Friday 10 September 2010

Seeking the Endgame Pt 1

The BBC World Service is very efficient. The 2 part chess documentary is being broadcast on the 10th and 17th of September, and they've already put part 1 online.
The major focus of the documentary is about the effect that computers are having on chess, but it approaches it from a human point of view. A number of famous voices appear in the documentary including Ian Rogers, Bill Hartston, David Levy and Anatoly Karpov. Computers as a tool for research, as a tool for creativity, and of course, as a tool for cheating are all covered. Why chess is so popular is also discussed, with Ian Rogers arguing that the ability to be creative is an attractive feature. Interestingly later on Bill Hartston opines that "chess the creative art" is somewhat overstated, instead describing chess as an "increasingly interpretive art".
I found the 22 minute program very entertaining and it is well worth a listen. You can download from here (it is about 10MB of data)

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