by Dorian Rogozenco
Vladimir Kramnik was the first top grandmaster to regularly use the Sveshnikov Variation, including against Gary Kasparov. Dorian Rogozenco presents a game between the two opponents from 1994, in which Kasparov managed to defeat his opponent, thanks in part to his excellent opening preparation. In one of the main variations (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Nxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0–0 12.Nc2), after 12…Rb8 (today 12…Bg5 is usually played), 13.h4 Ne7 14.Nxf6 gxf6, he continued with the new idea 15.Qd2, followed by long castling and an attack on Black’s king. Dorian Rogozenco explains this spectacular and highly complex attacking game, in which Kramnik failed to find the optimal defence due to the limited time, and ultimately lost the game due to a single mistake.