Standing after round 10 (of 11)
1: 7.0 Sergei Rublevsky
2: 6.0 Dmitry Jakovenko
3- 6: 5.5 Evgeny Bareev, Alexander Morozevich, Peter Svidler, Vadim Zvjaginsev
7- 8: 5.0 Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Motylev
9-10: 4.0 Alexey Dreev, Alexander Khalifman
11-12: 3.5 Evgeny Tomashevsky, Sergey Volkov
After 10 rounds, Rublevsky has clinched at least a tie for first. Jakovenko is in clear second. In the mean time, Kramnik who set out to prove to the world that he is still a legitimate World Champion is in a tie for 7-8 with a 50% score. This is a total embarrassment for Kramnik in a number of ways:
1. He shows that he is no longer the same Kramnik in 2000.
2. Not only that he is not strong enough to win the Russian Championship with no Kasparov, he even lost his fighting spirit by taking a number of short draws without a fight.
So what is next for Kramnik? It is hard to say. I certainly hope that he does not continue to self-proclaim that he is still a legitimate World Champion.
In my opinion, Kramnik’s last chance will be Corus 2006. If he does not win Corus in a convincing fashion, he can kiss good bye to any claim, however small it is already. 
I still wonder about the nature of the alluded-to illness that affected Mr. Kramnik and if that is somehow behind his recent subpar results.
It’s no illness. He’s just a sore loser and likes to make up excuses.
Kramnik is CLASSICAL WORLD CHAMPION of what? Not chess, for sure. Is champion of a system that does not have an organized system of qualifiers (what are the “qualifiers” for the next cycle)? A system in which somebody who wins lose his right (Shirov) and a player who lose is a contender? A system in which the “champion” just sits and pick his opponent when and how he wants? That “classical title” was just a commercial stuff, nothing serious.
People who say that Kramnik reserves his energies for matches and not for tournaments. People often forgets that he already have faced FIVE matches for “World titles” (LOST Gelfand, Kamsky, Shirov, Adams) and just won once, against a rival in special circunstances, so he is not a “player of matches”. He always was a player of tournaments, but right now, he just has psycological problems and lack of motivation. I hope he will recover and don’t start acting in a Fischeresque way, claiming that is still a world champion because nobody defeats him…
Currently, there is no serious system to say who is a world champion. No Topalov, not Kasim, not Kramnik, etc. So, the only way to see who is the best player of the world is to look the rating every year (and see the Oscar awards). So Topalov is the best now, Kramnik was, Kasparov was, nobody nows what will happen in 2006. Period.
Chess needs to be a professional sport activity, with serious systems, because there is a huge mass of players needed to be respected. People often refers to the past, but is past a good example? There happened incorrect hidden things, that today, in a mass media world, with millions of fans, would be unacceptable. Just read the history. Now, as I said several weeks ago in a posting, chess is like boxing… please, somebody stops that!!
I can’t understand why kramnik is playing so unambitiously. He is at 50% and still accepting easy draws. It’s getting tougher for him to claim he is number one (not that many people support that idea, anyway).
If I am not mistaken, there are no more “unification matches” left. So it seems this could be an awkward end for him. Unless he wins Corus and stuff, but he seems to have lost all motivation.
– Vinay
Forget Kramnik. Enjoy the wonderful chess played by Rublevsky and Jakovenko.
Kramnik who?
I think all this bashing by his “fans” in various forums is adversely impacting Kramnik’s play.
He ain’t gonna win Corus. If he’s even with the 2650’s, he is in for trouble against the 2700’s.
Situation might become interesting if Kramnik wins Corus 2006 convincingly, say with a round or two to spare. But that ‘if’ is a very very big ‘IF’ !
Drawnik should retire. His current performance is sad.
Kramnik is having too much fun with the ladies and pays no attention to study…yawn
“In my opinion, Kramnik’s last chance will be Corus 2006. If he does not win Corus in a convincing fashion, he can kiss good bye to any claim, however small it is already.”
You take the words right out of my mouth. Perfectly expressed. I could not agree more. There is nothing else to say. Now we sit and wait and see what happens in Corus. No more excuses. win or get off the throne.
Illness? What illness?
HIs only illness is Leko-itis.
He claimed he was too drained after the grueling match with Leko and that was why he wasn’t playing as well.
Not the words of a champion at all.
“I can’t understand why kramnik is playing so unambitiously.”
I assume that Kramnik, like practically everybody else, is trying to play the best chess that he can. Unfortunately, his best isn’t as good as it used to be.
Kramnik was never a fierce attacker. Even in his peak years, he would play closed games with a high percentage of draws, and pounce when an opportunity presented itself. He managed to beat Garry Kasparov that way, so he probably thought it was a pretty good strategy.
Nowadays, he isn’t finding those opportunities. It may look like a lack of ambition, but I’m sure he’s still trying as hard as he can. By now, he must be very frustrated at the results.
ITs too bad. Very Sad this Mr Krapnik.
It reminds me of Alekhine…playing second rate opponents and even losing to one..while trying to avoid Capablanca. (All due respect to Mr Alekhine) Very Sad. Hopefully the issue will not be solved the same way today as it was then.
Mike M
Everybody on this blog is so evil-spirited. Just let Kramnik find his level of play during the tough period he is going through. You probably are all rated 1600 and think you are so smart, jugding others.
The point is not his play. The point is his dumb excuses and arrogant claims. He asked for it and only has himself to blame.
Ah…Kramnik this and Kramnik that…either he wins and is champion…or he isn’t
the good…the bad…and…the ugly of competition…
there are winners and there are losers, it’s a fact of life
live with it
Kramnik is still world champion! He is the only person capable of beating Kasparov in a match. Fide Champion means little look at khalifman, Ponomariov, Kasimdzhanov, Topalov all super Gms but clearly not the best players in the world. The Triumvirate of Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik stand out in match play in the old days. Having said that I suspect the quinquervirate of Svidler, Grischuk, Morozevich,Aronian, Mamedyarov will dominate the future!
-Drew