11th Chess Game Ends in a Draw After 24 Moves, Perpetual Check

The 11th game of the world chess match between champion Garry Kasparov and challenger Anatoly Karpov ended in a draw Monday after less than three hours of play and just 24 moves.

The draw was agreed to after Kasparov had forced a perpetual check, meaning he could make endless checks to Karpov’s king, but not a checkmate.

Both started with a King’s Indian Defense with a Classical Variation--an opening they had played before. But, after Kasparov initiated an exchange of pawns at the seventh move, the game was a position that the two had never before reached against each other.

At move 13, Kasparov sacrificed a rook for a less valuable bishop, another first for the match.

The match remains tied at 5 1/2-5 1/2. Each man has a victory, worth one point, and they have played to a draw, worth one-half point, nine times.

The first player to gain 12 1/2 points wins the championship and $1.7 million of the $3-million purse. If the match ends in a 12-12 tie, the purse will be split evenly and Kasparov will retain the title, which he wrested from Karpov in 1985.

The next game is scheduled to be played on Wednesday in New York. The first 12 games are being played in New York and the remainder will be in Lyons, France.

Here are the moves of the 11th game, with Karpov playing white:

1. d4/Nf6; 2. c4/g6; 3. Nc3/Bg7; 4. e4/d6; 5. Nf3/0-0; 6. Be2/e5; 7. Be3/exd4; 8. Nxd4/Re8; 9. f3/c6; 10. Qd2/d5; 11. exd5/cxd5; 12. 0-0/Nc6; 13. c5/Rxe3; 14. Qxe3/Qf8;

15. Nxc6/bxc6; 16. Kh1/Rb8; 17. Na4/Rb4; 18. b3/Be6; 19. Nb2/Nh5; 20. Nd3/Rh4; 21. Qf2/Qe7; 22. g4/Bd4; 23. Qxd4/Rxh2+; 24. Kxh2/Qh4+; Draw agreed.