The World Chess Championship Mexico-2007 featuring eight chess
Grand Masters (GM), including world champion Vladimir Kramnik of
Russia, also started on Thursday an on-site computer 10-game match
facing two top chess computer programs, Rybka and Zappa.
Kramnik said on Wednesday that computers are stronger than human
beings. It is not necessary to match human beings against
computers.
Armenian GM Levon Aronian said "our opening preparation is
better than the computers'."
From September 20-27, Rybka chess program, World Computer Chess
Champion-2007 will play against Zappa, World Computer Chess
Champion 2005, and vice champion in 2007.
Fans are invited to watch the match free of charge at the site,
while they must pay 300 Mexican pesos (some 30 U.S. dollars) to
watch the world's best players face each other.
The first computer match game (Ruy Lopez opening) on Thursday
ended in a 73-move draw. The computer games start at 10:00 local
time and can also be seen through internet.
Both programs are well-known worldwide and head the rating-lists
of all independent agencies of chess programs. The match will
consist of 10 games, with a 60-minute per game plus 20 seconds per
move time control.
The schedule of the games is from September 20 to 27 in Hotel
Centro Historico Sheraton in Mexico City.
The match will be played on two identical 8-cores computers with
a prize fund of US$10,000.
(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2007)