HOW I miss Deep Blue. When this machine played Gary Kasparov way back in 1997, many people went on the Internet to watch the proceedings. There was tension and excitement, and silently I was willing the silicon beast to win. The match became a drama and at the end of each game, there was the inevitable exhiliration and I kept asking for more.
Sadly, after Kasparov lost to Deep Blue and after his public insults of IBM, Deep Blue was decommissioned and no more was heard about it. In the years since then, computer chess programmes are getting stronger.
Deep Fritz is today reputed to be the strongest computer chess programme that is available commercially. It will run in computers with between one and eight processors. On a dual system the increase in speed is around 85% compared to a single processor of equivalent speed.
And, Deep Fritz is playing against Vladimir Kramnik today in a well-publicised eight-game match in Manama, Bahrain. Kramnik is touted as the new defender of the human race in this match. In the silicon corner, his opponent is running on eight processors in a Compaq machine.
Strangely, however, I cannot find myself overly excited about this match. I know that I should be but I cannot find the enthusiasm to say: "Yes, yes, yes, I want Deep Fritz to win." I look at the games so far and at most, they are fairly interesting. Maybe, it is because Deep Blue was mysterious, a one-of-its-kind creation. If you have RM350 to spare, you too can have a copy of Deep Fritz.
Certainly, Kramnik would have practised with his copy of Deep Fritz before the match. Certainly too, Kramnik would already have his strategies mapped out. He was well rewarded in the first four games -- two draws and two wins in games where his strategy was to exchange off the queens, simplify and go for a technical endgame.
Game Five was different. In this game, Kramnik kept the queens on the board. All the other pieces, except for a knight each, were exchanged off. In such positions where only the queen and knight remains on the board, it can be very dangerous. The best moves may not be easy to find and with the knight jumping everywhere, mistakes are bound to happen. True enough, a tired Kramnik overlooked a threat and he resigned immediately once it became clear that Deep Fritz would win his knight.
Then came the sixth game. I call it the turning point in this match. Kramnik went for blood and after a very promising start to this game, he sacrificed a knight to lure Deep Fritz's king to the centre of the board. Was it a moment of inspiration or a moment of madness? Who knows, but the ensuing complications could only be favourable to Deep Fritz. True enough, Deep Fritz then went on to out-calculate its human opponent, pocket the point and level the match.
So, in a matter of only two games, the mood of the match has completely changed. Kramnik is the one that's affected by the changing fortunes of the match. But that is only natural, because whereas Kramnik is only human and susceptible to making wrong decisions, his opponent is, after all, a tireless collection of computer chips.
Here are the first four games of the match. The remaining will be published in two weeks' time.
Deep Fritz- Kramnik, Game 1
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 h6 10.b3 Ke8 11.Bb2 Be7 12.Rad1 a5 13.a4 h5 14.Ne2 Be6 15.c4 Rd8 16.h3 b6 17.Nfd4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 c5 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Rxd8+ Kxd8 21.Bc1 Kc8 22.Rd1 Rd8 23.Rxd8+ Kxd8 24.g4 g6 25.h4 hxg4 26.Bg5 Bxg5 27.hxg5 Ke8 28.Kg2 1/2-1/2
Kramnik - Deep Fritz, Game 2
Game 2 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bxc5 9.Kf1 b5 10.Be2 Bb7 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 12.Nb3 Bf8 13.a4 b4 14.Nfd2 Bd5 15.f3 Bd6 16.g3 e5 17.e4 Be6 18.Nc4 Bc7 19.Be3 a5 20.Nc5 Nxc5 21.Bxc5 Nd7 22.Nd6+ Kf8 23.Bf2 Bxd6 24.Rxd6 Ke7 25.Rad1 Rhc8 26.Bb5 Nc5 27.Bc6 Bc4+ 28.Ke1 Nd3+ 29.R1xd3 Bxd3 30.Bc5 Bc4 31.Rd4+ Kf6 32.Rxc4 Rxc6 33.Be7+ Kxe7 34.Rxc6 Kd7 35.Rc5 f6 36.Kd2 Kd6 37.Rd5+ Kc6 38.Kd3 g6 39.Kc4 g5 40.h3 h6 41.h4 gxh4 42.gxh4 Ra7 43.h5 Ra8 44.Rc5+ Kb6 45.Rb5+ Kc6 46.Rd5 Kc7 47.Kb5 b3 48.Rd3 Ra7 49.Rxb3 Rb7+ 50.Kc4 Ra7 51.Rb5 Ra8 52.Kd5 Ra6 53.Rc5+ Kd7 54.b3 Rd6+ 55.Kc4 Rd4+ 56.Kc3 Rd1 57.Rd5+ 1-0
Deep Fritz - Kramnik, Game 3
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qd2 dxc6 7.Nc3 Ne7 8.Qf4 Be6 9.Qxf6 gxf6 10.Na4 Bb4+ 11.c3 Bd6 12.Be3 b6 13.f4 0-0-0 14.Kf2 c5 15.c4 Nc6 16.Nc3 f5 17.e5 Bf8 18.b3 Nb4 19.a3 Nc2 20.Rc1 Nxe3 21.Kxe3 Bg7 22.Nd5 c6 23.Nf6 Bxf6 24.exf6 Rhe8 25.Kf3 Rd2 26.h3 Bd7 27.g3 Re6 28.Rb1 Rxf6 29.Be2 Re6 30.Rhe1 Kc7 31.Bf1 b5 32.Rec1 Kb6 33.b4 cxb4 34.axb4 Re4 35.Rd1 Rxd1 36.Rxd1 Be6 37.Bd3 Rd4 38.Be2 Rxd1 39.c5+ Kb7 40.Bxd1 a5 41.bxa5 Ka6 42.Ke3 Kxa5 43.Kd4 b4 44.g4 fxg4 45.hxg4 b3 46.Kc3 Ka4 47.Kb2 f6 48.Bf3 Kb5 49.g5 f5 50.Kc3 Kxc5 0-1
Kramnik - Deep Fritz, Game 4
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Bg5 cxd4 10. Nxd4 h6 11. Bf4 Bg4 12. h3 Be6 13. Rc1 Re8 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. e4 d4 16. e5 dxc3 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. bxc3 Qxd1 19. Rfxd1 Rad8 20. Be3 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Bxc3 22. Rd7 Rb8 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Rxa7 Rb2 25. Ra6 Bd2 26. Rxc6 Bxe3 27. fxe3 Kf7 28. a4 Ra2 29. Rc4 Kf6 30. Kf1 g5 31. h4 h5 32. hxg5+ Kxg5 33. Ke1 e5 34. Kf1 Kf5 35. Rh4 Kg6 36. Re4 Kf5 37. Rh4 Kg5 38. Kg1 Kg6 39. g4 hxg4 40.Rxg4+ Kf5 41. Rc4 1/2-1/2
UP NEXT
Selangor allegro
The Chess Association of Selangor will hold their fourth quarter allegro tournament at The Chess Network, Kompleks Wilayah in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 20. Entry fees are RM10 for CAS members, ladies, FIDE-rated and under-12 players and RM20 for others. Places are limited to 80 players only. To register, contact Lim Tse Pin (tel: 012-2984922) or email chessmate@cas.com.kg with your name and I/c number.
Johor open
The Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru and the Johor Bahru District Chess Association will organise the fifth Bandaraya ChessMaster Johor open tournament on Oct 27 at the Perpustakaan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Datin Halimah in Johor Bahru.
Entry fees are RM25 for the open section, RM8 for the under-16 event and RM5 for the unde-12 section. Closing date is Oct 25. Entries are limited to the first 250 registrants. For more information, contact Marayanan Krishnan (tel: 07-333-8215, email: naraa@tm.net.my).
Perak closed
The Perak International Chess Associatin will organise the Perak closed tournament at the Ipoh Parade in Ipoh over three days beginning Nov 1. There will be cash prizes totalling RM1,000 and the winner will be declared the state champion. There will also be trophies for the best under-12, under-16, ladies and veteran players. Entry fees are RM15 for PICA members, ladies and under-12 players and RM20 for others. To play, contact Yunus Sharif (tel: 05-545-8453 or 016-532-3594).
RSC Kiara chess festival
The Royal Selangor Club will host the RSC Kiara Chess Festival on Nov 3 at its Bukit Kiara club house. The event will comprise chess simultaneous matches, a chess lecture, a chess shop and a seven-round open tournament which features prizes for the best under-8, under-10, under-12, under-14 and under-16 players, as well as cash prizes for the open winners.
Entry fee is RM20 inclusive of lunch. All age group participants will be given certificates. For more details, contact Wahid (tel: 016-253-7443), Jax Tham (tel: 013-323-2280) or Gregory Lau (tel: 016-355-8648), or e-mail royselchess@hotmail.com. Final registration will be on Oct 27 from 3pm to 6 pm at Bukit Kiara (1st floor).
Part of the objective of this festival is to launch a chess book library. Chess players who wish to contribute their chess books or sell them in this festival should contact the organisers.
PKNS tournament
The Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor will hold an open tournament at the Dewan Cempaka, Kompleks PKNS in Bandar Baru Bangi on Nov 3. Entry fee is RM20 per person if you register before Oct 28, and an additional RM5 for late entries. For more information, contact Engku Mohd Suhaimi (tel: 03-8925-0216 or 019-264-1909, fax: 03-8922-1198, email: suhaimi@pop.jaring.my), Ku Faezah (tel: 03-8925-0216), Mok Tze Meng (tel: 016-2233536, email: moktm@tm.net.my) or Zuraini Jailani (tel: 012-3036559).
