New chess duel Man vs Machine

by ChessBase
3/1/2006 – At the end of November this year classical chess world champion Vladimir Kramnik will take up the challenge of facing a computer program in a six-game match, to be held in the very prestigious Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn, Germany. Kramnik stands to win one million US dollars if he beats the opponent, Deep Fritz. Press release.

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PRESS RELEASE

Wednesday, 1st March 2006

CHESS DUEL MAN VS. MACHINE:
WORLD CHAMPION KRAMNIK VS. DEEP FRITZ

Six Game Match from 25.11. to 05.12.06 in Germany’s Art and Exhibition Hall
One Million US Dollars for a win against the world's strongest chess program
Peer Steinbrück Patron of the event


Classical Chess World Champion Vladimir Kramnik

The classical World Chess Champion against the world's strongest computer program: In the WORLD CHESS CHALLENGE (WCC) 2006 classical chess World Champion Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) will play a match against the world's leading chess computer program, Deep Fritz (Germany). The duel will take place from November 25th to December 5th, 2006, in the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn. It is part of an event series entitled "The Culture of Play". Patron of the WCC 2006 is Peer Steinbrück, the German Minister of Finance.


Germany's Minister of Finance Peer Steinbrück playing an
exhibition game against Vladimir Kramnik in 2005

The duel between the 30-year old World Champion from Russia and the computer program, produced by the software company ChessBase in Hamburg, is set for six games. Vladimir Kramnik has the chance to win one million US-Dollar. Specifically: the World Champion can double his starting fee of 500,000 US-Dollar – if he defeats Deep Fritz and decides the six-round duel in his favor.

Asked how he estimates his chances, Kramnik reacted cautiously: "Fritz examines millions of moves per second. It is extraordinarily difficult to play against such a calculating monster. Right from the start you are walking on a very narrow ridge, and you know that any inattentiveness will be your downfall. It is a scientific experiment and I will have to fight very hard for my chance."

The WCC is being organized by Universal Event Promotion (UEP), in cooperation with the Art and Exhibition Hall. "We are very pleased to promote this top class match, which is taking place at such a marvelous venue. In the year of computer science the match 'Man vs. Machine' is a very special highlight", emphasizes UEP investor and match director Josef Resch.


Kramnik vs Deep Fritz in Bahrain 2002

The great chess duels between human and artificial intelligence, played at the highest level, have always fascinated the public. In 1997 former World Champion Garry Kasparov (Russia) lost in New York against Deep Blue. Kramnik, who defeated Kasparov in their world championship match in 2000, achieved a draw against Deep Fritz in Bahrain in 2002, just as Kasparov did a year later against Deep Junior in New York.


Kramnik playing a simul in the Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn, Germany

After years of technical advancement the fascinating encounters between man and machine now enter a new phase: Is man with his strategic abilities able to put up resistance against the brute calculating power of the machine?

Schedule

Game 1: Saturday 25.11.2006 15:00 h
Game 2: Monday 27.11.2006 15:00 h
Game 3: Wednesday 29.11.2006 15:00 h
Game 4: Friday 01.12.2006 15:00 h
Game 5: Sunday 03.12.2006 15:00 h
Game 6: Tuesday 05.12.2006 15:00 h

Note: During the entire period of the match the Arts and Exhibition Hall will offer a varied top class program. Information: www.bundeskunsthalle.de. Press contact Art and Exhibition Hall: Maja Majer-Wallat. majer-wallat@kah-bonn.de.

Organiser and partners

UNIVERSAL EVENT PROMOTION GmbH
Universal Event Promotion GmbH is the organizer of the WORLD CHESS CHALLENGE 2006. The company was founded 2005 in Dortmund and specializes in organizing and carrying out national and international events.

ART AND EXHIBITION HALL OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
Since 1992 more than 12 million visitors have found their way to the renowned Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany. Visual arts, cultural history, science and technology are central themes – and, of course, chess. The Art and Exhibition Hall is the first cultural institution to intensively embrace chess. Two years ago the starting shot was fired, when 500 spectators watched World Champion Kramnik play a simultaneous exhibition against 20 opponents in the Forum of the Art and Exhibition Hall: www.bundeskunsthalle.de.

CHESSBASE GmbH
For 18 years now ChessBase has developed and distributed chess databases, chess playing programs and chess training courses for PCs. The ChessBase GmbH has its office in Hamburg, with 20 permanent employees and a large number of freelance contributors, among them some of the world’s top grandmasters. Almost all chess professionals use ChessBase programs, which are translated in up to 12 languages. They are the favorites of chess amateurs and casual players as well. The best-known chess programs are FRITZ and the children’s chess tutorial FRITZ & CHESSTER. ChessBase also runs the world's biggest Internet chess server, "schach.de" / "playchess.com", with 200,000 registered members and 120 million games played so far. The news services www.chessbase.com and www.chessbase.de are the leading chess news sites in the world. ChessBase GmbH, Mexikoring 35, D-22297 Hamburg, Tel.: +49-40-639060-0; Fax: +49-(0)-40-6301282, E-Mail: info@chessbase.com

Press contact:
Rolf Behovits, Press officer World Chess Challenge 2006, E-Mail: pr-behovits@uumail.de
Universal Event Promotion GmbH, Eicktelgenweg 18, D-44309 Dortmund/Germany
T: +49-231-20 14 44, F: +49-231-25 16 87, UEPinfo@aol.com


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