Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine (2003)

Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine is a documentary by Vikram Jayanti that chronicles the historic match between Garry Kasparov, the highest-rated chess player in history, and Deep Blue, a chess-playing computer created by IBM.

In 1997, the chess world witnessed a tumultuous battle. Garry Kasparov, the reigning World Champion for 15 years, faced off against Deep Blue—a machine designed specifically to beat him.

The stakes were high, and the world watched as human endurance and artificial intelligence collided on the chessboard.

Kasparov had previously defeated Deep Blue in a match played in 1996. However, he agreed to a rematch the subsequent year. The first game of the rematch was a testament to Kasparov’s brilliance—he won easily with the white pieces.

But the second game plunged him into a perilous situation. Struggling with the black pieces, he set a trap that most computers fall for. Deep Blue, however, didn’t fall into the trap and secured a victory, leveling the match.

As the games unfolded, Kasparov suspected foul play. He accused the IBM team of cheating, believing that a human player was secretly assisting Deep Blue during the games.

The film weaves in the story of the Turk—an eighteenth-century chess-playing automaton secretly operated by humans—as a metaphor for this suspicion.

Was Deep Blue’s heavily promoted victory part of a plot by IBM to boost its market value?

The documentary not only captures the technical intricacies of the match but also dives into the psychological realm. Kasparov’s mental state weakened as the games progressed.

Deep Blue ultimately won the decisive sixth game, making history as the first time a computer defeated the World Champion in a match of several games. The film leaves us with an enigma—did the machine truly outwit the man, or were there other forces at play?