Man vs. Computer – Who Wins?

It was built to do one thing – play chess.  It was a computer made by IBM called Deep Blue.  It could analyze 200 million chess moves in a second and instantly decide which was the best move to make.  So how good was it?  They put it to the test against the best chess player in the world – the man regarded as the best chess player who ever lived.  Russian Gary Kasparov had never lost a professional match and agreed to put his skills up against a machine.

So they played a tournament – best of seven.  One game ended in a draw.  Kasparov won two games but in the deciding game Kasporav conceded defeat after 19 moves handing Kasparov his first loss ever in tournament play.

It happened on this date in 1997.

There are 20 possible moves you can make to open a chess game.

The term “checkmate” comes from a Persian term meaning the king is defeated.

SOURCE: HistoryChannel