Today, the World Chess Championship, man vs. machine was shown live on ESPN2. It was Kasparov vs. Deep Jr. (a stonger, and more legitimate computer challenger than it's predecessor "Deep Blue", since there are all kinds of suspicious circumstances related to that computer. (Deep Blue was the first computer to "beat" a human world champion, ironically it was Kasparov...but I'll save the mysterious story of Deep Blue for another time). Anyway, after an astounding series of moves, the game ended in a draw, though Kasparov seemingly had the advantage. The commentators, themselves Grand Masters, both said Kasparov was spooked from his earlier defeat by Deep Blue and played too cautiously, and Kasparov himself said he played "not to lose." <br><br>Anyway, my point here is that while in general people would go for the win, and while the crowd and commentators (and indeed I myself also) were disappointed in the outcome...I simply can't imagine the kind of pressure Kasparov felt. Thus, I have come to the conclusion that I cannot blame Kasparov for playing to a draw, despite the advantage he appeared to have. Computers don't have to deal with emotions, while to play a computer at Deep Jr.'s level the human cannot make a mistake. Additionally, Kasparov had the pressure of the 1997 (*I think it was '97*) loss vs. Deep Blue, and the strain of the previous 5 games in this championship (believe me...chess can be stressful...those of you who play no doubt know...esp. if you've been in tournaments). Deep Jr., by contrast, could simply play on without that baggage. Finally, when comparing chess to sports, you get to hit something or vent some of your stress/emotions on the field. In chess, however, pressure only builds, and you constantly have to fight yourself, otherwise you will lose. So, while I was disappointed that a draw was the outcome, I think it's understandable.<br><br>ZL<br><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.x3dworld.com/">www.x3dworld.com/</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <br><br>*You can see move by move details of all the games here.* <p><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://bishydbd.netfirms.com/ZL.gif"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--> <!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://bishydbd.netfirms.com/zhugeliang.jpg "/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--> <!--EZCODE BR START--><br /><!--EZCODE BR END--><br>Empires wax and wane; states cleave asunder and coalesce.</p><i></i>

Computers constantly beat me at games like Chess and Go, but, then again, I'm very bad at Go (I only understand the basic principles of it--enough to beat Zeth down). I really don't get enough Chess played, though I definetly enjoy playing it. :) <p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center">Spanish bombs, yo te quierro infinito<br>Yo te querda, oh mi corazon<br>Spanish bombs, yo te quierro infinito<br>Yo te querda, oh mi corazon</div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub19.ezboard.com/btenchimuyo79943.showUserPublicProfile?gid=deathbeforedishonor>DeathBeforeDishonor</A> at: 2/8/03 2:01:12 pm<br></i>

It isn't my fault! I didn't have an idea what I was doing! : <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub19.ezboard.com/btenchimuyo79943.showUserPublicProfile?gid=zethora>Zethora</A> at: 2/9/03 4:38:12 pm<br></i>

What do you mean sceptics etc? Was Deep Blue hge so they thought they had people in there? So they made Jr. smaller <p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.got-brain.com/justin/ts4.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></p><i></i>

Deep Blue vs. Kasparov...<br><br>Deep Blue by IBM...nobody completely knows the workings of that machine, nor the circumstances under which it played in 1997. It appeared to play fairly fixed (in style) up to a certain game, and then it made what seemed to be a very out of character move for it. Nobody even saw the machine in action, yet it was known that inside the room where the computer's moves were being relayed from, that chess "consultants" were present. In fact Chess Grandmasters and programmers worked to specifically beat Kasparov, studying his past game history and incorporating that into the program. IBM did NOT allow Kasparov to study Deep Blue's game history (the latest model which faced him in 1997 for that challenge) even though they had previously let him study computer game info on their earlier incarnations. *It is also customary between chess-players to study their opponent's game history.* Finally, IBM did NOT allow a rematch with Kasparov. In fact, they dismantled Deep Blue. IBM had gained what it wanted, huge press and publicity, but they should have had a rematch to prove that everything was on the level.<br><br>Deep JR. however, was present in the room as the game was played. There were no "consultants" at a remote location. While Deep JR's pure processing power apparently was less than Deep Blue's, it was programmed to take into account not just material advantages (as Deep Blue was), but positional as well, thus making it a more true Chess playing computer. People know how the machine works with this one unlike the cloak of secrecy which surrounded Deep Blue. That's why this battle is far more legitimate in many people's opinion.<br><br>ZL<br><br>Deep JR. is NOT made by IBM. IBM is satisfied with their battle and has not had Deep Blue play again (as I said, they dismantled it for some reason, which they've never elaborated upon).<br><br>I want to make it clear though, that there are many who say that Deep Blue clearly did win. As with everything, there are two sides to the story, it's just that Deep JR's matches were more "transparent"...the processes were more open this time, and so the results are more acceptable to most people. <p><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://bishydbd.netfirms.com/ZL.gif"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--> <!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://bishydbd.netfirms.com/zhugeliang.jpg "/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--> <!--EZCODE BR START--><br /><!--EZCODE BR END--><br>Empires wax and wane; states cleave asunder and coalesce.</p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub19.ezboard.com/btenchimuyo79943.showUserPublicProfile?gid=zhugeliang@tenchimuyo79943>Zhuge Liang</A>  <IMG SRC="http://www.ezboard.com/ezgfx/gicons/black_greenspot.gif" BORDER=0> at: 2/9/03 11:44:30 pm<br></i>