Kasparov - Deep Junior Million Dollar Match Postponed until December
FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced on Monday that the human-machine
chess match between world number one Garry Kasparov and world computer
champion Deep Junior had been postponed until December 1, 2002. "We regret
the delay," said Ilyumzhinov, "but all of the parties involved have agreed
that there was not enough time to give such a prestigious event the required
presentation." The event will be the first time Kasparov has faced a
computer since his famous matches against Deep Blue in 1996 and 1997. He won
the first and narrowly lost the second to the IBM machine.
The six-game match was scheduled to begin on October 1 in the Israeli
capital and finish on the 13th. Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert welcomed the
rescheduling. "The whole world will be watching and we want people to see
Jerusalem host a world-class event between two great champions." After Deep
Junior won the World Computer Chess Championships in the Netherlands little
time remained to complete the negotiations and organize the match before the
starting date. Efforts were additionally complicated by the onset of the
Jewish high holidays.
Both Garry Kasparov and the team behind Deep Junior expressed disappointment
at the delay but enthusiasm for the benefit it will provide the event. "I
think I am already well prepared," said Kasparov, "and since I have other
events to play before December I don't think the postponement will help me
at all." Kasparov will lead the Russian team in the Chess Olympiad that
starts October 25. He added, "I've waited five years for my revenge, so what
is two more months?"
Deep Junior's Israeli programmers, Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky, also sounded
patient. "We have always dreamed of taking on the world's top player and
Deep Junior will not mind the delay at all."
The match has a prize fund of one million dollars and is auspiced by the
International Chess Federation (FIDE) and the International Computer Games
Association (ICGA). The full event schedule and additional information for
the media will be made available by FIDE.
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