Kasparov Keeps Title as Karpov Concedes Draw

Gary Kasparov today retained the world chess championship when challenger Anatoly Karpov conceded a draw in the 23rd game of their title series.

Kasparov had a 12-11 lead after the draw, enough to retain the crown in the scheduled 24-game match. The rules dictate that Kasparov remains champion if the series ends in a tie.

Karpov played his 32nd move with the white pieces, and Kasparov returned to the board from offstage. Karpov looked up and offered a draw, which was immediately accepted.

The players chatted for some moments at the board before the chief arbiter, West German grandmaster Lothar Schmid, came over and shook hands with both.

As the standing crowd at the 700-seat concert hall of the Hotel Leningrad broke into rhythmic clapping, Karpov exited stage left.

Kasparov stayed a few seconds longer. Just before leaving the stage, he turned to the audience and waved.

The pair presented a contrast in styles. Karpov, a favorite of the Kremlin, plays a self-controlled and austere game. Kasparov, who is half Jewish and half Armenian, is known for his brash style and antics.

The rematch was granted to Karpov after he lost his crown to Kasparov last November.

Karpov had to win the final two games in order to regain the title.

The pressure was clearly on Karpov, but the three-time world champion had shown an ability to bounce back from tough positions before.

After 16 games in the current match, Kasparov had built up what appeared to be an invincible lead of 9.5 to 6.5.

But Karpov staged a dramatic rally and won the next three games, including one in which Kasparov was playing white and made errors that cost him the game.

That evened the score and put intense psychological pressure on the 23-year-old Kasparov.

Then, after a four-day break between games 19 and 20, Kasparov appeared to collect his strength and broke his losing streak with two draws.