In recent years, computers have been getting better and better at chess. In 1996, a computer, IBM’s Deep Blue, beat chess master Garry Kasparov in the first game they played, the first time a computer had beaten the world champion. Despite Kasparov winning the match overall (by three games to one), the game became famous. The following year, in a rematch against improved software, the machine was able to win convincingly.
This victory led to an explosion in computer chess. Today, programs are available for home use that can be played at any difficulty level, from the most basic to the world champion level. It is also possible to play Internet chess with real human players, either on a live server or over a long period of time via email (a new form of correspondence chess).
The world’s best chess software gets stronger every year as advances in hardware speed allow more moves to be analyzed in the same amount of time. Until now, humans have still had the upper hand when it comes to learning from history, i.e. having a tried and tested general strategy, but software makers are rapidly building huge strategy databases containing almost all strategies. of chess known to man. Today, it is believed that Deep Blue’s modern successor, called Hydra, could beat any human in the world, although this has not been proven.
The rise of computer chess has split players in two directions. Some have embraced it, creating a game known as advanced chess, where players can use computer software to allow them to explore all the possible moves on the board and choose the one they think would be best. On the other hand, there is arimaa, a version of chess deliberately created to be very difficult for computers to play. Since the pieces are moved many times each turn, the computer cannot “think” as far ahead as a human, and the computer cannot store strategies since the opening positions are random each time. Today, the best arimaa programs cannot beat even moderately skilled human players.