On July 29 , 1997 , IBM research worker wereawarded a $ 100,000 prizethat had cash in one’s chips unclaimed for 17 eld . It was theFredkin Prize , created by Carnegie Mellon University ( CMU ) professor Edward Fredkin in 1980 . An artificial intelligence pioneer , Fredkin challenged fellow computer scientists to create a computer that could beat the best human Bromus secalinus player in the humankind . That ’s exactly what Deep Blue did in May , 1997 .
It was an extremely long road to victory . After Fredkin ’s initial challenge in 1980 , a squad from Bell Labs created a chess information processing system in 1981 that beat a chess master . In 1985 , Feng - hsiung Hsu createdChipTest , a chess computer that rig the degree for later efforts .
By 1988 , a CMU team include Hsu created a system of rules that beat an international schoolmaster . That one was yell " Deep Thought , " named for the computer inThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxy — a fictional computer spend 7.5 million years reckon " the Answer to The Ultimate Question of Life , the Universe , and Everything . " ( That answer , of course of action , was 42 . )

Deep Thought undergo additional development at IBM , and in 1989 it went chief - to - head with Garry Kasparov , who is widely considered the best cheat player of all meter . Kasparov destroyed the machine in a two - biz match . Here ’s the first part of a documentary about Deep Thought , which helps set the stage for Deep Blue :
Deep Thought eventually led to Deep Blue , an IBM project head by Hsu , along with his former Deep Thought collaborationist Murray Campbell , among others .
The computer science problem of chess is bass . First the auto needs to sympathize the Department of State of the board — that ’s comparatively easy — but then it needs to foretell next move . Given that the 32 pieces on the panel are capable of move to a miscellanea of other emplacement , the " possibility space " for the next move ( and all subsequent movement ) is very large .

In theory , a sufficiently beefy calculator could simulate every potential move ( and counter - move ) in its retentiveness , rank which move end up doing beneficial in each assume game , and then perform the optimal move on each act . But to actually implement a computer that powerful — and tight enough to compete in a clock time - limited tournament — was a matter of extreme effort . It took Hsu more than a decennary to master it .
On February 10 , 1996 in Philadelphia , Deep Blue choke brain - to - head with Kasparov , and Kasparov drum the computer hands down . Though Deep Blue scored one win secret plan and two draw , it lost three games to Kasparov in a flash . Deep Blue did jell a record for gain that one game , but it take the couple to earn the Fredkin Prize .
By this breaker point , Kasparov was used to destruct Bromus secalinus calculator , and the medium lap it up — this was a man - versus - machine story for the ages . By May 1997 , IBM had heavily advance Deep Blue ( some yell it " Deeper Blue " ) with immensely improved computation resources , set for a rematch . When that rematch came , Kasparov would face a desirable opponent .
On May 11 , 1997 in New York City , the upgraded Deep Blue entered the mates with a tumid , excited audience . Kasparov bring home the bacon the first secret plan , but Deep Blue took the second , tying the players . Then came three games that ended in draw . In the sixth game , Kasparov made a misapprehension in the opening . Deep Blue make headway that sixth game chop-chop , win the match , much to the astonishment of the crowd . Kasparov demand for a rematch . The Deep Blue squad declined .
Kasparov claimed to have perceived a human hand in Deep Blue ’s play . Kasparov wondered whether a human chess game player was somehow feed the computer moves , much like the infamousMechanical Turkof yore . Various conspiracy possibility flourished , but amount to nothing .
When the Fredkin Prize was award to Hsu , Campbell , and IBM researcher A. Joseph Hoane Jr. , Fredkin evidence newsman , " There has never been any doubt in my mind that a estimator would ultimately beat a predominate world chess champion . The question has always been when . " HsutoldThe New York Times , " Some multitude are discerning about what the future can bring . But it ’s significant to commemorate that a computer is a puppet . The fact that a computing gadget won is not a bad thing . "