The eighth game produced a draw in just 21 moves, the shortest of the contest. With this draw the man and machine finished with four points each, winning two games each and drawing the other four.
An outright victory would have earned Kramnik a handsome purse of $1 million but he had to settle for $700,000 with the draw. ChessBase, the makers of Fritz, will donate some $200,000 to charity.
On Saturday, the world champion failed to make inroads into Fritz's solid defense.
The German-developed computer Fritz, with only half a point from the first three games, staged a compelling fight-back to level the series.
The 27-year-old Russian master surprised Fritz, which can evaluate 3.5 million moves in a second, by winning the second and third game, but failed to outwit the machine in the second half of the match, in which he scored two losses and two draws.
How much respect? "Well, the last time an opponent escaped from Kramnik with a 21-move draw with the black pieces it was Garry Kasparov!" he said.
Kramnik was the big favorite at the start and was disappointed at his failures in the second half of the match, in which he scored two losses and two draws.
In game 8 Fritz blinked first by declining Kramnik's invitation to play one of the sharpest openings in chess, the Botvinnik Semi-Slav. Instead it played solidly, steering the game into the calm waters of the Queen's Gambit Declined. Then it was Kramnik who was left without a clear course of action. Only by taking extreme chances could he play for a win, but that would also mean chances for a loss, and this time it was the human's turn to blink and offer a draw.
For more detailed news about the match, go to; www.brainsinbahrain.com
Chessmaster Wins Four Game Match 2.5 to 1.5 Via Live Internet Broadcast on ChessClub.com
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - October 1, 2002 - Ubi Soft Entertainment, one of the world's largest video game publishers, and The Internet Chess Club (Chessclub.com), the world's premiere online chess destination, today announced that Chessmaster 9000 defeated reigning US Chess Champion, Grandmaster Larry Christiansen, two and a half games to one and a half games, in a four game match played over two days, Saturday and Sunday, September 28-29.
"The Christiansen vs. Chessmaster 9000 results prove that Chessmaster's world class chess engine offers a serious challenge to even the world's chess playing elite," said Karen "KC" Conroe, group brand manager for Ubi Soft Entertainment. "We sincerely thank reigning U.S. Chess Champion Larry Christiansen, one of the world's finest chess players, for his exciting play in this hard fought exhibition match and wish Larry the best of luck as he defends his title next January in Seattle."
The four game match was broadcast live on Chessclub.com's website, with audio commentary provided by Chess.fm featuring live, expert commentary during each of the games from some of the chess world's most celebrated players. Reigning Women's US Chess Champion and International Master Jennifer Shahade, Grandmaster Joel Benjamin, International Master and Chessmaster celebrity Josh Waitzkin, and Woman's Grandmaster Susan Polgar all provided commentary during the match. Yasser Seirawan, Grandmaster and co-founder of America's Foundation for Chess, will provide post-event written analysis in the coming weeks.
Mr. Christiansen, rated 2559, took on four different Grandmaster-level personalities from The Chessmaster 9000 retail product, finally facing The Chessmaster personality on Sunday at 6 p.m. In the first match on Saturday morning at 10am, Christiansen played as black, facing down Chessmaster 9000's Alexander Alekhine personality, known for its trap-setting style, and jumped to an early lead in the match. "Christiansen fought hard in all four games and was obviously ready to play," said Terry Coleman, producer of Chessmaster 9000 for Ubi Soft Entertainment. "He saw right through the traps the Alekhine personality set and just crushed Chessmaster in game one."
Game two pitted Christiansen against Chessmaster 9000's Bobby Fischer personality, a hard-fighting controlled aggression style. This tense positional struggle resulted in Chessmaster 9000 evening the match at a game apiece. Game three was the pivotal point in the match, with the score all even and Christiansen facing Chessmaster 9000's Botvinnik personality, which offered a balanced, counterattacking style. "Christiansen launched a ferocious attack true to his style, but Chessmaster 9000 successfully defended and eventually won the game in over four hours of intense play," continued Coleman.
Sunday's final pitted Christiansen against The Chessmaster, a personality rated at 2767, and featuring Chessmaster 9000's strongest, most comprehensive style of play. "After five moves, both Christiansen and The Chessmaster were out of opening theory," said Coleman. "The fourth game was played for over 40 moves to a classic draw, completing this very exciting match."
It is with great sorrow that we report that Grandmaster Anthony John Miles passed away today. Tony was born in Birmingham on April 23, 1955 and got his title at the age of 20, narrowly beating Raymond Keene to become Britain's first GM. He was an entertaining and imaginative player, always good for a surprise even against the strongest players in the world.
