Kasparov to Play a Computer Again?
Rumours are circulating in Munich that Garry Kasparov will play a match
next year against a computer program running on very powerful hardware. The excellent performance of
Fritz in Frankfurt increases the speculation
that Kasparov's opponent will be Fritz, running on a Siemens computer of
towering performance.
These rumours are, as yet, uncorroborated, but they are from a usually
reliable source. A formal announcement may be made during the next few
days.
Asked to comment on these rumours David Levy, who is President of
the International Computer Chess Association, speculated that Kasparov
would win next year but might lose a rematch.
"If Kasparov does play against the Fritz/Siemens combination the match
will arouse immense interest. Immediately following his loss to IBM's Deep
Blue in New York in May 1997, Kasparov challenged his opponent to a rematch only to be rebuffed by IBM. Since then Deep Blue has retired from active play. Having won a match against the World Champion there would be little for IBM to gain and much to lose by acceding to Kasparov's request for a rematch. In the meantime Fritz and other PC-based programs have
steadily increased in strength to the point where, with more powerful hardware at their disposal, they would represent a formidable challenge to any top Grandmaster, Kasparov included.
"While Kasparov would clearly be the favourite in a match next year it
may well be that he could be beaten in 2002. When IBM first challenged
Kasparov, the match (in 1996) went the way of the human race even though Kasparov lost the first game. But the Deep Blue team and IBM learned enough from that first match to turn the tables the following year."
|
|
