Kasparov's World War

On the Net, anyone can take on the chess champ

Five days before the opening move of Kasparov vs. the World, the chess champion sat in a fashionable Manhattan restaurant fighting off symptoms of a nasty head cold. Hunched over a cup of hot lemon juice and pinching his throat in pain, Garry Kasparov didn't look quite ready to rumble with the rest of the human race. Was this the world team's last, best hope at victory? Don't count on it. "There will," Kasparov says firmly, "be no mistakes in this game."

You'd better believe it. The tournament, which kicks off this Monday, pits the greatest living chess player in a...

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