Latest news with #GarryKasparov
Atlantic
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Coming Soon: A New Season of ‘Autocracy in America'
The former world chess champion and lifelong democracy activist Garry Kasparov guides a new series of conversations about society's complacency with liberal values and how this carelessness has fueled a democratic retreat—and a new belligerence among dictators. New episodes launch every Friday, starting July 11. The following is a transcript of the trailer: Frank Luntz: I know you're gonna get into some stuff—some pretty heavy stuff—but this is Garry Kasparov. I can't believe it. [ Music ] Garry Kasparov: When I was young, I was lucky because, as a chess prodigy, I could travel outside of the Soviet Union to play tournaments abroad. And I experienced for myself that life felt different in a democracy. The world celebrated in 1991, when the dictatorship of the Soviet Union gave way to new democracies. And I, too, hoped freedom was on the rise. Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen: Of course, the empire did not want to let us go easily. Kasparov: But in the decades that followed, we've seen the steady advance of autocratic regimes, a new belligerence from dictators and autocrats worldwide, and democracies in retreat. Masih Alinejad: For dictators, for the Islamic Republic, for Putin, for all the autocratic regime, America is first. Their first target is the destruction of American values. Kasparov: Even America, a beacon of hope to me and for countless millions of others, has shown itself vulnerable to the virus of authoritarianism and corruption. Anne Applebaum: If you lie or your propagandists lie nonstop, then the reaction of the public is to say, Right. You know, politics is a dirty game. I have no idea what is true and what's not true. Gary Marcus: I mean, that's exactly what's happening in the United States right now—is techno fascism. Alinejad: You called it hypocrisy. Kasparov: I'm trying to be diplomatic. I'm the host of the show. Alinejad: I call it absolutely betrayal. Kasparov: So I'm fighting the same battle I fought in Russia. Kasparov: In Russia, we lost the fight. Here, I like our chances, and I like them much more. Bret Stephens: I mean, this country is big, resilient. And we've made big mistakes and recovered from those mistakes in the past. Kasparov: But defenders of the free world can no longer take our liberties for granted. Luntz: You, several times, have tried to get me to tell you, Here's a roadmap to restore our democracy. And you should know, I'm writing that roadmap as we speak. Kasparov: I'm Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion and lifetime activist for democracy. Join me this summer for a new season of Autocracy in America, from The Atlantic. Listen and follow the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russian chess legend linked to South Sudan coup plot
Garry Kasparov, a former world chess champion and Russian opposition figure, has been implicated in an alleged coup plot in South Sudan, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The grandmaster is said to have introduced a local activist to a US financier who unknowingly funded a plan to procure weapons. The alleged plot emerged from the US prosecution of Peter Ajak, a Harvard fellow and exiled South Sudanese activist, as well as his associate, Abraham Keech. The two are facing federal charges of conspiring to illegally export arms to South Sudan; both pleaded not guilty. Ajak – who allegedly wanted to buy AK-47s and Stinger missiles to topple the government – lacked the cash to put his plan in motion, Bloomberg said. However, he received $7 million from Robert Granieri, a co-founder of the Jane Street trading firm, sources told the agency. Granieri insists that he was 'duped' into funding the coup plot, with his lawyer claiming that the financier thought the money would be used to support human rights activism. The alleged plot also involved Kasparov, who introduced Ajak to Granieri, Bloomberg said, noting that the chess grandmaster met Ajak during his tenure as chair of the Human Rights Foundation. Responding to a question about the case, Kasparov neither confirmed nor denied his involvement, telling Bloomberg via his spokesperson: 'My record and my values are clear, and they remain unchanged. I have spent much of my life standing up for civil rights and promoting democracy around the world.' Neither Kasparov nor Granieri is facing charges. South Sudan was embroiled in a multi-sided civil war from 2013 to 2020, with factional conflicts still a major source of instability. The clashes have been accompanied by a humanitarian disaster, numerous atrocities, ethnic cleansings, and mass deportations. Kasparov, a liberal activist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest chess players ever, has a history of making controversial political statements. In 2016, he defended the US decision to invade Iraq, stating that he 'cannot condemn any action that removes a dictator.' Later, he opposed US talks with Iran over its nuclear program and criticized Washington for withdrawing from Syria. In a May 2024 opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, Kasparov openly advocated for 'regime change' in Russia and Iran. A vocal critic of the Russian government for decades, Kasparov left Russia in 2013 and has since resided in New York City. In 2022, the chess grandmaster, who advocated for Ukraine's NATO membership, was labeled a 'foreign agent' in Russia, and two years later was designated as a 'terrorist and extremist'.
CNET
12-06-2025
- CNET
ChatGPT Just Got 'Absolutely Wrecked' at Chess, Losing to a 1970s-Era Atari 2600
OpenAI's ChatGPT has some major AI chatbot competitors in the market: Gemini, Copilot, Claude. Now add to that list the Atari 2600. The OG video game console, which was first released in 1977, was used in an engineer's experiment to see how it would fare playing chess against the AI chatbot. By using a software emulator to run Atari's 1979 game Video Chess, Citrix engineer Robert Caruso said he was able to set up a match between ChatGPT and the 46-year-old game. The matchup did not go well for ChatGPT. "ChatGPT confused rooks for bishops, missed pawn forks and repeatedly lost track of where pieces were -- first blaming the Atari icons as too abstract, then faring no better even after switching to standard chess notations," Caruso wrote in a LinkedIn post. "It made enough blunders to get laughed out of a 3rd-grade chess club," Caruso said. "ChatGPT got absolutely wrecked at the beginner level." Caruso wrote that the 90-minute match continued badly and that the AI chatbot repeatedly requested that the match start over. For decades, the ability for computers to defeat humans at chess has been a measure of their power. In 1997, IBM made headlines when its Deep Blue technology defeated chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in a series of matches. Caruso's experiment doesn't mean ChatGPT is useless for chess, but because it's more of a language model than a supercomputer, it's less likely to serve that purpose well. A few years ago, a developer created a ChatGPT plugin called ChessGPT. But it may be better to discuss chess with OpenAI's chatbot than to try to play against it. A representative for OpenAI did not immediately return a request for comment. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)
Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Rematch review — when Garry Kasparov met his match against Deep Blue
The chess master's face frowns over the board: his pieces are dwindling. Calculations click away within the boxy computer sitting opposite him. The master's thoughts whir: 'It wants to take my pawn on B7 and put the Queen on D5. But when I push to F3 it will weaken its King.' But then … his face darkens. In his complacency he has underestimated the machine. He resigns. The man is Garry Kasparov, the machine Deep Blue and the scene comes early on in Rematch (Disney+), a year before the iconic 1997 tussle that lends itself to the title. This is an irresistible prospect. As The Queen's Gambit showed a few years ago, two giant minds competing intensely over a chess board makes for weirdly compelling
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Disney+ premieres 'breathtaking' drama rivaling Netflix's show The Queen's Gambit as obsessed viewers hail the new series a 'masterpiece'
Disney+ has premiered a 'breathtaking' drama that rivals Netflix 's show The Queen's Gambit - and viewers have already hailed it as a 'masterpiece'. The six-part thriller series, titled Rematch, stars Christian Cooke, Sarah Bolger and Tom Austen, amongst others. It first aired last September but launched on the streaming platform today (May 21) and delves into the historic tale of chess champion Garry Kasparov when he faced Deep Blue, a computer. The new series shares similarities with The Queen's Gambit on Netflix, which first aired in 2020. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy as chess prodigy Beth Harmon, it tells the story of her quest to become a world champion. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. It first aired last September but launched on the streaming platform today (May 21) and delves into the historic tale of chess champion Garry Kasparov when he faced Deep Blue, a computer Since Rematch's release last September, it has attracted raving reviews from fans on Google. One fan said: 'A good series that keeps you on the edge of your seat, good acting, especially Kasparov's performance, it made me want to play chess again.' Another added: 'Absolutely amazing. Gripping and exciting until the very last second.' 'As exciting as a crime thriller. Great class,' someone else chimed in. One viewer said: 'Excellent suspense even though we know the outcome of the story.' Rematch has a respectable 7.3/10 score on IMDb and some fans left their thoughts on the review site. One called it a 'masterpiece' while someone else wrote, 'Have fun watching, it is breathtaking all along the 6 episodes'. Though not everyone has been impressed and one viewer on Google penned: 'Terribly boring, slow and overacted. I couldn't last more than 2 episodes....' Another show on Disney+ has caused fans to confess that they've binged the 'best series of the year' after it landed on the streaming service earlier this year. Comedy series Mid-Century Modern follows the lives of three gay best friends who live in Palm Springs. The 10-part series landed on Disney+ on March 28 and on Hulu in the US on the same day. Actor Nathan Lane, 69, plays Bunny Schneiderman, Matt Bomer, 47, has taken on the role of Jerry Frank and Nathan Lee Graham, 56, is Arthur Broussard on the show. And those who have watched the programme have loved it and it's received an impressive 86 percent on review website Rotten Tomatoes.
