Game Over for a Chess Champ

Kramnik, left, beat his old teacher, Kasparov.

The world chess champion lost his crown quietly last week to his former student and fellow Russian, Vladimir Kramnik, 25. "I was just outprepared," said Garry Kasparov, the player who had held the title for 15 years.

An exhausted Kasparov, 37, lost the 16-game competition in London when the 15th game ended in a draw. Kramnik took the title and more than $1 million.

Even as Kramnik won, chess fans hailed the outgoing king of the board. "Kramnik is a fantastic player," said Malcolm Pein of the London Chess Centre. "But he's got a long way to go before he reaches the heights attained by Kasparov, the greatest player in the history of the game."