Chess and Tech

Chess computers and chess software have gotten more and more similar in recent years in terms of what they each can do. But this wasn’t always the case. When the first high level chess computers were being invented, there was a frenzy of excitement surrounding them. It was truly a cultural phenomenon. When IBM’s Deep Blue challenged world chess champion Garry Kasparov, people were astonished to see how far the technology had come, even though the computer eventually lost the match.

The rematch the following year, however, was an entirely different story. This time, the newly improved Deep Blue computer was updated with more cutting edge chess software and it actually managed to score a win on Kasparov! This was a momentous event and marked the first time that a reigning chess champion had ever been defeated by a computer under tournament conditions. Spectators were understandably astonished. This was a pivotal moment in chess history that they had witnessed, one where the tides had turned right in front of their eyes.

Ever since that moment, chess computers have only improved in their chess skill as they become equipped with more and more powerful processors that can analyze billions of possible moves in mere fractions of a second. At this point, computers have far outstripped the skill of any human player. Luckily for us, the game still continues to be played and enjoyed by human players much the same as always. Some naysayers thought that the defeat of Kasparov by Deep Blue would spell the end for tournament chess competition and human enjoyment of chess, period. Fortunately that hasn’t turned out to be the case so far.

Reference: https://chess-site.com/articles/technology-in-chess/