VISHY ANAND CRUSHES KRAMNIK ee HuThis multipurpose, flexible, robust, logical and sensible opening system looks quiet, but... Second, fully revised and updated edition N N N 1 N Ae oma The PTE mons sien van HEADH tt nti 1S gates Pre oleic ... when this predator is provoked, Black eats his prey in an extremely swift and efficient way! Paperback * 279 pages * € 23.95 ¢ available at your local (chess)bookseller or at newinchess.comRybka 3 Aquarium Current Computer Chess World Champion Estimated rating: 3150 Leads all independent computer chess rating lists Fisherandom/Chess960 World Champion Aquarium: Designed for Rybka * Agraphical user interface (GUI) designed for Rybka * Takes full advantage of all Rybka features * Unprecedented analysis features: Infinite analysis, blunder check, game analysis, interactive deep analysis (IDeA) * Handicap play (Elo-level 900-3100; material handicaps) * Fischerandom/Chess960 support * State of the art chess trees (fast, powerful, compact) -=*|_ * Engine matches and tournaments * Rybka 3 UCI includes versions for 32 Bit and 64 Bit processors * Adatabase with 3 300 000 games * On-line access to Nalimov endgame tablebases (3-6 pieces) * UCI Engine for connection to Fritz, ChessBase, etc. * Chess Internet Resource Server: Weekly updates, exchange data * Free broadcast and Playing zone Rybka 3 Aquarium on DVD: $68 / 50 € Deep Rybka 3 Aquarium (multi-processor version on DVD): $119 / 89 € Pesta = New! Chess Assistant 10 with Rybka 3 AO. Py’ Chess Assistant 10 Starter package with Rybka 3 and - database of 3 300 000 games (on DVD): $99 / 79 € Chess Assistant 10 Professional package with Deep Rybka 3 and the database of 4 000 000 games (on DVD): $159 / 119 € www.ChessOK.com ka software available in the Chess online shop: www.newinchess.comNEW zN CHESS PunuisweR: Allard Hoogland gor Cerner 1n-cMIEF: Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, Jan Timman NIC’s Café Your Move The Winner Takes It All he long-awaited world championship match between ishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik in the Art and Ex- hibition Hall in Bonn ended in a resounding victory for the Indian super-GM. Entering calculated risks and out- foxing his opponent with superb opening preparation, Anand took a close to insurmountable three-point lead in the first half of the 12-game match. Kramnik fought back in the second half, but his resurrection came too late to change the unambiguous 62-4" verdict. Interview: Vishy Anand ‘When I woke up at nine I thought, only six more hours and then the game starts. I can’t take this waiting any- more.” Interview: Vladimir Kramnik ‘1 felt like I was unarmed, that everywhere novelties were waiting for me, in all openings.’ Notes of an Outsider ‘In time of plague you should make merry. In time of re- cession and heightened market volatility you want to fill your mind, clouded and depressed by negative infor- mation, with something magical, sublime and fabulous.’ Evgeny Bareev, co-author of the award-winning insid- er’s account of Kramnik’s first three world champion- ship matches, From London to Elista, gives his take on the match in Bonn. Germany’s Greatest Chess Fan Dr Peter Welz of Berlin has seen all the games in Bonn, What's more, he missed not a single move. Meet a man witha rare passion for completeness. Svidler’s Fifth Crown When he burst away with three wins from his first three games, Peter Svidler seemed to leave little doubt about who was going to win the Super Final of the Russian Championship. In the end the grandmaster from St. Pe- tersburg did win his fifth title, but the road to victory was much bumpier than expected.Top-Seeds Claim European Club Cup 66 Bere It’s been a while, if it ever happened, that the favourites Be ea ear) were successful in both sections of the annual European Club Cup, but in Kallithea both the men of Ural Sverd- lovskaya and the women of Monaco lived up to expecta- t Suitable Response to a Shaky Start 80 His play in the opening rounds was a tad wobbly, but once he'd decided to wear a suit and tie, nothing could stop Nigel Short from claiming his third Commonwealth ti- tle anymore. Nakamura Boosts Ego-Rating 86 At the traditional rapid festival in Cap d’Agde in the South of France, Hikaru ‘Bulletman’ Nakamura beat the popular favourite Vasily Ivanchuk to be crowned the 2008 champion. For Pleasure and Enjoyment 96 Hans Ree relives the legendary matches between Kasparov and Karpov. Dancing Queens 100 Jan Timman shares his passion for endgames and studies. An Old Cat Learns New Tricks 104 Garry Kasparov congratulates Vishy Anand on his im- pressive victory in Bonn. ‘It will not be easy for the new generation of stars to take his crown. The Tiger of Ma- dras may be an old cat, but he is still learning new tricks.” dust Checking 106 Guess who's Igor-Alexandre Nataf’s favourite chess player of all time. CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Evgeny Alekseev, Evgeny Atarov, Evgeny Bareev, Nana Daagnidze, Glenn Flear, Surya Ganguly Grischuk, Garry Kasparov, Igor-Alexandre Nataf, Peter Heine Nielsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Vladimir Malakhov, Hikaru Nakamura, René Olthof, Dirk Poldauf, Teimour Radjabov, Hans Ree, Nigel Short, Peter Svidler, Jan ‘Timman, Artyom Timofeev, Dmitry Yakovenko PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Arvind Aaron, Ozgiir Akman, Evgeny Ataroy, Torsten Behl, CCAS-Manuel Forte, Ivan Grigorov, John Henderson, Stevens Rouchouse, Misha Savinov COVER PHOTO Vishy Anand: New In ChessCould You Pass Me That Cup? Although he didn’t win the match in Bonn, Vladimir Kramnik, by way of consolation, can neverthe- less claim that he has a bigger cup toputon the mantelpiece in his liv- ing-room (provided there isa man- telpiece) than the plexiglass tro- phy that Vishy Anand received. How can that be? Well, do you re- member the match that Kramnik played against Kasparov for the Braingames world championship in London in 2000? And the won- erful cup that was waiting for the winner of that match? In New In Chess 2000/7 we published a photo of the ‘Howard Staunton Memori- al Trophy’. The caption read that thesterlingsilver cup was commis- sioned from royal jewellers Asprey and Garrard and that it was val- ued at 25,000 pounds. The match brochure stated that ‘This World Championship between Kasparov and Kramnik will be contest- ed for the Howard Staunton Me- f cia fal Lost and found! The Howard Staunton Memorial Trophy. 6 NEWIN CHESS morial Trophy’. In New In Chess 2000/8 there is a photo of a hap- py Kramnik holding the cup. And there is a cartoon of match organ- izer Raymond Keene holding that same cup. Possibly this cartoon in- spired Mr. Keene when after the demise of Braingames he felt that they still owed him 14,000 pounds and he decided to keep the cup by way of compensation — obviously much to the disappointment of Kramnik, who failed to under- the cup disappeared fe after he had held it for a few blissful moments at the prize- giving. On the eve of the match in Bonn, this unfortunate situation was remedied when thanks to di- plomacy and (never far away when diplomacy gets into action) mon- ey the way was paved for the cup to end up in Kramnik’s hands for good. The parties involved prefer to remain silent about the transac- tion, but we are glad that this his- torical error has been corrected. Kramnik is very happy to finally have the trophy that he must have felt he was the rightful owner of. And rightly so. Quick Cuban Outstrips Favourites Unlike last year, when the Blitz World Championship was incor- porated in the Tal Memorial in Moscow, the 2008 edition was held as an ‘independent’ tournament again in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Al- maty being slightly more out of the way than Moscow, the field was considerably weaker than on previous occasions. But despite the absence of big guns such as ‘Anand, Kramnik and Carlsen, an interesting field was lured to the old capital of Kazakhstan thanks to a 350,000 Swiss Francs prize- fund. First prize was 80,000 Swiss Francs, which translates to, rough- ly speaking, 67,000 US dollars or 53,000 Euro. The top favour- ites were reigning blitz champi- on Ivanchuk and former cham- pion Grischuk. Other fast movers present were Morozevich, Radja~ bov and Mamedyarov. But they all were outwitted by surprise winner Leinier Dominguez of Cuba, who scored 11% points from 15 games. Besides the participants, vari- ous guests of honour were invit- ed. Karpov played a simul, Short provided audio commentary and Kortchnoi and Spassky served on the Appeals Committee. And, to give the championship its proper place in history, there are plans to issue a commemorative stamp in and Spassky (‘A pawn is a pawl’) 2009. For those who, in these mod- ern times of emails and text mes- sages, don’t know whata stamp is, the official website explained: ‘A postage stamp is an adhesive pa- per evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services.” Dominguez won eight games and drew seven, and that was enough to finish half point ahead of Ivanchuk and 14 points ahead of Svidler (bronze) and Grischuk. One of Dominguez’s nicest wins was that against multiple Moscow blitz champion Morozevich. AL9.3-C70 Leinier Dominguez ‘Alexander Morozevich Almaty World Blitz 2008 (6) 1.04 05 2.0f3 D6 3.2b5 a6 4. a4 b5 5.2b3 a5 6.0-0d6 7.04 end4 8.Wxd4 e7 9.Wd3 c5 10.04 Qe 11.Dbd2 Znb3 12.axb3 bA 13.21 Black’s risky play has left him with positional weaknesses on NIC’S CAFE6 and ds. 13..0¢6 14.01 15.258 Qxf3 16.Wxtd Ada But if Black manages to maintain this knight on dq... 17-Eixd4 A resolute decision. White gets splendid com- pensation for the exchange. TT exd4 18.e5 cB 19.He1 If only Black could hide his king some- where. 19...dxe5 20, 2ne5 2e7 21. Sag] HyB 22.016 He7 23.293 $8 24.205 a7 25.Wh5 3 An understandable at- tempt at counterplay that fails quickly. 26.Wh6+ de8 27.Wah7 2f8 28.05 Wad 29.0f6+ od8 3ODmi7 ud7 31. xd3+ be8 32.W15+ Black resigned. Topalov-Kamsky is on! With the world championship match over and with Vishy Anand the more than ever undisputed champion, we are probably not the only ones to wonder what the world championship will look like in the years ahead. One qualifi- er is the World Cup in Khanty- Mansiysk in late 2009, which will probably be shunned by various top players, another is the Grand Prix, which after the two first tournaments in Baku and Sochi is shrouded in deafening silence, stir- ring up doubts about the remain- ing four GP events. And there is the match between Veselin Topal- ov and Gata Kamsky, which was created as a back door back to the world championship for Topalov after he missed the Mexico world championship tournament due to a rule that he himself supported NIC'S CAFE before his match against Kramnik in Elista in 2006. The winner of the match be- tween Topalov and Kamsky is supposed to play Vishy Anand for the world title in 2009. How- ever, for months on end the play- ers’ first concern was that their match would be played at all. First, Kirsan Iyumzhinov guaranteed $750,000 from his own pocket to see Topalov and Kamsky slug it out. Then his money was no long- erneeded, because Kamsky turned out to have a manager, one Alexan- der Chernenko, a newcomer on the chess scene, who said he’d raised $750,000 tohold the match in Lviv, Ukraine. Next, a lot of time was wasted waiting for Mr Chernenko to transfer this money into FIDE’s bank account, and after several deadlines had passed, FIDE an- nounced that Bulgaria could stage the match after all, as they had orig- inally proposed. This was not an easy challenge for the Bulgarians, as they were only given a couple of days to react and the bid they were supposed to make was raised from the original $250,000 to $300,000, including $50,000 for FIDE. To make things even more confusing, Gata Kamsky’s father Rustam sud- denly made a comeback in chess circles with an open letter that, as in the old , did not mince words in its criticism of FIDE and ended with the dramaticstatement that Gata’s life might be in danger if he was forced to play in Bulgaria. This letter was followed by another open letter by Gata Kamsky him- self, who urged the USCF to help him to take FIDE to court in order to secure a match on neutral terri- tory. The Bulgarian chess federa- tion did not wait for the USCF to take action and managed to secure the requested $300,000 in the time- frame set. Which seemed to settle the matter until Kamsky’s manag- er Chernenko suddenly published a letter in which he claimed that he still had $935,000 for the match, but that he had refused to transfer this money to FIDE’sbank account as long as his sponsors had not seen the officially signed contracts of the players. Fortunately this farce came toan end at the FIDE Congress in Dresden. As we were about to go to press FIDE announced that the match will be held in Sofia from 16 to 28 February 2009. Gata Kamsky announced that Mr Chernenko is t no longer representing him. NEW IN CHESS 7Is chess a sport? (1) Jonathan Rowson’s article ‘Is chess a sport?” in New In Chess 2008/7 provoked me to systematize in brief my interpretation of the is- sue. Let’s follow the etymology of the word ‘sport’. Itcomes from the Old English ‘disport’ — to en- tertain. In this sense — yes, chess is entertainment! However, sport has also long been dominated by pro- fessionalism typical of contempo- rary capitalist society. It’s a serious thing, it’s not fun. Asa graduate from the National Sports Academy in Sofia, Bulgar- ia, who has been in direct contact with many different sportsmen, I think I am in the position to voice an opinion regarding the ex- tent to which chess is a sport. A sport should be accessible to eve- ryone and be clearly entertain ing in character. It entails com- petition between opposing forces that strive to reach the boundaries of human possibilities, There are strictly defined rules drawn up by a special organization and playing the sport leads to serious psycho- physiological pressure. ‘Yes, chess is a sport! But on one condition. In all other sports, the participants are subject to sanctions if they agree on the final score during (or be- fore) the game. They may be ex- pelled for life from their particu- lar sport’s community and may even be prosecuted. We have re- cently witnessed attempts in the chess world to stop this practice 8 NEWIN CHESS by introducing the so-called ‘Sofia rules’, but unfortunately the chess community is still not convinced of the benefits of banning short draws and, generally, of prevent- ing players from agreeing to draw their games. My analysis would not be com- plete if I did not add that I have worked as a chess teacher in var- ious schools in Sofia for seven years. Asa result I share the view - Readers can send their opit NEW IN CHESS P.O. Box 1093 1810 KB Alkmaar The Netherlands or e-mail: editors@newinchess.com Letters may be edited or abridged - thatour ancient gameis a wonder- ful educational and pedagogical tool. This may even be the most important aspect of chess, and should be highlighted as such. Furthermore, let’s not forget that chess is the sport with the greatest amount of literature ded- icated to it. And when it comes to literature I allow myself one more personal reference with the fol- lowing chess study from 1997, named ‘Love’, which was includ- ed in my booklet Twelve Moons (Sofia, 2006). White to move and win Is there any other sport with such rich and profound expressive re- sources? No, chess is much more than a sport. ‘Simeon Stoichkov Sofia, Bulgaria Editorial postscript: The solution of the study is: 1.f4+ Sxe6 2.Dexdg+ Bez 3.Df5+ a8 4.Axc3! 268 s.gxhs Qbg 6.Dbr WS 7.d4! Bas 8.h6 Bc7 9.ds &xfq 10.h7 Bes r1.c5 and wins. Is chess a sport? (2) I greatly enjoyed Jonathan Row- son’s article ‘Is Chess a Sport?” and especially his remark that Germany, France, and India con- sider chess to be a sportwhile Bel- gium, UK, and the USA do not. Does anyone know where Rus- siansstand on this issue? Steven Craig Miller New Lenox, IL USA Negro and nigger Tell Jan Gustafsson (New In Chess 2008/7, p.8) not to worry. ‘Negro’ is not a racial slur, just a statement of someone’s ethnicity. tis ‘nigger’ that isa racial slur. Peter Tobler Canberra, Australia Michelin stars San Sebastian does not boast more Michelin stars than Paris (New In Chess 2008/7, p.11). That is com- parable to saying Iceland has more GMs than Russia. Per capita, that is probably true (and quite remar- kable), but not otherwise. Charles Milton Ling Vienna, Austria Falsifications of an egotist In the report about the Wom- en’s World Chess Championship in New In Chess 2008/7, Evgeny Atarov wrote more about a situa~ tion that hurt him and a conflict that was rather caused by himself than by anyone else, than about the chess tournament. The Cham- YOUR MOVEpionship in Nalchik was organized ina very memorable way. For the first time in its history, the Repub- lic Kabardino-Balkaria organised such a high-level tournament and they did so perfectly, with love, en- thusiasm and competence. My duty as chief arbiter was to ensure good conditions for the players in the tournament hall, to eliminate any disturbances and ensure that the players follow the rules. During my career as a chess player I have never had any prob- lem with my opponents or with the arbiters, and as an arbiter I never had any problem with play- ers or with a journalist. Unfortu- nately in Nalchik, Imet E. Atarov, who created a lot of headaches for everybody who was around to or- ganize the tournament or to work for the media. He made photos especially during the time-trou- bles, not caring if he disturbed the players or not. He was noisy and as he didn’t switch off his mobile phone, it rang when he came into the playing hall (naturally disturb- ing the players) and when he was admonished and after he’d been asked not to come to the play- ing area with his mobile phone switched on, the next day he re- peated thesame performance with a ringing phone. How can some- body be so negligent? How can somebody behave like a czar in a chess tournament, annoying eve- rybody and disregarding the play- ers that are competing in the most important event of the year? At the final press conference the new Chess Queen, Alexandra Kosteniuk, was asked whether she had been disturbed by anyone’s actions during the games. Her answer was an immediate ‘yes’ and then she described the situa- tion when Atarov’s phone started to ring and he made pictures and disturbed her concentration dur- ing crucial moments of the game. Thus, I do not want to waste more words on the falsifications of an egotist, who should not beallowed near the playing hall of any chess tournament. I am convinced that a person who tries to find conflicts at any price and exaggerates his personal (unjustified) grievanc- es without telling anything of his ownserious mistakes is the biggest opponent of a championship and does not serve the readers of News In Chess well. Zsuzsa Veroci, Budapest, Hungary Editorial postscript: Evgeny Atarov declined to react to Zsuzsa Veroci’s letter as he felt she didn’t address the points he criticized but only expressed her negative opinion about him. Most probably Zsuzsa Veroci and Evge- ny Atarov will keep their own in- dependent memories of Nalchik. WINNER of the English Chess Federation 2008 Book of the Year Award “One of the most original and interesting books to have won the Book of the Year Award” The ECF Judges in their report SHORTLISTED for The Guardian 2008 Chess Book of the Year Award SHORTLISTED for the ChessCafe 2007 Book of the Year Award “A terrific read” Former Dutch Champion IM Gert Ligterink, de Volkskrant “Simply breathtaking” ChessVibes “Absolutely riveting.” British Chess Magazine Jetzt auch auf deutsch! Paperback * 279 pages ¢ € 21.95 ¢ available at your local (chess)bookseller or at newinchess.com YOUR MOVE NEWINCHESS 9World Cham jon Vishy Anand receives the winner's trophy from Prof. Robert von Weizsacker, president of the German chess federation. The long-awaited world championship match between Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik ended in a resounding victory for the Indian super-GM. Entering calculated risks and outfoxing his opponent with superb opening preparation, Anand took a close to insurmountable 10. NEWINCHESS three-point lead in the first half of the 12-game match. Kramnik fought back in the second half, but his resurrection came too late to change the unambiguous 6'4- 4’ verdict. The Russian former World Champion was gracious in defeat, called his adversary’s victory fully deserved and opined that Anand has now joined the ranks of the great champions. In the eyes of many chess lovers Anand already belonged in this company before he came to Bonn. They see his spectacular win as further testimony of the fabulous strength of a uniquely gifted player.Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam oO. the first day of the match, jas I was climbing the stairs of the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany to go to the press centre, I ran into an Indian journalist. With an open smile she asked what my predic- tion for the match was. Never one eager to flaunt prognostications about matters that are beyond my control, I almost automatically an- swered apologetically that I had no idea. ‘Come on’, she insisted, Tam only asking you off the record’. ‘Well’, I said, slightly regretting my instant refusal, ‘Ican tell you that in hindsight I will be able to explain any outcome.’ Indeed, how brilliant and how chess-politically correct. ‘And how wrong. But then who could have expected that this clash of titans, this widely publicized heavy-weight bout, would be vir- Game 1 ended in an insipid 32- move draw. The most notable ab- sentees on the opening night were Peer Steinbriick, the German Min- ister of Finance, an avid chess fan and the patron of the match, and FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhi- nov. Mr. Steinbriick had to be in Berlin for talks to inject billions of Euros into the German econo- my, while due to the same financial crisis Mr. Iyumzhinov had to be in Moscow at the request of presi- dent Medvedev (aka President Pu- tin), The emergency meetings in the Russian capital also kept Alex- ander Zhukov, Deputy Prime Min- ister and president of the Russian chess federation, from travelling to Germany. In Mr. Ilyumzhinov’s absence the speeches on behalf of FIDE were made by Honorary President Florencio Campomanes, who expressed his gratitude that at the age of 81 he was present at an- other world championship match. Later on Mr. Steinbriick did man- age to attend the match, but Mr. Il- yumzhinov didn’t make it to Bonn atall. ‘The short draw in the first game aroused fears that there might be more ahead, and when I left the playing hall to rush to the press conference I couldn’t fail to hear the question that a disappointed German television reporter asked a visitor: ‘But don’t you agree that the last hour of the game was quite boring?” At the press conference the players spoke about a normal draw, the kind that you can expect in a match when the contestants still have to warm up. It certainly didn’t affect Kramnik who, when he was asked what he was planning to do that night, replied without any hesitation and with a big smile, “P'm going to have a party.’ The second game also lasted 32 moves and ended prematurely in a draw when Kramnik offered a draw and Anand, with only three minuteson the clock, accepted the takes It all tually over after a mere six games? Who had foreseen that Kramnik would be kicked about the board when playing with the white piec- es? That in practically every game he would plunge into thought after the opening, yet again surprised by a cunning idea brewed in Anand’s laboratory? The simple answer is: No one. Not even one of the in- creasing number of people who claim to have announced the finan- cial crisis years ago. The first two games of the match didn’t foreshow this dramatic sce- nario either. After a modest open- ing ceremony in which the main guests of honour failed to turn up, Vishy Anand dramatically demonstrates that he is also the best in matches Viadimir Kramnik admirably hides his disappointment as a Vishy Anand answers a ques' the final press conference. NEWINCHESS 11—¥iewanathan Anand 2783) 7 00:36 = Great sportsmanship, registered by the Foidos system. Vladimir Kramnik Viadienie Kramnik 00:27 acknowledges defeat and grabs Vishy Anand’s hand with both hands. offer in a much better position. Possibly relieved by this escape, Kramnik again was all jokes at the press conference, and when he was asked if he’d been highly surprised by Anand’s switch from 1.¢4 to 1.d4, he said that of course he and his team had been preparing for 1.d4 as well, but added in a jocular aside that they had ‘not looked at 1.b4 and 1.c4.’ And when some- one brought up the risk of many more short draws he spoke with uncanny foresight: ‘Don’t worry, I think that half of the games will end in decisions.’ Indeed, after six games, half of the games had seen decisions. Victories of Anand with black in Games 3 and 5, and with white in Game 6 had abundantly shown that the world champion’s team had prepared for Operation Bonn with greater ingenuity. ‘The teams of both players were a mix of old hands and surprises. Anand’s team consisted of Peter Heine Nielsen, Rustam Kasim- dzhanov, Surya Ganguly and Ra- doslaw Wojtaszek, while Kramnik relied on Sergey Rublevsky, Pe- ter Leko and Laurent Fressinet. Those were the ones present in Bonn, but no one doubted that bothteamsreceived further assist- ance from allies working at home. 12 NEWINCHESS ‘The hat-trick that Anand pulled off in the first half was not only a blow to Kramnik, but also to the organizers. For most of the rounds the hall was sold out and for them the match couldn’t last long enough. Ideally it would even go into extra time with a rapid and blitz tie-break, as every day gener- ated income. Now that the match threatened to end prematurely, they were facing therisk that they had to refund the tickets for one or more of the final rounds. And with the tickets being sold for 35 Euro each (a hefty amount for chess standards, but a highly reason- able entrance fee if you think of other sports events and concerts) this was not something they were looking forward to. The same went for the Foidos system, the pay-service that broad- cast the games, showed live foot- age from the playing hall and its surroundings and had commen- tary in English, German, Spanish and Russian. Foidos proved to be a new step in the professionalization of chess broadcasts, even though its debut was slightly marred by various technical imperfections. Because of the Foidos experi- ment and a deal with ChessBase the games were initially given to other portals with a 30-minute de- lay. For anyone who knows the un- written rules of the Internet, there was no doubt that this delay was doomed to end in failure within a couple of days, And this is exactly what happened. After two rounds it was clear that with or without permission the games would be broadcast all over the net without delay anyway, and this convinced the organization to cease their ef- forts to enforce it. Due to Anand’s explosion in the first half, the match didn’t go the full stretch of 12 games. Kramnik managed to take the i tiative in the second half, but the three-point gap proved too big to bridge. Still, thanks toa draw in Game 9 (when Anand could have decided the issue if he had won) and Kramnik’s face-saving win in Game 10, the match lasted eleven games. Which was a fully deserved reward for the truly excellent or- ganization by the Universal Event Promotion team. UEP hopes to organize many more top-notch chess events, and given the flaw- less way they staged this match, one can only wish them well. UEP is led by Josef Resch who, and there is no secret about that, is a close friend of Kramnik’s. How- ever, he was fully justified in his pride when he stressed that every- one could see that his organization had created exactly the same ex- cellent conditions for both players. What’s more, to avoid any misun- derstandings he had not had any non-official contact with Kram- nik’s camp during the match. Indeed, there was no reason to think that any of the players had a ‘home advantage’ in Bonn, al- though one got the feeling that amongst the local spectators there was a slight preference for Kramnik. As could also be read in the evaluation after the match in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zei- tung, which echoed Kramnik’sopinion. ‘Anand’s match victory in Bonn has shown that he is also a master in this format. With this he has secured a place in history.’ It seems safe to say that Anand in- deed proved that he is also a great match player, but his fans will rightly claim that he already ful- ly deserved his placein history be- fore he played Kramnik in Bonn. Perhaps Kramnik’s German ties and numerous wins in Dortmund made him slightly more popu- lar with the spectators, but in any case Anand, who after all plays for Baden-Oos and has won the Chess Classic in Mainz countless times, stole the heart of theaudience that attended the final game when he thankedeveryonein a short speech in German. In this issue we will bring you extensive coverage of this memora- ble match. In exclusive interviews both players present their views, and you will find annotations to all their games. Vishy Anand’s wins in Games 3 and 5 are analysed by his second Peter Heine Nielsen (based on Anand’s notes; unfortunately the World Champion fell ill shortly after the match and could not write the verbal comments himself) and his win in Game 6 is annotated by his second Surya Ganguly. We are grateful to Viadimir Kramnik that despite his overall loss he agreed to annotate his win in Game ro. The remaining games are dealt with in a special contribution by Evgeny Bareev, Kramnik’s former second and the co-author of the acclaimed From London to Elista. And there is more. As said, almost every day the Art and Exhibition Hall was sold out. Dirk Poldauf spoke to probably the staunchest chess fan around and we warmly recom- mend his portrait. And finally, we are proud and delighted that after an absence of several months (no time, no time!) Garry Kasparov is back to give his analysis of the match in Bonn. Peter Heine Nielsen 81.9.7-D49 Viadimir Kramnik Vishy Anand Bom 2008 (3) After what one would be tempt- ed to call two obligatory opening draws, if it wasn’t that it hadn’t happened since Vishy played Kasparov in New York in 1995, everybody expected the match to catch fire in the following game. 1.04 d5 2.04 c6 3.23 A sign that Kramnik meant busi- ness, but after a narrow escape in Game 2, obviously he had to exert abit more pressurethan whatis of- fered in the Exchange Variation. 6 4.c3 e6 5.e3 Dbd7 6. dxc4 7.2xc4 b5 8.203 8...a61? Hardly a huge surprise for Kramnik, despite the fact that Vishy only tried it once, back in 1994 in a rapid game versus Kar- pov, as both Kasim in his match against Gelfand, and me later against Kozul used this move-or- der. In the Advanced Chess game from Moscow 2007 Vishy chose 8...2b7 against Kramnik. 9.04 c5 10.05 cxd4 11.2xb5 axb5 12.en%6 gxf6 13.0-0 WE ‘Actually Kramnik himself has some experience on the black side of this position. 14, We2 After 14.8e4 &b7 15.2xb7 Wxb7 16.2xd4 Hg8 Black has good coun- terplay, and this ended as a draw in Kamsky-Kramnik, Linares 1994. x72 es zl Ui U4 ay 14...2b717 Not exactly a novelty, but so much less popular than 14...b4 and 14...a6 that it seemed to take Kramnik completely by surprise. Up to now everybody had been of the opinion that just develop- ing the bishop to its most natu- ral square and then continuing as if Black has a massive attack is an unrealistic dream, but Vishy shows it’s for real. Who came up with it? Well, Kasim prepared it for Gel- fand, but Vishy came up with it independently. I do recall a slight disappointment when during the first session both Rustam and Vishy said they had a great idea in the Meran, and it turned out to be the same. But once we started ana- lysing it, the disappointment soon turned into joy. 15.2.xb5! Why not indeed? Other moves exist, but this is obviously critical. 15... 261? Slightly artificial, but prevent- ing 16.24 makes a lot of sense. The natural 15...1g8 was tested in Game 5. x 2 a Ve a16.01 16.@xd4!? already has to be taken seriously here, and it has actually been played in Déppner-Voigt, Germany 1992. Black, however, saves himself with a classical tac- tical stroke: 16...Waxdq (16...g8 17.3! is the computer improve- ment on the above-mentioned game) 17.Hd1 Axh2t! (after 17...Wes? 18.2e3 We7 19.Hact Wh8 20.2xd7+ Sxd7 21.Wos+ e7 22.Bxd6! wins immedi- ately) 18.exh2 Wh4t 19.g1 Qxge! 20.2xd7+ we7 21.hxg2 ‘Hhg8+. Usually Black just mates in such scenarios, here Black has to find a perpetual: 22.f3 Whs+ 23.%e3 Wes+ 24.cod2 Had8! 25. Hifi Hxd7+ 26.ter He8! 27.We3 Wast 28.Gd2 Bxd2 29.Wxd2 West 30.We2 Was+. Thisis the line given by the computers, lead- ing to a draw by perpetual. 16...21g8 17.93! A good decision. While Black would find it very easy to gener- ate pressure against g2, his hopes of exploiting the weaknesses of the long diagonal could very easily re- main just hopes. 11...2g4l Technically speaking this is the novelty. D'Israel-Gerbelli, Ameri- cana 2000, mentioned in Informant 79, continued 17...£2c5 18.b4! and condemned the text-move. a7, a7 Panty ls an "| 18.214 However, the Informant ’s rec~ ommendation of 18.2da falls short due to 18...87!!. Suddenly 14 NEWINGHESS Black’s dream comes true, and he manages to amass all his potential energy for an assault on the white king: 19.2xd7 (19. Wxg4 Wxbs is just bad for White) 19... Zag8! 20. Abs (or 20.Wbs Ye just inten- sifying the pressure against g3). If White were better here, 15...2d6 wouldn’t work, but there seem to be at least two solutions: ANALYSIS DIAGRAM 20...2xg3+ (by far the most flashy; the obvious 20....2xg3?! seems to fall short to 21.fxg3 43+ 22.Wf2 Wxbs 23.b4! B8g5 24.04 We6 25.0f3 Hfs 26.Exd3 Exf3 27.Eixfz Wats 28.Wxf3 Qxf, and although he wins back the materi- al, Black will finally suffer against White’s passed pawns; the most solid is 20...43!?: 21.Wxd3 Hxg3+ 22.hxg3 Bxg3+ 23.bf1 Bxd3 24. xd3 Wag! 25.Dc4 Bb4 26.23 get! 27.doxg2 Wg 4+ forcing a perpetual) 21.hxg3 (21.fxg3? d3+ 22.Wf2 &cs! illustrates why Black has to take with the rook and not the bishop) 21...2xg3+ 22.f1!? Rgat 23.ber ANaLys! oIAGRAM 23...He3!! (this amazing move keeps Black afloat) 24.fxe3 &g3+ 25.Whe Qxfat+ 26.dxf2 dxe3+ 27.xg2 Wxbs, and the comput- ers again say: draw! There’s a per- petual coming up. 18... nf 19. m1? An ambitious reaction despite be- ing an hour down on the clock, but White understandably wants to take over the initiative, even at the cost of material. Vishy now thought for a while. The computer immediately in- sists that 19.Hxdq is just better for White. Hopefully it’s not that simple. 19...5, It would have been interesting to see what Kramnik intended to play after 19...2.g61?, as White’s most obvious reaction just falls short: 20.2xd7+?! xd7 21. Dxeb+ Ad6! 22.0 Bgs is just much better for Black. Perhaps the cool computer-move 20.4!? was what Kramnik had in mind: 20.Dxe6 fxe6 21.Hxd7 Sf8 22. 2d3 Bes 23.Axg6 hxg6 24.We4 be8 25.Hh7 Qda4! (this amazing move seems to hold the balance) 26.Exb7 Sxfe+ 27.df1 Wxb7 28.Wxe6+ 8 29.Wxf6+ dg8 30.Wxg6+ wh8, and despite the fact that White can check with his queen on whatever square he wants, no progress seems possible, e.g: 31.Wib+ bg8 32.West+ Ph8 33-Wes+ thy 34.dxf2 BB+ 35. gr Woot 36 g2 Bf2t 37. hz Wh6+ 38.cg4 We6+ with a perpetual.20.2xe6 fxeG 21.Hxd7 £18 22. waa Played instantly, and obvious- ly this is what Kramnik intend- ed when he sacrificed the piece on move 19. White covers g3 and threatens to invade on h7, so im- mediateaction is required. zx & wy aa R Se ww & RB & E & 22...0g7!? Here 22... £c8? loses to 23.Hh7. And 22...f5? loses to 23.We3. Af- ter 22...xg3!? it was later said that it was only a matter of where White was better. The opening discussion will possibly continue for years to come, but at least here Black has the option of liquidat- ing to a draw: 23.hxg3 h4! 24.11d6 (24.Sf1? hxg3 25.fxg3 Hg! wins for Black) 24...Wes_25.b4 Wes 26.0d8+ Hxd8 27.Wxd8+ Sg7 28.We7+ Gh6 29.Wi8+ He7 30.Wh8+ Hh7 31.W£8+, with a perpetual. 23.xg7 Soxg] 24.gxf4 dB It’s very important to kick the queen first. After 24...h6 25.04 Bg8+ 26.cof1 Sat (26... g2 27. We Bxh2 28.Ha3 leaves White with an edge) 27.%e2 White is clearly better. 25.We2 25.We4? is just bad because of 25...Hd4. Also possible was 25. Wb3!?, but Black seems at least fine after 25...2h6 26.24 (and not 26.%f1? Ads 27.2.c4 Bxc4t 28. Wxc4 Hdz and f2 collapses) 26... Bg8+ 27.bfr Mego 28.We3 Wxe3 29.fxe3 Hxh2 and the black h- pawn is just as dangerous as the white a~and b-pawns. 3 a ‘The match is won, the work is done. A relaxed Peter Heine Nielsen listens to 25...2h6 A very interesting and unbalanced position has arisen. White has two extra, and passed, pawns, but his kingside is permanently dam- aged and open to a direct mating attack. 26.011 28 27.04 A good multi-purpose move, mak- ing sure the bishop and the pawn defend each other in the upcom- ing complications. Wrong was 27.f5?, threatening to swap queens. Not surprisingly, Black can decide the issue in an direct assault: 27... 2g2+! 28.@er Ac6! 29.Wda+ Hh7 30..2xc6 colleague Rustam Kasimdzhanov, one of the surprises on id's team. Wxcb 31.he2 Wos+ 32.f3 Hey 33-Her We6+ 34.Ge2 We4t 35. 6f3 Hy and wins. 27...292+ 28.%e1 Lh3! This reorganization of his forc- es is why Black can keep playing for a win. 28...&c6 is enough for adraw. 29.203? Unfortunately for White, his pre- vious move allows this possibili- ty. He would have been better off ignoring it by playing 29.Hdu!, when Black has only some practi- calattempts left: A) A good practical try is 29. Beit 30