Chess may not be the most popular sport in the world, but it has a strong following, something that the biggest sports entities already know. And that includes the best Asian bookmakers. If you are one of these followers, you have probably heard of the infamous Deep Blue.
The Deep Roots
Legend has it, that chess originated around 200 B.C. Chinese commander Hán Xin invented the game, as a way to represent an important battle in the country’s history. Afterwards, no one paid any attention to the game. It only resurfaced in the middle of the 7th century, with new rules that made it gain popularity, and the nickname XiangQi, which loosely translates to the “elephant game”.
The fascinating game experienced a rapid expansion across Asia and Europe over the subsequent centuries. Ultimately, around the middle of the 16th century, it transformed into the recognizable format we are familiar with today . Ruy López de Segura, a Spanish priest, rose to prominence as one of the first exceptional chess masters. In tribute to his expertise, the strategic move known as “open Ruy López” was developed and named after him. Over time, this particular move has gained significant recognition and popularity, making it one of the most well-known moves in the history of chess.
The main human opponent
Throughout the game’s history, the Russian chess maestro Garry Kasparov, is the only one who has achieved a remarkable and unparalleled achievement. He managed to maintain an impressive unbroken winning streak that spanned over a period of 15 years. This extraordinary feat and record-setting accomplishment came to an unexpected end, when he faced an unexpected defeat at the hands of Deep Blue, an advanced artificial intelligence-powered computer, which made history by becoming the first-ever machine to triumph over a human player in a game of chess.
The brilliant Mr. Hsu
In order to challenge and improve both the abilities of the human mind and technology, in 1980, a committee at Carnegie Mellon University began offering a $100,000 prize to anyone who could create a computer that could beat the best chess player in the world.
Within just 5 years, Feng-hsiung Hsu, a computer scientist, created ChipTest, a computer that honestly didn’t work very well. However, it served as the basis for Deep Thought, a more advanced version of the machine. It took Hsu and his team into the international hall of fame, by winning the 1988 North American Computer Chess Championship and the World Computer Chess Championship the very next year. At that time, the sport started making its appearance at gatherings of high society and VIPs placing bets on the winners.
The computer created by Hsu could analyze and interpret countless games of great chess players from around the globe. Its database had more than 4,000 different positions, as well as more than 700,000 games. However, even with all of this information, the machine was no match for Garry Kasparov, who defeated it in 1989.
IBM made the decision to retire Deep Thought shortly afterwards. It received updates, and reappeared on the world chess scene in 1996. This time under the name Deep Blue. Its creator was sure that this improved version was ready to defeat the invincible Kasparov.
A Critical Mistake
With the consideration of a future great chess star, the Russian began training at the age of 10. Later, he became the youngest player to reach the top of world ranking at the age of 21. Kasparov faced Deep Blue during a 6-game tournament, held between February 10 and 17, 1996, that went down in history and ended in a draw.
However, this was still not enough for Hsu and his team to take home the $100,000 prize from Carnegie Mellon. For that, the computer needed to win. And on May 11, 1997, after a few more updates, Deep Blue finally managed to defeat Kasparov. The world champion made a serious mistake in confusing the introductory defense moves used by the computer.
The Russian even went so far as to request a rematch, however, IBM decided to decline the offer. The chess grand master informed Wired in 2020, that he had already made peace with Deep Blue and thanked the machine for the chance to expand the world public’s interest in chess.
The groundbreaking computer was meticulously disassembled by IBM. Its various components can now be found as exhibits in esteemed institutions and Museums. As an avid sports enthusiast who frequently engages in betting through accounts at the top European bookmakers, you undoubtedly possess extensive knowledge on the subject of sports. However, I would wager that the fascinating tale of Deep Blue may have eluded your awareness up to now.