MACHINE OVER MAN; IBM COMPUTER MASTERS KASPAROV.

Byline: Bruce Weber The New York Times

In brisk and brutal fashion, the IBM computer Deep Blue unseated humanity, at least temporarily, as the finest chess playing entity on the planet Sunday, when Garry Kasparov, the world chess champion, resigned the sixth and final game of the match after just 19 moves, saying, ``I lost my fighting spirit.''

The unexpectedly swift denouement to the bitterly fought contest came as a surprise because until Sunday, Kasparov had been able to summon the wherewithal to match Deep Blue gambit for gambit.

The manner of the conclusion overshadowed the debate over the meaning of the computer's success. Grandmasters and computer experts alike went from praising the match as a great experiment, invaluable to both science and chess (if a temporary blow to the collective ego of the human race) to smacking their foreheads in amazement at the champion's abrupt crumpling.

``It had the impact of a Greek tragedy,'' said Monty Newborn, chairman of the chess committee for the Association for Computing, which was responsible for officiating the match.

It was the second victory of the match for the computer - there were three draws - making the final score 3-1/2 to 2-1/2, the first time any chess champion has been beaten by a machine in a traditional match. Kasparov, 34, retains his title, which he has held since 1985, but the loss was nonetheless unprecedented in his career; he has never before lost a chess series against an individual opponent.

Afterward, he was both bitter at what he perceived to be unfair advantages enjoyed by the computer and, in his word, ashamed of his poor performance on Sunday.

``I was not in the mood of playing at all,'' he said, adding that after Game 5 on Saturday, he had become so dispirited that he felt the match was already over. Asked why, he said: ``I'm a human being. When I see something that is well beyond my understanding, I'm afraid.''

Grandmasters at the match, at the Equitable Center in midtown Manhattan, were stunned into near-speechlessness, a feat in itself, amazed not just by the

resignation but by Kasparov's poor play in the game.

``I think he didn't try his best,'' said Susan Polgar, the women's world champion, who after the game issued her own challenge to IBM to play against Deep Blue.

The game itself was problematic for Kasparov from the start. Playing black and needing a victory to capture the match, he was perhaps too defiant in the early going, pursuing a risky sequence of moves in a conservative opening called the Caro-Kann. He encouraged Deep Blue to sacrifice a knight, resulting in a position that left his own king exposed, and many chess experts wondered if he hadn't made a simple blunder.

It was all over not too much later. Having lost his queen and with his king dangerously exposed, Kasparov abruptly stood up to resign.

``It was a gamble,'' said Michael Khodarkovsky, a close adviser to Kasparov, before the strategy collapsed. He said Kasparov was trying to capitalize on the computer's aversion to playing with a material disadvantage. ``But the computer doesn't like to play in an unbalanced position,'' Khodarkovsky said. ``He wants to win. He didn't come to play for a draw.''

Perhaps most surprising was Kasparov's performance at the postgame news conference, which was not the exuberant celebration envisioned by the tournament sponsor, IBM, but rather a tense occasion in which Kasparov griped, apologized and vowed revenge.

``I think it is time for Deep Blue to prove this was not a single event,'' he said, suggesting that the computer enter into regular match play with top chess players. ``I personally assure you that, if it starts to play competitive chess, put it in a fair contest, and I personally guarantee you I will tear it to pieces.''

Patrick Wolff, a grandmaster who is a two-time American champion, was among those experts who were nonplussed by the champion's behavior. ``His resignation was probably premature, but he was probably lost,'' Wolff said. ``I think he was terrified at the prospect of losing an honest competition, and he gave himself an excuse, that this is not real chess. Well, I have news for him. This is real chess. What we've seen today is psychological weakness of the sort I'd never expect from him.''

Kasparov had his supporters, particularly among those who thought this was a spectacle staged by IBM for the good of IBM.

``This was not a serious chess match,'' said Lev Alburt, a former U.S. champion who has said there are 100 grandmasters in the world who could beat Deep Blue. ``This was a show. If they want to prove it was more than a show, let them play anyone but Garry. If it would play against, say, Grandmaster Boris Gulko, who is not even among the top 50, I am willing to bet $10,000 the computer would lose.''

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes, photo

Box: (1) the moves

(2) Winner's profile