Kramnik, Vladimir
Kramnik, Vladimir,
1975–, Russian chess player, b. Tuapse. Kramnik started to play chess at the age of four, and at eleven began studying with both Mikhail BotvinnikBotvinnik, Mikhail Moiseyevich,1911–95, Soviet chess grandmaster, b. near St. Petersburg. He learned chess at the age of 12 and within a decade became the Soviet champion, a title he won seven times.
..... Click the link for more information. and Garry KasparovKasparov, Garry
, 1963–, Armenian chess player, b. Azerbaijan (then in the USSR) as Garik Kimovich Wainshtein. He became the world junior champion at the age of 16 and was International Chess Federation (FIDE) champion from 1985 to 1993. His first title match (Sept.
..... Click the link for more information. . Deeply versed in theory, he has been influenced by the styles of such masters as Capablanca, Fischer, Karpov, and Kasparov. He became the world's junior champion in 1991 and the following year, despite his youth, played in the prestigious Chess Olympiad, where he won a gold medal. In 2000 he defeated Kasparov, who had been world champion for the previous 15 years, and in a 2006 match he defeat Veselin TopalovTopalov, Veselin,
1975–, Bulgarian chess player. Topalov won the under-14 world championship in 1989 and placed second in the under-16 the following year, becoming a grandmaster in 1992 and a potential challenger for the world championship by 1996.
..... Click the link for more information. to become the undisputed world champion. In 2007, however, he lost the title to Viswanathan AnandAnand, Viswanathan,
1969–, Indian chess player. India's youngest national champion at the age of 16, he won the world junior championship and earned the title of grandmaster in 1987.
..... Click the link for more information. in tournament play; the following year Anand again bested him to retain the title.
Bibliography
See his autobiography (2000).