Game Over: Kasparov & the Machine - Wellington Film Society

Vikram Jayanti | Canada/UK | 2003 | PG

Intercut with feature film sequences and structured as a psychological thriller, this compelling film leads us into the brain of the brilliant chess player Gary Kasparov. In 1985, this Russian was the youngest world champion ever. He had been the undisputed leader of the international chess scene ever since. Until May 1997, when, under the scrutinizing eyes of the assembled world press, he lost a match to a machine, the IBM computer, Deep Blue. The controversial match lasted nine days, in which six games were played. Six years later, Kasparov, the International Grand Master, visits the scene of the catastrophe. With a mixture of self-mockery and frustration he recalls memories of his defeat against the machine. Illustrated by archive footage, the match is reconstructed. First, the Grand Master looks too self-confident; later he is exhausted and crushed. Many of the others involved explain how they experienced the match, including scientists and Grand Master consultants who had been responsible for the performance of the supercomputer. Kasparov keeps asserting that he has been taken, in one way or another. To him, a machine is stupid by definition. The scientists, however, are convinced that this was a defining moment: the birth of the ‘intelligent’ computer had become a reality.

Event listed by Wellington Film Society

View their other events or contact promoter