Game 6 of the Deep Blue–Kasparov rematch, played in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on 11 May 1997 and starting at 3:00 p.m.
EDT, was the final
chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
game in the 1997 rematch between
Deep Blue and
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...
.
Deep Blue had been further upgraded from the previous year's match and was unofficially nicknamed "Deeper Blue." Before this game, the score was tied at 2½–2½: Kasparov had won the first game, lost the second, and drawn games three, four, and five (despite having advantageous positions in all three).
The loss marked the first time that a computer had defeated a reigning World Champion in a match of several games. The fact that Kasparov had lasted only 19 moves in a game lasting barely more than an hour attracted considerable media attention.
The game
White: Deep Blue Black: Kasparov
Opening
Opening may refer to:
Types of openings
* Hole
* A title sequence or opening credits
* Grand opening of a business or other institution
* Inauguration
* Keynote
* Opening sentence
* Opening sequence
* Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...
:
Caro–Kann Defense, Steinitz Variation (''
ECO''
B17)
1. e4 c6
:Somewhat atypically, Kasparov plays the solid Caro–Kann Defense. In later matches against computers, he opted for 1...e5 or the sharp
Sicilian Defense
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves:
:1. e4 c5
The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. The opening 1.d4 is a statistically more successful opening for Whi ...
(1...c5), his usual choice against human opponents.
2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Ng5 (diagram)
:This relatively recent innovation breaks a classic opening principle ("don't move the same piece twice in the opening") but puts pressure on the weak f7-square. Kasparov himself had played this move as White in at least three earlier games.
5... Ngf6 6. Bd3 e6 7. N1f3 h6 (diagram)
:A strange choice by Kasparov, one of the most theoretically knowledgeable players in chess history. It has been suggested that this was a
blunder—Kasparov may have mixed up his opening moves, playing ...h6 one move too early. The standard continuation was 7...Bd6 8.Qe2 h6 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Qxe4, as seen in Kasparov–Kamsky (1994) and Kasparov–Epishin (1995), among others. The upcoming
sacrifice
Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving.
Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
is well-known in theory, and Kasparov must have been aware of it. (Some reports even claim he once wrote an article supporting 8.Nxe6 as a refutation.)
:
Feng-Hsiung Hsu
Feng-hsiung Hsu (; born January 1, 1959) (nicknamed Crazy Bird) is a Taiwanese-American computer scientist and electrical engineer. His work led to the creation of the Deep Thought chess computer, which led to the first chess playing computer t ...
, system architect of Deep Blue, suggests that it may have been a deliberate "anti-computer" move. Objectively, the move may be acceptable, although the resulting position is extremely tough for a human player to defend. White's response is very strong, but computer programs Kasparov was familiar with could not properly play Nxe6—some were even specifically forbidden from attempting it because they lost too easily. Hsu suggests Kasparov expected Deep Blue to either sacrifice the
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity.
The concept of a knighthood ...
and struggle, or retreat and lose a
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
.
8. Nxe6
:The computer is aided by having this knight sacrifice programmed into its
opening book. This move had been played previously in a number of high-level games, with White achieving strong results. As an indicator of how much computer chess progressed after this match, modern engines (even without books) correctly evaluate Nxe6 as best. At the time, however, it was assumed that only the opening book allowed Deep Blue to find it. White's compensation for the sacrificed was not obvious enough for computers of that era to find independently.
8... Qe7?
:Instead of immediately taking the knight, Kasparov
pins
A pin is a device, typically pointed, used for fastening objects or fabrics together. Pins can have the following sorts of body:
*a shaft of a rigid inflexible material meant to be inserted in a slot, groove, or hole (as with pivots, hinges, an ...
it to the
king
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
to give his king a square on d8. Many annotators criticized this move, however, suggesting he should have taken the knight right away. Although the black king would require two moves to reach d8 after 8...fxe6 9.Bg6+ Ke7, the
queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
could then be placed on the superior c7-square.
9. 0-0
:White
castles
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This i ...
—now 9...Qxe6 would lose to 10.Re1, pinning and winning Black's queen. Black must now take the knight or be a
pawn
Pawn most often refers to:
* Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game
* Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral
Pawn or The Pawn may also refer to:
Places
* Pa ...
down.
9... fxe6 10. Bg6+ Kd8 11. Bf4 (diagram)
:If Black’s
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
were on d6 instead of f8, White would not be able to play this move. For the sacrificed knight, White's bishops dominate the position. Black, having moved his king, can no longer castle, his queen blocks his own bishop, and he struggles to develop his pieces or utilize the extra knight.
11... b5?
:The first new move of the game, and Deep Blue must now start thinking independently. Kasparov's idea is to gain space on the and prevent c2–c4. This move has been criticized, however, by
Schwartzman,
Seirawan, and
Rajlich, as weakening the queenside
pawn structure
In a game of chess, the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton) is the configuration of pawn (chess), pawns on the chessboard. Because pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus ...
and inviting White to open lines.
12. a4 Bb7
:Keeping lines closed with 12...b4 was considered mandatory according to
Keene, although then 13.c4 would severely cramp Black's position.
13. Re1 Nd5 14. Bg3 Kc8 15. axb5 cxb5 16. Qd3 Bc6 17. Bf5
:White is piling pressure onto Black’s e6-pawn and plans to invade with the
rooks. Kasparov cannot hold onto all his extra material and must surrender his queen for a rook and bishop.
17... exf5 18. Rxe7 Bxe7 19. c4
:Black
resigns. The white queen will soon invade via c4 or f5. After Re1, White will have a decisive advantage. One sample continuation: 19...bxc4 20.Qxc4 Nb4 (20...Kb7 21.Qa6) 21.Re1 Kd8 22.Rxe7 Kxe7 23.Qxb4+.
After the game, Kasparov accused the Deep Blue team of cheating (i.e., having human masters assist the computer). Although Kasparov wanted a rematch,
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
declined and discontinued the Deep Blue project.
See also
*
Deep Blue versus Kasparov, 1996, Game 1
*
List of chess games
This is a list of notable chess games sorted chronologically.
Pre-1800
* 1475: Francesc de Castellví vs. Narcís de Vinyoles, Valencia 1475. The first documented chess game played with the modern queen and bishop moves; the moves were des ...
References
{{Reflist, 35em
External links
Commentary on the final game from IBM.comIBM's Coverage of the entire matchMoves of the game online at www.chessgames.comYasser Seirawan's commentary on this game (pdf file)
Chess games
Computer chess
1997 in chess
1997 in New York City
History of chess
May 1997 sports events in the United States
Garry Kasparov