Vladimir Kramnik The man who beat Kasparov: World Champion 2000–2007
Russian grandmaster, 14th World Chess Champion (2000-2007), defeated Kasparov. Kramnik is a deep positional player and one of the most influential opening thinkers of the modern era. His Berlin Defence against Kasparov changed opening theory at the top level.
Vladimir Kramnik: key facts
- Full name
- Vladimir Kramnik
- Born
- June 25, 1975, Tuapse, Russia
- Country
- Russia
- Title
- Grandmaster
- Peak rating
- 2817
- Games in the archive
- 4,347 (1989–2025)
- Record in the archive
- 1,776 wins · 1,781 draws · 790 losses
- Win rate
- 40.9%
Vladimir Kramnik's career
The results that made the name
Kramnik in numbers
From the 4,347 games in the Rama Chess archive
Fourteenth World Champion, who took the title from Kasparov in 2000 without losing a game — neutralising him with the Berlin Defence, which he brought back into the modern repertoire. He unified the split world title in 2006.
"Chess is like body-building. If you train every day, you stay in top shape."— Vladimir Kramnik
Kramnik's most frequent opponents
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