IN just about every household, shop, and in the workplace, you will find a computer. There are computers all around us and — you’ve guessed it — there are many chess games you can get for your computer as well.

In 1992, I was in London at a chess supplier’s called BCM (British Chess magazine). As you can imagine (especially coming from Bermuda), I was in my glory and so excited to explore a shop Just for Chess and chess accessories.

The salesman told me that the shop had not long moved to this particular area and, to mark the opening, they had a special on. The special was if you could win a game on this new computer called the Fritz, they would give you one.

I had seen a few people try and fail. In my shopping that day I bought a lot of books, so much so that I was given a chess CD called Deep Junior>— but I also didn’t win a game on the computer! And, at that time, I did not own a computer.

The president of FIDE, the game’s ruling body, has now made the Ultimate Computer Chess Challenge. This is the world’s first two computers doing battle against each other — Deep Junior v Deep Fritz.

The event takes place during the final stages of the Candidates’ matches for the World Championship (with humans playing) from May 26 to June 14.

This tournament will run from June 5-12. There is a $100,000 prize fund, giving $60,000 to the winner and $40,000 to the loser. They will have IM David Levy as Arbiter.

Deep Junior (the computer) gave world champion Garry Kasparov a hard time in 2003 with the computer sacrificing a bishop in match 13. Nowadays there is a computer bearing Kaparov’s name. That year when I was in England, I did manage to have a few games on my son’s computer with a club setting. Even though the computer won most of the games, I did manage to win a few myself. Here is one that I played; the computer is playing White and I was playing Black.

In diagram 1, the computer made its 19th move, Nc6, attacking my queen. The first thing I thought, it was a blunder but if you look closer you can see that my king is on the diagonal bishop d3 square. It’s a good thing that I did not capture it with my knight.

In diagram 2, the computer was attacking my rook with its bishop on b3. Instead of moving this rook, I came up with a beautiful combination. And there it is in diagram 3. The computer is forced to move. It cost me a knight and rook but I got a queen in the end. And in diagram 4, it is my 29th move and the computer’s queen is gone. In 49 moves, I ended the game with checkmate.

Computer: White

Larry Ebbin: Black

1. e4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. d5 a6 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. 0-0 Nbd7 7. c3 Nc5 8. Bc2 Nfxe4 9. Ng5 Nxg5 10. Bxg5 Bd7 11. b4 Bb5 12. Re1 f6 13. Be3 Nd7 14. Bb3 Ne5 15. Na3 Bd7 16. h3 0-0 17. Nc2 g5 18. Nd4 g4 19. Nc6 bxc6 20. dxc6+ Kh8 21. cxd7 Qxd7 22. Bc2 gxh3 23. Qh5 h2+ 24. Qxh2 f5 25. f3 Rg8 26. Bb3 Nxf3+ 27. gxf3 Be5+ 28. Bxg8 Rxg8+ 29. Kh1 Bxh2 30. Kxh2 e5 31. Rg1 Rxg1 32. Rxg1 f4 33. Bd2 Qa4 34. Ra1 Qc2 35. Rg1 Qxd2+ 36. Rg2 Qxc3 37. Rf2 Qxb4 38. Kg2 h5 39. Kg1 Kh7 40. Rh2 Qe1+ 41. Kg2 Qg3+ 42. Kh1 Qxf3+ 43. Rg2 h4 44. Kh2 h3 45. Rc2 c5 46. Rb2 Qg3+ 47. Kh1 Kg6 48. Rd2 Kf5 49. Rh2 Qe1

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