Author: Francesco Di Tolla
Date: 13:50:14 09/27/04
Hi folks: I'm reporting about a match between Michele Godena (GM) and Deep
Junior.
The game was played in Trento (Italy) in a research institute. The event was
organized thanks to the collaboration of IRST (the Research institute) and Haifa
University. Both deal with AI related topics of research.
The event was hosted with a fine organization, which resulted in a huge crowd (I
guess more than 100 people were attending) in a room where two masters (Stefano
de Eccher (FM) and Stefano Moncher) where commenting while other speakers were
giving some talks on AI related topics while the game progressed on two wide
screens on the back.
The speakers were Marco Gori, Giuseppe Longo, Martin Golombic, and Shay
Bushinsky.
The only talk strictly related to chess was presented by Shay with an
interesting history of computer chess. Unluckily he had no option to complete
his presentation (the one I was most interested into :-() cause DJ pretended
the attention of the masses with a crushing attack.
[Event "Machine vs. Man"]
[Site "IRST - Trento (Italy)"]
[Date "2004.09.27"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Deep JuniorEM"]
[Black "Michele Godena"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C78"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Bb7 8. d3
b4 {Deep Junior here was out of book, this move was already played by Godena in
a
recent game.} 9. c3 $1 {
Godena thinks it is important for white to play in the center with c3 and d4}
9... d6 10. a5 $5 {a move in Juniors style, which will give a "shape" to the
game: white fixes some pawn weaknesses on the queen side.} 10... h6 {
here FM de Eccher asked to Godena if this was necessary.} (10... O-O 11. Bg5 {
was an option to don't weaken the kingside after de Eccher, but Godena said
that he doesn't like pins and that if he can avoid them, he does}) 11. d4 Ba7
12. Be3 {Deep Junior plays a sac, or better a pseudo sac} 12... O-O {
but Godena doesn't fall in the trap} (12... Nxe4 $6 {was not good} 13. Bd5 Nf6
14. Bxc6+ Bxc6 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Qxd8+ Kxd8 17. Nxe5 Bd5 {
was clearly bad for black}) 13. Nbd2 bxc3 ({
here Godena made an interesting comment: many people would have not allowed}
13... Ng4 {, and would have played h3, because of a dogmatic view, but after}
14. h3 Nxe3 15. fxe3 {(+/- de Eccher) white has to much activity thanks to the
f-file, while he has a dead bishop "hitting against concrete"}) 14. bxc3 exd4
$5 {de Eccher and Moncher did not like this, cause it opens up to much the
position, which is bad against a computer. Also white gets some potential
activity on the c-file} ({here we see that the drawback of h6:} 14... Re8 15.
Bxf7+ Kxf7 16. Qb3+) 15. cxd4 Nb4 16. Qb1 Rb8 $1 {Shay here reported that
Junior evaluation dropped a little and stated we must admit Godena has handled
the position in an effective way} 17. Re1 d5 $2 {this a blunder as Godena
admitted: he wanted to get some play but this helps white to build a nice
attack} (17... c5 {Godena suggested this as an alternative}) ({
while for de Eccher} 17... Ng4 {
is playable now cause the rook is not on the f-file any} 18. Bf4 (18. h3 Nxe3
19. Rxe3) 18... Qf6) 18. e5 Nd7 ({Godena did not like} 18... Ne4 {cause of} 19.
e6 f5 {ant white has the initiative} (19... fxe6 $2 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Bxe6+ $16
)) ({I modestly suggested} 18... Nh7 {as a way to avoid the next move, but
Godena claims that if you have to play that you're admitting you're worse}) 19.
e6 $1 {again a pseudosac that helps to destroy the kingside pawns} 19... fxe6
20. Bxh6 $1 Qf6 (20... gxh6 $4 {was not an option} 21. Qg6+ Kh8 22. Qxh6+ Kg8
23. Qg6+ Kh8 24. Ng5 {ant the threat Re3-h3 is killing}) 21. Bg5 Qf7 22. Bh4 {
and black pawns are scattered and weak} 22... Rfe8 23. Bg3 $5 ({
most of the people in the room expected} 23. Ng5 {but after} 23... Qf5 {
the king is not really in danger, so Deep Junior prefers to keep the game
"complex" and the queen over the board}) 23... Nf8 24. Ba4 {here kibitzers
expected black to drop a piece or an exchange at least: but Godena sees a way
to hold all the pieces, but a pawn falls. A miserable pawn that will decide
the game. More or less here de Eccher commented that we must notice that white
is not getting material and evaluating +3 which is non trivial for a program,
Shay did reply that this is due to the "third axis": beside material and
space Deep Junior evaluates "time", i.e. activity and here he sees a lot of
potential in it.} 24... Bc6 25. Ne5 Qf6 26. Ndf3 Bxa4 27. Rxa4 Nc6 28. Qd3 Nxe5
29. Bxe5 $1 {
after the more or less forced sequence white gains a tempo to get the a6 pawn}
29... Qf5 30. Qxa6 {the question is now where to put the B} 30... Rb1 $5 (30...
Ra8 {is clearly miserable}) 31. Ra1 Rxa1 32. Rxa1 Rb8 $1 {
Godena does his best to keep it living} 33. Rf1 ({Godena said that this is
the only move where he think white could have done better with} 33. h3 {
his Idea was} 33... Rb1+ 34. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 35. Kh2 {to try to hold with} 35... Qb8
) {now Junior steps in unnecessary complications, well may be he did not feel
like that at all, but we must remember a game of the famous match
Kasparov-Deep Blue match where both missed a potential perpetual} 33... Rb1 34.
Qxa7 Rxf1+ 35. Kxf1 Qb1+ 36. Ke2 (36. Ne1 {was again a safer option} 36... Qb5+
37. Kg1 Qe2 38. h3 Qxe1+ 39. Kh2 $18 {
were black runs out of checks, and the pawn decides}) 36... Qb5+ 37. Ke3 Qb3+ (
37... Ng6 38. Qxc7) 38. Kf4 Qc2 39. h4 {but Deep Junior shows there is no
perpetual: also notice that white can always take in c7 and later in g7 to get
a won ending sacrificing a bishop to exchange the queens} 39... Qxf2 (39... Qf5+
40.
Kg3 Ng6 (40... Qg6+ 41. Kh2) 41. Qb8+ Kh7 42. Qxc7 Nxe5 43. Qxe5) 40. Qb8 $1 {
Godena does not like pins, and here he loses the last option for a desperate
attack} 40... Qxg2 41. a6 Qe2 $5 42. Qxc7 Ng6+ 43. Kg3 Nxe5 44. Qd8+ Kh7 45.
dxe5 (45. dxe5 Qxa6 46. Ng5+ Kg6 47. Qe8+ Kf5 48. Qf7+ Kxe5 49. Qf4#) 1-0
For me it was the opportunity to meet Shay, actually the first time I meet
someone of this forum, and we both had to agree that the number of spectators
was impressive for such an event: we had from the youngsters, fellows of the
nearby university (where I had my undergraduate studies by the way) till the
old-foxes of the Cafes that where kibitzing moves on some humorous nonsense one
in a while. With a mix of chess fans and AI students/experts, the game went on
with a strange aura, as if it was the first time a man and a machine met.
We all know this is not the case, and this game means little in the history of
Men vs. Machine, only a further grain over the pile that is building from
decades.
But it was fun to watch.
p.s. Junior run on a quad PC with 1GB of ram and the thinking time was
90'+30s/40 15'+30s to complete.
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