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Yeah, he lost his cool, when he played IBM's Deep Blue. Deep Blue was specifically designed to defeat Kasparov, had a database of every game the guy ever played, and much of the program was in the hardware itself, not the software program. Between matches, the IBM team would re-program the computer, so Kasparov would never face the same program twice. At least at one point in the Kasparov-Deep Blue match, it is widely suspected in the chess world that the IBM team did not accurately report the machine's move, substituting their own move rather than going with the move the machine chose (which was a blunder move) - i.e., many people feel that IBM cheated. Upon conclusion of the match (Deep Blue won), the machine was immediately dismantled, halting any analysis of how it worked, or even seeing how it would match up against other computer chess programs. Personally, I don't know if IBM did anything wrong or not, but it just doesn't pass the "smell test" with me.

This match is way different - the program is 100% software running on a standard server, and there's no between-match monkeyshines going on with the program code. I have a heck of a lot of respect for Deep Junior's programmers than I have for the original Deep Blue team, these guys are good, and they're giving Kasparov a real test. Personally, I'm hoping Kasparov pulls it out, but you never know.

Maybe one of the chess nuts will remember a specific event. I know that he was exhausted after playing Deep Blue in 1997.

After IBM dropped the Deep Blue project, the level of computer chess software has become better, while the level of the hardware on which the software sits has declined. I don't think Kasparov has been tested at that level since, but his behavior shows the effects of playing a brute-force opponent.

The chess playing software is now good enough that even Kasparov cannot make blunders against the computer and expect to win. Therefore, today he played to avoid mistakes, not to win.

Kasparov beating a chess computer is not newsworthy. A computer beating Kasparov still makes the headlines. Would ESPN have broadcast match 6 live if Kasparov was ahead by 2 points, instead of being tied.