International Dortmund Chess Days 1992: Garry Kasparov, Vassily Ivanchuk and Dr. Robert Hübner are among the players in the grandmaster tournament. And in the very strong A-Open, an untitled player finishes in first place: 16-year-old Vladimir Kramnik.
The start of a long connection between the world champion and his "living room" Dortmund. He wins the Chess Days in 1995, 96, 97, 98, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011. 10 tournament victories, probably an unattainable record. And after his career ends in 2018, he returns in 2021:
"It's for this special place and because of the chess variant I like very much" says "Mr. Dortmund" in the Interview during the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2021. He played a match in No Castling Chess against Viswanathan Anand and loses after interesting games 1.5 - 2.5.
The so-called "No Castling Chess" is an idea of DeepMind, the world's leading artificial intelligence development company and its artificial intelligence (AI) AlphaZero. The tiny rule change forces players to deviate from memorised opening variations, thus becoming creative early on. Kramnik is a big proponent of the chess variant, and the Sparkassen Chess Trophy has hosted the NC World Masters for the past two years. In 2022, the 14th World Champion in chess history was also on site and ready for the four-player tournament - but a positive Covid test had struck on the morning of the first round and Kramnik had to spend the week in a hotel. In 2023 Kramnik will want to attack again and play on the stage in the Goldsaal of the Westfalenhallen. A unique chance for spectators and Open participants to experience one of the best chess players of all time up close.
The 2023 tournament will consist of four participants competing in double-round No Castling Chess. Last year's winner Dmitrij Kollars has been confirmed as the second participant, and Kramnik's third and fourth opponents will be announced shortly.
Portrait photo 2006, by Christian Lünig, Arbeitsblende