Vladimir Kramnik

Vladimir Kramnik (born 1975) achieved one of the greatest upsets in chess history when he defeated the seemingly unbeatable Garry Kasparov in their 2000 World Championship match in London, winning 8.5–6.5 without losing a single game. Known as "Deep Purple" for his calm demeanour and deeply prepared opening systems, Kramnik introduced the Berlin Defence against Kasparov — a rock-solid variation that revolutionised elite opening theory and is still one of the most analysed systems in professional chess. He held the classical world title until 2007 and reached a peak FIDE rating of 2817 in 2002.