Kramnik Forces A Draw
By Arvind Aaron
For the first time champion Garry Kasparov was impressive but he could not level scores although the opportunity appeared to be bright after the opening phase when black was struggling to find a foot in the middle of the board.
The score in the Braingames World Championship is 2-1 for the challenger, 25-year old Kramnik. In addition, Kramnik had an extra white game on hand from the remaining 13 games. The hot stage of the contest has started.
Kramnik lived with the same surprise he used in day one: Berlin variation of the Ruy Lopez. Kasparov improved over his own choice in game one with 12.Rad1. This time Kasparov was quick and Kramnik was under pressure on the board as well as the clock. Once Kramnik was able to extricate himself from the mess of developing his king side, he was able to stabilise his ship to a draw. Kasparov should have missed his way. Once black counter-attacked on the queen side starting 30...a4, the battle turned into one lively tussle. Kramnik has chosen to engage Kasparov in endings and middlegames, not yet the openings and this seems to be a clear-cut strategy.
This one was by far the most interesting duel seen. After 53 moves the players agreed to a draw when Kasparov could no longer use the cut off of the black king in a rook ending.
On game two, GM V.Anand said, "Kasparov played like a child." The world opinion is that Kasparov is still a favourite but let's hope Kramnik keeps the lead at the end of the match.