“In the end they crumbled, like humans have done for centuries. The best way to beat such an opponent would be to play. “Both of them were playing interesting, fascinating chess, but the level of mistakes was quite high because of the tension and the pressure,” Anand said. Humans, however, remain human, as the match between Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi shows. “The average level in chess is definitely going up, and the grandmasters at the top have much more sophisticated concepts that they’re able to play because they’ve been exposed to them,” he said. Chess engines are now available to almost anyone, as well as internet access to better teachers, better teaching materials and an enormous online database of played games. “In the first five games, Ian was able to match up to this and cope pretty well… but in game six it seemed that psychologically he collapsed first, and Magnus has been rampaging after that.”Īnand stressed that computers do make a difference, and not just to grandmasters. “Carlsen has been trying to do this the whole match, which is to take the game out of what we call the ‘theory book’ early so that he is forced to think on his own,” Anand said. What’s more, chess experts say Carlsen won the latest games in part by departing from the ideal sequence that Nepomniachtchi might have expected from his computerized analysis - a particularly human trick. “Their differences are because they still have a human understanding of the game, and humans still have to make some of the decisions.”

“Both had access to more or less the same machine help,” Doggers said of Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi. But his pending defeat undermines the idea that training with computers gives chess players an unbeatable advantage. Nepomniachtchi was thought to have an edge with his access to a sophisticated supercomputer that allowed him to evaluate tens of millions of chess positions per second during his preparations. “They are expanding theory, they are researching moves - mostly the possibilities of moves in the opening phase.”ĭoggers rejects the idea that chess engines will make the game obsolete by training the top practitioners to play “perfect” chess. Ready to Play Chess Play Online Play Friends vs Computer Tournaments. “They’re doing what players have been doing since at least the 16th century, when the Spanish bishop was inventing the Spanish Opening,” he said. The very best players would still fare well against the best computers. Peter Doggers, the news and events director for, said that’s a logical extension of the preparation that’s always been done.

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