World chess champion Garry Kasparov loses game to computer
On February 10, 1996, after three hours, world chess champion Garry Kasparov loses the first game of a six-game match against Deep Blue, an IBM computer capable of evaluating 200 million moves per second. Man was ultimately victorious over machine, however, as Kasparov bested Deep Blue in the match with three wins and two ties and took home the $400,000 prize. An estimated 6 million people worldwide followed the action on the internet.
Kasparov had previously defeated Deep Thought, the prototype for Deep Blue developed by IBM researchers in 1989, but he and other chess grandmasters had, on occasion, lost to computers in games that lasted an hour or less. The February 1996 contest was significant in that it represented the first time a human and a computer had duked it out in a regulation, six-game match, in which each player had two hours to make 40 moves, two hours to finish the next 20 moves and then another 60 minutes to wrap up the game.
Kasparov, who was born in 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan, became the Soviet Union’s junior chess champion at age 13 and in 1985, at age 22, the youngest world champ ever when he beat legendary Soviet player Anatoly Karpov. Considered by many to be the greatest chess player in the history of the game, Kasparov was known for his swashbuckling style of play and his ability to switch tactics mid-game.
In 1997, a rematch took place between Kasparov and an enhanced Deep Blue. Kasparov won the first game, the computer the second, with the next three games a draw. On May 11, 1997, Deep Blue came out on top with a surprising sixth game win–and the $700,000 match prize.
In 2003, Kasparov battled another computer program, “Deep Junior.” The match ended in a tie. Kasparov retired from professional chess in 2005.
ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
2014
Iconic child star Shirley Temple dies at 85
On February 10, 2014, Shirley Temple Black, who as a child in the 1930s became one of Hollywood’s most successful stars, dies at her Woodside, California, home at age 85. The plucky, curly-haired performer sang, danced and acted in dozens of films by the time she was a teen.
ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1957
Laura Ingalls Wilder, chronicler of American frontier life, dies
On February 10, 1957, Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the best-selling “Little House” series of children’s novels based on her childhood on the American frontier, dies at age 90 in Mansfield, Missouri. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born in a log cabin near Pepin.
COLONIAL AMERICA
1763
The French and Indian War ends
The Seven Years’ War, a global conflict known in America as the French and Indian War, ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris by France, Great Britain and Spain.
COLD WAR
1962
U.S.-Soviet spy swap
On February 10, 1962, American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is released by the Soviets in exchange for Soviet Colonel Rudolf Abel, a senior KGB spy who was caught in the United States five years earlier. The two men were brought to separate sides of the Glienicker Bridge.
VIETNAM WAR
1971
Journalists killed in helicopter crash
Four journalists, including photographer Larry Burrows of Life magazine, Kent Potter of United Press International, Nenri Huett of the Associated Press and Keisaburo Shimamoto of Newsweek, die in a South Vietnamese helicopter operating in Laos.
WESTWARD EXPANSION
1846
Latter-day Saints begin exodus to Utah
Their leader assassinated and their homes under attack, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as Mormons) of Nauvoo, Illinois, begin a long westward migration that eventually brings them to the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1972
Ziggy Stardust makes his earthly debut
It was one of those events that virtually nobody witnessed, but many wish they had: the concert at London’s Toby Jug pub on February 10, 1972, when the relatively minor rocker named David Bowie became the spaceman Ziggy Stardust.
ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
2006
Final episode of “Arrested Development” airs on Fox
Celebrated by critics and beloved by its relatively small but devout fan base, the Fox television series Arrested Development airs its last episode on Fox on February 10, 2006. Arrested Development, created by Mitchell Hurwitz, premiered in November 2003.
NATURAL DISASTERS & ENVIRONMENT
1970
Avalanche buries skiers in France
On February 10, 1970, an avalanche crashes down on a ski resort in Val d’Isere, France, killing 42 people, mostly young skiers. This disaster was the worst such incident in French history. The resort at Val d’Isere was operated by a nonprofit youth organization and attracted many tourists.
CRIME
1992
Star boxer Mike Tyson convicted of rape
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, accused of raping 18-year-old beauty-pageant contestant Desiree Washington, is found guilty by an Indiana jury. The following month, Tyson was given a 10-year prison sentence, with four years suspended.
INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1966
Auto safety crusader Ralph Nader testifies before Congress
On February 10, 1966, Ralph Nader, a young lawyer and the author of the groundbreaking book “Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile,” testifies before Congress for the first time about unsafe practices in the auto industry.
Comments
Post a Comment