(4) Kramnik,V (2751) - Kasparov,G (2830) [D27]
BGN World Chess Championship (4), 14.10.2000
[Mig]

Welcome everyone to Game 4 of the BrainGames.net World Chess Championship 2000 in London! Just some running around behind the scenese here as we get our multi-lingual commentary in order. Today Kramnik has white and my personal bet is on another Grunfeld. 1.d4 d5 The players are settling in and wow, I'm wrong already today! No Grunfeld at all! Kasparov has a very wide opening repertoire and can play the Slav (with ...c6) or even his old Tarrasch system which he did well with in the 80s. 2.c4 dxc4 This is a Queen's Gambit Accepted, some very sharp lines can be found in this line. Kasparov has only played this a few times before. I believe he played it against Kramnik in a blitz game a few years ago. 3.Nf3 e6 4.e3 c5 5.Bxc4 a6 6.0-0 Nf6 The players quickly race out to a standard position of this opening. Nicolas, it's not necessary to enter your commentary twice,merci! 7.dxc5 Talk about classical, this line goes all the way back to a game from 1905! 7...Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bxc5 9.Nbd2 Nbd7 This line is known as a fairly quite one, but Kasparov appears to be trying something slightly different 10.Be2 b6 Kramnik has played this line three times himself, this exact position! So Kasparov must havesomethinguphissleeve 11.Nb3 Be7 12.Nfd4 Bb7 13.f3 0-0 14.e4 Hmm, I don't like to rain on parades, but in this sort of position you can see the drawn position coming! The rooks will come to the open files, be swapped off, and it's hard for either side to dream of an advantage. Notice that the pawns are completely symmetrical in number, which often leads to drawish positions. And this is the third game of four that sees the queens come off almost immediately. And by going into this tame line Kramnik shows he's not averse to a draw today either. Well, with a one-point advantage and a tough game with black coming tomorrow, maybe not a bad idea In a game four years ago between top players, the black rook went to c8 here. I can't imagine Kasparov didn't see that game last night! Kramnik always plays this line. Not exactly up to here, but close. 14...Rfc8 15.Be3 Kf8 At least the players are thinking, but they might be thinking about what they're going to have for dinner! Not a real exciting one here. At least you all didn't play 30 dollars to watch this here at the venue in London! 16.Nd2 Okay, folks in the press center are taking bets on how many more moves they'll play here! I'm betting on maybe 10 or 15 more. Tomorrow is the first back-to-back game and Kramnik probably won't want to tire himself out before a tough black tomorrow. Garry's thinking deeply here: "Hmm, chicken or beef tonight?" Probably already thinking about another Berlin Defense tomorrow... 16...Ne5 Hmm, I guess he heard you, Sergey! Hmm, so Kasparov woke up, so I suppose the spectators should, too! Maybe there's life in this position after all. Darn, I'm not going to win the bet here! Plus, up here in the pressroom the journalists (all nine of us) are rather hoping for a quick draw so we can go enjoy another rainy afternoon in London! My cell-phone isn't even working so I can't order pizza. Rough times up here! Bueno, desde hace rato parece que la partida estabe en camino a un empate rapido, pero los jugadores quieren jugar mas, parece Ahora los GM aca en Londres en nuestros analistas dicen que tal vez Kramnik puede buscar una ventaja minima aca 17.N4b3 Rc6 18.Rac1 Rac8 19.Rxc6 Rxc6 20.g4 h6 21.h4 Bc8 22.g5 Here comes the pawn wave, and Kramnik continues to gain space and push Kasparov's pieces back. As impressive as white's gain of space looks, the position is still about even. it's hard to win such a symmetrical pawn position. after the pawn exchange the knight will go to d7, where it is protected by that curious bishop move, 21..Bc8 22...hxg5 23.hxg5 Nfd7 24.f4 Ng6 25.Nf3 The consensus seems to be that Rc2 is a risky continuation and Ke8 a safe one. Black has to worry about his a and b pawns, both under attack by the strong white bishops Parece que la mayoria dice ...Re8 para proteger el peon a6! porque si no, Axa6 Axa6 Txd7 gana un peon. 25...Rc2 So Garry went for the move that required the most calculation, as is his style. Now it's Kramnik's turn to blink or not! He can trade rooks or go for Bx6, a potentially risky move 26.Bxa6 These guys y have the gloves off this week! Kramnik doesn't back down and walks right into the most complicated line! 26...Bxa6 27.Rxd7 Rxb2 Ahora Torre a7 es bastante fuerte para las blancas. es posible que vuelve errar? 28.Ra7 Bb5 I'm glad to say that our predictions of an early draw were completely wrong! Kramnik is going for the gusto here and definitely has a small plus Just like in game two Kasparov has to worry about a passed white a-pawn if his b6 pawn goes, which it looks likely to do. 29.f5 exf5 Kramnik will probably toss in a check on a8 here, but GM Shipov says no. We'll have to wait for Kramnik's notes to see why he didn't play the check! 30.exf5 If you haven't seen it already, we have exclusive notes from Team Kramnik after each game! And from Kasparov and his team as well. Unless Kasparov want to bury his knight on h8 he has to play Re2 here. 30...Re2 31.Nfd4 Re1+ 32.Kf2 Rf1+ 33.Kg2 Nh4+ This is the long forcing line both players were probably looking at. Just like in game three, their endgames have been razor sharp. here only kasparov is in danger. 34.Kh3 Rh1+ 35.Kg4 Be8 36.Bf2 Ng2 Now Kasparov's pieces are tied up in knots and Kramnik has good chances to win. 37.Ra8 Rf1 It looks like in time trouble Kramnik missed the best move there. At move 40 the players get another hour, but now Kramnik has to make three moves in six minutes. If Kasparov gets off the hook Kramnik will really be kicking himself for getting into time trouble an letting a powerful win slip away 38.Kf3 Nh4+ 39.Ke2 Rh1 Kasparov blundered! Black is lost! He can't save the e8 bishop! ...Nh4 was a terrible mistake, he had to play Nf4. 40.Nb5 Now Kasparov has 12 minutes to contemplate his mistake. Unbelievable! Just when Kramnik let him escape with 37.Ra8?, Karpov blundered by playing immediately. Kasparov will lose the pinned e8 bishop when the white knight goes to c7, there's really not much he can do. A remarkable blunder especially since he had plenty of time. A good lesson about why giving check is not always a good thing. 38...Nf4 would have saved the day. 40...Bxg5 Kasparov d ecided to try to play on with the two connected pawns for his piece, but there can be no doubt that it will be almost impossible to save the game. Now both players have all the time they need, but the damage has been done. Kasparov loses a piece and probably the game. 41.Nc7 Ke7 Kasparov had to step out to avoid being checkmated on e8 by the rook, but now his e8 bishop is lost in action. But Kramnik knows this isn't going to be easy. Kasparov will have two pawns on the kingside that he'll try to generate counterplay with. 38...Nh4+ has to go down in history as one of Kasparov's worst ever world championship blunders. Even after a stretch and a drink of water, Kasparov does NOT look happy. He's shaking his head as if he can't believe it either.. Kramnik is taking his time to compose himself and get used to the new situation. Always a good idea after the time control. The last time Kasparov has been down two points to start a match was 1984, to Karpov! 42.Nxe8 Nxf5 43.Bxb6 I find it hard to believe Kasparov will continue this too much longer unless he really thinks he has drawing chances. He'll want to save his energy for white tomorrow. 43...Kd7 Kasparov's only hope, according to GM Levitt, is for Kasparov to trade rooks. He's still not optimistic. Sorry, had some clock problems there. Back on track now. Kramnik is still using a lot of time. The players get an additional 30 minutes at move 60. 44.a4 I don't know why Kramnik took so long, really. His time trouble is the only thing to really give Kasparov hope. 44...Rh3 45.Nc5+ Kc6 46.a5 It's not "Shirov" Errol, it's "Shipov" !! A little case of mistaken identity in the german commentary there :-) I'm a little surprised to see GM Shipov saying that this is still a complicated, difficult position. The black king looks in terrible danger, but if Deep Junior can't find a mate, there isn't one! Kasparov is at the board trying to concentrate but he's obviously distracted. Kasparov may try either bishop or rook to e3 here, trying to get a little counterplay to confuse the issue. It's very easy to give up all resistance and give up after such a happening. Kasparov looks like he's going to dig in and give it his best shot now. Well Garry, what's it going to be?! I can see him, he hasn't left the building! Is it time to start recounting the list of world championship comebacks? Steinitz was far behind Zukertort to come back and win, for one. In 1935 Euwe was three games behind Alekhine and won by a point. Will Kasparov need such a comeback? There are a few funny lines where black can checkmate white, but they all need white's help, something Kramnik is unlikely to give! 46...Re3+ 47.Kd1 Re7 Well, at least Kasparov is still breathing, but it looks like the end is near. 48.Rc8+ Kb5 It looks like Kasparov must resign after Nc7+ Kc4 Ne4! Kramniks is probably just double checking and looking for traps and tricks. 49.Ne4 Now after Rxe4, kramnik gets his piece back with Rc5+ forking the king and knight. This should still be a win for white, but it's still not easy to advance the a-pawn. This move from Kramnik doesn't look as strong as Nc7+, but when you're a piece up tiny errors have a way of winning anyway. 49...Rxe4 50.Rc5+ Ka6 51.Nc7+ Kb7 52.Rxf5 Be3 Kasparov still hopes to escape into a drawn ending somehow. If the more pieces come off the black king is perfectly placed to stop the white a-pawn. And it's important to remember that rook and knight versus rook with no pawns is almost always a draw. 53.Bxe3 Rxe3 54.Rxf7 Now Re5 forces the white pawn to advance and it's not clear yet how white wins. Kramnik will have to show off his technique and find a plan. 54...Re5 55.a6+ Kb6 56.Rxg7 Ra5 57.Kd2 Ra1 58.Kc2 Rh1 Time crunch! Both players get another 30 minutes at move 60. Then there is also a 10 second increment. 59.Kb2 Rh8 60.Kb3 MIRACLE! 60...Rc8 Kramnik blew it big time with 59.Kb2, allowing the miracle save Rh8 to attack the knight! Kasparov should draw now! Unbelievable! I'm starting to say that more than that guy in the Princess Bride, but this is inconceivable! 61.a7 Kxa7 All the computers know this is a draw, but it's not quite as easy for humans, especially tired ones. It's still possible for Kasparov to lose this. 62.Kb4 There is a way to lose this ending, but most GMs wouldn't have a problem with this. But with a ticking clock and after six full hours of grueling play, anything can still happen. 62...Kb6 63.Nd5+ Ka6 64.Rg6+ Kb7 65.Kb5 Rc1 66.Rg2 Kc8 67.Rg7 Kd8 68.Nf6 Rc7 Kasparov tries to get his king as far from its counterpart as possible. It looks like it's safe and sound. 69.Rg5 Well, of course Deep Junior would have no trouble at all here, it's a clear draw to a database! But human still have to calculate and work and they get tired! 69...Rf7 70.Nd5 Kd7 71.Rg6 Rf1 72.Kc5 Rc1+ 73.Kd4 Rd1+ 74.Ke5 DRAW!! OFFICIAL RESULT HERE IN LONDON DRAW! DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES? An unbelievable game, what a match! Be here tomorrow Sunday, same time for game 5. Kasparov with white. {Game drawn by mutual agreement 1/2-1/2