Vladimir Kramnik stunned the Chess community Monday when he overlooked an obvious mating threat in his match with the program Deep Fritz, playing the horrible blunder 34. … Qe3, and was promptly mated by the computer. A ripple of disbelief washed throughout the many thousands of players following the game, with many wondering if a mistake had been made on the part of the broadcast team. Unfortunately, it was all too real.
Kramnik had drawn with the powerful Chess-playing program on Saturday in a game where he had several opportunities to play for a win. The World Champion had stated the he knew he should have an advantage at that time based on his position, but just couldn’t seem to find it. Monday’s game seemed to be cruising towards a similiar outcome, with an even position on the board following a mutual Rook trade on moves 33 and 34. Then the unthinkable happened…Kramnik overlooked a checkmate even an amateur would have noticed. He blindly played his Queen to e3, which allowed Deep Fritz to immediately mate him with 35. Qh7#
On the Playchess.com server many observers were at first skeptical that the move had even been played, assuming it was just a form of analysis to show what could happen in the position, as had been occuring throughout the match. But when it finally began to sink in, confusion gave way to outrage, with many expressing their anger and disappointment with Kramnik and his stunning loss. It is already theorized that the most likely reason for this gross oversight may have been that while in deep concentration, Vladimir may have misplaced his Kings position in his head, which would have caused him to overlook the mate. This has happened over the years, but in a match of this caliber that requires the utmost care and attention to detail, perhaps taking a look at the board could be of some benefit.
In any case, it will be interesting to see what Kramnik has to say to his supporters and viewers from around the world and also how (and if) he will rebound in the match. With the burden of representing mankind versus the always-improving computers, and facing what many feel must now be an insurmountable deficit, Vladimir will certainly have much to think about before Game 3 begins on Wednesday.
