kasparov decisively wins exhibition match, 9-3, against karpov in valencia, spain

while today (friday) is the official closing ceremony, garry kasparov won the 3-day exhibition match with anatoly karpov yesterday, mid-way through the blitz game portion. kasparov won 8 of the 12 games played, karpov won 2, and they drew 2, for a final score of 9-3. the outcome was incredibly lop-sided, with karpov seemingly in time pressure during all the games (not just the 8 game blitz match on day three).

the match consisted of 4 rapid games (25 minutes, 5 second, time contol) over the first two days and 8 blitz games (5 minutes, 2 seconds, time contril) on the third day.

kasparov won both games on day one. karpov won the third game, but karpov bounced back immediately to win the fourth game. at the end of the second day of the match, kasparov had a 3-1 lead over karpov.

but on day three, karpov won the first of the blitz games, and they drew the second. it seemed, however momentary, that karpov was getting back into the match. that hope was quickly banished with 5 straight victories by kasparov! they drew the final game. kasparov won the blitz portion by an overwhelming score of 6-2, and the match with a cumulative score of 9-3.

kasparov's stunning victory is all the more impressive because he retired from competitive play in 2005, while karpov continues to play chess at a competitive level! would the outcome have been different (or perhaps closer) if regular duration games had been played instead of the 5 minute blitz games. i think so. but that doesn't take anything away from kasparov's impressive performance!