Karpov Salvages a Draw; Final Game Saturday

Playing tough defense, world chess champion Anatoly Karpov salvaged a draw Thursday against challenger Gary Kasparov and kept his hopes of retaining the title alive.

As a result, their hard-fought match will be decided in the 24th and final game Saturday, when Karpov will have the advantage of playing the white pieces and moving first.

But Karpov, trailing by one point in the tournament, must win to keep his title, while Kasparov only needs another draw to become the world’s youngest chess champion at the age of 22.

Kasparov leads, 12 to 11, with scoring on the basis of one point for a victory, a half-point for a draw and no points for a loss. Under the rules, however, Karpov will keep his title if the match ends in a 12-12 tie.

At times during Thursday’s tense struggle, experts in the Tchaikovsky Hall said Kasparov seemed to have a clear edge over his 34-year-old opponent.

Karpov, a master of end game play, maneuvered carefully and managed to stave off Kasparov’s relentless attack under severe time pressure.

They agreed to a draw after 41 moves. The crowd, which usually has favored the more flamboyant Kasparov, gave Karpov a standing ovation as he signed his score sheet to end the game.

The champion, who was unhappy over playing on the holiday for the 68th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, has staged a dramatic comeback in the last three games.

It began after Kasparov, who seemed to have a winning position in Game 21, unexpectedly agreed to a draw.

Then Karpov, playing more aggressively than he usually does, defeated Kasparov in Game 22 and tightened the contest.

His tough defense in Game 23 with the black pieces apparently nettled Kasparov, who had hoped to wrap up the tournament with another victory.

As a result, Karpov seems to have some psychological momentum as he prepares for the final game.

Most of the international grandmasters who are in Moscow to analyze the match said a week ago that Kasparov was almost unbeatable since he had a two-point lead with only four games to play.

But Karpov, a slightly built man who has held the world title for 10 years, refused to heed the experts and has come within striking distance of victory.

Kasparov started off rapidly Thursday, making 19 moves in 19 minutes as he coolly mounted his offense. At the halfway point in the game, Karpov was 90 minutes behind his foe on the time clock, a potentially serious disadvantage.

But the champion refused to panic. He patiently waited for an opportunity and then advanced pawns on the king’s side of the board to provide himself more playing room.

Kasparov, apparently despairing of victory, offered a draw after the 41st move. Karpov quickly agreed.

If Kasparov wins the match, the rules provide that Karpov will be entitled to a rematch within 90 days.

Here are the moves:

Kasparov-Karpov 23: 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 nc3 be7 4 nf3 nf6 5 bg5 h6 6 b:f6 b:f6 7 e3 o-o 8 rc1 c6 9 bd3 nd7 10 o-o d:c4 11 b:c4 e5 12 h3 e:d4 13 e:d4 nb6 14 bb3 re8 15 re1 bf5 16 r:e8 ch q:e8 17 qd2 qd7 18 re1 rd8 19 qf4 nd5 20 n:d5 c:d5 21 ne5 b:e5 22 r:e5 be6 23 qe3 kf8 24 qd3 f6 25 re1 bf7 26 qc3 qd6 27 rc1 be8 28 bd1 a6 29 bf3 g6 30 h4 h5 31 g3 bf7 32 a4 rd7 33 a5 kg7 34 qb3 qe6 35 qb4 qe8 36 kg2 qd8 37 rc5 qe7 38 qc3 g5 39 qe3 g4 40 bd1 qe4ch 41 kg1 draw.