Man vs machine game 4: Defensive draw

NEW YORK: Garry Kasparov and the computer program Deep Junior crouched their pieces and pawns in defensive formations on Sunday to draw the fourth game of their six-game match in New York.

Kasparov, taking no chances after losing the third game last Thursday with a blunder, and his computer opponent established a so-called "hedgehog" opening with their pawns shielding their pieces that led to cautious play.

Kasparov considered by chess experts to be the greatest player in the history of the ancient game, and Deep Junior now have two points each with the fifth game on Wednesday and the sixth and final game on Friday.

"Garry wants to win the match and I think that in game five he is going to put it all on the line when he has the white pieces," U.S. grandmaster Yasser Seirawan said.

The Russian grandmaster, following his stinging loss to the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue in 1997, has vowed revenge for humanity against the machine in this match at the New York Athletic Club.

Kasparov and the programmers agreed to share the point in an endgame that was theoretically drawn even though Deep Junior had three pawns to Kasparov's two and each side had both rooks and a king.

The contest is the first human against computer match under the auspices of the International Chess Federation, known by its French acronym FIDE. It is billed the "FIDE Man v Machine World Championship" and has a prize fund of $1 million, including a $500,000 appearance fee for Kasparov.

The games are being shown as they are played on the websites, xworldchessbase.

© Reuters