Ever since IBM's Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov – retired champion and
reputedly the best player ever – in 1997, humans have failed to regain
dominance over increasingly powerful computers. But according to Veselin Topalov,
a 30-year-old Bulgarian who dominated the world chess organization (FIDE) championship
in October, people still have a small chance to hold their own.

Veselin Topalov playing Fritz 8 in Bilbao in 2004
"I find it fun playing computers. The only problem is that the psychological
duel does not exist. You cannot bluff. You cannot count on unforced errors,"
he told Reuters. "You have to find a special strategy completely different
from what you would do against humans."

... and Deep Junior. Topalov scored 1.5 points in four games against computers
Computers dominate humans in stamina and "concentration" –
they don't get tired or buckle under pressure – and are tactically far
superior in measuring the power of a position or calculating whether an offence
will succeed.