1.d4 Nf6
2.c4 e6
3.Nf3 b6
4.g3 Ba6
5.b3 Bb4+
6.Bd2 Be7
7.Bg2 c6
8.Bc3 d5
9.Ne5 Nfd7
10.Nxd7 Nxd7
11.Nd2 0-0
12.0-0 Rc8
13.a4 Bf6
14.e4 c5
15.exd5 cxd4
16.Bb4 Re8
17.Ne4 exd5
18.Nd6 dxc4
19.Nxf7?! Kxf7
20.Bd5+ Kg6
21.Qg4+ Bg5
22.Be4+ Rxe4
23.Qxe4+ Kh6
24.h4 Bf6
25.Bd2+ g5
26.hxg5+ Bxg5
27.Qh4+ Kg6
28.Qe4+ Kg7
29.Bxg5 Qxg5
30.Rfe1 cxb3
31.Qxd4+ Nf6
32.a5 Qd5?!
33.Qxd5 Nxd5
34.axb6 axb6
Kramnik resigned, seeing that Fritz gets a new queen if he takes the proffered bishop on a6. But in what may turn out to be the most shocking thing of all about this amazing game, this final position is very close to being a draw!! Black will have a queen, knight, and passed b-pawn versus two rooks. But the black king is without shelter and the white rooks run amok. We are putting out an all-points alert to find a forced win for Black in this position! Also important is that if there is a win for Black it requires very deep planning that does not seem possible for a program, at least from what we've seen so far. So it is a very real possibility that Kramnik resigned in a position he could have drawn. With this he follows in the footsteps of the man he succeeded in the throne, Garry Kasparov. In the second game of his rematch against Deep Blue in 1997, Kasparov resigned in a hopeless position only to later be told that with best play he could have drawn the game. It will certainly be a shock to Kramnik if that turns out to be the case here as well.
[ 34...axb6 35.Rxa6 b2 36.Ra7+ Kg6 This leads to a position in which Black has a queen, knight, and passed b-pawn versus two white rooks. An easy win, right? Kramnik and Fritz thought so. But Fritz's evaluation was "only" +3.3, an advantage of three pawns. If it had seen a clear win it would have been much higher.
( 36...Kf8 This move allows white to give up a rook for both black b-pawns. There might be some way to win the resulting position for Black, but it is very obscure. Without any pawns the ending is completely drawn, and the black h-pawn is not impressive. 37.Rd7 Nc3 ( 37...Rc1 transposes to main line) 38.Rd2 ( 38.Rb7?! Winning the h-pawn instead of the dangerous passed b-pawn is unnecessarily risky. 38...Rc6 39.Kg2 b1Q 40.Rxb1 Nxb1 41.Rxh7 ) 38...b1Q 39.Rxb1 Nxb1 40.Rb2 Nc3 41.Rxb6=/+ Black has a nominal advantage but this should be drawn.)
37.Rd7 Rc1 38.Rd6+! This is the key move to the entire concept. White forces the black knight to shield the king, otherwise it's a perpectual check draw. This would have been quite hard to find, particularly with just a few minutes on the clock. 38...Nf6 ( 38...Kf7 39.Rd7+ Kf8 40.Rd8+ Kf7 41.Rd7+ Kf6 42.Rd6+ Kg7 43.Rd7+ Kg6 ) 39.Rdd1 b1Q Other moves draw easily. ( 39...Rc2 40.Kg2 Ng4 41.Kf3 h5 42.Re2 ) 40.Rxc1 The previous moves were forced and this is the position Fritz and Kramnik were expecting. (Until we ask him we can't be sure Kramnik bothered to look this far ahead, or if he saw the difficult idea of Rd7-d6+. He may just have believed Fritz, the way Kasparov believed Deep Blue. "The computer wouldn't play this unless it were winning," is the way it goes.
As GM Danny King said, "Kramnik wouldn't resign that position against me!" Fritz and Kramnik assumed Black would win easily with such a large material advantage. However, the black king can only be sheltered from checks by the knight, and without the knight's help the b-pawn cannot be advanced. The rooks can attack the knight or the b-pawn, preventing progress by either. Various defensive postures such as placing the rooks on b5 and b4 and just shuffling the king prove impenetrable to Fritz. (And to everyone else so far!) Also, if given the chance White can give up a rook for the black knight and b-pawn and then the queen versus rook endgame is completely drawn. The variations below are by no means exhaustive, but they give you an idea of how hard it is for Black to make any progress. 40...Qf5 This logical move is refuted directly by 41.Rc6.
( 40...Qb4 41.Rb1 Qc5 42.Rec1 Qd6 43.Rd1 Qc6 44.Rdc1 Qb7 Another key position. White can harass the black queen until it is behind the pawn. Now white can double rooks on the b-pawn, moving them to attack the black knight when necessary. Black never has time to advance the b-pawn. White is always looking for a chance to sacrifice a rook for the black knight and b-pawn, again creating the fortress draw. Finally, if Black protects the pawn with the king and queen to activate his knight, white can give up both rooks for a drawn endgame of knight+h-pawn vs the two white pawns. Black also risks losing the h-pawn if the king strays too far away. Lots of theory up there, and analysis is backing it up so far. Is there a winning line somewhere for Black? If you can refute the concepts described above, let us know at mig@chessbase.com 45.Rb5 Kf7
( 45...Nd7 46.Rd1 One of the main defensive concepts. White threatens to simply capture the knight and then the b-pawn with a crystal clear fortress draw. ( 46.Rcb1 Pressurizing the b-pawn is another tough nut for Black to crack. 46...Qc6 47.R5b3 h5 48.Rb4 Kf6 ) ) 46.Rcb1 Nd7 47.Rd1 Ke7 Or else Rxd7 draws. 48.Re1+ Kd6 49.Rd1+ Kc6 50.Rdb1 Qa6 51.R5b4 Qe2 52.R1b2 Qd3 53.Kg2 Qd5+ 54.Kg1 b5 55.Rxb5 Qxb5 56.Rxb5 Kxb5 Yet another key position. The drawing concept is to put the white pawns on f4 and g4. If the black king pushes in from the side, the white king runs up the h-file after the black pawn. We don't have our Averbakh collection in Bahrain, but it looks like White holds the draw here. A sample line: 57.Kg2 Kc4 58.Kf3 Kd5 59.Kg4 Ke6 60.Kg5 Kf7 61.Kh6 Kg8 62.g4 Ne5 63.Kg5 Kg7 64.f4 White has to be very precise to avoid zugzwang positions. Pushing either pawn would allow the black king to penetrate. Because the white king has the h-file available Black can't force him away from the pawns.)
41.Rc6 b5 ( 41...Kh5 42.Rxb6 ) 42.Ree6 b4 ( 42...Kf7 43.Rxf6+ Qxf6 44.Rxf6+ Kxf6 45.Kf1 And the pawn endgame is drawn.) 43.Rb6 Kf7 44.Rxf6+ Qxf6 45.Rxb4= Fritz and other programs are convinced they are winning here, but the position is a dead draw. Black has no way through the fortress.] 0-1