Anand and Kramnik both enjoy playing the Petroff Defense(1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6) and I would be very surprised not to see it used in their 2008 World Championship Chess Match. Both players know the theory very well in this opening, so any game they play could lead to new ideas for the world to use.
In the game below, Kramnik plays 17… Qf5 in order not to repeat a loss he had suffered against Anand when he used 17… Bf5. Anand’s choice for move 24 seems odd and could be inaccurate if you are playing for a win. 24.Rxe7 Rxe7 25.dxe7 Nf6 seems more natural and White maintains a small edge. However, Anand’s 24. dxe7 is very interesting and he used a great deal of his time finally deciding on this move. Kramnik responded very quickly with 24… f6 and seems to have a well conceived plan as to how to take the advantage from his opponent. In fact, by the time Kramnik plays 29… c5 he is considered to be winning by all my chess engines. Don’t be fooled by your computer’s later assessment however. I have seen many esteemed chess players proclaiming various ways for Kramnik to win the endgame. After Anand plays 42. Kf2 there is no opportunity for Kramnik to turn his advantage into a win. Kramnik does his best to entice a blunder from his opponent but Anand will have none of that. I have spent many hours studying the endgame from this game and I would encourage any serious student of the game to do the same.
[Event “WCh”]
[Site “Mexico City MEX”]
[Date “2007.??.??”]
[White “Anand,V”]
[Black “Kramnik,V”]
[Round “3”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[WhiteElo “2792”]
[BlackElo “2769”]
[ECO “C42”]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4
d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2
O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1
Re8 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf4 Rac8 16. Qa4 Bd7 17. Qc2
Qf5 18. Qxf5 Bxf5 19. Bb5 Bd7 20. d5 Ne5 21. Bxd7
Nxd7 22. Bxc7 Rxc7 23. d6 Rxc3 24. dxe7 f6 25. Rad1
Rc7 26. Nd4 Ne5 27. f4 Nc6 28. Nxc6 bxc6 29. Rd6
c5 30. Ree6 c4 31. Rc6 Rexe7 32. Rxc4 Rxc4 33. Rxe7
Ra4 34. Rb7 h6 35. f5 Rxa3 36. Kf2 h5 37. g3
a5 38. Ra7 a4 39. h4 Ra2+ 40. Kf3 a3 41. Ke3
Ra1 42. Kf2 Kf8 43. Kg2 a2 44. Kh2 Ke8 45. Kg2
Kd8 46. Kh2 Kc8 47. Kg2 Kb8 48. Ra3 Kb7 49. Ra4
Kb6 50. Ra8 Kc5 51. Ra7 Kd5 52. Ra4 Ke5 53. Ra5+
Ke4 54. Kh2 Kf3 55. Ra3+ Kf2 56. Ra4 Kf1 57. Kh1
Ke1 58. Kg2 Kd1 59. Ra7 Rc1 60. Rxa2 Rc2+ 61. Rxc2
Kxc2 62. Kf3 Kd3 63. g4 hxg4+ 64. Kxg4 Ke4 65. Kh5
Kxf5 1/2-1/2
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