RECYCLED:

Kasparov draws against computer: Kasparov concentrated on not losing the contest (BBC, 8 February, 2003)

A series of six games pitting Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov against the world's best chess computer has ended in a draw. [...]

In the final game, Kasparov played himself into a superior position but offered a draw on the 23rd move, surprising chess experts.

Deep Junior turned down the offer but offered its own draw five moves later. There were boos in the crowd when Kasparov accepted, the Associated Press news agency reports.

After the game, Kasparov defended his decision to play safe.

"I had one item on my agenda today, not to lose," he said. "I decided it would be wiser to stop playing."

Kasparov said he would have pressed for a win in a similar position against a human opponent.

But he said he feared a tiny mistake would have been severely punished by the computer.

If, as they say, a tie is "like kissing your sister", is a tie with a machine like kissing your sister's hair dryer? Posted by Orrin Judd at February 8, 2003 9:46 AM