Author: Leon Stancliff
Date: 13:19:46 02/27/99
While scrounging around in the research area of ICC, I found what I think is very interesting data. I have been interested for many years in the human vs computer chess ratings. It is but a matter of time before any person who desires will be able to own a computer chess program that plays at lower grandmaster level, even at time limits of 40/2. Why does this seem to be such a hot topic? Automobiles make faster time than the top human runners. Machines are also superior to humans in other areas. The reason this is so intriguing is that we are here considering human thought processes, and also that the competition is very close. Here is the data I found. I first looked at the Fide ratings of the grandmasters on ICC who were in the 2500 to 2600 range. There were about fifty of these persons. I compared their ICC Blitz ratings with their Fide ratings. The average Fide rating was 2532. The average ICC Blitz rating of these persons was 2686, or 154 points higher than the Fide rating. The average Blitz rating of the seven highest computer programs was 2929. Thus the computer programs were clearly superior to the grandmasters in the 2500-2600 range at Blitz times. Next comes the shocker! Although very few grandmasters are willing to play at ICC standard times, there were ten who had played enough games to be significant. These ten grandmasters had ICC standard ratings of 2456. The same ten had Fide ratings of 2541. Note that the standard ICC rating is 85 points lower than the Fide rating. Obviously these standard games were played at much shorter time limits than 40/2. Still, these figures would cause us to be suspicious that top computers which are rated above 2500 are more than capable of competing on even terms with grandmasters rated under 2600 Fide. Come on grandmasters. Let us see some more standard games at 30 0 against the top computer programs! Losses do not take away from your prestige. Are you game?
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