1. d4 Kramnik doesn't want to go into Bologan's deep Caro-Kann lines and concludes his final game of the Dortmund tournament with 1.d4!, his regular choice for many years 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7. Bg5 Bb7 8. e3 Kramnik played the well-known endgame line 8. f3 d5 9. e3 Nbd7 10. cd against Naiditsch, but this line does not achieve an advantage. Evidently this time around Kramnik is picking a line with more tension. 8... d6 9. Ne2 An Idea of Alexander Chernin's. White is intending to setup the pieces on their natural squares with Qc2 and Nc3. 9... c5?! This suprising opening strategy gives Kramnik clear dividends..Bologan is following the standard c5 idea, but this time it is better to play Nbd7! first. 10. dxc5 dxc5 11. Qc2 h6 12. Bh4 Qe7 13. O-O-O! A concrete and strong decision. Black has no counterplay on the Queen-side. The control over the "d" file gives White additional benefits as well. 13... Rd8 14. Rxd8+ Qxd8 15. Nc3 Nbd7 16. f3 Ne5 17. Bg3 Nc6 18. Be2 White has two Bishops and Bologan has no clear counterplay. Kramnik is definitely the winner of the opening battle. 18... Qe7 19. Bh4 19. Rd1!? Rd8 20. Rxd8+ Qxd8 21. Qa4 Nh5!? also deserves attention. 19... Ne5 Black has no better plan but to get rid of unpleasant pin by Ng6. 20. Rd1 Interesting was to test... 20. f4!? Ng6 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. Bd3 Rd8 23. Rd1 Nf8 24. g3! and Be4 is coming next. Black has troubles in protecting his Queen-side. The second option is to activate the King-side pawns after... 20. Rg1 Ng6 21. Bf2 Rd8 22. g4 Ne5 23. f4 Nf3 24. Bxf3 Bxf3 25. Bh4! with a serious initiative 20... Rd8 21. Nb5 Nc6 22. Rf1!? This move comes as a real surprise as suddenly Kramnik changes his plan. The Rook will be helpful for the King-side action. After a very deep thought Bologan selects the most aggressive and risky move. 22... g5?! Objectively this move should be marked with a '?' .... but practically speaking, it is a very good decision!.. Kramnik is planning to attack on the King-side, but it's Bologan who starts the action there first! Black is trying to limit (obstruct) White's Bishop activity. 23. Bg3 Nh5 24. Bf2 Ng7 25. Rd1?! This is the point in the position that Kramnik begins to slowly lose his advantage. It was necessary to bring back home the N on b5. 25. Nc3 with h4 or g4 next .... White maintaining his clear positional advantage. 25... f5 26. Qa4 Rxd1+ 27. Qxd1 Ne8 28. h4! Finally! The second front is opened! 28... Kg7 29. Kb1?! In the time pressure Kramnik plays very passively and loses his entire advantage. 29. hxg5 hxg5 30. Qh1! followed by f4! and White's position is still very impressive. 29... e5 30. hxg5 hxg5 31. Ka1 31. Nc3! Nf6 32. Nd5 Qd6 33. Be1! and Bc3 is coming! 31... Bc8 The Bishop is heading for the most effective outpost, on e6. However, after 32. g4!, Black is still far away from solving all of the problems. 32. g3 It is just hard to recognize Kramnik looking at the last 10 moves. 32... Be6 33. f4 Qd7 34. Qxd7+? White misses his last chance. 34. Qh1!? Qd2 35. Nc3! and here Black has to find the only move... 35... Na5!! 36. fxg5 Bxc4 37. Qh6+ Kf7! but it is better to just keep control over the "d2" square after... 34. Qc2! and White is still better! 34... Bxd7 35. Be1 Nf6 36. fxe5 Ne4 37. b3 Nxe5 38. Nc3 only now Kramnik detects that after... 38. Nxa7 g4! It is now Black that has unpleasant threats such as Nf3! Now White is the one that needs to becareful! 1/2-1/2 [GM Boris Alterman and Jason Doss]