When confronting Rollin after he lost the first match, Groat mentions Lasker and Nimzowitsch. Emanuel Lasker was World Chess Champion for 27 years from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognized World Chess Champion in history. Aron Nimzowitsch, while never becoming World Chess Champion, was one of the best chess players in the world in the late 1920's.
Keys on the Typewritter Board (Olivetti Praxis 48):
- AUTO PAR - AUTOmatic PARAgraph
- EL MARG - ELectric MARGin
- MARG REL - MARGin RELease
The first time a computer beat a grand master was in 1997. The computer was Deep Blue and had been in development for several years. It was designed as a chess computer. In 1996, Deep Blue lost to Garry Kasparov, the reigning world champion. In 1997, with several upgrades, Deep Blue won.
The final version of the machine consisted of two 2-meter-tall (7' 7") towers, more than 500 processors, and 216 accelerator chips designed for computer chess. The new version of Deep Blue was able to search up to 200 million options per second, twice as fast as the 1996 version.
Groat and Rollin play consecutive games. But in reality, games of classical chess matches at the championship level are often mentally grueling and over two hours in length. It is unheard of for opponents to play another game on the same day.
Typhoid Fever an infectious bacterial fever with an eruption of red spots on the chest and abdomen and severe intestinal irritation. It is spread through contaminated food or water.