Crowned person

Vladimir Kramnik became the absolute world champion

Russian Vladimir Kramnik won the unification match for the title of world chess champion against Veselin Topalov, deciding the outcome of the confrontation in a tiebreaker. After a dozen games played according to classical regulations, the score was equal - 6:6. In four additional duels with a shortened time control, Kramnik prevailed - 2.5:1.5, with the Russian gaining the upper hand in the last game with white pieces.

In fact, the Russian won this match twice. When Topalov’s team, led by his manager Silvio Danailov, started a “toilet” scandal, and the match organizers followed their lead and changed the match regulations, he had the moral right to stand his ground to the end. Kramnik’s position was supported by everyone, including participants in similar matches in the past. If the match had been interrupted at that moment, the blame would have rested entirely on the Bulgarian side, but the chess world would have been left without a single champion. The Russian’s protest was expressed in his failure to appear for the fifth game, after which Vladimir continued the match.

If we do not take into account the counted technical defeat, the Russian won 11 games - 6:5: three wins and two losses with six draws. It is difficult to imagine how further events would have unfolded if the Bulgarian had prevailed in the tiebreaker. Perhaps Kramnik would have returned to the issue of revising the result of the fifth game, but history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood - Vladimir achieved victory in a very difficult situation, turning a blind eye to the unfair change in the regulations in the name of chess.

“I am very glad that the chess crown remains in Russia,” said Vladimir Kramnik. - Considering the situation that prevailed during the match and the behavior of my opponent’s team, winning this match was especially important. And for me personally, this achievement is comparable to the victory over Garry Kasparov in 2000. In the entire history of chess, few people have become three-time world champions. I'm not going to stop there. I still need time to fully understand what happened. The match turned out to be the hardest. It seems that I coped well with the tension of the fight, especially considering the head start given to my opponent. Surely chess fans are delighted with the content of the match itself, because we did not play a single short draw.”

Let us recall that Kramnik became the 14th classical world champion six years ago, when in a match of 16 games he defeated Kasparov ahead of schedule, without losing a single match - 8.5:6.5. In 2004, Vladimir defended his title against the Hungarian Peter Leko. Moreover, Kramnik, who according to the regulations only had to draw a 14-game match in Brissago, Switzerland, retained his championship title on the last day of play, defeating the Magyar as if “to order.” A special place in Kramnik’s biography is the match against the computer “Deep Fritz”, which took place in October 2002 in Bahrain. And here the Russian did not yield, even though he was opposed by an electronic brain that calculates millions of options in a second.

At the end of November, a new match of Kramnik against the improved computer program “Deep Fritz-10” will begin. The total prize fund of the six-game confrontation in Bonn, Germany is exactly one million dollars. “I’m afraid it will be very difficult for me,” said Vladimir. - I don’t consider myself a favorite in this match, but I’ll try to win. Unfortunately, I don't have much time to prepare. But what can I do, I’m a professional and I’ll do everything in my power.”

Vladimir ILYIN