360IBM's Deep Blue beats the world chess champion
On 11 May 1997, IBM's chess computer Deep Blue won the sixth and final game of a match against the world champion Garry Kasparov in New York, winning the match 3½ to 2½. It was the first time a computer had beaten a reigning world champion in a match under tournament conditions, a milestone for artificial intelligence.
Chess had long been seen as a test of machine intelligence. In February 1996, Kasparov beat an earlier version of Deep Blue 4–2, though he lost one game.
IBM's team upgraded the machine. It could evaluate about 200 million chess positions per second, using special chips and knowledge from grandmasters.
The rematch began in New York on 3 May 1997. After five games the score was level. On 11 May, Kasparov resigned the sixth game after only 19 moves, losing the match.
Kasparov suggested humans had helped the machine, which IBM denied. Today, chess programmes on a phone can beat any human player, and players use computers to train. Kasparov later wrote about how people and machines can work together.
- February 1996
- Kasparov beats Deep Blue 4–2
- 3 May 1997
- The rematch begins
- 11 May 1997
- Deep Blue wins the match
Sources: IBM · Computer History Museum · Britannica.