In what could only be described as a tedious game that only a computer would love, Garry Kasperov and Deep Junior played their longest game yet in Man Vs. Machine Game 4. The computer, playing white, opened with a standard king’s pawn opening with knight development, which Kasparov mirrored in a somewhat unusual manner that minimized engagement. In moves 7 through 24 there was effectively a barrier on the board’s fifth rank, a no-mans land without pieces behind which the players shuffled their major pieces in preparation for attack and then began charging with pawns. A frenzy of piece shuffling and bloodbath of piece exchanges was then played out far from both kings, centered around Deep Junior’s advanced white pawn which made it to square b6 on the board but no farther. By move 48 the game was a set-piece end game with kings, all rooks and half the pawns still on the board. A human would see nothing but a draw in the stark geometry of such a board, moving to call it a night and go home; but Deep Junior played on. Forty moves later even Deep Junior got the idea and offered
the draw which Kasparov of course accepted. The series is now tied at 2 – 2 with Kasparov playing white next Wed. in Game 5 starting at 3:30 ET on February 5 and webcast live.