Still, some attendees noted the similarities between chess and football. Football hasn't existed for more than a few centuries, at best.'' It helped that neither of their favorite teams was playing.īesides, as Joseph Hrostowski, who followed the game online from his home in Phoenix, wrote in an e-mail message: ''Chess has been with the human race for perhaps more than 1,000 years. ''I think this is more important for humanity,'' conceded Sharon Bogas, a cello student at Juilliard whose boyfriend admitted dragging her to the event because he had recently discovered a passion for chess. The program has not lost to a human in two years. The two Israeli programmers who designed Deep Junior, Amir and Shay Bushinsky, say that instead of relying on sheer calculation power, their program incorporates artificial intelligence that gives it more humanlike judgment. Kasparov was widely regarded as having failed to play his best, but the company declined his request for a rematch. Kasparov lost a highly publicized battle against Deep Blue, the computer that I.B.M. But even some football fans said the drama of humankind trying to maintain dominance over ever more powerful machines was more compelling than that other game - at least this year. At least one spectator wore a Star Trek badge. It is safe to say that Thomas was not alone.
''I'm the local nerd,'' he added, matter-of-factly. ''You can watch the whole game on the Internet,'' Thomas explained. Thomas Powers, 14, who came from Philadelphia with his parents and 9-year-old brother, Andrew, said he would have preferred to be home, where his friends were having a Super Bowl party for people who are not interested in the Super Bowl. Not everyone in the audience was so unconflicted. ''This is a historic event,'' said Zak Maymin, 53, munching on the brie and crackers that are this tournament's snack food of choice. Kasparov was going to get his hat handed to him again by a computer, although Mr.
Ashley said, in an admirable stab at sportscaster speak. Two chess grandmasters, Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley, provided running commentary: ''Let's get right to the point, Yasser,'' Mr. Playoff Simulator: Explore every team’s path to the postseason, updated live.Vincent Jackson Diagnosed With C.T.E.: His widow recounted the decline of the popular former pro, who was found dead in a hotel room in February, days after his former team won the Super Bowl.Tweaks Covid-19 Protocols Amid Surge: The league will send players at-home testing kits, allowing those who are vaccinated to identify and self-report a possible infection. Green Bay Clinches Playoff Spot: Packers earn league’s first postseason berth as Ravens again fail to convert a late 2-point attempt.Week 15 Takeaways: What we learned from this week’s N.F.L.''Obviously football has some strategy, but it really comes down to who is bigger.'' ''In chess you're dealing with intellect,'' said Brian DePasquale, 19, a sophomore physics major at Fordham Univeristy. But the audience at the Athletic Club - and hundreds of thousands more who tuned in over the Internet - barely seemed to have noticed. Organizers said they regretted that scheduling hurdles forced the event to coincide with America's biggest sporting event. Kasparov scored an initial victory for humanity. Twenty-seven moves later, shortly before halftime, Mr. The first game of a six-game match between Garry Kasparov, the world's leading chess player, and Deep Junior, a computer program, kicked off yesterday at 3:48 p.m, about three hours before the Super Bowl. As most Americans huddled around the television last evening to watch the annual clash of the nation's two strongest football teams, 400 chess fans at the New York Athletic Club were glued to a man-versus-machine showdown that many seemed to feel was somehow more profound.