Man Vs Machine

by Srinivas Reddy
(Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India)

Kasparov facing Deep Blue

This remarkable game was played between Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue, designed by IBM. This game is one of the First Chess Matches of a Human against a Computer. Garry was knocked down, by the deep strategy of Deep Blue in this game. He accused IBM of cheating. Garry accused them of human interference for strategies. He remarked that some of Deep Blue's moves were so creative that they must have been the product of human minds.

White : Deep Blue (a computer, designed by IBM)
Black : Garry Kasparov(Russia)
Date : May 11, 1997
Venue : New York.

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5

Normally, Garry plays the Sicilian Defense, but in this game, he plays the Caro-Kann Defense against Deep Blue. As reports say, Garry is frustrated with the series of draws that are being produced against his novice opponent. So, he decides to play the Caro-Kann, which he is not familiar with and he thought, he could defeat his Non-Human opponent, with unexpected moves. But what happened is completely astonishing only to Kasparov, because the computer does not have any feelings but can play well, 'if properly programmed' i.e. what Feng-hsiung Hsu and his team done.

3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 Ngf6

After some classic moves by both opponents, Garry can't guess what Deep Blue is deeply formulating for it's next move. If he knows, he would be ready.

6.Bd3 e6 7.N1f3 h6

Both, up to this point, have been developing their pieces. But now, Deep Blue reveals an astonishing strategic move and tries to gain a dominant position in the center, by sacrificing a Knight for a pawn.

8.Nxe6 Qe7 9.O-O fxe6 10.Bg6+ Kd8

Deep Blue avails of its opportunity to castle. Now Garry tries to repair losses for his side. Garry loses his fortune to castle and tries to squeeze the King into less available space. Deep Blue's efforts bear 'fruition', for its timely sacrifice of the Knight.

11.Bf4 b5 12.a4 Bb7 13.Re1 Nd5

Now Deep Blue deploys more pieces to lock the enemy King into a cramped position. Garry tries to use every resource he has to avoid defeat. But his efforts are futile and far too late, because he is nearing his defeat.

14.Bg3 Kc8 15.axb5 cxb5

Deep Blue seems undeterred by the efforts of Garry and successfully dodges the Knight which Garry places at d5. It also tries to clean some Pawns and in doing so paves the way to an historic 'win' against the World Chess Champion.

16.Qd3 Bc6 17.Bf5 exf5

While Garry is supporting his pieces and trying to offer some resistance, Deep Blue is making big moves. It now executes another notable sacrifice and threatens the Black Queen. Garry falls for it.

18.Rxe7 Bxe7 19.c4

Now, Deep Blue's king is in a safe position compared with Garry's King which is extremely vulnerable and unstable. There are many ways, now Garry could be knocked down. Garry resigns.

1-0

Overall Match Score:
Deep Blue – Kasparov (3.5–2.5)

Winner: Deep Blue

Play through the moves of this expertly played demolition of a World Chess Champion.

Deep Blue had been designed to perform 200 million calculations per second. This win showed mankind, the power of "Parallel Processing". And we had understood, computers can be used for complex calculations exploring new medical drugs; also do financial and risk analyzing; and immensively smarter calculations needed in various technological fields.