Kasparov draws against computer

The series, dubbed Man v Machine, was played in New York, with the two sides taking a game each - the other four were drawn.

" I had one item on my agenda today - not to lose "
Garry Kasparov

Kasparov had said he was in the match against Deep Junior - an Israeli-built computer - to represent the human race.

The final game on Friday was a draw.

For Kasparov the contest was an opportunity to avenge his 1997 defeat by IBM's supercomputer Deep Blue - an event regarded by some as a landmark in the development of artificial intelligence.

In the final game, Kasparov played himself into a superior position but offered a draw on the 23rd move, surprising chess experts.

Deep Junior turned down the offer but offered its own draw five moves later. There were boos in the crowd when Kasparov accepted, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Older and wiser

After the game, Kasparov defended his decision to play safe.

"I had one item on my agenda today, not to lose," he said. "I decided it would be wiser to stop playing."

Kasparov said he would have pressed for a win in a similar position against a human opponent.

But he said he feared a tiny mistake would have been severely punished by the computer.

Deep Junior is capable of analysing three million moves per second, and is itself the three-time chess computer world champion.

Kasparov was also tied going into his final game with Deep Blue in 1997 - which he lost.

'Beast'

The latest series had started well for the Russian grandmaster when he won the first game against the computer.

But over the next few games, both man and computer ended with a victory each, with the other games drawn.

Kasparov and Deep Junior's programmers each won $250,000 for the match. Kasparov earned another $500,000 just for taking part.

Born in the ex-Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, 39-year-old Kasparov - who is known as The Beast - became the youngest-ever world chess champion at the age of 22.

He had held his title for 15 years, before finally losing to his former pupil, Vladimir Kramnik, in 2000.