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Crushed by Deep Blue, Kasparov lashes back at IBM
'Machine's win hasn't proved anything'
May 11, 1997
Web posted at: 9:23 p.m. EDT (0123 GMT)In this story:
NEW YORK (CNN) -- He had never lost a chess match. But that all changed after 19 moves Sunday against the Deep Blue IBM computer.
(1.4MB/39 sec. QuickTime movie)
Garry Kasparov -- for the first time ever -- conceded defeat. And afterwards he bolted from the room shaking his head in disgust.
"I'm ashamed by what I did at the end of this match," Kasparov said later at a news conference. "But so be it."
Kasparov concedes defeat: 
"I'm a human being..."
(264K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)"...it will be beaten"
(247K/22 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)Deep Blue -- in a match that lasted only an hour -- won the game and match by dominating on the board and capturing Kasparov's queen.
"Kasparov got wiped off the board," grandmaster Ilya Gurevich said.
Deep Blue's match win was the first by a chess-playing computer in a traditional format in which games can last as long as seven hours.
After losing the first game in the match, the computer gained a win in game two, and managed draws in games three, four and five. The final score was 3 1/2 points for Deep Blue and 2 1/2 for Kasparov.
The match drew world wide scrutiny, not only because the 34-year-old Kasparov is widely considered the greatest chess player ever, but because of its compelling man-vs.-machine theme.
Kasparov downplays match
The pressure clearly took its toll on the feisty Russian, who during a news conference after the loss lashed out at IBM for programming the computer specifically to beat him.
"It was nothing to do about science," Kasparov said. "It was one zeal to beat Garry Kasparov. And when a big corporation with unlimited resources would like to do so, there are many ways to achieve the result."
Kasparov said he would play the system again only if the match had a neutral sponsor. "I feel confident that the machine's win hasn't proved anything," he said. "It's not yet ready, in my opinion, to win a big contest."
But that's exactly what the computer did. In Sunday's game Kasparov blundered by allowing Deep Blue to sacrifice a knight and obtain an overwhelming positional advantage.
Deep Blue, playing with the white pieces, went on to take Kasparov's queen in exchange for a rook and a bishop -- normally a manageable exchange. But the position proved hopeless for the human.
"We on the IBM Deep Blue team are indeed very proud that we've played a role in this historic event," said C.J. Tan, the scientist who headed the Deep Blue effort.
'Not true to himself'
Many said Kasparov should have played his usual, swashbuckling attacking style instead of the careful, slow maneuvering he undertook to try and outwit the machine.
"The reason Garry lost was that he was not true to himself, not true to his character or his reputation," said grandmaster Ron Henley of the United States. "He psyched himself out with his anti-computer strategy and he was unable to play with his full potential and full genius."
Another grandmaster, John Fedorowicz, said: "Everybody was surprised that he resigned because it didn't seem lost. We've all played this position before. It's a known position."
Kasparov said before this match that man would always beat the machine, barring human error or loss of concentration.
But the stress of the match seemed to be getting to him. After the third straight draw Saturday, he said, "I'm not afraid to admit that I'm afraid," he said. "It definitely goes beyond any chess computer in the world." He increasingly gave his silicon opponent human characteristics.
Kasparov gets $400,000 for his loss. Had he won, he would have taken home $700,000. IBM, which staged the match and put up the purse, will put the winning stake toward continued research.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
The Rematch | The Match-Up | Round One The Message Board | The Chess Links Related stories:
- In Kasparov's homeland, Deep Blue match isn't just another board game - May 10, 1997
- Kasparov, Deep Blue play to a draw - May 7, 1997
- Chess experts: Did Kasparov make a mistake? - May 6, 1997
- Chess fans overload IBM's Web site - May 3, 1997
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