World chess champion Garry Kasparov, who is playing the world on the Internet, said Friday it was tough trying to outsmart the World Wide Web's challengers, but remained confident of a win or draw. "`The world turned out to be very smart...but it has a very difficult task to save the game,'' Kasparov told Reuters in Russian-accented English.

Kasparov, playing as White, made the first move on June 21 and has made subsequent moves every 48 hours. After Kasparov makes his move, the world has 24 hours to make a countermove. The world's move is selected by votes received from Internet visitors. With the site getting 200,000 hits on an average voting day, Kasparov faces quite a challenge. ``It is like playing against a collective Deep Blue,'' Kasparov told Reuters, in reference to his epic games against an IBM supercomputer in 1997. Earlier, 36-year-old Kasparov explained the importance of the game as a star-struck fan hovered nearby.  ``It is the greatest game in the history of chess. The sheer number of ideas, the complexity, and the contribution it has made to chess make it the most important game ever played.'' Four young coaches and their back-up teams of computers and grand masters provide guidance for Internet voters but Kasparov believes that one team -- which receives the most votes every time -- is receiving additional help, within the rules, from an international player of some repute.
``I believe there is one very strong player that runs the operation,'' Kasparov said. The game, now in its 37th move, has attracted three million visitors from 79 countries and highlights the popularity of chess, especially when it is displayed in a satisfactory medium, Kasparov said.

Kasparov also made an interesting comment: 'Mathematically it is impossible to prove a win for White, but at the same time it is impossible to prove a draw for Black...'

Kasparov's love of chess is evident. He became world champion in 1985, aged 22, and has terrified adversaries ever since. Nowadays he follows a punishing exercise routine so he can continue to ``crush the younger opposition.'' He seeks to promote chess over other ``mindless games that improve the dexterity of the hands, which is good for thieves, but not the intellect.'' In Kasparov's last experience with a computer he lost to Deep Blue, which had the ability to analyze hundreds of millions of moves a second. The defeat still rankles. ``I have no emotions toward the computer,'' he said.