Digital Revolution and Chess: a charming (and enlightening) space-time journey
Hi everyone, welcome back!
In this article we'll talk about TIME, which is not a so abstract concept... and chess obviously.
Time makes history. And people, according to their philosophy, determine the direction of historical events, whether they are aware of it or not.
Hope you enjoy the reading!
DocSimooo
The Lucky Thirteen
1. Baby Boomers and X Generation
4. Kasparov's youth and career
5. Fall of the Wall and of the Soviet Union
6. The New Year's Eve Tournament of the Living World Champions
9. The digital revolution in chess
10. Kasparov Today
12. The parable of the camel driver
13. Conclusions
In the fabulous 80s, but also in the previous decades, people knew how to have fun as much as today.
They also fought for social changes, freedom in lifestyle and self expression, even in sexuality.
These social changes were poorly tolerated by the older generations.
So they knew how to socialize and enjoy their lives, but what kind of technology did they have available to keep in touch and communicate?
And if they weren't at home?
Sometimes they had to queue to remotely communicate!!!
This was the top of their technology at the time:
But one day, silently, this object entered into the hands and homes of millions, mostly young people:
Then this other one:
It was the beginning of a silent revolution that would change our lives forever.
The initial capabilities of computers were really limited, but the potential was infinite as current experience shows us.
At the beginning the computer language is basic...
and the top of program applications is for simple games:
Science fiction begins to theorize a dystopian future dominated by machines, in which virtual reality imposes itself on real life.
The real technological revolution came with the development of computers and electronics. Then the World Wide Web and the spread of smartphones and tablets as everyday objects.
Everything has changed. We are now hyper-connected. With a click we can safely reach unknown places by car (in the recent past we used city maps while driving and often were forced to stop at crossroads to understand better where to turn).
With a click we can buy an object, sign up for an exam, listen to music, watch videos, obtain information of any kind (in the past to keep informed you had at home encyclopedic volumes to consult, that were really expensive and now are obsolete).
Smartphones are pocket-sized electronic stations that do everything. Almost no one buys cameras or video cameras anymore. Everything is done with a mobile phone. You take videos and photos to upload to social media, you book trips and even check-in your flight, consult your university dossier or your electronic medical record.
And we are now at the dawn of artificial intelligence.
In chess this epochal change occurred during the time of the great Kasparov.
Garry Kasparov, born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on saturday 13 April 1963 in Baku, the capital city of odiern Azerbaijan, at the time part of the Soviet Union, is still living and is currently a Croatian citizen.
At the age of four he could already read and play chess. He learned chess, like J. R. Capablanca, by watching his parents play. They were passionate solvers of "chess puzzles". He silently observed his parents and one day proposed the solution to a problem that they were not able to solve. He wasn't even six years old.
In 1975 (12 years old) the first clash with the world champion Karpov in Leningrad, odiern St. Petersburg. He lost due to a few oversights.
Numerous clashes between these two chess giants (the so-called 2Ks) would follow in the years to come.
During this period he took his current surname Kasparov.
After the death of his father, in fact, his mother married again and took the surname of her new husband (probably the change of surname of the son was due to avoid discrimination and problems with the Russian authorities, who didn't particularly like the fact that a rising star of Soviet chess kept a Jewish surname if unnecessary).
At 16 he was already an International Master with the first norm for the Grand Master title.
In an interview he was asked who, in his opinion, was the greatest chess champion of all time. Without thinking twice, he answered: "Bobby Fischer". This response wasn't welcomed by the Soviet establishment at all.
He had an amazing career. He had to overcome enormous difficulties to earn the right to the world challenge (facing and winning at the Candidates Tournament Kortschnoj and Smyslow, two real tough guys). The match against Karpov was really hard.
At the end of the 23rd game this was his situation: 4W/16D/3L.
Game number 24 is considered one of the most beautiful in the history of chess. Kasparov played beautifully and won. On move 43 Karpov stopped the clock, stood up and left without shaking his hand.
(for Kasparov 13 was a lucky number. 13 is the day of his birth; when he finally achieved the title, he was the 13th in the history of the championship).
It was 11/22/1985. Karpov became the youngest ever World Chess Champion and the record is still unbeaten.
Fall of the Wall and of the Soviet Union
November 9, 1989 - Fall of the Berlin Wall
1991 End of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
The end of a nightmare and the Cold War.
The New Year's Eve Tournament of the Living World Champions
In the very beginning of 1992 in Italy, Reggio Emilia city, was displayed the New Year's Eve Chess Tournament. All the living World Champions and numerous Grand Masters were invited. The most part of the players was from the ex Soviet delegation.
They came to the Tournament, but not all of them played. The list is long: Botvinnik, Karpov, Spassky, Smyslow and also Kasparov and Tal. Then Alexander Khalifman, ex Soviet as well, born in St. Petersburg and later naturalized German. In 1999 he would obtain the title of World Champion at the Las Vegas championship (eliminating the very strong Judith Polgar in the competition for the title). He lost the world champion title after just over a year, defeated by Anand.
At the Reggio Emilia tournament Khalifman (he was at the time 26 years old) defeated Karpov in a complicated Spanish match and, in the direct clash against Kasparov, who was at the time the World Champion, imposed a draw playing with blacks!
The Karpov - Kasparov match ended in a draw.
Michail Tal did not participate in the competition for health reasons. He would unfortunately die in April of that same year at the young age of 56.
The only absentee of the living champions was Bobby Fischer.
Those were foggy days, as usual in the Po Valley during the winter. There is a nice anecdote to tell.
A young member of the Lecco Chess Club was in Reggio Emilia with some friends to follow the tournament as a spectator.
During the lunch break between the morning and afternoon sessions of the tournament he went into a nearby reastaurant (The Canossa Restaurant) and found... all the tournament participants and Garry Kasparov with his first wife (Kasparov would divorce in the following years and then remarry twice).
Even though he was shy and fearful, afraid that Kasparov could refuse, he found the courage to ask him for the autograph. So he walked towards the table of the "Ogre of Baku" who, after looking at him with a manacing look, turned to his wife.
With a tender assent she convinced him to finally give in.
That tournament was an amazing, unforgettable experience for Italians.
By the way, Anand won.
This was the final ranking with the score of the players.
In 1993 a sort of "schism" occurred. Due to internal arguments within the federation, Kasparov decided to found an alternative association that he called PCA (Professional Chess Association). This schism would only be solved in 2006.
Meanwhile FIDE (Fédération internationale des échecs) and PCA held their competitions in parallel.
The Indian Anand will be among the most famous World Champions for FIDE, Kasparov for the PCA.
Finally with Kramnik in 2006 the two associations will finally be reunited.
The computer age, which changed EVERYTHING, was at the beginning at that time, and the great Kasparov was a prophetic and intelligent premonitor of this present Era.
He was the one who realized that computers could be used to help man in the study of chess.
The first digital chess database is the result of his idea.
His association (PCA) had among its main sponsors and financiers Intel itself, the well known multinational electronics company.
It seems that Kasparov's historic decision to accept the first chess challenge against a computer had a major influence in determining the end of the PCA.
The "Deep Blue" computer was in fact from the competitor IBM. Intel, irritated, withdrew its sponsorship and PCA went broke.
The Kasparov-computer challenge had a very strong media impact and stimulated profound symbolic reflections on the relationship between man, machines and artificial intelligence.
The world was not ready yet for the shocking possibility that human intelligence could be "surpassed" by that of a computer, which is, after all, nothing more than a product of human ingenuity.
But it happened.
In 1996 the first clash of 6 games was won by Kasparov 4-2.
The rematch took place between May 3-11, 1997, and went differently, after the chess program enhancing by IBM computer scientists.
Kasparov won the first game, then lost the second (he could have forced the draw, but he didn't realize it). Three drawn games followed.
The sixth and final game left everyone stunned.
Deep Blue has the white pieces. Its brilliant knight sacrifice in the eighth move begins a fiercy hunt for the King against which the champion is helpless. On move 19 Kasparov resigns.
Final result: Machine 3.5 - Humans' World Champion 2.5
Kasparov probably consoled himself with the $400,000 prize he earned 
The digital revolution in chess
This shocking event was psychologically processed focusing attention on the significant contribution that computer science can give in preparing all players from amateurs to great champions.
Now computer programs and databases (e.g. ChessBase) have millions of games in their archives that can be consulted.
Each possible variant can be analyzed in detail and in depth. You can have an immediate feedback on the strenght of each move on the board (brilliant, best, excellent, good, inaccuracy, mistake, miss, blunder). You can know if you are winning or losing and if your advantage/disadvantage is decisive or not.
At any time, on demand, the computer can immediately suggest the best move (this explains the widespread of the bad habit of cheating in online gaming).
It is also true that the computer can always easily identify who is cheating with simple statistical calculations.
Summarizing, the computer gives you the possibility to train at TOP level and, as long as you study seriously, to achieve significant goals and results faster and with less difficulty than in the past.
On the other hand nowadays everything is faster. Young players prefer to play Rapid and Blitz and even Bullet games, wich are more difficult to play well.
And the exponents of the old school turn up their noses. Almost everyone but not Kasparov.
Before the computer age chess players had to study huge chess volumes with openings, analysis and tournament games, alone or supported by their national team. Each variant had to be verified without certain feedback as today, with a lot of patience and memory effort. Hours and hours of crazy and desperate study.
For this reason Kasparov is universally considered even by current champions (see Magnus Carlsen) as an absolute champion without any possibility of comparison.
He achieved the same results as today's champions by making superhuman efforts and following a much harder, less easy path than today's.
In 2000 Kasparov left the world crown in the hands of Kramnik (another Russian from the Botvinnik school), but kept to play at the highest levels for a few years.
On 03/20/2005 Kasparov officially announced his retirement from the chess arena, but he's still a volcano of ideas and initiatives.
He has been the coach of Magnus Carlsen first, then of Viswanathan Anand and finally of Hiraku Nakamura since 2009.
His political activism is also remarkable.
In 1990 (it was january, 20), quite before the end of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Red Army repressed in Azerbaijan an uprising of the local population. That event is remembered with the name of BLACK JANUARY.
Kasparov took many people into his home. The army didn't dare to break into Kasparov's house, so they were saved from the massacre.
He had the courage to openly contest Vladimir Putin's political actions. For this reason he has been arrested several times, the last one in 2012 during the famous protest of the Pussy Riot punk rock group in Moscow in front of the Kremlin.
He is producing a chess manga (a Japanese-French co-production) called BLITZ, which is currently on sale and is simply amazing!
He was the leading actor in the movie GAME OVER, which raised profound symbolic reflections on the pros and cons of technological overdevelopment and the rise of artificial intelligence.
However in 1968 Stanley Kubrick alrealy directed a sci-fi movie, a masterpiece to tell the truth, "2001 A Space Odyssey", which faced the same topics.
Kubrik was really far ahead of his time and forward looking as well.
From the first bone used as a hunting tool by hominids to the orbital stations the journey was short.
Without any ethical or moral qualms, however, hyper technology risks only to take away our freedom (it makes us hyper-controlled) and leads us to dehumanization.
So, even if we are enthusiastic about modernity, let's remember that technological innovation and science, good results of human intelligence, must be accompanied by wisdom and compassion.
Current situation:
War, famine and epidemics are often the result of mean human actions.
Creating conflict for money, depleting the planet's resources, creating and perpetuating social inequalities, natural imbalances, polluting.
Buddhism calls these attitudes "the three poisons" of Anger, Greed and Animality/Instinctiveness.
Study, Wisdom and Compassion, instead, will lead us to build a better World.
(Peace - Culture - Education poster)
The parable of the camel driver
I end the blog with a beautiful tale I heard years ago from a famous Italian economist, Stefano Zamagni. The story of the camel driver and his 3 children.
A camel driver decided to leave all his goods, 11 camels, to his children. The inheritance had to be divided as follows:
1/2 of his assets to the first son,
1/4 to the second,
1/6 to the third.
The problem was that 11 is not divisible by 2, nor by 4, nor by 6.
The firstborn said to his brothers: "Let me have 6 camels", but the others answered him: "You were luckier than us, settle for 5".
No way. They began to argue more and more fiercely. They would have slaughtered each other if another camel driver hadn't passed by. This one decided to donate them 1 camel more.
Thus the inheritance changed 11+1= 12 camels.
12/2= 6 camels for the first son
12/4= 3 camels for the second son
12/6= 2 camels for the third son
Total = 11 camels !!!
So the camel driver took his camel back and went away.
Anyway, what is the moral?
1) Those who practice "giving" never become poorer
(the new arrival has earned the gratitude of the three brothers instead)
2) the rules of Justice (the Will is Law) alone are not enough to guarantee peace. The 3 brothers would have slaughtered each other. In the history of humanity how many wars have been fought in the name of justice?
If justice is not aimed at good may became justicialism (the Jacobins during the French revolution cut off many heads)
If justice is combined with the principle of giving (charity) then things can change. It becomes a justice that wants good, a benevolent justice that seeks peace.
We are all involved. It is a chess game, the most important game, and we will win it!
The next generation challenging in a "solo chess".
See you soon.
DocSimooo
