Peter Leko vs Vladimir Kramnik - Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match 2004.09.25

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Peter Leko vs Vladimir Kramnik
Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match Brissago SUI round 1 2004.09.25
Russian Game 0-1

[Event "Kramnik - Leko Classical World Championship Match"]
[Site "Brissago SUI"]
[Date "2004.09.25"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "1"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Peter Leko"]
[Black "Vladimir Kramnik"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "130"]

1.e4 { Notes by Raymond Keene *** 1. e4 No surprise; Leko
plays little else. I felt a pang of sympathy for those
commenting live on this game. After the combinational flurry
ending on move 23, it was too easy to reach for the script
that was titled "And White converts his material
advantage". However, that account had to be shelved hastily as
Kramnik emphatically showed the virtues of Black's position,
rapidly attaining at least equality, then having some
pressure, and finally seeing Leko go astray in a much
simplified ending where the best White could hope for was a
draw.} e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 {The Petroff Defence was originally
designed as an equaliser, but it also gives Black dynamic
counterchances.} 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 {This
move order has supplanted the ancient debate between 6...Bd6
and 6...Be7.} 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 {As we shall see, the
Petroff is a defence where Kramnik appears to be equally at
home with both White and Black.} 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3
Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf4 Rac8
16. h3 {So far, we are still well inside 'theory', the current
habitual move order of modern masters. 16.h3 is an interesting
psychological ploy by Leko, as it was Kramnik's own choice
when he played against Anand in Corus 2003.} Be4 { Kramnik -
Anand, Wijk aan Zee 2003 saw 16...Bf6 but, according to
Huzman, after 17 Nh2 Qa5 18 Bd2 Rcd8 19 Bf3 h6 20 Ng4 Bxg4 21
hxg4 Bg5 22 Bxg5 hxg5 White could have got a clear advantage
by 23 Qc1 Rxe1+ 24 Qxe1 Kf8 25 Rb1 Re8 26 Qc1.} 17. Be3 Na5
{"Provocative," said Leko afterwards, but also "the most
thematic in this position, It reminds me of the Grunfeld,
which I love to play with Black.". He had this position as
White against Bologan at Dortmund earlier this year, but his
opponent that day played now 17...Rcd8; the game was drawn in
26 moves.} 18. c4 {Leko is provoked! This forcing sequence
leads ineluctably to a situation where Black will have rook
and bishop for the white queen. Also possible was 18 Nd2 as
18...Bxg2 fails to 19 c4 Qc6 20 d5 Qg6 21 Bh5 Bf3+ 22 Bxg6
Bxd1 23 Bf5.} Nxc4 19. Bxc4 Qxc4 20. Nd2 Qd5 21. Nxe4 Qxe4
22. Bg5 Qxe1+ 23. Qxe1 Bxg5 24. Qa5 Bf6 {!? A tremendous
decision. Black could probably draw with 24...Bf4 25Qxa7 b6
followed by ...Bd6 when it is doubtful that White can break
through. The text is considerably more ambitious. Black
creates a passed pawn for himself, but he must also take
account of the fact that White's passed apawn could become
exceedingly dangerous.} 25. Qxa7 c5 {! This is a key move,
creating a situation with rival racing pawns. One might expect
this still to favour the side with the material advantage, but
Leko's Queen and Rook are out-numbered and out-manoeuvred by
Kramnik's pieces.} 26. Qxb7 Bxd4 27. Ra2 c4 28. Re2 Red8
29. a4 c3 30. Qe4 Bb6 31. Qc2 g6 32. Qb3 {In the press
conference afterwards, Leko with cheerful self-deprecation
commented that "Once I got my queen to b3, I then spent time
trying to get it to e4!"} Rd6 33. Rc2 Ba5 34. g4 Rd2 35. Kg2
Rcd8 36. Rxc3 {Leko, with only a few minutes left, tires of
the bind that Black is exerting and chooses to go into and
endgame where only Black has winning chances. It might have
been better to stay passive and trust in his blockade.} Bxc3
37. Qxc3 R2d5 {Susan Polgar, commenting live online, pointed
out that an ending with the same material and the same
distribution of pawns on the king's-side occurred in
Gurgenidze-Averbakh, Baku 1961, and it saw a win for the
rooks. However, Leko's pawns stand better placed for defence
here than did Averbakh's.} 38. Qc6 Ra5 39. Kg3 Rda8 40. h4
R5a6 {When Leko played h4, Kramnik should have quickly replied
...h7h6, so as to meet h4h5 with ...g5. It's important to
retain pawns here, as explained below. After the game, Leko
mentioned that he was thinking about the idea Qe1!? but
rejected it as too ugly for such a game(!).} 41. Qc1 Ra5
42. Qh6 {White's last two moves inhibit this ...h6 manoeuvre
by Black.} Rxa4 43. h5 R4a5 44. Qf4 {? This is a blunder,
which allows Black to fix the pawn formation and ultimately
gang up on the weak white fpawn. White must play 44 hxg6 as
they say in the beginner's books, swap pawns in the ending to
reduce the opponent's winning chances. Even after the superior
44 hxg6 hxg6 it is not obvious that White can reach the safe
haven of a draw, as the basic black strategy of piling up with
his rooks against the white f-pawn still seems valid. However,
with only two pawns each on the board, White can place his
g-pawn on g5, so that even if black trades both rooks for
queen and f-pawn, the resulting king and pawn ending is a
draw.} g5 45. Qf6 h6 {This is a very clever move from Kramnik,
clearly overlooked by Leko, whose last move could have no
other purpose than to threaten h6. If now 46Qxh6, then ...R8a6
traps the white queen.} 46. f3 R5a6 47. Qc3 Ra4 48. Qc6 R8a6
49. Qe8+ Kg7 50.Qb5 R4a5 51. Qb4 Rd5 52. Qb3 Rad6 53. Qc4 Rd3
54. Kf2 Ra3 55. Qc5 Ra2+ 56. Kg3 Rf6 57. Qb4 Raa6 58.Kg2 Rf4
{Black weaves a net inexorably around White's sorry f-pawn.}
59.Qb2+ Raf6 60. Qe5 Rxf3 {Kramnik's manoeuvres, though
lengthy, have finally triumphed. If White does not trade his
queen for Black's rooks, the white king will soon be hunted
down. If White does exchange, then Black has an easy win in
the king and pawn endgame.} 61.Qa1 Rf1 62. Qc3 R1f2+ 63. Kg3
R2f3+ 64. Qxf3 Rxf3+ 65. Kxf3 Kf6 {White resigns. The pawn
endgame is a trivial win, e.g. 66 Ke4 Ke6 67 Kd4 f5 68 gxf5+
Kxf5 69 Ke3 g4 70 Kf2 Kg5 71 Kg3 Kxh5 72 Kg2 Kg5 73 Kg3 h5 and
the black pawns march down to promote. A marvellously dramatic
encounter and a fine riposte to critics who thought the match
would be dull. In the press conference after the game, Kramnik
looked drained, Leko cheerful and phlegmatic. Kramnik insisted
throughout that the position objectively is drawn, and pulled
many sceptical faces when describing his win. The following
day, both players remarked how hard it is to move on from such
a battle, Kramnik musing "I tried to get the two rooks out of
my mind, and to stop trying to coordinate them in different
attacking patterns. I think it was four o'clock in the morning
when I was able to sleep." Leko added, "I needed until five
a.m. to get rid of those two black rooks."} 0-1

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Updated: 28 October, 2021
Created: 28 October, 2021