Deep Blue

I had the privilege of going to Washington D.C. for about a week, and got a chance to see Deep Blue in one of their huge museums. Deep Blue is the chess program that IBM developed which was able to defeat Kasparov twice, the second game lasting only 19 moves as Kasparov decided to resign. On display was one of the two tower processors (not at all different outside to the usual CPU, it's the black tower to the right side) which is the hardware for the Deep Blue program, as well as the chess table and other chess paraphernalia used during the match.. As the match between human and machine happened a few years ago, and given the exponential development in computing speed, I wonder if the common chess engines today had already exceeded Deep Blue's computing capabilities. Maybe it has. IBM decided not to host anymore matches between humans and programs, as they stated that their goal is to improve on computer's processing capabilities, not to create a mechanical champion. I wonder where it would have led us if they had decided otherwise. Read More......

Correspondence Chess

It's been two months now since I signed up with www.schemingmind.com , one of the several dozen sites dedicated to correspondence chess. So far, it has been such an enjoyable experience. The site allowed me to play against a variety of players I may never even get to meet in person. Although it requires somewhat a different discipline compared to live on-the-board chess games, it allows people like me who are interested in chess to pursue learning and improving on the game at my leisure, since there is no fixed schedule to follow (moves are timed, however, but each move has several days as deadline). The site also opens one up to a host of players who share resources and tips through private comments and open forums. So, if you happpen to be a chess afficionado or simply an occasional enthusiast like me, give it a try! :-) Read More......