Games: Chess
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Your support makes all the difference.GARY KASPAROV jetted into London on Thursday for a news conference in connection with his interactive game against "The World" on the Microsoft Network at http:// www.zone.com/kasparov.
Originally timed, after 37 moves and nearly three months of play, to coincide with the expected end of the game, it was nothing of the sort since the combatants are still locked in a daunting endgame.
The press conference, held at "Home House" in Portland Square, was chaired and kicked off by Grandmaster Dan King. Diane McDade, PR manager of MSN.COM, pointed out that they'd received nearly 15 million "page views" - an average of 200,000 a day.
Kasparov then explained that the four World team "coaches" - Etienne Bacrot, Florin Felecan, Irina Krush and Elisabeth Pahtz - had been chosen so that none was so famous that the public would automatically back them for their name alone; but since move 10, the suggestions of the team around Irina Krush have been accepted; and indeed he later said he perceived the hand of an extremely strong - and aggressive - player at work directing the World's play.
As a result of the "minefield" created by the World's (unexpectedly) powerful performance, Kasparov and his team - Yuri Dohoian, Boris Alterman and various computers, had spent "100 man hours plus" on the game. He also stated that during the middlegame the result could have gone either way but now it would either be a win for him or a draw; and the result would be clear in "the next 15 days".
Kasparov was lavish in praise of this battle, which he described as "one of the hardest matches I've ever played". I felt this was pure hyperbole until I realised that this is the game he's playing - or rather living - at the moment; so any struggle, let alone one with six pawns, all passed, would have merited huge emotional input.
The moves so far: 37 ...e6 was played on Thursday. 10 ...Qe6!? initiated unfathomable complications. 15 ...Ra8!? is my own only input. Kasparov praised 16 ...Ne4. 26 ...f4 was very aggressive rather than 26 ...Bc5. 32 ...fxg3? activated White's rook. The subtle 35 Kh1 avoided a line with ...Nf4 - vitally with check - later.
White: Gary Kasparov
Black: "The World"
MSN.COM 1999
1 e4 c5
2 Nf3 d6
3 Bb5+ Bd7
4 Bxd7+ Qxd7
5 c4 Nc6
6 Nc3 Nf6
7 0-0 g6
8 d4 cxd4
9 Nxd4 Bg7
10 Nde2 Qe6!?
11 Nd5 Qxe4
12 Nc7+ Kd7
13 Nxa8 Qxc4
14 Nb6+ axb6
15 Nc3 Ra8
16 a4 Ne4
17 Nxe4 Qxe4
18 Qb3 f5
19 Bg5 Qb4
20 Qf7 Be5
21 h3 Rxa4
22 Rxa4 Qxa4
23 Qxh7 Bxb2
24 Qxg6 Qe4
25 Qf7 Bd4
26 Qb3 f4
27 Qf7 Be5
28 h4 b5
29 h5 Qc4
30 Qf5+ Qe6
31 Qxe6+ Kxe6
32 g3 fxg3
33 fxg3 b4
34 Bf4 Bd4+
35 Kh1 b3
36 g4 Kd5
37 g5 e6
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