Fourteen years ago, Garry Kasparov took on “the world” over the Internet. More than 50,000 players in 75 countries voted each day to chose the “world’s” moves against the then-world champion in what quickly became one of the most intensely watched chess games ever played.
Kasparov called it the “greatest game ever,” and it earned intense interest even from nonplayers for months, before it ended in his victory.
Last month, another Internet game, Varuzhan Akobian versus “the world,” ended in a crushing win for “the wisdom of the crowd” — and hardly anyone outside of the serious chess community noticed.
The one-sided nature of the latest game can be blamed on computers.
Back in 1999, both sides relied on grandmaster advisers as well as programs, particularly in the complex queen-and-pawn ending.
But the software generally available in 1999 was primitive compared to what you can buy for a few hundred dollars today.
Computers didn’t seem to play a major role when Los Angeles-based Akobian, a solid GM, took on “the world” as White in 2011, and drew in 32 moves.
But, in the rematch, the computer-guided “world” had virtually a won game after 18 Nf1, and the inevitable death blow on the g-file was just a matter of time.