Chess: Kramnik vs Deep Fritz (again)

[glee]

@Chronos

I can see a grandmaster not actually looking for mate, because mate is so rare. But shouldn’t he at least be looking for checks? In my much lower-level experience, checking can be a valuable way to buy time, and hopefully eventually put you in a position where you can threaten something else at the same time. Or, at least, you can force your opponent to make a move he would rather not, to defend against it. This seems especially the case, if the queens are still in play with the board that sparse. It seems to me that Kramnik should at least have considered “What if he checks me with that queen; how do I respond to that?”

I accept that beginners (and perhaps club players) should look for one move threats.

But it really is scary by contrast at what level the top GMs operate. In Kramnik’s book ‘My life and games’, he gives examples such as:

Shirov - Kramnik, Linares 1997

1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 Nc6
6. Bg5 e6
7. Qd2 a6
8. 000 h6
9. Be3 Be7
10. f4 Nxd4
11. Bxd4 b5
12. Kb1 Bb7
13. Bd3 00
14. e5 dxe5
15. fxe5 Nd7
16. Ne4 Bxe4
17. Bxe4

Now Kramnik improved on a previous game (where he played 17. … Rc8) with

17. … Rb8!

(This shows how much preparation top players do - Shirov knew the previous game)

18. Ba7 Nxe5
19. Qc3 Bd6
20. Qd4 Bc7
21. Qc5 Qc8
22. Rhe1 Nc4
23. Bxb8 Qxb8
24. g3 Be5
25. c3 Rc8
26. Qe7

Now Kramnik, having considered such possibilities at move 17 :eek: played

26. … b4,

when he had foreseen both that the alternatives were worse (26. … Bf6 27. Qb7 b4 28. cxb4 Nxb2 29. Rc1 Nc4 30. a4 Bg5 31. Qxb8 Nd2+ 32 Ka2 Rxb8 33 Rc7 ; and 26. … Nxb2 27. Kxb2 Bxc3+ 28. Kb1 Bxe1 29. Rxe1 ),

and that the game would be drawn with best play…

27. Qxb4 Qc7
28. Qb7 Na3+
29. Kc1 Bf4+
30. gxf4 Qxf4+
31. Rd2 Rd8
32. Red1 Rxd2
33. Rxd2 Qf1+
34. Rd1 Qf4+

Of course this is a sharp game, where forcing possibilities can be calculated. But this is the depth Kramnik is capable of.

[glee]

@glee

Every experienced player knows the pattern ‘White Rook a7 knight f6 ; Black king h8’. (The Black king is threatened with Rh7 mate, and cannot escape by himself.)
I don’t know of a standard pattern with White knight f8 (how did it get there without being captured?).
So my educated guess is that if the Knight was on f6, Kramnik would have been more alert!

I posted the above earlier.
Here’s what a leading chess site has said:

‘…the mating pattern that occurred during the game, with the white queen protected by a knight on f8 (as in the screen shot above), is extremely rare in chess. It is not one of the patterns that chess grandmasters automatically have in their repertoire. This was confirmed by the very strong GM commentator Yasser Seirawan, who after Kramnik’s move did not notice that it was a blunder and started discussing White’s options – but not the mate in one.’

‘… Roshal assured us that, had the white knight somehow moved to g5 or f6, as in the above Fritz 10 screen shots, Kramnik would have seen the mate in micro-seconds. The square h7 would have had a big red light blinking on it, Roshal said, because this kind of mate (or mating threat) occurs quite often in chess, and the mating pattern would be firmly anchored in his mind. With the knight in an unsual position the square remained dark and Kramnik simply did not see the danger.’

http://www.chessbase.com/eventarticle.asp?newsid=3512

[Birdmonster]

Noticed they drew again yesterday but Team Human spent the entire match on the defensive. Thanks for starting this thread Improv Geek. I’m enjoying following along.

[glee]

@Birdmonster

Noticed they drew again yesterday but Team Human spent the entire match on the defensive. Thanks for starting this thread Improv Geek. I’m enjoying following along.

Kramnik said afterwards that the blunder in game 2 preyed on his mind in game 3 - another advantage for the emotionless computer.