Kramnik: My Life & games (Paperback)

~ Vladimir Kramnik (Author), Iakov Damsky (Author) "IT SEEMS TO ME that his birth was foretold long before it actually occurred..." (more)
Key Phrases: rapid chess, chess crown, classical chess, Queen's Gambit, Sicilian Defence, King's Indian Defence (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Vladimir Kramnik is something of an anomaly in the chess world, a top-seeded grandmaster who has refused to devote all his energy to the game. "By nature, I am not ambitious," he says. Nevertheless, the Russian-born prodigy has managed to float to the top of the chess world, ranked just behind champion Garry Kasparov at the turn of the millennium.

The subtitle to Kramnik's book is "My Life and Games," but there is, in fact, little distinction between the two; the game has dominated Kramnik's life from the age of 5. By age 16, he was playing on the world chess scene, and at age 25, in 2000, he is one of the few players who can regularly hold his own against Kasparov.

Kramnik reads less like a traditional autobiography than a transcript of 50-plus games from his career. They include key matches with Kasparov, Karpov, Anand, Topalov, Ivanchuk, Shirov, and other greats, stretching back to 1984. Colorful biographical tidbits appear between games, offering glimpses of Kramnik's life outside chess--we learn he's a lousy cook, suffers insomnia from the pressure of the game, and tries to stay philosophical about winning and losing. But most revealing are the interior dialogues that accompany his matches; they are deeply annotated. Kramnik explains exactly what was running through his head as he pushed a pawn or sacrificed a queen at key points, and it's a marvel to watch his mind at work. His comments are never boastful and even betray a self-effacing wit--a refreshing change in a profession known for its outsize egos. Chess enthusiasts should find plenty to occupy them in Kramnik and would do well to take a page from his playbook. --Demian McLean

Product Description

Since he arrived on the chess scene in 1992 at the age of 16, Vladimir Kramnik has been tipped as a future World Chamption. Here, he annotates 100 of his best games, and talks about his life and unusual childhood.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Everyman Chess; 1st edition (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857442709
• ISBN-13: 978-1857442700
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #764,218 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Chess, BUT ..., June 29, 2001

By	A.J. Goldsby I "A.J.G." (Pensacola, FL (U.S.A.)) - See all my reviews

If you would like to see a book of some of the games of a great player, you may be interested in this book. But a few words of warning first.

#1.) This book came out BEFORE Kramnik won the chess World Championship, so already it is a little dated.

#2.) This is some of the dryest text you may ever see in your life. (Few, if any good stories.) In fact, if you suffer from insomnia, this may be a good book for you. I also get the impression that Kramnik either accepted factually that he was very talented, or he is one of the most conceited individuals on the face of the earth.

#3.) Many of the Soviet books are "ghost-written" by other chess players - trainers, analysts and such. I get the impression that this is what happened here. (A few of the errors in analysis are too basic to have been perpetrated by Kramnik. Indeed, I. Damsky is probably responsible for the majority of this book.)

Having given the above harsh criticisms, you may get the idea that I hate this book. This is simply not the case. I am a Master who makes a great part of his living from teaching chess. I consider it my responsibility to give as an honest review of every chess book as I possibly can. I also feel it my duty to reflect what many of my students and contacts on the Internet have told me about this book.

If you are looking for a book with some of the best annotations by a top player available, this would be a good book for you to choose. (Many of the annotations are gleaned from magazines where Kramnik had a direct hand in reviewing the games.)

What this book lacks in great stories, and perhaps quality, it makes up for in quantity. You get almost 200 deeply annotated games by the current World Champion. You will get one of the most COMPLETE chess educations available in one book by carefully studying ALL of these games. (And I estimate it would take the average player nearly two years to do this!)

Warning: Most of these games are highly technical. Many of my students decribed them as "dry and boring." (In the style of Capablanca and Karpov.) The average player may not have the skill to appreciate just how hard it is to play like this. Careful study of these games will definitely improve your chess.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must have, May 23, 2004

By A Customer

This book is a fantastic book and for once i have to disagree with Goldsby about a book . This book is divided into 2 parts,the first by damsky and the second by kramnik. The first part i admit doesnt have much anotations, but has alot of games. The second part is by kramnik, it has his best games FULLY! analysed. It is a phenomanal book and even the young 13 year old GM who drew to kasparov rated this book as one of his favourites. If your looking for a games collection book this is for you. However you must understand if you are looking for an agrresive repetoir as white i recommend shirovs book fire on baard as that deals more with e4 then nf3/d4 or c4. However as black the two books are much the same both players play the botvinnik, the meran and sveshnikov (which is in fashioin currently, most probably due to kramniks addtions to the opening.) DO not make a mistake andnot buy this book as i almost did, or you'll be jeoulous of the next person who does!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Totaly dissatisfied with this book, October 28, 2005

By	I. Knezovic (Croatia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have a lot of game-collections/biography chess books in my library, considering the best ones Life & Games of Mikhail Tal and I Play Against Pieces by Svetozar Gligoric but, belive it or not, this Kramnik one is the worst I have encountered with. Every game is tipically anotated as quick fix for some second rate chess magazine, without any wish for explaining itself or its background to the reader. And authors own biography is just short of unexistent, although it is known that he had a rich life chesswise, before going on top (working in famous Botvinnik chess school, playing junior games against famous oponents of today etc.) Its a shame, and I hope that updated version would be much frendlier and filled with important games played in last five years, and with extended biography.