X3D Fritz was a version of the Fritz chess program, which in November 2003 played a four-game human–computer chess match against world number one Grandmaster Garry Kasparov.
Fritz ran on four Intel Pentium 4 Xeon CPUs at 2.8 GHz.
The match was unique in how Kasparov relayed his moves to the computer.
These moves are fed into the computer by an intermediary seated where a normal human opponent would be, and its replies played on the board by the same person.
In this match, however, no normal board and no intermediary was used.
Instead, Kasparov, wearing special glasses provided by X3D Technologies Corp,[1] saw a three-dimensional projection of the board floating in the air in front of him.
He spoke his moves out loud, thus conveying them to the computer which had a speech recognition system.
The computer's replies were shown on the projected board.
The time controls for each game were as follows: The match was held at the New York Athletic Club in New York City, United States.
Kasparov got US$150,000 for playing and an extra $25,000 for the drawn match.
Opening: Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD) semi-Slav: Stoltz variation
The first game, with Kasparov as White, ended in a draw after Kasparov sacrificed a pawn in the Semi-Slav for a better position.
He eventually won a rook for a bishop and pawn, but was unable to convert the advantage into a win.
Fritz managed to open lines against Kasparov's king, and drew with perpetual check.
Rd1 ½–½ Opening: Ruy Lopez: Berlin defense
The second game, with Fritz as White, was a Ruy Lopez.
Kasparov played the Berlin Defence (3...Nf6), with which Vladimir Kramnik had drawn against Deep Fritz in the 2002 Brains in Bahrain match (and which Kramnik had also successfully employed as a drawing variation against Kasparov himself in their 2000 World Championship match).
Fritz, however, avoided the simplifying main line (4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8), instead keeping pieces on the board with 4.d3.
Kasparov seemed to have at least equal chances until he blundered on move 32 when short of time (see time control) and lost.
Qd7+ 1–0 Opening: QGD semi-Slav: accelerated Meran (Alekhine variation)
Kasparov replied with 6.c5 which took the game into the sort of closed position which it is generally believed computers do not play well.
The game followed one between Samuel Reshevsky and Paul Keres from the 1948 World Championship Tournament until move 12 when Kasparov varied (Black eventually won that game, though White seemed to be better out of the opening).
Kasparov won a pawn while keeping the position closed, and Fritz did not appear to understand the closed position well, moving its pieces back and forth with no obvious plan.
In the meantime, Kasparov pushed his extra a-pawn and broke through on the queenside.
With the computer having absolutely no counterplay and Kasparov about to force through his b-pawn to promote, winning more material, the Fritz operators resigned on move 45, making the match tied at 1½–1½.
Rb3 1–0 Opening: Queen's Gambit Accepted (QGA): classical, 6...a6
Fritz, with the White pieces again, varied from game two immediately with 1.d4.
A Queen's Gambit Accepted followed, and for a while Kasparov followed a rapid game he had won with Black against Kramnik in 2001.
Whereas in that game he exchanged his queen for a rook, bishop and pawn (with 13...Nxd5 14.Rad1 Nxf4 15.Rxd8 Rxd8), here he played more soberly, rapidly exchanging pieces, and quickly drawing.