1.Nf3 Kasparov almost always opens with 1.e4 these days, at least against humans. But over the course of his 25 year professional career he has played just about everything.

1...d5 2.c4 c6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 Logical and normal development into what is called the Slav Defense. This is a well-known system that is particularly well-known to... Garry Kasparov! The X3D Fritz team shows no fear and heads right into Kasparov's strength.

They wanted to show they didn't fear his preparation. This choice is also relevant because in Kasparov's last computer match, against Deep Junior in January '03, he crushed the machine in this exact opening in the first game!

5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 [6...b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 Be7 9.Bd2 0-0 10.g4 Nxg4 11.Rg1 Ndf6 0-1 Kasparov,G-DEEP JUNIOR/New York USA 2003/(36)]

7.g4 A very aggressive move that offers a pawn in exchange for attacking chances. If Black captures the pawn with ..Nxg5 White gets a lot of pressure on the open g-file. Kasparov has played this position three times, twice with white and once with black! He won all three games, including one against the computer program Deep Junior earlier this year.

7...Bb4 A normal move still in the "book" of both players. X3D Fritz has almost three million positions in its library of opening moves and sequences. Kasparov is legendary for his opening preparation and knowledge. He is a walking encyclopedia of opening theory and his opponents have a healthy fear of his surprises in the openings.

This move also takes the game away from the game Kasparov won against Deep Junior in this line. That's a sort of psychological advantage, being the first to spring something unexpected. Between two humans it could also be sort of like a game of chicken, with the first player to turn off from the previous game being the chicken. No matter how well it plays chess, this aspect is lost on X3D Fritz. It is not, however, lost on its creators and operators!

[7...dxc4 8.Bxc4 a) 8.g5 Nd5 9.Bxc4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 e5; b) 8.e4 e5! 9.g5 0-1 Adams,M-Kasparov,G/Dortmund 1992/CBM 29/22) (b) 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Bxe5 11.g5 Nh5) ; c) 8.g5 Nd5 9.Bxc4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 e5; d) 8.Bxc4 Anand; 8...b6 9.e4 e5 10.g5 Nh5 11.Be3 0-0 12.0-0-0 Qc7 13.d5 b5 14.dxc6 bxc4 15.Nb5 Qxc6 16.Nxd6 Bb7 17.Qc3 Rae8 18.Nxe8 Rxe8 19.Rhe1 Qb5 20.Nd2 Rc8 21.Kb1 Nf8 22.Ka1 Ng6 23.Rc1 Ba6 24.b3 cxb3 25.Qxb3 Ra8 26.Qxb5 Bxb5 27.Rc7 1-0 Kasparov,G-DEEP JUNIOR/New York USA 2003/ (27); 7...0-0 8.g5 Nh5 9.Bd2 f5 10.gxf6 Nhxf6 11.Ng5 Qe8 12.0-0-0 h6 13.h4 Shirov,A-Thorhallson,T/Reykjavik/1992/]

8.Bd2 Qe7 9.Rg1 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Ne4 11.0-0-0 A new move instead of the usual 11.Bd3.

[11.Bd3 Nxc3 12.Qxc3 0-0 13.0-0-0 dxc4 14.Bxc4 c5 (14...b5 15.Bd3 Bb7 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Rfd8 18.Kb1 a6 19.Qc2 1-0 Malakhov,V-Potkin,V/Togliatti RUS 2003/The Week in Chess (39)) 15.g5 cxd4 16.Qxd4 a6 17.Kb1 b5 18.Be2 0-1 Milanovic,D-Djerfi,K/Belgrade 2003/CBM 96 ext (33)]

12.Be2 Kasparov protects his knight and offers the f2 pawn for capture.

12...Nxf2 And X3D Fritz takes the pawn! This will give White a lot of pressure against the black position in compensation for the sacrificed pawn. It's ironic that we have the strongest chess computer of all time here and it is playing in the materialistic mode of the first chess programs. In X3D Fritz's opinion, it has enough defensive resources to rebuff Kasparov's initiative. This battle of material vs initiative is what chess is all about. Kasparov gives up a pawn for an attack, but if his attack doesn't succeed then X3D Fritz will have good chances to win with the extra material. Kasparov loves to have the initiative and such sacrifices are his stock and trade.

13.Rdf1 Attacking the black knight. 13...Ne4 Retreating the knight. One of the drawbacks of X3D Fritz's pawn grab is that now the f-file is open for White's pieces. Right now Kasparov is threatening a discovered attack on the black queen. That means when he moves his knight, there will be a line of attack opened for his rook. 14.Bb4. Kasparov moves his bishop away so the knight can't capture it. He uses it to prevent the black king from castling by attacking the f8 square. [14.Ne5 This is the discovered attack. Note that now Black's queen is under fire from the rook on f1. When the queen moves Kasparov would be able to capture the pawn on f7. But X3D Fritz saw well in advance that its queen would be able to counterattack effectively. It's hard to fool a computer looking at four million moves per second. 14...Qh4 15.Nxf7 0-0! Creating a double attack on the f7 knight. 16.Ne5 Rxf1+ 17.Rxf1 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Qxh2 Black maintains its extra pawn and has a clear advantage.]

15.cxd5 exd5 16.dxc5 Qe7 Getting the queen away from the discovered attack on the f-file and also attacking the c5 pawn. Material is now equal, Kasparov has an edge in development and X3D Fritz has a very well-placed knight on e4.

17.Nd4 A typically dynamic Kasparov move. He will play his knight to the aggressive f5 square. He ignores the threat to the c5 pawn since capturing it would cost Black a great deal of time.

17...0-0 Getting the king to safety, but allowing Kasparov to play a powerful sequence of moves here that will win a rook for a bishop and pawns. A rather surprising decision from a program that has already shown itself to be a bit of a materialist! [17...Ndxc5? 18.Bb5+ Kf8 Now the black king is stuck in the middle of the board.]

18.Nf5 Attacking the queen. 18...Qe5 19.c6 Kasparov goes for it. This pawn push is a discovered attack. The pawn attacks the knight and at the same time the diagonal for the b4 bishop is opened up to attack the rook on f8. He is going to win a rook for his bishop, a gain in material, but he usually likes to be the one giving up the material for the attack. Now X3D Fritz will have the initiative and more active pieces. 19...bxc6 20.Bxf8

20...Kxf8 Our Grandmaster commentators were expecting X3D Fritz to recapture with the knight instead of moving his king into the middle of the board. The machine prefers to keep its pieces more active and isn't worried about its king at all. A human would instinctively worry about putting his king out into traffic. A computer just looks at a few hundred million positions, sees no danger, and plays what it thinks is best. [20...Nxf8 21.Bd3 (21.Qxc6? Rb8 With great attacking chances for Black.) ]

21.Ng3 Kasparov wants to trade material. He has a material advantage and every exchange will bring him closer to realizing it. 21...Ndc5 22.Nxe4 Nxe4 23.Bd3 Threatening yet more trades.

23...Be6 Finally developing this bishop and preparing to lodge it on the d5 square after Kasparov captures on e4. The bishop also protects the f7 square on the vulnerable f-file. Computers always defend tenaciously. 24.Bxe4 dxe4 Kasparov's mission to exchange pieces has been successful, but how to now convert his slight material advantage into a win?

25.Rf4 Bd5 Protecting the attacked e4 pawn. Black has set up a solid defensive wall and it's up to Kasparov to find a way through. 26.Qc5+ Activating the queen with check, forcing the black king back. This move also pins the bishop against the queen. [26.Qc3 Many expected this move, offering to exchange the queens and driving the black queen from her excellent central post. X3D Fritz definitely wouldn't exchange queens because then Kasparov's material advantage would be close to crushing. X3D Fritz needs the powerful queen on the board to keep counterchances. 26...Qd6]

26...Kg8 27.Rgf1

27...Rb8 Answering Kasparov's threat with an even stronger one. X3D Fritz threatens a lethal capture on b2. 28.R1f2 Protecting b2 and so reviving the threat to capture on f7.

28...Qc7 Removing the pin on the bishop and so threatening to capture the unprotected a2 pawn.

29.Rc2 Kasparov prefers to answer a threat with a counter-threat instead of playing defense. Now if Black plays ..Rb5 Kasparov exploits the new pin on the c-pawn and captures the rook with Qxb5. [29.Kb1 Protecting the a2 pawn with the king.]

29...Qd7 [29...Bxa2 Grabbing the pawn immediately was playable, but now White's rooks get a lot of play.; 29...Rb5?? 30.Qxb5!] 30.h4 Another aggressive surprise from Kasparov. Just when all the action was on the queenside and in the center, he threatens to open a new front by pushing his kingside pawns against the black king. 30...Qd8 31.g5?!

31...Bxa2! A surprise for Kasparov. Perhaps that pawn had sat there immune for so long that Kasparov started to believe it couldn't be captured! Not only does Black win a pawn but suddenly White's king is feeling a draft.

32.Rxe4 Almost a draw offer since it is now very hard for White to find any move to avoid the repetition that does indeed end the game. [32.Rd2 This move was expected by most commentators. It pushes the black queen off the d-file and claims it for White. Then Kasparov could continue his kingside push. 32...Qe8 33.h5] 32...Qd3

33...Qxe3+ X3D Fritz alarmed the commentators by spending eight minutes on this obvious and forced move. Seirawan, Ashley, and Hoffman wondered if there was a malfunction!

Nothing of the sort. X3D Fritz had plenty of extra time, so it was in no hurry. It had started to see the repetition draw that now comes and when a decisive result comes into its analysis horizon the program gives itself more time.

34.Rcd2 The only move. [34.Rdd2?? Rxb2! Whoops, giving up the queen but getting checkmate in return! A fine illustration of the dangers around White's king. 35.Qxe3 (35.Rxb2 Qxc5+; 35.Kxb2 Qb3+ 36.Ka1 Qb1#) 35...Rb1# Checkmate!; 34.Kd1?? Re8]

34...Qe1+ Black is in considerable danger as well. Not only does Kasparov have a material advantage, but the black king is not safe. 35.Rd1 The only move. The open white king, hemmed in by the bishop on a2, is too vulnerable. [35.Kc2?? Bb1+ 36.Kc3 Qc1+ 37.Rc2 Qxc2#]

35...Qe3+ The first repetition of the position. If the same position is about to appear on the board for the third time, the player can claim a draw by repetition. We call the version here a "perpetual check."

36.R1d2 The other moves are suicidal. Kasparov has no choice but to accept the perpetual check draw if X3D Fritz wants it. [36.Kc2?? Qb3+ 37.Kd2 Qxb2+; 36.R4d2?? Qxc5+]

36...Qg1+ This was the last fork in the road. X3D Fritz could have continued the game with ..Re8. The machine decides that there is no way to play for a win and forces the repetition draw. [36...Re8 Black can keep the game going this way, but it was very risky and without any advantage. 37.Qc3; 36...Qe8? 37.Rd7] 37.Rd1 1/2-1/2

– Mig Greengard

In-depth analysis of game two

Nov. 15, 2003 – The second game of the match was a complicated strategic battle. The commentators were surprised at how well X3D Fritz played the early stages of this closed positional game. It had pressure on the queenside while Kasparov built-up aggressively on the kingside.

Then the machine released its pressure and it looked like Kasparov would have good chances of a breakthrough against X3D Fritz's king. However, he had slipped into time trouble and several hasty moves were followed by a horrible blunder. X3D Fritz wasn't going to miss such an opportunity and it immediately launched a crushing attack.

Well after the game ended Kasparov spoke about how much he had missed for both sides in the moves before his blunder. Getting into time pressure is a bad habit, but against a machine that sees everything it will nearly always be fatal.

X3D Fritz - Kasparov,G (2830) [C66] X3D Man-Machine World Championship

New York USA (Game 2), 13.11.2003

1.e4 e5 Classical defense from Kasparov, who usually always meets 1.e4 with ...c5, his beloved Sicilian Defense (1.e4 c5). 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 The Ruy Lopez, or Spanish Game. One of the oldest known openings. 3...Nf6

Kramnik used this move against an earlier version of Fritz last year.

4.d3 According to Alex Kure, the opening book expert for Team Fritz, they wanted to keep the queens on the board and not allow Kasparov to follow the main line of the Berlin that Kramnik used to draw easily against them in Bahrain game one. [4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8. The main line of the Berlin Defense of the Ruy Lopez. This line has been popular off and on going back a century. It's latest resurrection was caused by world number two Vladimir Kramnik, who used it to great effect against Kasparov in their 2000 world title match. The mighty queens come off the board and the game moves in slow motion. Kramnik wanted to prevent Kasparov from displaying his famed tactical prowess and the same strategy makes perfect sense against a calculating monster like X3D Fritz. Kramnik played the Berlin in his first match game against Fritz 8 a year ago and, as he often did against Kasparov in their 2000 match, drew convincingly: 9.Nc3 h6 10.b3 Ke8 11.Bb2 Be7 12.Rad1 a5 13.a4 h5 14.Ne2 Be6 15.c4 Rd8 16.h3 b6 17.Nfd4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 c5 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Rxd8+ Kxd8 21.Bc1 Kc8 22.Rd1 Rd8 23.Rxd8+ Kxd8 24.g4 g6 25.h4 hxg4 26.Bg5 Bxg5 27.hxg5 Ke8 28.Kg2 1/2-1/2 Deep Fritz-Kramnik,V/Manama 2002]

4...d6 5.c3 Played to prepare the push d3-d4, taking over the center. X3D Fritz is still making moves from its opening library, also called its "opening book." This is a massive database with millions of positions take from previously played games and prior analysis. An opening book often takes up close to a gigabyte of hard drive space! This opening book is how the X3D Fritz team tells their baby what to play in the first moves of the game, the opening phase. Before each game they try to predict was Kasparov will play. Then they look at the possible reactions that will lead to positions that X3D Fritz will play well when it leaves the book and has to think on its own. There are so many millions of possibilities even in the first 10 moves of a chess game that this is far easier said than done. Even if you suspect what general direction your opponent is going to take, you can't prepare everything, there just isn't time. When human Grandmasters play one another they are both limited by their memories. No matter how much they prepare and study they have trouble bringing it all to the board with them come game time. A computer player like X3D Fritz doesn't have this problem. Its memory is limitless and will store everything the programming team has time to enter into its opening book. It will play its moves instantaneously as long as it is still in a book position (as will humans!). One of the tricks Grandmasters use against chess computers is to play tricky move orders to get the machines out of their opening books as early as possible. The opening phase is very sophisticated and poor decisions made early will have repercussions ten, twenty, or even thirty moves later, far too deep for a computer to calculate. The best opening moves have developed over decades and are based on Grandmaster experience and praxis. Computers don't usually do very well in this phase of the game on their own, the search tree of moves is too broad and the strategy too subtle. Therefore they use their opening books to reach playable positions, sometimes not "thinking" at all until move 20 or even later. The debate about whether or not the use of these books is an unfair advantage for the computers has raged since the beginning. Kasparov put it back on the table after this painful loss, although he did quite well in the opening phase.

5...g6 6.0-0 Bg7 7.Nbd2 0-0 8.Re1 Both sides have made typical developing moves. Both kings have castled to safety and both sides put pressure on the critical central squares.

8...Re8 This move by Kasparov had never been played before in this exact position. It is hardly a shocking move and one that would likely be played soon regardless of the order. By playing it here Kasparov hopes (and succeeds) to get X3D Fritz out of its opening book. The machine is now calculating its moves on its own and still in a very early stage of the game.

9.d4 A Grandmaster likely would have waited a while to play this inevitable push in the center. White's pieces are a little tangled up. X3D Fritz sees no reason to delay; it wants central space. There is an immediate threat, the push d4-d5 attacking the c6 knight, which is now pinned by the bishop against the rook on e8.

9...Bd7 Breaking the pin, but guaranteeing that White can force the exchange of light-squared bishops. ..Nd7 was worth considering, but Kasparov doesn't mind exchanges that will decrease the computer's attacking potential. 10.d5 Ne7 11.Bxd7

We like to say that exchanges help the defender, especially in positions in which he has less space. Black's pieces don't have much room to maneuver and that is exacerbated with more pieces bumping into each other.

But this capture is a good decision by X3D Fritz, although it was unaware of the real reason for this! In the coming position Black will attack on the kingside and White will advance on the queenside to take advantage of its central pawn wedge. In Black's kingside attack his light-squared bishop is a very important member of the army, but now it's back in the virtual reality box. That attack is 20 moves down the line so there is no way X3D Fritz had even the slightest thought about that theory. It exchanged the bishops because it didn't like to keep a bishop that would be trapped behind its own pawns on d5 and e4.

11...Nxd7 "Black has already equalized here." – GM Seirawan. By a curious route we have reached a position that is basically a King's Indian Defense, a common opening against 1.d4. Kasparov doesn't play it anymore but for many years he used the King's Indian Defense (KID) with devastating effect. Of course X3D Fritz has no idea that it's in a King's Indian, or that it's in New York or that millions of people around the world are watching. The KID is a strategically rich defense with very clear lines of play. Black attacks on the kingside and White expands on the queenside. Every human master knows this by heart. X3D Fritz has no idea what it is supposed to do, it simply plays the move with the best evaluation on each move. Sometimes this can simulate a strategic plan, sometimes it can lead to inconsistent play by the machine. What would we see here?

12.a4 A good sign that X3D Fritz "understands" the position. It will expand on the queenside! This isn't an attacking move, there really aren't any direct targets to attack. But gaining space is a good thing on its own account. When your pawns control more area your pieces have more room to maneuver. Your opponent will be cramped and have trouble defending and guarding against your potential breakthroughs. [12.Nf1 h6 13.Ng3 Rf8 14.a4 a5 15.c4 1/2-1/2 Langeweg,K-Spraggett,K/Zaragoza 1992/TD (63)]

12...h6 Kasparov is in no hurry. He wants to see if X3D Fritz will make a mistake in this subtle position, perhaps waste time. Meanwhile this little move protects the g5 square and prepares an eventual ..g5 pawn push and a kingside attack.

13.a5 a6 Black can't allow the pawn to continue all the way to a6. 14.b4 f5 15.c4

X3D Fritz is playing disturbingly good strategic pawn moves! Pawn play, with its long-term weaknesses and lack of direct tactics, is far from a computer strong suit. They like to use their pieces in direct and open combat so their calculating power is at its best effect.

With all 16 pawns still on the board this brute strength is muted. But X3D Fritz is playing just like a human Grandmaster would in this position. It advances its pawns as far as possible before making any decisions with its pieces because it's still not clear where they will be best placed.

At around this point Australian Grandmaster Ian Rogers declared that X3D Fritz was passing the chess Turing test. You couldn't distinguish its play from a human's!

15...Nf6 White has its bind on the queenside with possible breakthroughs on b5 and c5. Black builds up forces on the kingside and will break with either ..g5 or ..f4.

16.Bb2?! The first sign that X3D Fritz is slipping in this subtle strategic war. This is a committal move when it's not yet clear where the best square is for this bishop. Bringing the queen out to b3 was a good alternative. [16.Bb2 f4 17.c5 g5 18.h3 Rf8 19.Rc1 Rc8]

16...Qd7 17.Rb1 Playing this rook to c1 to prepare c5 was what everyone was expecting. Is X3D Fritz wandering? It might have been looking at playing Bc3 and pushing b5, but it never does this. One of the problems computers have in strategic positions like this one is that they can't stick with a plan the way a human can. What looks good at one point might not make it into the program's search tree on the next move.

17...g5?! This is not objectively a bad move by Kasparov, the problem with it is that now X3D Fritz will have a clearer understanding of the position. In order to confuse the machine it's best to leave as many pawns on the board as possible and keep lines closed. That allows the human to make long-term plans and build up behind the lines, something computers aren't particularly good at. After this move X3D Fritz has much clearer targets to work with, especially the e4 square. On the other hand, the typical attack Black plays for with ..f4 and ..g5-g4 isn't so strong in the game because Black no longer has his light-squared bishop. That piece is usually a critical attacker against the white king in the King's Indian, but it was exchanged off early on here.

[17...f4 The "move of principle" in this position. 18.c5 g5 19.Nc4 Rad8 20.h3 Ng6 21.cxd6 cxd6 22.Nb6 Qf7 23.Rc1 Nh7 24.Re2 h5 25.Rec2 g4 A standard King's Indian game with Black crashing through on the kingside and White doing the same on the queenside. Two problems for Black here: the absence of his light-squared bishop and the fact that his opponent is a super-strong computer program! X3D Fritz just isn't going to get checkmated. Sharp counterattacking positions are not recommended against machines. 26.Rc7 Re7 27.Rc8 Forcing exchanges will remove most of the danger around the white king and increase the significance of White's positional advantage on the queenside.]

18.exf5 Or else the Black pawns will roll down the board. Now White has the nice e4 square for his pieces. 18...Qxf5?! The Black queen joins the battle, but without much scope in this blocked position. [18...g4 Kasparov 19.Nh4 Nxf5 20.Nxf5 Qxf5 21.Nf1 h5 Similar to the game but gaining time over the game line.]

19.Nf1! Very nice. X3D Fritz redirects its knight to be able to control the e4 square.

19...Qh7 Maybe too subtle from Kasparov. He wants to keep the queen on the kingside to support his attack on that flank. He doesn't want to be forced back to d7 after ..Ng6 Ng3, for example. Kasparov also wants to keep an eye on the critical e4 square. [19...Ng6; 19...g4 20.Ng3 Qg6 21.Nd2 h5 22.Nge4; 19...Qg6? 20.Ng3 Nf5 21.Qc2]

20.N3d2 Focusing on the e4 square. 20...Nf5 [20...Ng6 21.Ng3 Nf4 22.Nde4 A powerful knight on e4 makes this position very pleasant for White.] 21.Ne4 Nxe4 22.Rxe4 h5 23.Qd3 Rf8

Kasparov continues to build up his forces on the kingside. He will double his rooks on the f-file.

24.Rbe1?! Not a blunder, but X3D Fritz is getting distracted from its own attack. This is where human planning and experience are superior to calculation. A Grandmaster simply knows that in these positions you have to play where you are stronger. You must attack, not defend. 24.c5 was the normal move. [24.c5 Nd4!? (24...g4 25.Ng3)]

24...Rf7 25.R1e2 Defending f2 in advance. Again continuing his queenside initiative with c5 was better. 25...g4 26.Qb3 [26.c5 Raf8]

26...Raf8 27.c5 Finally this required advance, but why now when the queen appeared to come over to support b5 instead? Diffident strategic play from X3D Fritz after a fine start.

[27.b5 Ne7 Threatening ..Rxf2 because of the attack by the queen on the Re4. 28.b6 cxb6 29.Qxb6 Rxf2 30.Rxf2 Rxf2]

27...Qg6 28.cxd6? Voluntarily giving up all the pressure built up over the last dozen moves. A terrible strategic decision, at least from an objective analysis standpoint. From a computer-player perspective it makes some sense to liquidate and open lines for its pieces to create tactical chances. Indeed this pays off almost immediately when Kasparov blunders in mild time pressure on move 32. [28.c6? bxc6 29.dxc6 Ne7!; 28.Nd2 Ne7=; 28.Qc4 Maintaining the pressure.]

28...cxd6 Recapturing with the pawn is the solid option. You don't like to have loose pawns against a computer. The worst is over for Black, but time pressure and perhaps that feeling work now against Kasparov. [28...Nxd6?! 29.R4e3 e4 a) 29...h4 30.Bxe5 Bxe5 31.Rxe5 Rxf2 32.Rxf2 Rxf2 33.Qe3 Rf5; b) 29...Rf3!? A remarkable shot, suggest by X3D Fritz (in its analysis! 30.Qc2 (b) 30.gxf3?? gxf3+ Discovered check. 31.Ng3 fxe2 32.Rxe2 h4) 30...Qxc2 31.Rxc2 Rxe3 32.Nxe3 Rf7; 30.Bxg7 Qxg7]

29.b5 axb5 30.Qxb5 Bh6?! Kasparov activates his passive bishop, but this is a very slow plan and there are still many dangers in the position. With the threats on the queenside finally gone Kasparov seems to have lost his sense of danger. You can never relax against the machine because it never, ever relaxes. [30...h4 31.Qc4 Nd4 32.Bxd4 exd4 33.Nd2 Be5]

31.Qb6 A single-minded pin tactic, threatening Bxe5 (or Rxe5) because now the black d-pawn is pinned. 31...Kh7 Protecting the queen but creating other weaknesses. [31...Rf6!? A remarkable move, offering the b7 pawn based on a spectacular (tactical continuation. 32.Qc7 (32.Rc4; 32.Qxb7? Ne3! 33.R4xe3 Bxe3 34.Nxe3 Qd3 35.Re1 Qd2 36.Rf1 Rxf2-+) 32...R8f7 a) (32...Bg5 33.Bc3 (a) 33.Qxb7 Ne3 34.R4xe3 Bxe3 35.Nxe3 Qd3 36.Bxe5-+) 33...R6f7 34.Qb6 Rg7 35.Ng3 Nxg3 36.hxg3=; b) 32...Qf7 33.Qxf7+ R6xf7 34.Ng3 Nxg3 35.hxg3 Rc8 36(a3=; 33.Qc4 (33.Qd8+ Kh7) 33...Rg7 34.Bc3 h4 35.Bd2 Bxd2 36.Rxd2-/+; 31...h4?? 32.Bxe5 dxe5?? 33.Qxg6+ 31...Rg7 Kasparov 32.Ng3 h4 33.Nxf5 Rxf5 34.Ba3 Rf6 "Black is clearly better" - Kasparov]

32.Qb4 Preventing ..h4 now. According to X3D Fritz programmer Frans Morsch, the program had been increasingly distracted by Black's kingside attack, leading to curious play like this move.

32...Rg7?? A horrible blunder that leaves the f8 rook unprotected. Such a thing was very hard to see because the rook was protected twice and now is not protected at all! Kasparov had around 10 minutes on his clock at this point, with nine moves to go to the time control on move 40 (when another hour is added to each clock). You would usually like to have at least three minutes per move until the time control. Kasparov was now down to around one minute per move. That leaves precious little time to deal with the unexpected and blunders become more likely, at least for the human. Computers of course, never blunder at all. They don't play perfectly but they are simply incapable of losing a game in one move as Kasparov does here. [32...Ng7; 32...Rg8 Kasparov 33.Ng3 Nxg3 (34.hxg3 h4! 35.gxh4 g3 36.fxg3 (36.f3 Bf4) 36...Qxg3 37.Qc3 Rf3; 32...Rc7]

33.Rxe5! Crushing. White exploits the pin on the d-pawn. A coincidental effect of White's last queen move. White wins a pawn but more importantly all of his heavy pieces spring to life against the open black king. There is no hope of ever defending this position against X3D Fritz. [33.Bxe5 Also winning handily.]

33...dxe5 34.Qxf8 Nd4? Opening more lines for White's pieces, but it's already too late to do anything more than delay the end by a few moves. [34...Rd7 35.Qc8 Qf7+-; 34...Re7 35.Qc8 Bg7 36.Ba3]

35.Bxd4 [35.Rxe5?! Nf3+ 36.Kh1 Nxe5 37.Bxe5 Rg8 38.Qe7+ Bg7 39.Qxb7 Qf5+/-] 35...exd4 36.Re8 Rg8 37.Qe7+ Rg7 [37...Qg7 38.Qe4+ Qg6 39.Re7+ Kh8 40.Qxd4+ Bg7+- 41.Qb6]

38.Qd8 Rg8 39.Qd7+ 1-0

[39...Rg7 40.Qc8 White continues to threaten checkmates on h8 to win more material. The white a and d-pawns will run down the board to make new queens. 40...Rg8 41.Rxg8 Qxg8 42.Qxb7+ Kg6 43.a6 d3 44.a7 d2 45.Nxd2 Bxd2 46.a8Q]

in-depth analysis of game three

Nov. 16, 2003 – There isn't a whole lot to say about the way the game progressed. X3D Fritz never found a plan and Kasparov did whatever he wanted on the queenside. The story, then, is why X3D Fritz was unable to find a plan and what Kasparov did to keep the mighty machine in the dark.

Kasparov,G (2830) - X3D Fritz [D45] Man-Machine World Championship New York City USA (Game 3), 16.11.2003

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 c6 5.e3 a6

Diverging from game one, when the more common 5...Nbd7 was played. This sideline of the Slav with 5...a6 was criticized by Kasparov after the game. From the continuation here we can see why.

X3D Fritz is playing from its opening book right into a position it doesn't understand at all! When Kasparov said this everyone looked over at poor Alex Kure, the man responsible for selecting and "training" X3D Fritz's openings. Kasparov has little practical experience with this sideline and in both cases (once with white and once with black) the game continued with 6.b3. When this move appeared on the screen I thought maybe the Fritz team were trying to give Kasparov a little psychological jab. He played this move himself a month ago against Huzman in a game that turned into the shortest loss of his career after a horrific blunder. They wouldn't admit it, but you know they knew about that game and that Kasparov would be forced to think about while he was sitting there against X3D Fritz.

6.c5 Nbd7 7.b4 a5 8.b5 e5 [8...Ne4? 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Nd2 f5 11.f3 Qh4+? (11...exf3 12.Qxf3+/-) 12.g3 Qh6 13.Qe2 1-0 Euwe,M-Alekhine,A/NLD 1935/(41); >=8...e5]

9.Qa4! Given an exclamation point by Gligoric and Wade in their book "The World Chess Championship" (1972). This move was apparently not in X3D Fritz's opening book so it was now on its own.

9...Qc7 10.Ba3 [10.Be2 e4 11.Nd2 g6 12.Nb3 Bh6 13.Bd2 0-0 14.0-0-0 b6 15.bxc6 Nb8 16.cxb6 Qxb6 17.Qb5 Qxc6 18.Qxc6 Nxc6 19.Na4 1-0 Pachman,L-Fichtl,J/Prague 1954/MCD (41)]

10...e4 11.Nd2 Be7 All of these moves had been played before, although Kasparov said afterwards that he was not conscious of that at the time at this point. The game they are following was not a minor one, but a battle from the world championship match-tournament in 1948 between American Samuel Reshevsky and Soviet (Estonian) Paul Keres.

12.b6 Immediately sealing the queenside and diverging from that game from 1948, although there are still many similarities. A player as strong as Keres had no difficulty in seeing that Black needs immediate pawn play on the kingside in order to compensate for White's advantage on the kingside. He played a rapid ...h5 push and entered a very sharp battle. [12.Be2 h5 13.b6 Qd8 14.h3 Nf8 15.0-0-0 Ne6 16.Ndxe4 Nxe4 (16...dxe4 17.d5 Bxc5 (17...0-0 18.dxe6 Qe8) 18.dxc6 Bxa3+ 19.Kc2) 17.Nxe4 h4 0-1 Reshevsky,S-Keres,P/NLD/URS 1948/MainBase (63) (17...dxe4 18.d5) ]

12...Qd8 13.h3 An odd little prophylactic move that shows that Kasparov is betting that X3D Fritz won't know what to do in this position without any clear targets for its pieces. All the time Kasparov spent training with X3D Fritz clearly paid off. 13.h3 doesn't develop anything but it takes away a square from Black's knight, the g4 square.

13...0-0 14.Nb3

Kasparov closes in on the isolated a5 pawn. After he captures it the white pieces will be a little tied up and during that time Black needs to counterattack vigorously on the kingside.

Instead, from now on we watch Kasparov consolidate on the queenside while X3D Fritz does absolutely nothing on the kingside. It has no clue that its only hope is to play its kingside pawns forward to break through the white pawn chain at its base.

14...Bd6?! This got a good laugh from the Grandmaster commentators and the audience. Only a computer! It puts its bishop right where the white pawn can capture it. If Kasparov takes the bishop he loses his queen after 15.cxd6?? Nxb6 and the white queen is trapped. Of course Kasparov isn't going to blunder his queen away, so did this curious move have any other value? Maybe so, if Black thinks its bishop is more useful on the b8-h2 diagonal, attacking the kingside.

[14...Ne8 15.Rb1 f5 Here is the key move that X3D Fritz never wanted to play. All of Black's hopes are pinned on eventually breaking through with ..f5. 16.g3 g5 Necessary to enforce ...f4, but X3D Fritz has been taught not to move the pawns in front of its king. Now a double-edge battle is underway and White will have to watch out for Black's breakthrough on the kingside. In the game, Kasparov never had to worry about this at all since X3D Fritz never touched its f-pawn.]

15.Rb1 Kasparov ignores X3D Fritz's provocative play and continues to develop his pieces. Black isn't threatening anything. [15.cxd6?? Nxb6; 15.Nxa5 Nxb6 16.cxb6 Bxa3 17.Qxa3 Qxb6]

15...Be7?! Oh boy, now you know we're in the land of computer chess. As one of America's top players, GM Gregory Kaidanov, put it after the game, "this move showed that the computer doesn't feel any embarrassment!" X3D Fritz puts its bishop right back where it was two moves ago, basically making Kasparov a gift of two moves.

16.Nxa5 Nb8 17.Bb4 Kasparov will slowly unravel his pieces on the queenside and prepare to push his a2 pawn up the board where it will break through and give him a protected passed b-pawn with an easily winning position. X3D Fritz can't see this coming at all and does nothing but watch.

17...Qd7 18.Rb2

This useless-looking move confused most of the commentators, but to anyone with extensive anti-computer chess experience it makes perfect sense. The rook protects the f2 pawn, a potential weak spot, but why would you protect something that isn't being attacked? The reason goes into how computers think. Its brute force calculation can only go so deep, even with four super-fast processors. Black's only possible source of counterplay in this position is to push its f-pawn and open up an attack against the area around the white king, f2 in particular. If X3D Fritz's search, usually running 12-20 half-moves deep, ever reaches a position in which it sees success in such an attack it will put such a plan in motion. On the other hand, if it cannot reach a favorable position in its searches it will never play the initial moves required. With the rook on b2 protecting f2 already, the potential weakness of that critical square is somewhat hidden from the computer's search. X3D Fritz can't just play it anyway like a human would, knowing that everything else is useless. A machine has to receive a positive evaluation from its search to play a move and always plays the move that gives it the best evaluation. Since X3D Fritz sees no danger here for itself it is content to play moves that do nothing, but don't cause any negative effect either. It twiddles its virtual reality thumbs. Any human would say, "I have to do SOMETHING."

18...Qe6 19.Qd1 Getting the queen out from behind the pin on the a5 knight. All of Kasparov's moves are based on supporting the push of the extra a2 pawn, with the occasional need to protect against an X3D Fritz threat.

19...Nfd7 After this there was a brief hope that X3D Fritz had found the need to play its f-pawn at long last. 20.a3 Qh6 21.Nb3 Bh4 A pathetic one-move threat that ends up wasting more time. This move pins the f2 pawn against the king and so threatens ...Qxe3+ on the next move.

22.Qd2 Protecting against that threat and preparing to evacuate the king to the queenside. 22...Nf6 Nope, no f-pawn push. Black is doomed. 23.Kd1 Be6 24.Kc1 Kasparov has all the time in the world. 24...Rd8 Useless.

25.Rc2 Nbd7 26.Kb2 Nf8 Ironically, X3D Fritz was reaching incredible search depths because there are so few legal moves in this closed position. It was like casting a powerful searchlight into a black hole. Even reaching 19 half-moves ahead it couldn't find the essential plan.

27.a4 The a-pawn begins its march. 27...Ng6 28.a5 Ne7

After all this silliness it's too late for X3D Fritz to do anything now even if it realized it was in trouble. Its pieces are all on the other side of the board while Kasparov crashes through with his pawn.

29.a6 Kasparov gives back the pawn temporarily in order to gain a protected passed b-pawn and squares for his pieces. He will now build up his forces for the final assault.

29...bxa6 30.Na5 Rdb8 31.g3 White gets ready to get his last piece into action and further restrain the useless black pieces.

31...Bg5 32.Bg2 Getting out of the way of the rook while threatening to win a piece with h4, trapping the bishop. [32.h4?! Ng4 33.Bg2 Bf6]

32...Qg6 33.Ka1 Kh8 Two useless-looking king moves that aren't the same at all. Kasparov is getting out of the way of his heavy pieces. X3D Fritz is simply wasting more time. At this point the X3D Fritz team members started to shuffle their feet nervously. They knew from looking at the evaluation that the program had no idea it was about to be crushed.

34.Na2 Heading to the b4 square. 34...Bd7 35.Bc3 Ne8 36.Nb4 Kg8 37.Rb1 Bc8 38.Ra2 Bh6 39.Bf1 Kasparov has optimized his forces for the final strike. During the last 20 moves X3D Fritz has accomplished absolutely nothing.

39...Qe6 40.Qd1 With this move Kasparov's last worry disappeared. He had reached the time control on move 40, which meant he had an extra hour added to his clock. They would get even more time at move 60, but nobody believed the game would reach that point!

40...Nf6 There is nothing to be done at this point, although X3D Fritz was still giving White just a tiny plus. 41.Qa4 Bb7 [41...Kh8 Waiting passively doesn't work either. 42.Nbxc6 Bd7 This pin backfires. 43.b7! Ra7 (43...Nxc6 44.bxa8Q Rxa8 45.Rb6 Nxa5 46.Rxe6 Bxa4 47.Rxa6 Rxa6 48.Bxa6 Nb3+ 49.Kb2) 44.Nxb8 Bxa4 45.Rxa4 White wins easily even without his queen thanks to the mighty pawns.]

42.Nxb7 Rxb7 43.Nxa6 [43.Bxa6 Rbb8 44.b7 (44.Rb3 Qxh3) 44...Rxb7 45.Bxb7 Rxa4 46.Rxa4 g6 47.Ra6]

43...Qd7 44.Qc2 For the second time in this game the queen steps out of a pin on the a-file. Now it's a simple matter of dominating the a-file, trading pieces, and pushing the b-pawn. Totally crushing.

44...Kh8 X3D Fritz was still managing to find enough defensive resources in its search to delay the inevitable. Itss evaluation was only -1.50, or a pawn and a half negative when in fact it is completely losing. The final cataclysm is beyond its search horizon, just like the rest of the game.

45.Rb3 1-0

The rooks will double on the a-file, penetrate to a7 or a8, force exchanges, and finally the push of the b-pawn will be unstoppable. [45.Rb3 Ne8 a) 45...Qc8 46.Rba3 g6 47.Nc7 Rxa3 48.Rxa3 Rb8 49.Qa2 b) 45...Qf5 46.Nc7 Rxa2+ 47.Qxa2 Nd7 48.Qa7 (b) 48.Be2) ; 46.Rba3 Nc8 47.Nb4 Rab8 48.Ra8 Bg5 49.Rxb8 Rxb8 50.Ra6 Bd8 51.Qa4 Ne7 52.Ra8 Rxa8 53.Qxa8]