Bareev/Levitov, From London to Elista

The Inside Story of the World Chess Championship Matches that Vladimir Kramnik Won Against Garry Kasparov, Peter Leko and Veselin Topalov

Overthrow of a Colossus: London 2000

Photo Finish in Brissago: 2004

Big Brother in Chess City: Elista 2006

'Did Kramnik shout at you '
'Justifiably.'

'This stinks. And it stinks badly.'

'After the opening we were absolutely horrified again.'

Three quotes about crucial moments in three World Chess Championship matches. They were spoken by Vladimir Kramnik s second Evgeny Bareev. Just a few dramatic fragments from an extraordinary account of the main battles in the life of Vladimir Kramnik, a World Champion and a Samurai, in Bareev s words.

From London to Elista gives a fascinating look behind the scenes of top-level chess. It provides superb analysis of all the games by Bareev, and it does much more. In Socrates-style dialogues, Bareev and co-author Ilya Levitov reveal everything about the preparation, the progress and the aftermath, about the secret strategy and the brutal stress of the three battles.

This rich book is indispensable for anyone who wants to know what makes top grandmasters tick. It is written from the horse s mouth, and it is full of honesty, irony, history, wit, anger, wisdom, and even poetry.

With many photographs.

Evgeny Bareev is one of the world s strongest grandmasters today. He was Kramnik s second during the matches against Kasparov in 2000 and against Leko in 2004, and was in close contact with the Kramnik team during the scandal-plagued reunification match with Topalov in Elista.

Public relations expert Ilya Levitov has been an ardent chess amateur all his life. He is a close friend of Vladimir Kramnik and Evgeny Bareev.