Game 11: October 26    Kasparov foiled again!

Kramnik took another admirably steady step towards dethroning Kasparov as the world's undisputed top player, drawing reasonably comfortably with black and once again making the champ look fairly toothless with the famous advantage of the first move.

The most interesting stage of the game went by in a flash - Kramnik abandoned his hitherto impregnable Berlin Defence to the Spanish/Ruy Lopez, and wheeled out the much sharper Arkhangel variation. This switch was more than a shrewd piece of match strategy - frustrating any unpleasant surprise in the expected battlefield and leaving Kasparov and his team with the bitter taste of having wasted their energy. It was also in many respects the biggest risk Kramnik had taken so far in the contest, and it raised the psychological stakes of this game which Kasparov desperately needed to win.

The reason - this variation is a favourite defence of Alexei Shirov, and it is no secret that Kasparov had prepared meticulously for his title match-that-never-was against the Latvian emigré.

Kramnik may have surprised Kasparov by dropping the Berlin, but choosing a Shirov defence was a bold gamble - in effect a direct challenge to Kasparov's vaunted powers of analytical preparation. If Kramnik could do this with impunity, then it would be hard for anyone - especially Kasparov - to believe that the challenger could be ambushed in the opening.

Both players blasted out their moves, and play advanced into an unbalanced endgame at breakneck pace. Once again, Kramnik had to show his defensive skills to finally neutralize Kasparov's small superiority, but he never looked in real danger.

After the game Kasparov claimed to have forgotten a prepared path to a win - Kramnik nearly laughed this off, fully confident that he had a path to safety no matter which course the game had taken. Kramnik's most brilliant strategic stroke in the match has been his ability to steer the game into positions where Kasparov has had no chance of showing his unparalleled attacking talent.

So Kramnik's cool challenge paid off, and a visibly depressed Kasparov left the stage empty-handed again. With the champion's trump card, deep and lethal preparation, seemingly fully void in this match, it is nearly impossible to visualize him scoring two late wins against a man who loses roughly once a year.

Now chess aficionados have already begun to debate how the game's landscape will change when the charismatic and controversial Kasparov's reign comes to an end, and a soft-spoken young giant takes his place on the throne.

White Gary Kasparov (2849) 1/2-1/2 Black Vladimir Kramnik (2770)

Current score: Kramnik 6-1/2 - Kasparov 4-1/2