Product Description
On May 11, 1997, as millions worldwide watched a stunning victory unfold on television, a machine shocked the chess world by defeating the defending world champion, Garry Kasparov. Written by the man who started the adventure, Behind Deep Blue reveals the inside story of what happened behind the scenes at the two historic Deep Blue vs. Kasparov matches. This is also the story behind the quest to create the mother of all chess machines. The book unveils how a modest student project eventually produced a multimillion dollar supercomputer, from the development of the scientific ideas through technical setbacks, rivalry in the race to develop the ultimate chess machine, and wild controversies to the final triumph over the world’s greatest human player.
In nontechnical, conversational prose, Feng-hsiung Hsu, the system architect of Deep Blue, tells us how he and a small team of fellow researchers forged ahead at IBM with a project they’d begun as students at Carnegie Mellon in the mid-1980s: the search for one of the oldest holy grails in artificial intelligence–a machine that could beat any human chess player in a bona fide match. Back in 1949 science had conceived the foundations of modern chess computers but not until almost fifty years later–until Deep Blue–would the quest be realized.
Hsu refutes Kasparov’s controversial claim that only human intervention could have allowed Deep Blue to make its decisive, “uncomputerlike” moves. In riveting detail he describes the heightening tension in this war of brains and nerves, the “smoldering fire” in Kasparov’s eyes. Behind Deep Blue is not just another tale of man versus machine. This fascinating book tells us how man as genius was given an ultimate, unforgettable run for his mind, no, not by the genius of a computer, but of man as toolmaker.
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I’m a chess player first, and am interested in computer hardware and software second. I followed both matches while they were being played, including the sad (yet typical) paranoid delusions Garry sufferred in the second game of the second match that the IBM team had cheated. My hopes were thus high for a book from the leader of the IBM team, discussing the dramatic confrontation with one of chess’s most notorious World Champions. Alas, the author ramblingly recounts insignificant details, sees the computer as some extension of his own ego and over and over claims credit for personally “beating” Garry, and provides way too much technical computer information for the average layman looking for a good read. I’m pretty sure if you ran into this guy at a party that within three minutes you’d make the decision to avoid him for the rest of the night, his writing is boring and full of that odd hubris that frequently afflict the computer people. A disappointment.
Amazon User Rating: 2 / 5
Conceit and self-righteousness have become the calling cards of anyone who can outdo someone or something with computers. Big deal. All the self adulation that has gone into this tacky piece of work can’t hold a candle to the fact that Gary Kasparov can play chess (and think!) Which is more than I can say about the vanity displayed by the author. Anyone who sets out to humiliate or bring down a champion by using questionable means has zero integrity. However, it’s to be expected from this kind of individual.
It is singularly unimpressive; vain and self indulgent.
Amazon User Rating: 2 / 5
The team was led by FS Hsu and CJ Tan, two great minds from Taiwan. Hsu tells the first things you should know about the computer. No book is complete about a theory or story; however, Hsu’s work is definitely an important start point for serious thinkers of AI. Some people claimed that he is kind of arrogant. Why not look at those self-proclaimed geniuses like SW, etc?
Hsu and Tan led a team of great minds and made the history.
And it rocks!
Amazon User Rating: 5 / 5
Behind Deep Blue details the development of the computer that eventually bettered World Chess Champion Garry Kasperov in a six game chess match. The focus of the book is on the development and programming of the series of machines that led to Deep Blue. The book includes details from the programmer’s point of view of many tournaments, frequently computer tournaments, but most importantly the matches against Kasperov.
Feng-Hsiung Hsu provides 10+ years of background regarding the process that went into the development of the machine. Not being a strong chess player, he is unable to provide much depth regarding the game annotations, and thus the book is rather thin for the average chess enthusiast expecting deep analysis. For those seeking to understand the mindset and strategy that goes into the development of sophisticated chess programs, Behind Deep Blue encompasses ample detail in this area.
In any other endeavor, a man versus machine matchup is met with mockery at best. Yet a team of developers with several decades of computer chess research at their fingertips, with an abundance of chess Grander Master input, with a machine capable of analyzing over 1 million moves per second, were only able to eek out a small victory against one man after more than a decade of work. Belittling the accomplishment of Deep Blue would be a disservice to the years of intelligent and hard work; however, Feng-Hsiung Hsu seems to imply the accomplishments are on equal basis; something that should leave a bad taste in the mouth of any objective reader.
If you seek a background of the developer perspective on the Deep Blue vs. Kasperov matches as well as the strategy behind Deep Blue’s creation, this book will prove sufficient. If you are seeking anything beyond a bland depiction of events lacking any chess depth, I advise passing on this book, as Hsu is not an overly engrossing writer.
Amazon User Rating: 2 / 5
“Behind deep blue” is the great feat of the applied technology (computer chip design, programming chess) over the human mind. This is a statement that should invite us to think and rethink, specially if we recall HAL 900 in 2001 (A space Odyssey). On one hand, one may be tempted to argue the chess is just a variegated set of combinations and nothing else; but besides there’s an unsolved question in the air; have we ruined the artistic beauty, the power of the mind and the sophisticated analysis behind every move?
This millenary game has enjoyed millions and millions of people around the world, without lacking age, sex, social condition, ideological beliefs or geographic latitude. But beneath these reflections underlies the expected desire to find out what made possible the apparently impossible.
Go for it.
Amazon User Rating: 5 / 5