IBM unveiled its Deep Blue chess supercomputer prototype 30 years ago today — two years later in its second attempt, it defeated Grandmaster Garry Kasparov

IBM introduced its Deep Blue chess supercomputer prototype 30 years ago, eventually defeating Grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997 after software and hardware enhancements. The victory marked a turning point for IBM, shifting its focus to 'thinking systems' and showcasing the power of computing. Deep Blue originated from a chess chip project at Carnegie Mellon University called Deep Thought. The 1997 version of Deep Blue featured 30 PowerPC processor nodes controlling 16 chess chips each, capable of evaluating 200 million positions per second. This milestone in AI history demonstrated machines' ability to challenge human intellect, paving the way for future advancements in artificial intelligence.