Garry Kasparov: The Last Person To Defeat AI

    Garry Kasparov is arguably one the most dominant and greatest chess players to have ever lived. Rivaling names such as Fischer, Spassky, and even current age champions like Gukesh and Carlsen, Kasparov was a dominant leader in the chess community. He was born on April 13th, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan which during that time was part of the USSR. At 22, he was declared the undisputed world champion when he defeated USSR member Anatoly Karpov, a record which held until recently in 2024, however this title is disputed. He defended his title 3 times against Karpov in 1986, 1987 and 1990. He retired from chess in the early 2000s and spent time mentoring many who would threaten to be future world champions, including Magnus Carlsen. He also joined many political activist groups to resist the rise of Vladimir Putin in 2008, and even made an attempt to run for president. Due to logistical errors he had to withdraw, and following mass protests and possible persecution he left Russia to go to New York and eventually Croatia where he now resides. he's still part of numerous groups and organizations that help work towards human rights, and was even chairman of the Human Rights Foundation from 2011-2024.

    Kasparov's biggest accomplishment, however, was sitting before an unimaginable opponent in chess that was rising in the ranks back in 1996. This was no ordinary player, however, for this was Deep Blue AI. The strongest and rapidly growing chess machine to exist. Many AIs had existed prior to Deep Blue, but none stood nearly as strong of a chance to compete as Deep Blue did. Kasparov arranged a 6 game show match with the bot, to further the claim that AI was on a rise. While many believed Kasparov and his dominant form would be able to prove humans were stronger than robots, the match actually was much closer than expected. Kasparov ultimately won the match, winning 4-2. However, it was no easy task. He lost the first game, before coming back to win the second. Then after game 3 and 4 were draws, Kasparov came back to defeat the AI in the final two games. While this was a victory for Kasparov, it proceeded to begin the Age of AI, as this was the first time an AI had ever won a game against a reining world champion. A rematch was later held in 1997, where Kasparov was ultimately defeated 3.5-2.5. Marking the last moment in which humans could defeat AI in chess.

    In The Code Breaker by Walter Issacson, there is the discussion of CRISPR and its possibilities and moral dilemmas that approach as we discovered this. There were many when CRISPR first came out who believed that its immoral and wrong to use. This hindered its place in the world. Others embraced the idea and further tried to expand on it. This interesting dilemma translates over to these games of chess. This ushered in a new dawn of AI taking over the world of chess, and some even questioned if these computers should have even been made. From here both good and bad ideas and things have expanded from computers in the chess world. There have been many cheating scandals, many interesting stories of its adaptation, but also has helped usher in new forms of masters, using AI to advance their personal studies and making it easier for them to find new ideas to play the game. Ultimately, this will be the last time someone ever defeats AI in head to head combat, especially since with the rise of AI the ratings are no where near where humans are at. To put in in perspective, humans have peaked around 2900 rated, while Stockfish, one of the highest current engines, just hit about 4000. However it was this moment, along with the similar moment of discovering CRISPR, that ushered in a new age of good and bad ideas to flourish in the world. Where these ideas end up is in the hands of the future, and hopefully they will not be regretted.