Kramnik, Vladimir vs Kasparov, Garry, Chess Classics Giants
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
- 10.
- 11.
- 12.
- 13.
- 14.
- 15.
- 16.
- 17.
- 18.
- 19.
- 20.
- 21.
- 22.
- 23.
- 24.
- 25.
- 26.
- 27.
- 28.
- 29.
- 30.
- 31.
- 32.
- 33.
- 34.
- 35.
- 36.
- 37.
- 38.
- 39.
- 40.
- 41.
- 42.
- 43.
- 44.
- 45.
- 46.
- 47.
- 48.
- 49.
- 50.
- 51.
- 52.
Round 1 of the 1998 Chess Classics Giants exhibition was won by Kramnik as White against Kasparov. The opening encounter of the 1998 exhibition tournament set the tone for the close contest that followed; Kramnik’s strong start in the small triangular event helped establish his eventual tournament win.
The opening was a Slav Defense, with Kramnik as White entering what would become the structural framework for his 2000 World Championship match preparation. Kasparov’s Black response was solid but produced no winning chances; Kramnik’s positional technique converted the small structural edge into a winning endgame.
The 1998 Chess Classics Giants was Kramnik’s first major tournament victory in a Kasparov-included field. The result elevated his public profile from “strong elite player” to “credible challenger.” Within two years he would be world champion.
The Slav Defense’s role at the top of elite chess theory has been constant since the 1990s. Kramnik’s contributions to its theory through his many encounters with Kasparov and others established several lines as standard. The 1998 Game 1 was an early data point in that ongoing theoretical evolution.