Chess computer program X3D Fritz ruthlessly capitalised on a rare blunder by Garry Kasparov on Thursday, giving the program its first ever victory over the human world number one.
鈥淵ou work hard for three hours, you get a very promising position, you make a blunder and you go home,鈥� Kasparov told reporters after the game. Commentators described his mistake as 鈥渁n incredible oversight鈥�.
Fritz now has a one-point lead in the four-game contest in New York, after game one ended in a draw.
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However, John Fernandez, chess consultant for Fritz, says he will not be satisfied until Fritz uses 鈥渞eal intelligence鈥� to beat Kasparov, rather than 鈥渨aiting for the human to slip up and then nailing him鈥�. He explains: 鈥淲e already know that the major difference is that humans make mistakes and computers don鈥檛.鈥�
Favourite move
Kasparov, playing black, began with the same move that he used when he lost to IBM鈥檚 Deep Blue program in 1998. But current world champion Vladimir Kramnik used the same move when beating Fritz in 2002.
Overall Thursday鈥檚 game was balanced with domination switching constantly between man and machine. Kasparov鈥檚 鈥渂lunder鈥� came on move 32 at a tough but still hopeful moment. He removed one of two rooks that were protecting each other. The rook鈥檚 absence allowed Fritz鈥檚 queen to take one of Kasparov鈥檚 pawns 鈥渇or free鈥� and subsequently move in for the kill.
Kasparov was short on time and experts suggest that this may be why he slipped up. But it was a mistake that Fritz would simply not have made. 鈥淎 computer like Fritz searches so deeply, it does not miss anything simple,鈥� says Jonathan Schaeffer, in the computer science games group at the University of Alberta, Canada.
Illogical position
Fritz was able to capitalise on the blunder thanks to an earlier move that had seemed illogical to human commentators at the time. Fritz had removed its queen from what seemed like an 鈥渆xcellent outpost鈥� to what looked like an illogical position. But the move turned out to be advantageous.
鈥淚t was almost as if Fritz anticipated Kasparov鈥檚 blunder,鈥� says Fernandez. It is an example of how moves that seem 鈥渃omputer-like鈥� or 鈥渟tupid鈥� to human beings can turn out to be good moves, says Schaeffer.
Experts agree that Thursday鈥檚 result seriously depletes Kasparov鈥檚 chance of an overall victory. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not impossible but it鈥檚 hard to believe he鈥檚 going to win the next two games,鈥� says Fernandez. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be psychologically difficult to recover too.鈥�
Game three takes place at 1300 EST on Sunday. Kasparov will receive $200,000 for winning, $175,000 for a draw and $150,000 for a loss.