The British Chess Magazine
g3 h6 63 b7 g8 64 g4 h6+ 65 g5
g8.
58…f1+?
58…d6! is best, when after 59 g6+ f7 60
d8 e6 Black can draw.
59 e3 g6
The only try now, since 59…d6 60 g6+ f7
61 f8+ loses.
60 h×g6 g7 61 g×f7 ×f7
XIIIIIIIIY
9-tR-+-sN-+0
9+-+-+k+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-zP-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-mK-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+r+-0
xiiiiiiiiy
Amazingly, White only has one winning method even though he is a piece and a pawn up,
and it wasn’t at all easy to find.
62 e4?
62 d7! f5 63 f8+ g6 (63…e6 64 f6+)
64 g8+ f7 65 e4! Later, in the broadcast,
Nigel Short showed (to Kramnik’s surprise) that
Vlad had, indeed, missed this!
In fact, both Maxime and Kramnik had overlooked this intermezzo being short of time after a long battle 65…a5 66 f8+ is the flashy
finish (66 f6 a1 67 b8 g6 68 b5 e1+
69 d3) 66…g6 (66…e6 67 g6 g5 68 e5
×e5+ 69 f4) 67 e5+ ×g5 68 f5+.
62…e1+
Now Black can keep checking.
63 f3 f1+ 64 g3 g1+ 65 f4 f1+
66 e3 e1+ 67 f3 f1+ 68 g2
529
The only way to avoid the checks, but now
White’s pieces become too tangled when trying to save the pawn after:
68…f5 69 h7 g6 70 b7 f4!
Cutting off the king.
71 g3 a4 72 e7 g4+
Making use of stalemate.
73 f3 a4 74 b7 h4 75 f6
Kramnik gives up the pawn.
75…×g5 76 e4+ f5
Rook vs. rook and knight is much easier to draw
than rook vs. rook and bishop. Nevertheless,
the Russian grandmaster tries for the win, but
Maxime demonstrates a good defence – by
playing actively the king is not forced to the
back rank.
77 e7 h8 78 e3 d8 79 f7+ e6 80
h7 d1 81 c5+ f5 82 f7+ e5 83
d3+ e6 84 a7 h1 85 e4 h4+ 86
f4+ d6 87 a6+ c5 88 g6 c4 89
c6+ b5 90 c1 h8 91 e5 h4 92
c8 h1 93 e6 h5+ 94 d6 h6 95
c1 b4 96 d5 h5+ 97 e4 h4+ 98
f4 b5 99 e5 h8 100 c2 h4 101
f2 c4 102 e4 h8 103 c2+ b5 104
g6 h1 105 e5 e1+ 106 d4 d1+
107 d3 b6 108 c3 b1 109 d5
b5+ 110 c5 b1 111 d7+ b5 112
d3 b4 113 e5 b1 114 c4 b4 115
d2 b2 116 c6 c2+ 117 b6 b2
118 c6 c2+ 119 b7 c3 120 d8 c5
121 e4 c4 122 e8 c2 123 b6 e2
124 c6 e1 125 d6
Two moves short of the 50-move rule, a draw
is agreed. Kramnik missed a win after a long
grind, but still managed to beat the Frenchman
1.5–0.5 in the rapid games.
½–½