Pre-game: Monday morning quarterbacking

Our web reporter is spending the week with the Kasparov team, bringing back an exclusive look at the mood and the moments inside the world champion's camp.

Frederic Friedel read the e-mail message, but he couldn't believe his eyes. Just a few hours after Garry Kasparov resigned from game two, the note from a friend said simply that Kasparov blew it. Had he discovered the best continuation, the game would have ended in a draw. Friedel pondered it overnight: Could the world champion have made such a terrible mistake? By morning he came to the inescapable conclusion that he had.

"He should have just played on. He didn't see one strange line, but nobody saw it, not a room full of grandmasters and not 480 people in the audience. Even Deep Blue didn't see it."

Friedel called Kasparov's second, Yuri Dochoin, into his hotel room and told him the news. Dochoian couldn't believe it either, but when Friedel explained the moves, Dochoin saw it was true.

The next question was: Should they tell Kasparov? "It's all over the Internet, so we were afraid Garry would get into a cab and the driver would break the news to him, so we decided to tell him." They were on their way to a restaurant when they broke the news on Fifth Avenue.

"Garry turned pale," said Friedel. "Then in the restaurant he said, 'It could have been a draw. It could have been a draw.' But that was it, it was like spilled milk." The rest of the conversation was an animated discussion with Kasparov narrating tales of his favorite Russian movies, acting out the different roles and enjoying himself immensely. He had put the question of the draw behind him.

The lightheartedness in the restaurant was in contrast to the scene after the loss, when the Kasparov team gathered for a meal in an atmosphere described as "gloomy." Kasparov was incredulous at the computer's game.

"It played like a very strong grandmaster, and computers are not supposed to play lke that. But they have done some marvelous programming, and I also know that sometimes computers have great days where everything comes together," Friedel said.At the same time, the fact that Kasparov could have had a draw in game two showed Friedel that "the computer is not perfect. It can't see certain things, and other things it can see extremely well."

It sets up a showdown in Game 3, which might be the most important of the match. "If we lose, it will be a catastrophe for us. And then Garry would have to play black on Thursday. That's a nightmarish scenario I don't even want to consider."

Friedel added that the computer has forced Kasparov away from the slashing, attacking style of play that earned him the world championship, and that Kasparov is not at all used to being on the defensive during a game. "Garry suffers more than most people when he is in a bad position, because he is so rarely in a bad position. Now, he realizes he has to concentrate after he thinks he has lost the game, because it may not be lost. He has to play on and work very, very hard."

Bits and Pieces: Kasparov continues to enjoy the wonders of Central Park, where he goes for both work and relaxation. The conversation is never solely about chess. While walking through Literary Walk, he asked, "Why are there so many statues of Scottish poets? Why do they have a thing about Scottish poets?" He then launched into a detailed lecture about the history of Scottish poetry... Kasparov's gift from his team for winning game one was a CD-ROM encyclopedia. Kasparov's question was, "Do I have to learn the whole thing by tommorrow?" His team was afraid he would... Kasparov also seems to have an entire Zagat's guide to New York restaurants in his head. He picks out all the restaurants. Yesterday, as the team walked toward a favorite restaurant, Kasparov said it had the best Japanese food in the area, and he knew that, he said, because it was patronized mostly by Japanese people. True enough, when they got inside, the clientele was entirely Japanese.

-- Jeff Kisseloff