The soul of a chess machine; lessons learned from a contest pitting man against computer - Deep Blue loses to chess champion Garry Kasparov

Science News, March 30, 1996 by Ivars Peterson

"Even though it is a computer, this opponent had its own psychology," Kasparov insisted after the match. "Before each game, I tried to make an opening or strategy . . . based on my knowledge of this opponent."

Playing Deep Blue forced Kasparov into an uncharacteristic style of play, most evident in the final game of the match. He had learned to be more precise in judging the quality of his chess positions. He also took care to avoid complications, to refrain fr om creating targets, and to attack gradually, increasing his advantage little by little until there was nothing left to do but win.

"That's an interesting strategy: Just keep improving the quality of your position and don't do anything until you can see [the game] completely to the end," Berliner comments.

The usual human judgment isn't good enough against a computer like Deep Blue, Kasparov noted in summing up what he had learned from the match. You can't rely on impressions, he said. You've got to be absolutely sure that you're doing the right thing.

This new knowledge is bound to make Kasparov an even more formidable opponent in his matches against human players. "We have not seen him employ this style in the past, but we will certainly see him do so in the future," Berliner says.

Top chess player and commentator Maurice Ashley of New York City had the final word: "The world champion is getting tougher from playing a machine."