Kasparov Introduces Kramnik

     Back in November of '92 the 10th European Team Championship was played between 40 teams in Debrecen, Hungary. It was a 9-round Swiss system tournament with each team consisting of four players plus one reserve. There was also, for the first time, a separate event for women. 

     Several top players were missing: Anatoly Karpov, Alexey Shirov, Boris Gelfand and Jan Timman. Azerbaijan forfeited Round 1 vs Netherlands and withdrew, while Yugoslavia (under the FIDE flag) was kicked out of the competition after Round 1. It probably had something to do with the fact that the breakup of Yugoslavia had occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts between June 1991 and April 1992. 

     The Russian team (Kasparov, Bareev, Kramnik, Dreev, Vyzmanavin) won with a game point score of 25-11. You can see the results of the Final Group HERE.  

     A surprise on the Russian team was the appearance of 17-year old Vladimir Kramnik, at the time a virtual unknown, who was there based on the personal insistence of Kasparov. His score 0f 8-1 vindicated his inclusion! 

     At the time Kasparov had stated that he considered Kramnik to be a future challenger for the world championship and, as we know, he was correct; Kramnik did win the World Championship during the period of the Professional Chess Association and FIDE split. 

     Kramnik's opponent in the following game was Lithuanian GM Aloyzas Kveinys (1962-2018). He was also awarded the coveted Soviet Master of Sport title for chess in 1981. He won the Lithuanian championship 5 times: 1983 (shared),1986, 2001 (shared), 2008 and 2012. From 2009, he lived in Iran and worked there as a coach for the Iranian women's national team.

Aloyzas Kveinys - Vladimir Kramnik

Result: 0-1

Site: European Team Chp, Debrecen

Date: 1992

Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer

[...] 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.♘xd4 ♘f6 5.♘c3 ♘c6 6.♗g5 This move was Kurt Richter's invention, threatening to double black's Ps after Bxf6 and forestalling the Dragon by rendering 6...g6 unplayable. After 6...e6, Vsevolod Rauzer introduced the modern plan of Qd2 and 0-0-0 in the 1930s. White's pressure on the d6-P often compels black to respond to Bxf6 with ...gxf6, rather than recapturing with a piece (e.g. the Q) that also has to defend the d-Pawn. This weakens black's K-side P-structure, but in return black gains the two Bs and a central P majority. 6...e6 7.♕d2 a6 8.O-O-O h6 9.♗f4 ♗d7 10.♗g3 ♖c8 11.f3

11.♔b1 ♗e7 12.f4 ♘xd4 13.♕xd4 would slightly favor black after 13...Bc6, but not 13...Nh5 as played in Kveinys,A (2520) -Ulfarsson,M (2250)/ Reykjavik 1994

11.♘b3 This is the most common and white fares well. 11...♘e5 12.f4 ♘g6 13.♗d3 e5 14.f5 White has a dangerous attack. Gufeld,E (2540) -Serper,G (2640)/Las Vegas, 1997

11.♗e2 is a bit too passive. 11...♗e7 12.♘xc6 ♗xc6 13.♗f3 e5 Black stands well. Nowicki,B (2256) -Shishkin,V (2489)/Lazy POL 2014

11...♘xd4 12.♕xd4 e5 13.♕e3 ♗e7 14.♔b1 O-O As it is the N on c3 exerts strong pressure n the critical d5 square so attempting to dislodge it with 14... b5 is also an acceptable move. 15.h4 ♕c7 Simple development, but he could still play ...b5. Note that on move 16...Be6 Kramnik places his B on e6, but he can't do it immediately because it would lose a P to 16.Bxe5 16.♗d3 ♗e6 An excellent square for the B because it covers d5. Note that it is now a bit late to play ...b5 because c2 is defended by the B on d3.

16...b5 17.♗e1 b4 18.♘d5 ♘xd5 19.exd5 a5 20.g4 Here the position is equal, but white's position is likely to prove more promising.

17.♗h2 Closing his eyes to the lurking danger.

17.♗e2 is unsatisfactory. 17...♖fd8 18.a3 d5 is very good for black.

17.♗e1 Looks odd, but it's his best move because it covers the N and eliminates the threat of an exchange sacrifice on c3. 17...b5 18.a3 with equal chances.

17...♕a5 A brilliant move that sets up the standard sacrifice of the exchange. 18.♕e1 Realizing that he is threatened by ... Rxc3, but now black has the advantage. 18...♖xc3 19.♕xc3 White has avoided having his A-side P-formation shatter by ... Rxc3, but black still has a furious attack. 19...♕xa2+ 20.♔c1 d5 The Q on a2 can't do anything by itself, so with this move Kramnik unleashes the power of his other pieces.

20...♖c8 This only looks good. In fact it allows white to force a trade o Q which strips black's attack of all its fury. 21.♕a3 ♕xa3 22.bxa3 Black has some advantages. White's Q-side Ps are split up, black has a P for the exchange and a rock solid position, but not a winning attack. In Shootouts white scored 7 draws.

21.♗xe5 dxe4

21...♖c8 Once again this move is not bad, but things can get tricky after 22.♕e1 (22.♕d4 loses at once to 22...♗c5 winning the Q)

22.♗xf6 also loses quickly after 22...gxf6 23.♕e1 ♗d6 threatening ...Bf4+

22...dxe4 23.♗xe4 b5 24.♕e3 b4 25.♗d3 b3 26.♔d2 bxc2 27.♖a1 ♕b3 28.♗d4 a5 and black should win.

22.♗xe4

22.fxe4 ♖c8 23.♗xf6 gxf6 (23...♖xc3 24.♗xc3 and white can still put up a fight.) 24.♕e1 ♗d6

22...♘xe4 23.fxe4 ♖c8 The last piece joins the attack. 24.♕g3 f6 25.♗d4

25.♗c3 is refuted by 25...♕a1+ 26.♔d2 ♖d8+ 27.♔e2 ♗c4+ winning a lot of plastic.

25...♗b3

25...♗b4 is less effective. After 26.c3 ♗b3 27.♕d3 White putting up stiff resistance. Note that black's best move is 27...Bd6, but not... 27...♗xd1 28.♖xd1 ♗e7 29.♕g3 ♕a1+ 30.♔c2 ♕a4+ 31.♔c1 and black has no more than a draw!

26.♗c3 ♕a1+ 27.♔d2 ♖d8+ 28.♕d3 ♖xd3+ 29.♔xd3 ♗xc2+ With both his Q and B attacked he has to return a piece. 30.♔xc2 An instructive position. Material is nearly equal, but engines give black a winning advantage (at least two Ps). However, white's K is exposed , his Ps are weak and he has no counterplay. In GM chess that amounts to a lost position. 30...♕a4+ A nice move. The only way to avoid the loss of the e-Pawn os to further expose his K. 31.♔d3 b5 Intending either ...Qc4+ or ...b4 forcing the B to move. 32.♔e3 ♗c5+

32...b4 at once is only slightly less effective. 33.♗d4 Here, at least, the B is still in an active position. However, after 33...a5 34.g4 ♗d6 35.♖hf1 ♗g3 white is still winning.

33.♔f4 (33.♗d4 ♕b3+ 34.♖d3 ♗xd4+ 35.♔xd4 ♕xb2+ with a won ending.) 33...♕c4 Even though Stockfish gives black an overwhelming advantage (almost 7 Ps) in reality finishing white off requires great precision which Kramnik demonstrates. 34.♖d8+ ♔h7 35.♖hd1 ♕e2 This game is an excellent example of the power of the Q...it can roam around the board creating threats while in this position there is nothing the Rs can do. 36.♔f5 b4 Well played...the B has to retreat to a passive square and leave the b-Pawn undefended. 37.♗e1 ♕xg2 Threatening ...Qa3+ and mate by ...Be3. However, there was an even better move..

37...h5 This forces mate in 11. Kramnik can hardly be blamed for not finding it so 37...Qg2 takes nothing away from his brilliant play! 38.♖h8+ ♔xh8 39.♔e6 ♕xd1 40.♗g3 ♕b3+ 41.♔d7 ♕xg3 42.e5 ♕xe5 43.♔c6 ♕d6+ 44.♔b7 ♕b6+ 45.♔c8 ♕a7 46.♔d8 ♗b6+ 47.♔e8 ♔g8 48.g4 ♕f7#

38.e5 Black has a wide choice of finishing moves in this position. 38...♕g6+ 39.♔e6 ♕g4+ 40.♔f7 ♕h5+ White resigned. He cannot escape his fate.

40...♕h5+ 41.♔e6 ♕g4+ 42.♔f7 ♕f5 43.♖8d6 (43.♗g3 fxe5+ 44.♔e8 ♕e6#) (43.♖8d6 ♕h5+) (43.♖b8 ♕xe5 44.♖b7 ♕h5+) 43...♕h5+ 44.♔e6 ♕xe5+ 45.♔f7 ♗xd6

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