A 6-game series was conducted in May 1997. The whole world was astonished when Gary Kasparov, a chess grandmaster, was defeated by Deep Blue. Chess programs were not yet very popular back then but the software was definitely good since it was able to defeat Kasparov.
Despite this amazing breakthrough, experts still believe that Kasparov and Deep Blue are matched players. The brain of humans is still a million times better than computers or machines; after all, humans created them.
How can computer chess programs figure the right moves? Well, whenever you play against a computer, it considers billions of possibilities. Aside from that, the computer chess also makes use of complicated formulae. Such formulae consider the position of chess pieces, material value, game’s pace, and the king’s safety.
Deep Blue was not the very first chess program. In fact, the first program was developed way back in 1950 and it was created by Alan Turing, a mathematician.
By 1985, Chiptest was created by doctoral students – Anantharaman, Campbell, and Hsu. Later on, the program was developed into another program called Deep Thought. In 1988, Tony Miles competed with the program and they both ranked first place. The program was able to defeat Judit Polgar in a thirty minute game in 1993.
Fritz is another program that became prominent. In 1992, Kasparov was defeated by Fritz 2 and the following year, to Fritz 3. Aside from defeating Kasparov, the program also defeated Vladimir Kramnik, Nigel Short, Viswanathan Anand, and Boris Gelfand. However, in 1995, Kasparov was able to defeat Fritz 4.
IBM took over the Deep Blue program because it can also be applied to medicine, education, finance, and other industries. Such program can be used by pharmaceutical companies, economic markets, and in creating new drugs. When Kasparov was defeated by Deep Blue, he demanded a rematch.
As you can see, the history of computer chess is quite interesting. It has been around since the 1950’s and it has undergone a lot of changes. Today, microcomputer chess tournaments are being held and many chess players are taking part in such tournaments. There are also chess sites on the web that offer games against computers. With the technological advances of today’s times, it is also possible to play the game against opponents from the different parts of the world. As long as you have an internet connection, you can access the chess sites and play the game online.
You can already find different chess programs today. If you can’t find an opponent, play against a computer so that you can also test your playing skills. Playing against computer chess will help you in learning more about the right chess opening, middle game strategies, endgame moves, and many others. Whether you’re a new player or an advanced player, computer chess will be of great help to you. Try playing chess computer now and see if you can also defeat a certain chess program. It takes years of experience before you can become a good chess player so start learning the basics now and look back into the colorful history of chess.