text: Contributions to chess Kramnik has significantly shaped opening theory in chess. Viswanathan Anand has said of him in 2012: "I don't know exactly how many lines he's established, but you get the impression that for the last 10 years we've only been using his ideas. ... His stamp on opening theory is much more significant than mine." Kramnik's results with the white pieces against the King's Indian Defence made Kasparov drop the opening from his repertoire, and caused the opening to drop in popularity from top-level play for many years. Kramnik's use of the Berlin Defence in his 2000 match against Kasparov led to a massive increase in the opening's popularity. Kramnik was the world's leading exponent of the Petrov's Defence for much of his career and he also revived the Catalan Opening.
  Makruk
  Kramnik also plays makruk. On May 1, 2004, while visiting the Federal Exhibition Hall, he immediately learned the rules and beat Dr. René Gralla. In his opinion, Thai chess is more strategic than Indian (international); and they need to plan combinations with care, since Thai chess can be compared to endgame in international chess. As the reigning world chess champion, he expressed his wish to play a mixed match of makruk and chess with the reigning makruk champion Tor Pagnaam.
  Chess books
  Videos by Kramnik
  Kramnik, Vladimir. 2007.  My Path to the Top DVD. Chessbase.