Vladimir Kramnik held on to his legendary nerves of steel to thwart of what looked like a dangerous kingside attack by Vassily Ivanchuk, as he deprived the Ukrainian ace of what would have been a remarkable come-from-behind victory in one of the strongest tournaments of the year.

The game certainly grabbed the attention of members on ICC and there was certainly some “what if” moments that could well have seen Ivanchuk crashing through.  GM Jon Speelman annotates the game in full as his selection below for Game of the Day.  

Kramnik’s winning score was a +3 6/9 and a 2883 performance rating - and Chess.FM got the exclusive post-tournament interview with former world champion Kramnik, who joined our live show immediately after his game with Ivanchuk.

You can listen to the full 8 minute Kramnik interview with IM Malcolm Pein & Jon Speelman here in our audio player:

The shock of the tournament was left till the last round as Vishy Anand was uncharacteristically crushed - and playing with White (!) - in just 25 moves by Levon Aronian, as the World Champion seriously mishandled the opening.  

This left the way clear for Magnus Carlsen to share second place with Ivanchuk after he beat Peter Leko.  The young Norwegian had a little luck on his side as Leko misplayed the ending - the result not only allowing Carlsen a share of second place but also making 18-year-old the new #1 on the Live Rating List!