COLUMN: Kasparov should beat computer

Commentary Michael Hasday However, this week the 32-year old Russian is facing perhaps the only opponent not intimidated by him -- a super computer named Deep Blue that can process as many as 200 million chess positions in a single second. The six-game match is being held at the Philadelphia Convention Center through Saturday. Fans are welcomed at $20 a pop, and reporters are everywhere. The pot for the match is $500,000 with $400,000 going to the winner. That makes this a serious match for Kasparov -- who has been a quick learner in free-market principles despite growing up under communist rule -- even if the pride of the human race was not on the line. Kasparov was the odds-on favorite coming into the series, and it a came as quite a surprise to the chess world when he lost the first game convincingly to Deep Blue in just over three hours. Visibly upset -- his face was beet-red as he was losing -- the international grandmaster stormed off the stage, refusing to talk to the press. He did later, however, complain vociferously about the chess board which he apparently felt was not up to standards. Computers have come a long way since the first one, the 30-ton monster called ENIAC, was built at Penn just 50 years ago. In fact, the chess match was planned as part of this week's celebration of the 50th anniversary of ENIAC. Chung-Jen Tan, the leader of the IBM team that created Deep Blue after six years of labor, was clearly ecstatic with his creation. "We really see chess as a very complex problem to solve, yet the rules are very simple," said Tan, who pointed to Deep Blue's victory as the highlight of his career. "We will eventually be able to solve all complex problems from computers. This tournament is part of a system to help us create overall better computers. I was so gratified when the computer beat him." Deep Blue's success did not carry over to Sunday, when the computer made shocking mistakes that Kasparov, with a board more to his liking, capitalized on. Kasparov coasted to victory in the second game just as easily as the computer beat him in the first. So the stage was set for Tuesday's contest in a man-vs.-machine matchup that was unique in that man's intellect -- not his strength -- was being put to the test. The consensus among the chess gurus, who were gathered around the big-screen TV set in the convention's V.I.P. room, was that Kasparov gained a slight positional advantage after the sixth move and held on to the edge for most of the game. But the computer did not wilt under the pressure, and Kasparov was forced to offer a draw, which the computer accepted after a few minutes of contemplation. "It's too early to make any long-term predictions," Kasparov said. "In the first game, the computer would rate as one of the best players in the world. In the second game, the computer made mistakes that club players would avoid." Deep Blue's inconsistency will likely be costly in the upcoming games, and Kasparov -- who has the tactical advantage of making the first move in two the remaining three matches -- is still expected to eventually win the match. Although Deep Blue may be inconsistent now, inconsistency is not a computer's fortZ. Most of the chess experts feel it is only a matter of time before computers are able to beat the top human handily. Estimates ranged from five to ten years before computers could take the top human players. Tan predicted that the reign of technology would come much sooner. "I say it won't be long," the computer programmer said with a smile. "It could be this week."