


Since its release in 2008, this free and open-source engine has changed the game - largely thanks to inert ability to revise its playing code and change how it plays based on a transportation tables feature, a testing framework and ‘experience’ which translates as billions of games and over 4000 years of CPU time donated by volunteers ALPHAZERO The revamped version in 1997, which featured a new chip with enhanced ability to evaluate chess concepts and figure out the best move, was capable of searching for up to 200 million options per second, double the capacity of its predecessor.Īside from its landmark defeat of Kasparov, the development of Deep Blue inspired machine-based research that evaluated marketplace trends, explored risk analysis and analyzed molecular dynamics which helped medical teams researching the development of new drugs. The system boasted over 500 processors, 216 accelerator chips and a backroom team of grandmasters who played against the machine and built a library of moves to assess during games. The original Deep Blue machine in 1996 was a major breakthrough. A year later, Deep Blue turned the tables by recording a 3.5-2.5 victory over chess’ finest DEEP BLUEĪfter originally dismissing the idea that AI chess engines could defeat a top-level grandmaster, Kasparov’s claims looked solid enough following a 4-2 victory over Deep Blue under tournament conditions in 1996. The following engines all represent important milestones in coders moving the needle in the development of chess and AI. Indeed, while it may have taken over 40 years to advance a computer that could beat the world’s best, humans have been unable to defeat a chess engine for the last 15 years. Humans have been creating computer chess opponents since the 1950s, when engineers and developers first imagined the steps and processes needed for an AI program to match and beat a brain in this most complex of games.Įver since 1997, when IBM’s Deep Blue famously beat world champion Garry Kasparov, programmers have been creating more complex chess engines through major advances in AI, neural networks and deep learning. Uptake has also increased online, with tens of millions playing against friends, bots or AI opponents.įor coders, the chess renaissance represents something of a walk down memory lane mixed with next-generation programming expertise because chess has served as a yardstick in the measure of Artificial Intelligence development for decades. The popularity of chess has soared in the past year, with a combination of society-wide lockdowns and the hit Netflix TV show The Queen’s Gambit sending sales of the board game through the roof.
