Vladimir Kramnik

Born: June 25, 1975 in Tuapse, Russia

World Championship Matches and Tournaments:

2000: Defeated Garry Kasparov 8.5-6.5 (+2 =13) to become Classical World Champion

2004: Drew Peter Leko 7-7 (+2 -2 =10), retaining Classical World Championship

2006: Drew FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov 6-6 (+3 -3 =6, including one loss by forfeit); defeated Topalov 2.5-1.5 (+2 -1 =1) in four game rapid playoff to become undisputed World Chess Champion

2007: Finished second in World Chess Championship tournament with score of 8/14, losing title to tournament winner Viswanathan Anand

Notable Accomplishments:

• Won World U18 Championship in 1991, at age 16
• Won or shared first place at Dortmund 8 times
• Won or shared first place at Linares 3 times
• Won or shared first place at Monaco Amber Medley 6 times
• Shared first place at Wijk aan Zee in 1998
• Won gold medal at 2006 Olympiad for top performance

Playing Style:

Kramnik is usually described as a solid, tenacious and pragmatic player. His style is often compared to that of Anatoly Karpov -- not surprising, since Kramnik has mentioned many times that his first chess book was a collection of Karpov's games.