The World Chess Championship 2006 was a match between Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov. The title of World Chess Champion had been split for 13 years. This match, played between September 23 and October 13, 2006, in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia, was to reunite the two World Chess Champion titles and produce an undisputed World Champion.

Kramnik won the first two games, establishing a commanding lead. However, after Topalov's camp alleged that Kramnik was using computer assistance, Kramnik refused to play Game 5 and forfeited. He eventually agreed to play again under protest. Topalov won games 8 and 9, taking the lead for the first time, but Kramnik struck back with a win in game 10. The remaining games were drawn, sending the match to a tiebreak. After a draw in the first game and a win apiece in the second and third games, Kramnik won the fourth game after Topalov blundered, to win the tiebreak and the match, becoming the 14th undisputed World Chess Champion.

Background After Garry Kasparov split from FIDE in 1993, there were two world chess champions. There was the 'Classical' world champion, the title that only passes on to a player when they defeat the previous world champion. This was held by Kasparov, until he was defeated by Kramnik in the Classical World Chess Championship 2000. There was also the 'Official' FIDE world champion, determined by various tournament formats, held since the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 by Topalov.

From 1993 to 2006, no match was ever held between the various classical and official champions. This match brought the two titleholders together to unify the World Chess Championship for the first time since the 1993 split.

Negotiations

Kramnik was invited to the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 in San Luis, Argentina. As "Classical" World Champion, he refused to play, but indicated his willingness to play the winner in a match to unify the title. Negotiations for a match began soon after Topalov won in San Luis, but broke down after the two camps were unable to overcome substantial differences of opinion."Veselin Topalov: only under the auspices of FIDE", Chessbase.com

However, in April 2006, FIDE announced that Kramnik would play current FIDE Champion Veselin Topalov in a world championship match to unify the "Classical" champion line with the FIDE championship.Kirsan, Putin and the world championship match, Chessbase, August 15, 2006 The prize fund of $1 million would be evenly divided between the players – regardless of the outcome of the match.

Head to head In past encounters, Kramnik had defeated Topalov 10 times, lost 5 games, with 24 draws."Who will win the Topalov–Kramnik world championship?", Chessbase.com (This becomes +19 −9 =24 if rapid and blindfold games are included.) In classical time control games since the beginning of 2004, the score was 2 wins each, with 3 draws.

Match conditions The match was a best of 12 games. Players scored 1 point for a win and half a point for a draw. If, after 12 games, the score was tied at 6 points each, then a tie-break would be held. As it turned out, the first round of tie-breaks (rapid games) was indeed required, and was held on October 13, 2006.

Time control From the match conditions: The primary time control for each game shall be: 40 moves in the first 120 minutes, and if that is met, then a secondary time control of 20 moves in 60 minutes, and if that is also met, then the rest of the game shall be played out in 15 minutes, with an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move 61.

Tie-break method The tie break is only used if the match is tied at 6 points apiece after the 12 classical games. In the event of the tie-break, the players play four "rapid" games (each with a time limit of 25 minutes, plus 10 seconds per move). If the score is still tied, this is followed by two "blitz" games (each with a time limit of 5 minutes, plus 10 seconds per move). If the score is still tied, this is followed by a sudden death game: white has 6 minutes and needs to win, black has five minutes and needs to draw or win.

Schedule and results Colors were determined for the classical games by the drawing of lots at the opening ceremony on 21 September 2006. The colors reversed between games 6 and 7. The colors for the first tie-break game were decided by drawing lots again. All classical games, and the first tie-break game, began at 3:00 p.m. local time, which corresponds to 1100 UTC.

Classical games GameDateWhiteBlackResultStandingGame 123 SeptemberKramnikTopalovKramnik winKramnik leads 1 – 0Game 224 SeptemberTopalovKramnikKramnik winKramnik leads 2 – 0Game 326 SeptemberKramnikTopalovDrawKramnik leads 2½ – ½Game 427 SeptemberTopalovKramnikDrawKramnik leads 3 – 1Game 529 SeptemberKramnikTopalovTopalov win (forfeit)Kramnik leads 3 – 2Game 62 OctoberTopalovKramnikDrawKramnik leads 3½ – 2½Game 74 OctoberTopalovKramnikDrawKramnik leads 4 – 3Game 85 OctoberKramnikTopalovTopalov winMatch level 4 – 4Game 97 OctoberTopalovKramnikTopalov winTopalov leads 5 – 4Game 108 OctoberKramnikTopalovKramnik winMatch level 5 – 5Game 1110 OctoberTopalovKramnikDrawMatch level 5½ – 5½Game 1212 OctoberKramnikTopalovDrawMatch tied 6 – 6

Rapid tie-break games GameDateWhiteBlackResultStandingGame 1313 OctoberTopalovKramnikDrawTie-break level ½ – ½Game 1413 OctoberKramnikTopalovKramnik winKramnik leads tie-break 1½ – ½Game 1513 OctoberTopalovKramnikTopalov winTie-break level 1½ – 1½Game 1613 OctoberKramnikTopalovKramnik winKramnik wins tie-break 2½ – 1½

Classical games

This is the only world chess championship match where the same first move (1.d4) was played in every game. Only two openings, the Slav Defense and the Catalan, were played.

Game 1, Kramnik–Topalov, 1–0

Kramnik won the first round of this match in a 75-move game that lasted six and a half hours. Out of a Catalan opening, Kramnik failed to get any advantage. In the middlegame Topalov played 26...Bf3!?, a move which allowed him to establish a pawn on f3, a powerful positional trump that was however hard to defend. The pawn wedged White's f2-pawn and kept White on the defensive, sufficiently so that Topalov refused a repetition on move 42. Topalov was within sight of winning the game when Kramnik played the excellent 56. d5!, going for counterplay at an opportune time. Topalov failed to react correctly and with 57...f5? missed a last chance at a perpetual, after which Kramnik reached a winning endgame with two extra pawns.Elista 2006: Kramnik wins game one, Chessbase.com

Catalan Opening, E04 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. Qc2 Bxd2+ 8. Qxd2 c6 9. a4 b5 10. axb5 cxb5 11. Qg5 0-0 12. Qxb5 Ba6 13.Qa4 Qb6 14. 0-0 Qxb2 15. Nbd2 Bb5 16. Nxc4 Bxa4 17. Nxb2 Bb5 18. Ne5 Ra7 19. Bf3 Nbd7 20. Nec4 Rb8 21. Rfb1 g5 22. e3 g4 23. Bd1 Bc6 24.Rc1 Be4 25. Na4 Rb4 26. Nd6 Bf3 27. Bxf3 gxf3 28. Nc8 Ra8 29. Ne7+ Kg7 30. Nc6 Rb3 31. Nc5 Rb5 32. h3 Nxc5 33. Rxc5 Rb2 34. Rg5+ Kh6 35. Rgxa5 Rxa5 36. Nxa5 Ne4 37. Rf1 Nd2 38. Rc1 Ne4 39. Rf1 f6 40. Nc6 Nd2 41. Rd1 Ne4 42. Rf1 Kg6 Topalov plays for a win. 42...Nd2 43.Rd1 Ne4 would repeat moves, with a likely draw. 43. Nd8 Rb6 44. Rc1 h5 45. Ra1 h4 46. gxh4 Kh5 47. Ra2 Kxh4 48. Kh2 Kh5 49. Rc2 Kh6 50. Ra2 Kg6 51. Rc2 Kf5 52. Ra2 Rb5 53. Nc6 Rb7 54. Ra5+ Kg6 55. Ra2 Kh5 56. d5 e5 57. Ra4 f5?? 57...Nxf2! 58.Kg3 e4! 59.Kxf2 Rb2+ 60.Ke1 Rb1+ 61.Kf2 Rb2+ followed by continued checks on b1 and b2 draws. White cannot vary from this line with 60.Kg3?? because 60...Rg2+ 61.Kf4 f2 62.Ra1 Rg1 wins, nor with 60.Ke1 Rb1+ 61.Kd2?? because 61...f2 wins. 58. Nxe5 Rb2 59. Nd3 Rb7 60. Rd4 Rb6 61. d6 Nxd6 62. Kg3 Ne4+ 63. Kxf3 Kg5 64. h4+ Kf6 65. Rd5 Nc3 66. Rd8 Rb1 67. Rf8+ Ke6 68. Nf4+ Ke5 69. Re8+ Kf6 70. Nh5+ Kg6 71. Ng3 Rb2 72. h5+ Kf7 73. Re5 Nd1 74. Ne2 Kf6 75. Rd5 1–0

Game 2, Topalov–Kramnik, 0–1

Kramnik won the second game of the match after 63 moves, taking a 2–0 lead. Topalov missed winning continuations at move 32 and 36. Some inaccuracies later in the game cost him the draw.

Slav Defense, D19 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. 0-0 Nbd7 9. Qe2 Bg6 10. e4 0-0 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Qe3 Bg6 15. Ng5 Re8 16. f4 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 f5 18. Be3 Nf8 19. Kh1 Rc8 20. g4 Qd7 21. Rg1 Be7 22. Nf3 Rc4 23. Rg2 fxg4 24. Rxg4 Rxa4 25. Rag1 g6 26. h4 Rb4 27. h5 Qb5 28. Qc2 Rxb2 29. hxg6 h5 Kramnik said that he wanted to play 29...Nxg6, but saw 30.Qxg6+!! hxg6 31.Rxg6+ Kh7 (31...Kf7 32.Rg7+ Kf8 33.Rg8+ Kf7 34.R1g7#) 32.R6g3! forcing mate. 30. g7! hxg4 31. gxf8Q+ Bxf8? 31...Kxf8! 32. Qg6+? 32.Rxg4+ wins immediately, e.g. 32...Bg7 33.Qc7! Qf1+ 34.Ng1, or 32...Kh8 33.Qg6 (Or 33. Rh4+ Bh6 34. Rxh6+ Kg7 35. Qh7+ Kf8 36. Rf6# - According to Stockfish).Commentary on Game 2 at official FIDE site Bg7 33. f5 Re7 34. f6 Qe2 35. Qxg4 Rf7 36. Rc1 (36.Qh5! still winsMalcolm Pein's IM commentary on Game 2 at The Week in Chess) 36...Rc2 37. Rxc2 Qd1+ 38. Kg2 Qxc2+ 39. Kg3 Qe4 40. Bf4 Qf5 41. Qxf5 exf5 42. Bg5 a5 43. Kf4 a4 44. Kxf5 a3 45. Bc1 Bf8 46. e6 Rc7 47. Bxa3 Bxa3 48. Ke5 Rc1 49. Ng5 Rf1 50. e7 Re1+ 51. Kxd5 Bxe7 52. fxe7 Rxe7 53. Kd6 Re1? (GM John Nunn demonstrated that 53...Re3! was the only winning move.) 54. d5 Kf8 55. Ne6+? GM Mihail Marin, annotating the game on the ChessBase site after the game, noted that endgame tablebases show that 55.Kd7! still draws.Commentary on Game 2 at ChessBase site Ke8 56. Nc7+ Kd8 57. Ne6+ Kc8 58. Ke7 Rh1 59. Ng5 b5 60. d6 Rd1 61. Ne6 b4 62. Nc5 Re1+ 63. Kf6 Re3 0–1

Game 3, Kramnik–Topalov, ½–½

The third game ended in a draw after 38 moves keeping Kramnik in a 2½–½ lead. Kramnik (white) had the advantage for much of the game. According to commentators he at least twice avoided moves with more winning chances but which also carried more risk: 17. Ne4 and 32. exd5.

Catalan Opening, E02 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bd7 7. Qxc4 Na5 8. Qd3 c5 9. 0-0 Bc6 10. Nc3 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bc5 12. Rd1 Bxg2 13. Qb5+! Nd7 14. Kxg2 a6 15. Qd3 Rc8 16. Bg5! Be7 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Rac1 Nc4 19. Na4 b5 20. b3 0-0 21. bxc4 bxa4 22. Nc6 Rxc6 23. Qxd7 Qc5 24. Rc3 g6 25. Rb1 h5 26. Rb7 e5 27. e4 Rf6 28. Rc2 Qa3 29. Qd1 Rd6 30. Rd2 Rfd8 31. Rd5 Rxd5 32. cxd5 Qxa2 33. Qf3 Rf8 34. Qd3 a3 35. Rb3 f5! 36. Qxa6 36.Rxa3 fxe4 37.Rxa2 exd3 would give Black the advantage. 36...Qxb3 37. Qxg6+ Kh8 38. Qh6+ Kg8 ½–½

Game 4, Topalov–Kramnik, ½–½ The fourth game ended in a draw after White's 54th move, leaving Kramnik with a 3–1 lead. Topalov pressed hard, sacrificing a pawn. He achieved an advantageous endgame but despite five hours of play he failed to convert it (48.Qxc4! gave good chances, according to Sergei Shipov on chesspro.ru).

Semi-Slav Defense, D47 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.a3 b4 10.Ne4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 bxa3 12.0-0 Bd6 13.b3 Nf6 14.Nd2 Qc7 15.Bf3!? Bxh2+ 16.Kh1 Bd6 17.Nc4 Be7 18.Bxa3 0-0 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.Ra5 Rfd8 21.Kg1 c5 22.Rxc5 Ne4 23.Bxe4 Bxe4 24.Qg4 Bd3 25.Ra1 Rac8 26.Raa5 Rb8 27.Qd1 Be4 28.Qa1 Rb7 29.Nd2 Bg6 30.Qc3 h6 31.Ra6 Kh7 32.Nc4 Be4 33.f3 Bd5 34.Nd2 Rdb8 35.Qd3+ f5 36.Rc3 Qh4 37.Ra1 Qg3 38.Qc2 Rf7 39.Rf1 Qg6 40.Qd3 Qg3 41.Rfc1 Rfb7 42.Qc2 Qg5 43.Ra1 Qf6 44.Qd3 Rd7 45.Ra4 Rbd8 46.Rc5 Kg8 47.Nc4 Bxc4 48.Raxc4 f4 49.Rc6 fxe3 50.Qxe3 Rxd4 51.Rxe6 Qh4 52.Rxd4 Qxd4 53.Re8+ Kh7 54.Qxd4 ½–½

Game 5, Kramnik–Topalov, 0–1 (forfeit) Kramnik was due to play the white pieces. The game ended with Topalov winning by forfeit, after Kramnik refused to play and his clock had been allowed to run for one hour. Kramnik's lead was reduced to 3–2. This is the first world chess championship match since Spassky–Fischer 1972 in which a game was forfeited.

Game 6, Topalov–Kramnik, ½–½