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Kasparov: A Look Back (Part II)

Anand Holds Comfortable Amber Lead

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Kasparov: A Look Back (Part II)

Having defeated Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov became the youngest world chess champion ever at the astounding age of 22. His first three title defenses, all against Karpov, proved it was no fluke.

In 1986, Kasparov won another close match over Karpov, with the result once again being unclear until the 24th and final game. Kasparov led 12-11 heading into the 24th game, and although a loss wouldn't cost him the title, it would give Karpov a claim as Garry's equal. However, Kasparov was able to hold the challenger to a draw in the final game, thus holding onto a hard-fought 12.5-11.5 victory.

The next year Karpov again challenged Kasparov for the crown in what would be their closest match yet. Karpov struck early by winning game 2, and responded to a Kasparov win in game 4 by turning the tables in game 5 to take an early 3-2 lead.

Kasparov looked to take control of the match by winning the 8th and 11th games. Even after Karpov won the 16th game, tying the match yet again, it seemed unlikely that he could win the match; the next six games were drawn, leaving the score tied at 11-11 with just two games to play.

In game 23, disaster struck for the champion, as Karpov pulled off a much-needed win. Now it was Kasparov who was desperate; without a win in game 24, his title would go back to Karpov.

White: Kasparov, Garry
Black: Karpov, Anatoly
34th World Championship Match, Game 24
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.b3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 b6 7.Bb2 Bb7 8.e3 Nbd7 9.Nc3 Ne4 10.Ne2 a5 11.d3 Bf6 12.Qc2 Bxb2 13.Qxb2 Nd6 14.cxd5 Bxd5 15.d4 c5 16.Rfd1 Rc8 17.Nf4 Bxf3 18.Bxf3 Qe7 19.Rac1 Rfd8 20.dxc5 Nxc5 21.b4 axb4 22.Qxb4 Qa7 23.a3 Nf5 24.Rb1 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Qc7 26.Nd3 h6 27.Rc1 Ne7 28.Qb5 Nf5 29.a4 Nd6 30.Qb1 Qa7 31.Ne5 Nxa4 32.Rxc8+ Nxc8 33.Qd1 Ne7 34.Qd8+ Kh7 35.Nxf7 Ng6 36.Qe8 Qe7 37.Qxa4 Qxf7 38.Be4 Kg8 39.Qb5 Nf8 40.Qxb6 Qf6 41.Qb5 Qe7 42.Kg2 g6 43.Qa5 Qg7 44.Qc5 Qf7 45.h4 h5 46.Qc6 Qe7 47.Bd3 Qf7 48.Qd6 Kg7 49.e4 Kg8 50.Bc4 Kg7 51.Qe5+ Kg8 52.Qd6 Kg7 53.Bb5 Kg8 54.Bc6 Qa7 55.Qb4 Qc7 56.Qb7 Qd8 57.e5 Qa5 58.Be8 Qc5 59.Qf7+ Kh8 60.Ba4 Qd5+ 61.Kh2 Qc5 62.Bb3 Qc8 63.Bd1 Qc5 64.Kg2 1-0

Once again, Kasparov had risen to the challenge and won the final game of a match against Karpov - this time to secure a 12-12 draw and retain his title. In 1990, Kasparov would face Karpov for a final time. Although the score was close - Kasparov won by just 1 point, 12.5-11.5 - he was never in danger of losing the match.

During this time, Kasparov's relationship with FIDE had steadily deteriorated. His battles with FIDE came to a head when, in 1993, Nigel Short qualified to challenge Kasparov for the World Championship. Kasparov and Short organized their championship match outside of FIDE's jurisdiction in the newly created Professional Chess Association. The rift this caused has led to the split championships which still exist today.

Kasparov beat Short handily, winning 5 of the first 9 games en route to a 12.5-7.5 win. Kasparov played another match under the banner of the PCA in 1995, defeating Viswanathan Anand 10.5-7.5. After a brief scare when Anand struck first blood by winning game 9, Kasparov calmly won 4 of the next 5 games to easily retain his title.

After the Anand match, the PCA soon collapsed, due in large part to the loss of Intel as a sponsor. It would be five years before Kasparov would play another World Championship match.

However, Kasparov's most famous match may have come in this period. In 1996, Kasparov played IBM's Deep Blue - a machine designed specifically to play chess and do nothing else. The chess world was shocked when, in the first game of the match, Deep Blue took a 1-0 lead by defeating Kasparov. While the result was shocking, Kasparov quickly took control of the match, winning 3 of the final 5 games. With a 4-2 win, Kasparov had shown he was still stronger than any computer - but the gap was a lot smaller than most people imagined.

In May of 1997, Kasparov sat down to play an updated version of Deep Blue. This time it was Kasparov who struck first, winning game 1. It seemed he was well on his way to victory again, until Deep Blue countered by winning the second game of the match. Surprisingly, Kasparov resigned in what was found to be a drawn position - a move that would cost the champion later in the match.

Tensions grew as the next three games were drawn, leaving the score tied at 2.5-2.5 heading into the final game of the 6-game match. With Kasparov taking the black pieces in the final game, it seemed like the match would likely be drawn - an excellent score for the IBM team and Deep Blue. Then, after a series of opening mistakes which culminated in a well-known winning sacrifice for the computer, Kasparov was forced to resign after one of the shortest and most infamous games of his career.

Although Kasparov had clearly played badly in the match, and despite the accusations made by Garry and others of cheating on IBM's part as well as their refusal to grant a rematch, Deep Blue had achieved a great accomplishment. It had shown that a computer was capable of playing chess on the level of any human - and that on a bad day, even a World Champion could lose to a machine.

Regardless of his relatively poor play, the Deep Blue matches had also had benefits for Kasparov; he was now a household name around the world. Next week, we'll look at the final years of Kasparov's career, and take a look at the future for Kasparov and the chess world.

Anand Holds Comfortable Amber Lead

Viswanathan Anand has nearly clinched first place with two rounds left to play at the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Tournament in Monaco. After nine rounds, Anand has scored 13.5 points, giving him a three-point advantage over Alexander Morozevich. Vassily Ivanchuk, Peter Leko and Peter Svidler are tied for 3rd with 10 points each.

What makes Amber one of the year's most popular events is the unique format. Each day consists of the grandmasters playing two games: one rapid game, and one blindfold game. Currently, Anand holds a clear lead in both formats; he holds a 1.5 point lead over Morozevich in the blindfold standings, and a point advantage over Leko in the rapid portion.

The tournament ends on Thursday, March 31st. We will have complete final results and standings in next week's issue. For now, here is a rapid win by Anand over Leko:

White: Leko, P (2749)
Black: Anand, V (2786)
Amber Tournament, Round 8
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 dxc4 14. Bxc4 Bd6 15. Ra2 Qd7 16. Ng5 Na5 17. Bd3 Rae8 18. Rae2 Rxe2 19. Qxe2 b6 20. Qf3 Bg6 21. Bxg6 fxg6 22. Qe2 h6 23. Ne6 Re8 24. c4 Nb3 25. Bb2 Bxa3 26. Bxa3 Nxd4 27. Nxd4 Rxe2 28. Nxe2 Qd3 29. Bb2 Qxc4 30. h3 c5 31. Ng3 Qb3 32. Be5 a5 33. h4 a4 34. h5 Kh7 35. hxg6+ Kxg6 36. f4 a3 37. f5+ Kf7 38. Ne4 a2 39. Ba1 Qd3 40. f6 gxf6 41. Nxf6 Qd2 42. Kf1 b5 43. Ne4 Qd5 44. Kf2 b4 45. Ke3 c4 46. Rf1+ Ke6 47. Rf6+ Ke7 48. Rd6 Qxe4+ 49. Kxe4 Kxd6 50. g4 c3 51. Kd3 Kd5 0-1