Vladimir
Kramnik
• Born June 25, 1975 in Tuapse (Krasnodar Region/Russia)
• 14th Classical World Chess Champion.
• Three-time Olympiad winner as a member of the Russian team.
• Russian Honoured Master of Sport.
• Three-time winner in World Championship Matches
• World Chess Champion since November 2nd, 2000 to date.
• Current absolute, unique, undisputed World Champion after winning the unification match in 2006.
• Current ELO rating: 2769
Current affairs interest him just as intensively as
numerous sport and cultural activities, several of which he
regularly engages in. The cosmopolitan would love to enjoy
life ever more intensively, but his drive to succeed holds
this inclination within limits. What is it that marks out
the world champion in him even though he doesn't focus
exclusively on chess? Kramnik considers chess as the art of carrying out a
long-term plan. People close to Kramnik, who presumably works less
intensively for chess than most of his competitors, often
claim that this has something to do with his creative nature
and strategic gifts. Kramnik considers chess less as a sport
and more as the art of carrying out a long-term plan. The
harmonious interplay of his pieces and the beauty of his
game are already legendary. He is always searching for
creative and new solutions, particularly when he is
playing. The artistic vein in the 32-year-old Muscovite must
have been given to him in his cradle. His father Boris is a
well-known sculptor; his mother Irina a music teacher. That
this assumption is not far off the mark is evidenced by his
response to the question, "What would you like to do after
the end of your career?" The classical music aficionado and
avid reader answered, "Start a family - and learn to play
the piano." No wonder that journalists all over the world
have dubbed Kramnik an "artist" or "painter". Kramnik started to play chess at the age of five. At
12, his enormous talent was recognized in Moscow and
encouraged. As a teenager, Kramnik got better and better
&endash; at only 16, he won the U18 World Championship. The
list of his victories is long. He has already finished all
major tournaments in the world as the victor. And he holds a
record which made sporting history: Kramnik was unbeaten at
the highest level in 86 classical games over 18 months up to
July 2000. The road to the World Championship title Thursday, November 2, 2000, London: Vladimir Kramnik
became the 14th World Chess Champion with a brilliant
8.5-6.5 result against Garry Kasparov, who could not win a
single game. After Garry Kasparov had congratulated him, the
greatest dream of his life became true: World Chess
Champion. Exulting, Kramnik threw his arms up into the air
in triumph. The audience's applause and the subsequent
tumult will not be forgotten. It was a historic moment in the history of
chess: Kramnik had not only won the lion's share of the
two-million dollar prize money; his victory had ended
Kasparov's 15-year-long reign on the chess throne. After this historic triumph, Kramnik notched up
several major victories at prestigious tournaments such as
Dortmund, Linares, Leon and Monaco. In 2004, he faced off in another World Championship,
this time in Switzerland: Kramnik successfully defended his
title against the official challenger, Hungarian super
grandmaster Péter Lékó. In a complex
strategic battle, he pulled off a supreme coup, winning in
the 14th game &endash; the last in the match &endash; with a
7:7 tie. Traditionally, the reigning World Champion has to
be beaten outright based on points &endash; the challenger
Lékó came heart-wrenchingly close to doing
so.
2005 was a year of ups and downs for the World Champion. Kramnik was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, entered intense medical treatment, and disappeared from the tournament hubbub for six months. The break seemed to rejuvenate the Russian &endash; at his comeback in the 2006 Chess Olympiad in Turin, he had the best individual score of all 1,000 participants.
In October 2006, Kramnik faced the biggest challenge:
the unification match that would decide who the next unique, absolute World Champion would be.
In a historic fight against all sort of adversities, Kramnik defeated Topalov to become the first unified World Champion after 1993, the one and only official World Chess Champion. His win in Elista was one of the most impressive victories in all of sports history.
Kramnik's message to all his fans:
My team and I would like to thank all my fans for their enormous support during such a difficult battle. Your daily messages were a tremendous experience, giving me additional confidence especially in difficult moments. You, my most valuable fans, contributed very much to my success becoming the unified World Chess Champion.
Vladimir Kramnik, Elista, 14 October 2006
During 2007 Kramnik has kept very active in the World Chess scene. He has played in many events, like Wijk aan Zee, Monaco, matches against Leko and Aronian and Dortmund.35th Dortmund International Tournament
World Champion Vladimir Kramnik was the undisputed winner of the super strong 2007 edition of the annual Dortmund Festival. Kramnik finished with 5/7, undefeated, after winning against Gelfand, Naitditsch and Carlsend and drawing his other 4 games.Looking up to the near future: Mexico World Championship
In early September this year Kramnik will defend his title in Mexico City against 7 very strong challengers. It will be a closed tournament, a doble round robin event where Kramnik will meet Anand, Aronian, Leko, Gelfand, Grischuk, Svidler and Morozevich. Kramnik is not expected to play any other event after Dortmund until Mexico.
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