Classical World Championship 2004: Kramnik – Leko
One game from losing his crown, Kramnik won the last game of the match to level the score 7–7 and retain the classical title by the rules of incumbency. Peter Leko's cautious lead had come within a whisker of a historic upset.
◈Leko takes the lead
Kramnik struck first, winning game one as Black in a Petrov. But Leko, the meticulous Hungarian who had won the 2002 Candidates in Dortmund, equalised in game five and then edged ahead by winning game eight, taking a 4½–3½ lead.
Through games nine to thirteen Leko defended his advantage with famous caution — drawing every one and leaving Kramnik needing a must-win with the finish line in sight.
◈The last-game rescue
In the fourteenth and final game Kramnik, with White in a Caro-Kann, ground Leko down over 41 moves to force resignation. The win squared the match at 7–7, and under the match rules the incumbent champion kept his title on a tie.
It was the narrowest of escapes — Kramnik himself called it the hardest match of his life — and it left the classical title intact heading toward the 2006 reunification.
◈Cross Table
1 win · ½ draw · 0 loss — click a game number to replay it.