Kasparov held to draw

Chess king Gary Kasparov was held to a 25-move draw in the opening game of the World Chess Championship on Sunday by the pretender to his crown, Vladimir Kramnik.

Kasparov appeared to be stunned early on by an obscure defence that experts said he had not prepared for.

He had expected to see ''surprises'' from former pupil Kramnik. But judging by his expression, he had not expected to see them so soon.

The reigning world champion's rapid volley of opening moves stalled for around 30 minutes as the 24-year-old Russian resorted to a little used strategy dubbed the ''Berlin defence''.

''It's a shock opening,'' former British chess champion and match commentator Chris Ward said.

''Kramnik has played something he hasn't played before. It's quite a novelty. Kasparov has been unsettled. Kramnik has struck the first psychological blow.''

Kasparov is facing a challenger in his early 20s, the age he was when he snatched the title from Russia's Anatoly Karpov in 1985.

Kasparov considers acknowledged world number two Kramnik to be the toughest opponent he has faced since.

''Most interesting match''

''I would predict that this match would be the most interesting and the most important for the game of chess,'' Kasparov predicted at Thursday's official contest launch.

''I'm facing an opponent who is fearless,'' he added. ''I think it will be a really very, very tough match. It will be the toughest challenge (since Karpov). He is a very dangerous opponent. I expect to see surprises from him.''

For Azerbaijan-born Kasparov, the fresh-faced yet hulking Kramnik is the ''first real challenge from the next generation'' after his last two challengers -- Eengland's Nigel Short in 1993 and India's Vishwanathan Anand in 1995 -- gave him ''no real resistance''.

But Kramnik was quietly confident before the confrontation with the man who took him into his Botvinnik-Kasparov chess school in Moscow when he was just 11 years old, and whom he seconded in Kasparov's title defence against Anand.

''I have my strategies,'' the soft-spoken Grandmaster said, adding he had developed special mental exercises to banish visions of chess boards that interrupt his sleep during tense tournaments.

The pair will play 16 games at the Riverside Studios in west London, each to be completed within a day and broadcast live on the internet at www.Braingames.Net.

The winner will be announced in a month's time and a 2 million prize will be divided between them, depending on the score.

UNI