He held a peak rating of 2817 (October 2016), ranking as the joint-eighth-highest-rated player in history. He also won the prestigious Dortmund tournament a record 10 times. Playing Style and Theoretical Legacy

In a historic 16-game match, Kramnik defeated Kasparov 8½–6½. He famously used the "Berlin Defense" to neutralize Kasparov’s attacking prowess, a strategy that reshaped modern opening theory.

Kramnik’s career is defined by his dominance at the turn of the millennium:

Vladimir Kramnik (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster and the 14th undisputed World Chess Champion. He is most famous for ending the 15-year reign of Garry Kasparov in 2000, becoming the first player in nearly 80 years to defeat a world champion in a match without losing a single game.

Kramnik is renowned for his deep strategic understanding and positional mastery.

WELCOME TO THE CHEAP BEATS

Vladimir Kramnik 〈2024-2026〉

He held a peak rating of 2817 (October 2016), ranking as the joint-eighth-highest-rated player in history. He also won the prestigious Dortmund tournament a record 10 times. Playing Style and Theoretical Legacy

In a historic 16-game match, Kramnik defeated Kasparov 8½–6½. He famously used the "Berlin Defense" to neutralize Kasparov’s attacking prowess, a strategy that reshaped modern opening theory. Vladimir Kramnik

Kramnik’s career is defined by his dominance at the turn of the millennium: He held a peak rating of 2817 (October

Vladimir Kramnik (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster and the 14th undisputed World Chess Champion. He is most famous for ending the 15-year reign of Garry Kasparov in 2000, becoming the first player in nearly 80 years to defeat a world champion in a match without losing a single game. He famously used the "Berlin Defense" to neutralize

Kramnik is renowned for his deep strategic understanding and positional mastery.

GONE WITH THE WIND – BUT FOUND

One of the problems of running The Rare Record Club is the ones that got away. One of my greatest ambitions was to put the classic Rendell-Carr Quintet albums Shades Of Blue and Dusk Fire back onto the black stuff. Sadly, this was thwarted by the company that owns this material declining to license them. As many readers will know, these albums issu…

PSYCHAMERIICA PARTT 2

The influence of hallucinogenic drugs had begun to be felt in ultra-hip musical circles from the start of the 60s, but it wasn’t until 1965 that it became explicit. Future Doors drummer John Densmore (see interview, page 54) joined a band named The Psychedelic Rangers that spring, ubiquitous Hollywood scenester Kim Fowley released his The Tri…

Luke Haines

As a younger fellow, I used to quite like the idea of subversion and (hushed tone) transgression in pop music. These days I’m not so bothered. I’m not sure that pop music has ever been particularly subversive. Has it ever had a corrupting effect, though? Yep. As a lower middle-class dweller (old skool class definitions here only) I am happy to …

Vladimir Kramnik
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