Commentary on game 15 was brought to you by GM Neil McDonald, IM Malcolm Pein and FM Chris Duncan

Kasparov needs to win today to keep the match alive. If he fails then he will be the first World Champion to lose his crown without winning a single game since Lasker lost to Capablanca in 1921. This would be a sad end to his 15 year tenure as World Champion. It is inconceivable that this great fighter won't come out with all guns blazing. On the other hand, Kramnik is looking invincible both in preparation and queenless middlegames! Now read on...

1.d4

For the first time in the match. The gloves are off- no dull Berlin Defence or English!

1... Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5

Transposing to the Catalan Defence- a very solid response from the Challenger. He isn't going to try to draw by counterattack- he just wants to set up a safe centre and see how Kasparov will try to attack him.

4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6

Black cannot defend c4 but he hopes to activate his queen's bishop by gaining time after White recaptures the pawn.

8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7

The queen's bishop is often a problem piece for Black in this type of centre, so Kramnik will be relieved that it has found a strong diagonal.

10.Bd2

The bishop aims for a5 to put pressure on the backward c7 pawn. This line is well known- for example it arose in the Karpov-Kasparov match way back in 1984. So both player will have studied it in great detail. If Black succeeds in advancing c7-c5 without incurring any big weakness elsewhere then he will equalise easily.

10... Be4

Forcing the white queen to retreat to c1 and so preventing White from intensifying the pressure on c7 with Rc1.

11.Qc1 Bb7

The bishop retreats before it is attacked by White's queen's knight.

12.Bf4

White aims directly at c7- not effective is 12.Ba5 Nc6- and clears d2 for his knight.

12... Bd6 13.Nbd2

The key square on the board is c5 as Black wants to free himself with c7-c5: therefore the knight heads for b3 where it will control this square.

13... Nbd7

A straight forward developing move fighting for c5. Instead Black could play 13...Bxf4 14.gxf4 which weakens White's kingside slightly but it increases his clamp on the central dark squares- e5 and c5.

14.Nb3

The strategical battle for c5 may decide whether Kasparov remains World Champion!

14... Bd5

The bishop is well entrenched here. In some cases Black may even play Bxb3 as a prelude to c7-c5.

15.Rd1

The rook supports the centre. It aims to cause Black some inconvenience after the d file is cleared by a future c7-c5.

Kasparov now has 1 hour and 49 minutes, while Kramnik has 1 hour 11 minutes.

15... Qe7

The queen sidesteps any potential embarrassment on the d file. Now Black needs one more preparatory move-16...Rfc8- and then all is ready for c7-c5. Note that 16...c7-c5 at once isn't on as 17.Bxd6 Qxd6 18.dxc5 wins the pawn.

16.Ne5

After a careful positional build up Kasparov finally moves a piece into his opponent's half of the board. He has to disrupt Black's build up before he achieves the equalising c7-c5. The exchange of bishops on g2 will weaken White's kingside but it will also open up a second square on the c file for White's pieces- c6 suddenly becomes a hole that can be used by White's knight or queen.

16... Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Nd5

If 17...Bxe5 18.dxe5 Nd5 19.Bg5 looks awkward for Black. Kramnik is nicely centralised but he still hasn't solved the problem of the c file. The c6 square is looking especially inviting to a white piece. As is well known, the major drawback of a backward pawn is often the square in front of it, as an enemy piece can be stationed there without any danger of being ejected by a pawn.

18.Nc6 Nxf4+

Hoping for counterplay against White's king after 19.gxf4 Qh4.

19.Qxf4

A nice reply, as if 19...Bxf4? 20.Nxe7+ Kh8 21.gxf4 wins a piece. So White avoids any damage to his kingside pawn structure and keeps control.

19... Qe8

The queen retreats, but this shuts in the rook on f8 and so breaks the coordination of Black's pieces. As the c6 square is firmly in White's grasp, this is looking like a serious positional advantage for the World Champion.

The question is whether Black can gain counter play with an e6-e5 counter attack.

20.Qf3 e5

The moment of truth. Can Kasparov find a way to maintain the pressure or is the Challenger going to slip out of the bind?

21.dxe5

The answer to the above question is probably 'no' as this leads to simplification with nothing special for White.

21... Nxe5 22.Nxe5 Qxe5 23.Rd2

White's hope for advantage is the lingering weakness of the c6 square. He also has a small lead in development and the a6 pawn is slightly vulnerable.

23... Rae8

Kramnik evacuates his rook from any danger on a8 and prepares to offer the exchange of queens with 24...Qe4. Now White has to avoid falling for 24.a4 Qe4 25.Qxe4 Rxe4 26.axb5 axb5 27.Ra5?? Bb4 winning the exchange.

24.e3

The World Champion takes his time. White doesn't have to hurry to exploit his slight advantage as the disjointed queenside pawns won't run away-IM Malcolm Pein.

Kramnik now has 35 minutes while Kasparov has 31 minutes.

24... Re6

This is a handy defensive move: on the third rank the rook is ready to defend the a6 pawn and fight for the c6 square. In some lines the attack Rf6 may be useful.

25.Rad1

White completes his development and increases the pressure on Black's centre. He is keen to deter Black from playing the freeing move 25...c5, which can now be answered by 26.Rd5 Qf6 27.Qxf6 Rxf6 28 Rxd6 winning a piece.

25... Rf6 26.Qd5 Qe8

For once in the match Kramnik declines the chance to exchange queens! He wants to keep his queen to guard the light squares and retain the chance for a sudden counterattack against White's king in the future. Instead 26...Qxd5+ 27.Rxd5 followed by Rc1 and Rc6 would be horrible for Black.

27.Rc1

This plans 28.Rc6 to attack the a6 pawn. At the same time it prevents 27...c6, though it wasn't clear that this would be a good idea for Black as it undermines the bishop on d6.

27... g6

A useful waiting move that rules out any back rank mating ideas in the future. It also opens the way for a further kingside expansion with h7-h5 or Rf5.

In case you are wondering: in the game position on this page, green arrows are the last move and red arrows are the key ideas.

28.Rdc2

Finally both white rooks are on the c file aiming at the target on c7. However, this pawn is well defended by the bishop, so the main target is the a6 pawn after Qb7 or Rc6, etc.

28... h5

As predicted Kramnik wants to gain space on the kingside and so deflect White from his queenside build up.

29.Nd2

The knight hurries back to the centre to safeguard the kingside and put extra pressure on d6 with 30.Ne4.

29... Rf5

This attack aims to obstruct the idea of Ne4.

30.Qe4 c5

Kramnik achieves his freeing move but he is letting White expand in the centre. This looks risky for him, but if he holds firm then White's advantage will evaporate.

31.Qxe8 Rxe8 32.e4

Exactly! The white kingside pawns are becoming mobile with gain of time. Can Black survive having his pieces pushed back like this?

32... R5e5 33.f4 R5e6 34.e5 Be7 35.b3

White has raced forwards on the kingside and seized a huge amount of space. Now he pauses to fix the black pawn on c5 and introduce the idea of Ne4 to try to win it.

35... f6

Breaking up White's proud centre. It looks like Black is OK here.

36.Nf3 fxe5 37.Nxe5 Rd8 38.h4

This fixes the pawn on g6.

38... Rd5

So the dust has settled and White has no advantage- if anything Black's control of the open file and queenside pawn majority now give him the advantage.

Draw Agreed. We have a new World Champion- congratulations to Vladimir Kramnik!