Kasparov versus the World

Kasparov versus the World was a game of chess played in 1999 over the Internet. Conducting the white pieces, Garry Kasparov faced the rest of the world in consultation, with the World Team moves to be decided by plurality vote. Over 50,000 people from more than 75 countries participated in the game.

The host and promoter of the match was the MSN Gaming Zone, with sponsorship from First USA bank. After 62 moves played over four months, Kasparov won the game. Contrary to expectations, the game produced a mixture of deep tactical and strategic ideas, and although Kasparov won, he admitted that he had never expended as much effort on any other game in his life. He later said, "It is the greatest game in the history of chess. The sheer number of ideas, the complexity, and the contribution it has made to chess make it the most important game ever played."

Kasparov was reigning World Champion and playing with the advantage of the white pieces, and previous examples of majority Internet voting had produced mediocre competition. For example, in 1996, Anatoly Karpov had taken the black pieces against the rest of the world and won convincingly.

The World Team had several points in their favor, some of which were innovative for an Internet game. First, four young chess stars were selected by MSN to suggest moves for the World Team. They were, in decreasing order of FIDE rating: Étienne Bacrot, Florin Felecan, Irina Krush, and Elisabeth Paehtz. Also, grandmaster Daniel King, recruited to provide a running commentary, often acted as a fifth advocate. Second, the moves were slowed down to a pace of one move per day; that is, Kasparov had 24 hours to consider each of his moves, and the World Team had 24 hours to respond. Third, MSN provided a bulletin board for the discussion of the team's moves. It was hoped that these advantages would collectively allow for true consultation, and raise the level of play.

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