IBM and Deep Blue research
Edward G. Maillet
Hey all,
Here's a quote from an IBM information sheet.
The sheet is a kind of "Here's what's going on in the company."
I guess that's the best way to describe it.
begin quote:
Chess-Playing Computer Aids IBM Research
A prototype version of Deep Blue, a computer-chess system being
developed by the computer science department at the Watson Research
Center, fared well in a competition recently at an IBM Denmark
technology fair and seminar. The Deep Blue prototype was featured
as an example of IBM technical leadership, with emphasis on its
RISC System/6000-based hardware system.
In competition with the Danish National Chess Team, the Deep Blue
prototype won twice and drew twice. That scorecard includes a victory
over Lars Bo Hansen, the strongest Grandmater on the Danish team. In a
series played against Danish Grandmater Bent Larsen, the Deep Blue
prototype gained three draws after losing the first game in a shaky start.
That was the only loss in the exhibition. Overall, the prototype's
international performance rating for the events puts it among the top
50 to 100 players in the world.
When completed, Deep Blue will be a thousand-way parallel processor.
The effort to build such a system involves fundamental research in areas
of computers science that include massive parallelization, workstation
architecture, parallel programming, search algorithms and VLSI design.
The project is expected to culminate in a match sometime in 1994 with
the world champion human player.
End quote.
All the typos are mine.
----- Ed Maillet (White)
ip0...@portland.maine.edu
Clay Breshears
mai...@golem.usmcs.maine.edu (Edward G. Maillet) writes:
|>
|> Hey all,
|> Here's a quote from an IBM information sheet.
|> The sheet is a kind of "Here's what's going on in the company."
|> I guess that's the best way to describe it.
|>
|> begin quote:
|> The project is expected to culminate in a match sometime in 1994 with
|> the world champion human player.
|> End quote.
One must now wonder, which one(s)?
clay
--
Clay P. Breshears, YAPCF WORLD CHAMPION | Remember, you can tune a piano,
Yet Another Player's Chess Federation | but you can't prosecute a fish.
* Now accepting bid$ from challengers * | E-mail: cl...@cs.utk.edu
Rob Ryan
> Here's a quote from an IBM information sheet.
> The sheet is a kind of "Here's what's going on in the company."
> I guess that's the best way to describe it.
>
>begin quote: ...
While we're talking about computers in chess (and IBM), did any one see the
editorial in NIC (#8, 1992) accompanying the review of Nunn's "Secrets of
Rook Endings"? It is the worse case of compu-phobia that I've ever seen.
Given the role of computers in helping Nunn compile this book, it is
understandable that it might provoke "ah, those were the days" sort of
sentiments. Nunn, himself, says "Some may be worried that the
ever-encroaching computer will eventually take the soul out of chess. I
admit this is a danger, and in some sense, the theory of these basic
endings is frozen now that data-bases exist."
But the editorial (letter to the editor?) in NIC goes over the top. The
author, GM Curt Hansen, argues (unconvincingly, IMHO) that computers are
leading to the destruction of chess. He goes so far as to recommend that
everyone should (through some organization like FIDE) protest to IBM (and
other organizations doing development in computer chess) and ask them to
freeze development. He equates the development of chess computers to
chopping down rainforests... "the gains are short-sighted."
-- Rob
"Erro ergo sum" ... I err therefore I am ... Tartakower
--
Rob Ryan, System Constructs Inc.
rr...@panix.com