The Chess Mind

The odds match between Rybka and Dzindzichashvili ended in a 4-4 tie, and the plans to have a 4-game playoff today were cancelled, as Dzindzi had a family emergency. Hopefully all's well there, and maybe we'll see a rematch in the near future.

On day 4 of the Rybka-Dzindzichashvili odds match (Dzindzi gets White in every game plus a different Black pawn in every game), Dzindzi caught back up, winning game 7 (with the extra g-pawn) and drawing game 8. It wasn't part of the original deal, but they're going to have a 4-game playoff today (Saturday). Rybka will play without the f-pawn in every game, which is probably the biggest handicap pawn, but the time control will be a relatively speedy 20' + 5", which is surely in its favor.

Meanwhile, today's games can be replayed here.

Carbon made a small comeback today in the odds match between GM Roman Dzindzichashvili and Rybka, as both games were drawn against the silicon beast. The event finishes tomorrow, with Dzindzi first receiving Black's g-pawn in game 7 and the h-pawn in game 8. Meanwhile, you can replay today's draws here.

Monday was a good day for Roman Dzindzichashvili in his pawn-odds match with the computer program Rybka, but Wednesday, the second day of their match, was not. Giving up the c- and d-pawns, respectively, Rybka won both games against the American GM to take the lead in the eight game match.

Games here. (Note: the funny opening moves designed to set up the proper pawn-odds position are given on the site; they're not an expedient on my part to create the proper start position.)

All those years of playing computers have paid off for GM Roman Dzindzichashvili so far, as the first day against Rybka with pawn and move has given him a draw and a win. It would be nicer if he was ahead without any odds, but I guess we'll take what we can get at this point.

Games here.

Rybka, probably the strongest commercially available program out there at the moment, has been beating up on humans the last year, handily defeating GMs while offering various sorts of odds. (More about that here.) Starting tomorrow (Monday), it's time for a new challenge: an eight-game match with Roman Dzindzichashvili, once one of the world's strongest grandmasters and a real anti-computer expert. "Dzindzi" will have White and an extra pawn in every game (Rybka will play without the a-pawn in one game, the b-pawn in another, etc.) The time control will be G/45 + 10 seconds, with two games a day on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. More info here.