I imagine the worst fate that could befall Vladimir Kramnik now would be for him to score 2.5 points from the next four games and draw the match against Deep Fritz. That would mean the catastrophic, indeed unprecedented blunder he committed in game two when he allowed mate in one would have cost him half a million dollars. Kramnik will double his start money of $500,000 if he wins the match but that seems rather unlikely now.

The computer leads the best of six game contest 1.5-0.5 after the world champion left the audience at the Bonn Museum aghast as he thought for a few minutes and then played his 34th move. I guess he thought he was actually winning because he reportedly played the move calmly, picked up his cup and was strolling to his rest room when he became aware of a slight commotion and realised his mistake.

The online viewers, including your correspondent took some convincing that it had actually happened. Most assumed it was some kind of cruel joke being perpetrated by the move relayer. It was all the more tragic as Kramnik had played superb anti computer chess and brought the computer to the brink of defeat although at the point he blundered the position was drawn. At Bahrain in 2002 when man and machine drew 4-4 Kramnik resigned in a position that later turned out to be drawn, just as Kasparov had done against Deep Blue in 1997. Here he went ‘one worse’.

It only goes to show how difficult these matches are for human players because there are strange forces at work when you are facing an opponent that does not even blink, never mind blunder. Indeed Kramnik appears to have momentarily forgotten the maxim that if you think you have a winning move against the beast then you are missing something. Computers are beaten by long term plans and manoeuvres. Kramnik’s despair must have been multiplied by the news that he appeared to have missed a win in the first game.

Annotated game in PGN

DEEP FRITZ - Kramnik,V (2750) [D10]
The Duel Bonne GER (2), 27.11.2006
[IM Malcolm Pein]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 b5 4.a4 c6 5.Nc3 b4 6.Na2 Nf6 7.e5 Nd5 White gets a space advantage but Black's position is anchored long term by the Nd5, an ideal line to play against a computer. 8.Bxc4 e6 9.Nf3 a5 [9...Be7 10.Bd2 a5 11.Nc1 was Kasparov -Svidler Russian Ch 2004, a superb game won by White. Fritz copies Kasparov.] 10.Bg5 Qb6 11.Nc1 Ba6 [11...h6 12.Bd2 Ba6 13.Qe2 Bxc4 14.Qxc4 Nd7 15.Nb3 c5 16.0-0 Be7 17.Rfc1 cxd4 18.Qb5 Qxb5 19.axb5 a4 20.Nbxd4 0-0 21.Nc6 Bc5 22.Ne1 a3 23.bxa3 Rxa3 24.Nc2 Rxa1 25.Nxa1 Ra8 26.Nb3 Ra2 27.Kf1 Bb6 28.Be1 Ra3 29.Nd2 Rc3 30.Rb1 Rc5 31.Nxb4 Rxb5 32.Nd3 Rxb1 33.Nxb1 Bd4 34.f4 g5 35.g3 gxf4 36.gxf4 Kh7 37.Ke2 Nc5 38.Nxc5 Bxc5 39.Kf3 Kg6 40.Nc3 Nxc3 41.Bxc3 Kf5 42.Bd2 h5 43.h3 Bb6 44.Bc1 Bc5 1/2-1/2 Van Wely,L (2648)-Lautier,J (2680)/Khanty Mansyisk RUS 2005] 12.Qe2 h6 13.Be3 Fritz offers an exchange on e3 but Kramnik does not part with his best piece. 13...Bxc4 14.Qxc4 Nd7 15.Nb3 Be7 16.Rc1 0-0! 17.0-0 [17.Qxc6 Qxc6 18.Rxc6 N7b6 regains the pawn with advantage.] 17...Rfc8 18.Qe2 c5 19.Nfd2 Qc6! 20.Qh5 Qxa4 21.Nxc5 Nxc5 22.dxc5 Nxe3 23.fxe3 Bxc5 24.Qxf7+ Kh8 25.Qf3 Rf8 Black's queenside pawns give him the edge. 26.Qe4 Qd7 27.Nb3 [27.Nf3 Qd5! 28.Qxd5 Bxe3+ 29.Kh1 exd5] 27...Bb6 28.Rfd1 Qf7 29.Rf1 Qa7 30.Rxf8+ Rxf8 31.Nd4

31...a4 [31...Qf7!? 32.h3 Qf2+ 33.Kh2 Qxb2 34.Nxe6 Qxc1 35.Qg6 Rg8 36.Ng5 hxg5 (36...Qg1+ 37.Kxg1 Bxe3+ 38.Kf1 Bxg5) 37.Qh5#] 32.Nxe6 Bxe3+ 33.Kh1 Bxc1 [33...Re8 34.Rf1 Qa6 35.Re1 Qxe6 36.Rxe3 Qa6 37.h3 a3 38.bxa3 bxa3 39.Re1 a2 40.Ra1 Rf8 41.Kh2 Qe6 42.Qd4 Rf2! would have given winning chances.] 34.Nxf8

34...Qe3?? [34...Kg8 35.Ng6 Bxb2 36.Qd5+ Kh7 (36...Qf7? 37.Ne7+ Kf8 38.Qd8+ Qe8 39.Ng6+ Kf7 40.e6+ Qxe6 41.Qf8+) 37.Nf8+ Kh8 38.Ng6+ Kh7 39.Nf8++/=] 35.Qh7# 1-0