't count as tiebreak). In Tal Memorial he shared fourth place behind Magnus Carlsen , Fabiano Caruana and Teimour Radjabov . He finished second in the London Chess Classic behind Carlsen. Kramnik played in the 2013 Candidates Tournament , which took place in London, from 15 March to 1 April. He finished with 8½ points, sharing the first place with Magnus Carlsen, who won due to having better tiebreaks. In
870-529: Is a Russian chess grandmaster . He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007. In 2000, Kramnik defeated Garry Kasparov and became the Classical World Chess Champion . He defended his title in 2004 against Peter Leko , and defeated the reigning FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov in a unification match in 2006, during which he faced cheating accusations. As
928-469: Is not often met in top-flight play today, its usage having declined significantly since its heyday in the 1930s. In this variation, play may also continue 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 0-0, which is known as the Grünfeld Gambit ( ECO code D83). White can accept the gambit by playing 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Nxd5 Qxd5 8.Bxc7, or decline it with 6.Qb3 or 6.Rc1, to which Black responds with 6...c5. Systems in which White delays
986-464: Is the Seville Variation, after 6...Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 Bg4 11.f3 Na5 12.Bxf7+, long thought a poor move by theory, as the resultant dark-square weakness had been believed to give Black more than enough compensation for the pawn. White can develop their pieces in a number of ways in the Exchange Variation. For decades, theory held that the correct method of development
1044-462: Is the longest since the inception of the FIDE ranking system in 1971. In the mid- and late 1990s, Kramnik, although considered one of the strongest players in the world, suffered several setbacks in his attempts to qualify for a World Championship match. In 1994, he lost a quarterfinal candidates match for the PCA championship to Gata Kamsky 1½–4½, and later that year, lost a semifinal candidates match for
1102-467: Is the second of only fifteen chess players to have reached a rating of 2800 (the first being Kasparov). During his reign as world champion, Kramnik never regained the world number-one ranking, doing so only in January 2008 after he had lost the title to Viswanathan Anand ; as in 1996, Kramnik had the same FIDE rating as Anand (2799) but became number one due to more games played within the rating period. Kramnik's 12 years between world number-one rankings
1160-591: The 2012 World Championship cycle . He participated as one of 130 grandmasters at the combined World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Berlin that was organized by FIDE from 10 to 14 October. In the World Rapid Championship he remained unbeaten, winning five games of 15 and reaching the 6th place. Kramnik finished third in the World Blitz Championship in Berlin with 15 / 21. He was a half-point behind
1218-722: The Candidates Tournament to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2012 . Kramnik began 2010 at the Corus chess tournament in the Netherlands, during which he defeated new world number one Carlsen with the Black pieces in their head-to-head encounter, ending Carlsen's 36-game unbeaten streak. A late loss to Viswanathan Anand knocked him out of first place, and Kramnik finished with 8/13, tying for second place with Alexei Shirov behind Carlsen's 8½ points. In May 2010 it
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#17328841279931276-569: The Chess World Cup 2013 qualified him for the Candidates Tournament 2014 . He finished equal third on 7 out of 14, and took third place on tie breaks. Kramnik did not succeed in defending his title in the Chess World Cup. In the third round he was defeated by Andreikin. He narrowly missed out on qualifying by rating for the Candidates Tournament 2016 . This was the first Candidates Tournament Kramnik had missed, since their re-introduction in
1334-573: The World Chess Championship 2010 . In the World Chess Championship 2012 between Anand and Boris Gelfand , each player used the Grünfeld once with both games ending in draws. Anand faced the Grünfeld against Magnus Carlsen during the first game of the World Chess Championship 2014 and drew in a Rook and Queen ending. The Game of the Century between Donald Byrne and 13-year-old Bobby Fischer on October 17, 1956, featured this opening, although arriving in
1392-714: The 1993 World Championship with Nigel Short , he created a rift in the chess world. In response, FIDE sanctioned a match between Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman for the FIDE World Championship, which Karpov won. Subsequently, the chess world had seen two "champions": the "classical" championship, claiming lineage dating back to Steinitz ; and the FIDE-endorsed champion. When Kramnik defeated Kasparov and inherited Kasparov's title, he also inherited some controversies. At FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 , Kramnik refused to participate, but indicated his willingness to play
1450-506: The 2007 World Championship as the incumbent FIDE champion. Although the rationale behind his (and Garry Kasparov's) "classical" title is that the title should change hands by challenge match rather than by tournament, Kramnik stated that he would recognize the winner of this tournament as being the world champion. In the tournament, held in September 2007, Kramnik and Anand drew both of their games but Kramnik finished second. The tournament, and
1508-470: The 2013 Alekhine Memorial tournament, held from 20 April to 1 May, Kramnik finished seventh, with +2−2=5. In the 2013 Tal Memorial tournament, held from 13 to 23 June, Kramnik finished tenth out of ten, with +0−3=6. In the Chess World Cup 2013 , held in Norway from 11 August to 2 September, Kramnik finished in first place, defeating Dmitry Andreikin in the four-game final match 2½–1½. Kramnik's win at
1566-576: The FIDE championship to Boris Gelfand with the score 3½–4½. In 1998, Kramnik faced Alexei Shirov in a Candidates match for the right to play Garry Kasparov for the Classical World Chess Championship, and lost 3½–5½. In 1999, Kramnik participated in the FIDE knockout championship in Las Vegas , and lost in the quarterfinals to Michael Adams 2–4. Suitable sponsorship was not found for
1624-801: The Grünfeld via a transposition of moves (using 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.d4 0-0 5.Bf4 d5). The main line of the Grünfeld, the Exchange Variation ( ECO codes D85–D89), is defined by the continuation 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4. Now White has an imposing looking centre – and the main continuation 5...Nxc3 6.bxc3 strengthens it still further. Black generally attacks White's centre with ...c5 and ...Bg7, often followed by moves such as ...Qa5, ...cxd4, ...Bg4 and ...Nc6. White often uses their big centre to launch an attack against Black's king. One subvariation, frequently played by Karpov, including four games of his 1987 world championship match against Kasparov in Seville, Spain ,
1682-652: The Russian team in the 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila . His selection for the team caused some controversy in Russia at the time, as he was only a FIDE Master . However, his selection was supported by Garry Kasparov . He scored eight wins, one draw , and no losses, a performance of 2958, which won a gold medal for best rating performance. The following year, Kramnik played in the very strong tournament in Linares . He finished fifth, beating
1740-461: The black pieces. In bringing more pressure to bear against Black's central outpost on d5, White practically forces ...dxc4, thus gaining a central preponderance; however, in return, their queen will often be exposed as Black's queenside play unfolds in the middlegame. After 5...dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 Black has several primary options: The Hungarian Variation, 7...a6, has been championed by Peter Leko . Named after Vasily Smyslov , 7...Bg4 8.Be3 Nfd7
1798-453: The chess computer Deep Fritz in Bahrain . Kramnik started well, taking a 3–1 lead after four games. However, in game five, Kramnik made what was described as the worst blunder of his career, losing a knight in a position which was probably drawn. He quickly resigned . He also resigned game six after making a speculative sacrifice, although subsequent analysis showed that he had drawing chances in
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1856-1109: The development Nc3 are known as the Neo-Grünfeld Defence ( ECO code D70–D79); typical move orders are 1.d4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.c4 d5 or, more commonly, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 d5 (the latter is known as the Kemeri Variation). Apart from the above, among the more popular continuations are: Smyslov vs. Fischer, Herceg Novi Blitz Tournament, 1970: 1.c4 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 0-0 5.0-0 c6 6.d4 d5 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Nc3 Ne4 9.Qb3 Nc6 10.Be3 Na5 11.Qd1 Nxc3 12.bxc3 b6 13.Ne5 Ba6 14.Re1 Rc8 15.Bd2 e6 16.e4 Bb7 17.exd5 Bxd5 18.Bxd5 Qxd5 19.Qe2 Rfd8 20.Ng4 Nc4 21.Bh6 f5 22.Bxg7 Kxg7 23.Ne3 Nxe3 24.Qxe3 Rc6 25.Rac1 Rdc8 26.c4 Rxc4 27.Rxc4 Rxc4 28.Qxe6 Qxe6 29.Rxe6 Kf7 30.Re3 Rxd4 31.Ra3 a5 32.Rc3 Ke6 33.Kg2 Kd6 34.h4 Ra4 35.Rc2 b5 36.Kf3 b4 37.Ke3 Kd5 38.f3 Ra3+ 39.Kf4 a4 40.g4 fxg4 41.fxg4 b3 42.axb3 axb3 43.Rc7 Ra4+ 44.Kg5 Rb4 45.Rc1 Kd4 46.Kh6 Rb7 0–1 Vladimir Kramnik Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik ( Russian : Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник ; born 25 June 1975)
1914-513: The field was 2789, the highest in history. After defeating world number one Carlsen for the second consecutive time, and then Shirov in his first two games, Kramnik drew his final four games to finish in clear first with 4/6. This gave Kramnik the distinction of having won the two strongest tournaments in chess history. Kramnik's attempt to defend his 2009 title at the Tal Memorial in Moscow ended with
1972-569: The final position. The last two games were drawn, and the match ended tied at 4–4. In February 2004 Kramnik won the Tournament of Linares outright for the first time (he had tied for first with Kasparov in 2000), finishing undefeated with a +2 score, ahead of Garry Kasparov , the world's highest-rated player at the time. From 25 September 2004 until 18 October 2004, Kramnik retained his title as Classical World Chess Champion against challenger Péter Lékó at Brissago , Switzerland, by barely drawing
2030-411: The match 10½–7½. In January 1996, Kramnik became the world number-one rated player; although having the same FIDE rating as Kasparov (2775), Kramnik became number one by having played more games during the rating period in question. This was the first time since December 1985 that Kasparov was not world number one, and Kramnik's six-month stretch (January through June 1996) as world number one would be
2088-504: The match as underdog, but his adoption of the Berlin Defence to Kasparov's Ruy Lopez opening was very effective. With the white pieces, Kramnik pressed Kasparov hard, winning Games 2 and 10 and overlooking winning continuations in Games 4 and 6. Kasparov put up little fight thereafter, agreeing to short draws with the white pieces in Games 9 and 13. Kramnik won the match 8½–6½ without losing
2146-450: The match in the last game. The 14-game match was poised in favor of Lékó right up until Kramnik won the final game, thus forcing a 7–7 draw and ensuring that Kramnik remained world champion. The prize fund was 1 million Swiss francs , which was about USD $ 770,000 at the time. Because of the drawn result, the prize was split between the two players. When Garry Kasparov broke with FIDE , the federation governing professional chess, to play
2204-611: The match to Anand by a score of 6½ to 4½ (three wins to Anand, one win to Kramnik, seven draws). Kramnik had exceptionally good results in 2009, winning once again in Dortmund and then winning the Category 21 (average Elo = 2763) Tal Memorial in Moscow with 6/9 and a 2883 rating performance ahead of world champion Anand, Vasyl Ivanchuk , Magnus Carlsen , Levon Aronian , Boris Gelfand , former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov , Peter Leko , Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich . At
2262-422: The match was tied 6–6, although Kramnik continued to dispute the result of the unplayed fifth game until the end of the match. On 13 October 2006 the result of this disputed game became irrelevant as Kramnik won the rapid tie-break by a score of 2½–1½. Kramnik's victory helped him win the Chess Oscar for 2006, the second of his career. When Kramnik won the 2006 unification match, he also won Topalov's berth in
2320-452: The more usual 8.Nf3 exd5 after which play generally proceeds on lines analogous to the Queen's Gambit Declined , Exchange Variation, with a queenside minority attack by White (b2–b4–b5xc6), as Black aims for their traditional kingside play with f7–f5–f4 and, in this case, g6–g5. For players who do not wish to take on the complexities of the Exchange Variation, the move 4.Bf4 is generally considered
2378-410: The nearly universal 5...Ne4, White plays 6.Bh4 or 6.cxd5, with Black then opting for either 6...Nxc3 7.bxc3 dxc4 or 6...Nxg5 7.Nxg5 e6. In the latter case, 7...c6 is sometimes tried. 6.Nxd5 ? grabbing the pawn loses a piece after 6...Nxg5 7.Nxg5 e6. After 6.cxd5 Nxg5 7.Nxg5 e6, White has 8.Qd2 exd5 9.Qe3+, with attacking chances (though the interpolation 8...h6 9.Nf3 exd5 is a significant alternative), or
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2436-423: The only time from January 1986 through March 2006 where Kasparov was not world number one. By becoming number one, Kramnik became the youngest ever to reach world number one, breaking Kasparov's record; this record would stand for 14 years until being broken by Magnus Carlsen in January 2010. Kramnik continued to produce good results, including winning at Dortmund (outright or tied) ten times from 1995 to 2011. He
2494-498: The original conditions of the match contract , which allows use of the bathroom at the players' discretion. The controversy resulted in a heavy volume of correspondence to Chessbase and other publications. The balance of views from fans was in support of Kramnik. Prominent figures in the chess world, such as John Nunn, Yasser Seirawan, and Bessel Kok also sided with Kramnik. The Russian and Bulgarian Chess Federations supported their respective players. After twelve regular games
2552-402: The possibility of 4.cxd5, which may be followed by 4...Nxd5 and 5.e4, giving White an imposing central pawn duo. If White does not take the d5-pawn, Black may eventually play ...dxc4, when a White response of e4 again leads to the same pawn structure . In classical opening theory this imposing pawn centre was held to give White a large advantage, but the hypermodern school, which
2610-462: The rook from the sensitive a1–h8 diagonal, as well as attempting to hinder the development of Black's queenside . Another, relatively recently developed system involves quickly playing Be3, Qd2 and Rc1 or Rd1 to fortify White's centre, remove White's rook from the diagonal and possibly enable an early d5 push by White. Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand are the leading practitioners as White, and Ľubomír Ftáčnik has had many fine results with
2668-531: The same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=D77&oldid=585062171 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Neo-Gr%C3%BCnfeld Defence Black offers White
2726-506: The then world number three, Vasyl Ivanchuk , along the way. He followed this up with a string of good results, but had to wait until 1995 for his first major tournament win at normal time controls, when he won the strong Dortmund tournament , finishing it unbeaten. In 1995, Kramnik served as a second for Kasparov in the Classical World Chess Championship 1995 match against challenger Viswanathan Anand . Kasparov won
2784-440: The third London Chess Classic with four wins and four draws, and a rating performance over 2900 Elo. Hikaru Nakamura came second. However, in the earlier 6th Tal Memorial 2011 Moscow he came 8th out of 10, with 2 losses (to Nepomniachtchi and Svidler) and 7 draws, with Magnus Carlsen winning the overall tournament on tiebreak from Levon Aronian . Kramnik played a friendly match against Levon Aronian , which finished 3–3 (with
2842-484: The time was third in the rating list behind Kasparov and Anand (Shirov was fourth). This was somewhat controversial, especially since he had lost the qualifier to Shirov. It made Kramnik the first player since 1935 to play a world championship match without qualifying. In 2000, Kramnik played a 16-game match against Garry Kasparov in London, for the Classical Chess World Championship. Kramnik began
2900-668: The time, the average Elo rating of the field made it the strongest tournament in history. Following this result, Kramnik stated that his goal was to regain the World Championship title. He also participated in the London Chess Classic in December, finishing second to Magnus Carlsen , losing their head-to-head encounter on the Black side of the English Opening . Kramnik's performance in 2009 allowed his rating (average of July 2009 and January 2010 ratings) to be high enough to qualify for
2958-529: The winner Alexander Grischuk and lost second place on tiebreak to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave . Kramnik competed in the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting, held from 9 – 17 July and finished joint second with 4/7. He played in the Tal Memorial (a ten-player round-robin tournament ) in Moscow from 26 September – 6 October. He finished sixth with 4.5/9 in the opening blitz round-robin on 25 September, meaning that he
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#17328841279933016-504: The winner Shirov's 4½/6. In the blitz playoff, Kramnik defeated Aronian to qualify along with Shirov for the Grand Slam final. Shortly after qualifying for the last stage of the Grand Slam, Kramnik played on board one for the Russian team in the 2010 Olympiad. He scored +2–0=7. Following the Olympiad, Kramnik participated in the Grand Slam Chess Masters final in Bilbao where he competed against Anand, Carlsen and Shirov. The average rating of
3074-494: The world championship, was won by Viswanathan Anand . Pursuant to the agreement reached before the 2007 tournament Kramnik and Anand played a match of the World Championship title in 2008 in Bonn . He fell victim to Anand's superior preparation, and lost three of the first six games (two with the white pieces). Kramnik's play gradually improved, and although he managed a 29-move victory in game 10, he did not win any other game, and lost
3132-430: Was Boris Sokolov, but he took his stepfather's surname when his mother (Vladimir's grandmother) remarried. His mother Irina Fedorovna is Ukrainian and is a music teacher, his biological father Boris Sokolov is Russian painter and sculptor. As a child, Vladimir Kramnik studied in the chess school established by Mikhail Botvinnik . His first notable result in a major tournament was his gold medal win as first reserve for
3190-476: Was a topical line from the 1950s through the mid-1970s. 7...Na6 is Lodewijk Prins 's idea, which Kasparov favoured in several of his World Championship matches against Karpov. This line is commonly seen in recent games. After 7...Nc6, White will most commonly play 8.Be2, followed by 8...e5! 9.d5 Nd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.Qxd4. A pawn sacrifice to develop Black's pieces and generate active counterplay. 7...c6, 7...b6 In this line, favoured by Yasser Seirawan , after
3248-686: Was coming to the fore in the 1920s, held that a large pawn centre could be a liability rather than an asset. The Grünfeld is therefore a key hypermodern opening, showing in stark terms how a large pawn centre can either be a powerful battering ram or a target for attack. The first instance of this opening is in an 1855 game by Moheschunder Bannerjee , an Indian player who had transitioned from Indian chess rules, playing Black against John Cochrane in Calcutta, in May 1855: and White mates in three (19.Nh6+ double check Kh8 20.Qg8+ Rxg8 21.Nf7 # ). Cochrane published
3306-521: Was revealed that Kramnik had aided Viswanathan Anand in preparation for the World Chess Championship 2010 against challenger Veselin Topalov . Anand won the match 6½–5½ to retain the title. In April–May 2010 he tied for 1st–3rd with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Gata Kamsky in the President's Cup in Baku and won the event on tie-break after all finished on 5/7. Kramnik also participated in Dortmund, but had
3364-419: Was with Bc4 and Ne2, often followed by 0-0 and f4–f5, playing for a central breakthrough or kingside attack. It was generally thought that an early Nf3 was weak in the Exchange Variation because it allowed Black too much pressure on the centre with ...Bg4. In the late 1970s, however, Karpov, Kasparov and others found different methods to play the Exchange Variation with White, often involving an early Rb1 to remove
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