"Computers are good at swift, accurate computation and at storing great masses of information. The brain, on the other hand, is not as efficient a number cruncher and its memory is often highly fallible; a basic inexactness is built into its design. The brain’s strong point is its flexibility. It is unsurpassed at making shrewd guesses and at grasping the total meaning of information presented to it." – Jeremy Campbell

For the first time since playing the Deep Blue rematch in 1997, Garry Kasparov will play publicly against a computer. No, it's not DB, which is probably directing traffic in Pittsburgh after it was dismantled by IBM before the pieces had even cooled off after that famous game six. This time it's Junior (actually Deep Junior since it's the multi-processor version), the current computer world champion. The clash of calculation versus intuition is always exciting, but here Junior will have one clear advantage: home field!

The six-game match will take place in the famous King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the Israeli capital. The dates are October 1 to October 13 with games on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. A press conference was held in Jerusalem today with FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Kasparov, and Junior's programmers, Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky. Not only does this match have the FIDE stamp of approval, but the International Computer Chess Association is on board and its president, David Levy, will be in attendance.

The six games will be played at the classical time control and the prize fund is that roundest of big round numbers, one million dollars. (Kasparov gets half a million up front and the other half is split 60/40 winner/loser. Ka-ching! Garry is definitely paying for dinner next time.)

Garry Kasparov and Shay Bushinsky. This time it's across the board.

The choice of Jerusalem may seem either brave or foolish considering how Israel is currently under a siege of Palestinian terror that has gotten even worse in the past week. But according to Kasparov and the organizers, this is precisely the point. "The state of Israel has always been very important to me," said Kasparov, "and I hope this event can help show the world that life here goes on and even thrives. Junior is an Israeli world champion and Israelis can be proud to see it in action here in the capital."

I guess you have to take your world champions where you can find them when you had the same Sydney Olympic medal count as Barbados, Qatar, and Sri Lanka (one bronze each). The idea of drawing global media attention to a sporting event in Israel is a worthy one, even if I'm going to have to pack a flak jacket along with my laptop and ChessBase CDs. (Not to get started on this, but I'm in Moscow right now and I wanted to analyze something with Shredder, only to have the copy protection ask me to put in my Shredder CD-ROM. I tried telling it that my CD was home in New York and didn't I have an honest face, didn't it remember me from that time I lovingly installed its endgame tablebases and internet updates? But no. So next time I travel I'm packing an extra suitcase full of ChessBase CDs. I hope they're bulletproof. And I hope Shay and Amir remember to bring their CD when they play Kasparov.)

Of course while the major media might not even know about it, the question many of you are probably asking is "what about that other K vs. Machine match, you know, the one in Bahrain between Vladimir Kramnik and Fritz?" At least that's the question you ask right after you ask, "is Kasparov doing this to screw Kramnik?" From what I've been able to find out there seems to be little to suggest that this was a factor. (Although I don't doubt it was considered a bonus.) In my vast experience with human nature, when you have the incentive of at least $700,000 you really don't need further motivation. Maybe that's just me.

As for the scheduling (the matches will likely run concurrently), the Bahrain match was originally to take place in October 2001 and has been postponed several times. My father's favorite maxim, "You snooze, you lose," comes to mind. Still, it's clear that for publicity reasons there is no way the organizers of Kasparov-Junior could have their match launch after the Kramnik-Fritz event.

Over a year ago FIDE said they wanted to get into man-machine events, and my sources say that this match was originally offered to the current FIDE champion, Ruslan Ponomariov. Apparently the money they could get for Pono wasn't up to the young Ukrainian star's standards, so after FIDE and Kasparov got sloppy drunk and ended up in bed together in Prague, this was a natural step. The proposals started flying in May, and the deal was contingent on Junior winning the 7th world computer chess championships held in Maastricht in July. Junior obliged, winning a playoff against defending champion Shredder, and the stage was set. (Junior also won the world micro championship last year, so it's a dual title-holder.) At today's press conference Ilyumzhinov pointed out that at last year's FIDE General Assembly in Halkidiki, Greece, it was agreed that FIDE would move to standardize and organize man-machine events. These standards will now be formulated with the help of the ICCA.

Few observers can miss the subtext of the two matches, one in Israel and one in the Arab state of Bahrain. Chess is no stranger to these tensions, with the famous case of the 1986 Dubai Olympiad boycott after the Israeli team's participation was denied by the host nation. Conspiracy theorists out there may wonder how well it would have gone down with the Arab sponsors and hosts had the Israeli program Junior beaten Fritz in their 2001 Cadaques qualifier to play Kramnik in Bahrain. But now each program has its match and chess fans, computer chess fans in particular, have to believe that two is better than one. Classical games against 2700-level players are very rare for computers, and the attention drawn by matches with the likes of Kasparov and Kramnik will be immense.

When I talked to him about the event Kasparov repeatedly emphasized that unlike the second Deep Blue match, science will be served in Jerusalem. IBM's secretive behavior frustrated the computer and chess communities and fueled accusations of everything from unsportsmanlike behavior to outright cheating and the controversies rage on even five years later. While both sides clearly want to win this match, FIDE would like to make this an annual event that will promote the science behind the moves as well. The presence of computer chess guru and gadfly David Levy will no doubt assist in this endeavor.

Kasparov said that he isn't getting the program in advance, although the programmers won't be able to modify the program after the match begins. He also said that the software will be held to "tournament standards," meaning if it crashes or has any other non-hardware problem, that's tough luck. Since "crash" and "Windows" are almost synonyms these days, the Junior team might consider having Bill G's number in their speed-dialer.

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Who is Mig? Recent Mig articles: Dortmund, FIDE, and Boxing / Climbing to Kramnik / Dortmund Phase 1 / Dortmund Semifinals / The Inevitability of Being Leko / More Mig...

Mig Greengard lives in New York City and deeply loves his air conditioner. mig@chessbase.com

Text and images copyright Mig Greengard unless otherwise stated. (c) 2002