03/26/00 12:01:05 (MSO_Admin) Ladies and gentlemen,
03/26/00 12:01:30 (MSO_Admin) we're very pleased and proud to have as a star guest tonight
03/26/00 12:02:37 (MSO_Admin) David Levy, MSO Games Director and the creator of the MSO concept.
03/26/00 12:03:04 (MSO_Admin) He's also the president of the ICGA
03/26/00 12:03:14 (MSO_Admin) and still a strong International Master at chess.
03/26/00 12:03:25 (MSO_Admin) He'll be very pleased to answer your questions!
03/26/00 12:09:30 (MSO_Admin) Hi Jouni!
03/26/00 12:09:40 (Jouni) Hello
03/26/00 12:09:41 (MSO_Admin) Have you got questions for David Levy?
03/26/00 12:10:14 (Jouni) Not ready, I have to think about some
03/26/00 12:11:36 (Jouni) What is the latest situation in Kasparov match?
03/26/00 12:12:16 (MSO_Admin) OK, I'm just getting his answer now...
03/26/00 12:12:43 (David_Levy) Anand was sent a
03/26/00 12:12:50 (David_Levy) invitation letter
03/26/00 12:12:53 (David_Levy) asking him to reply
03/26/00 12:12:57 (David_Levy) by April 21st.
03/26/00 12:13:03 (David_Levy) This was a typographical mistake
03/26/00 12:13:09 (David_Levy) by the lawyer who sent it
03/26/00 12:13:15 (David_Levy) It was intended to say March 21st.
03/26/00 12:13:21 (David_Levy) Kasparov had insisted
03/26/00 12:13:32 (David_Levy) that acceptance be given not later than March 24th
03/26/00 12:13:42 (David_Levy) otherwise Kasparov could call off the match.
03/26/00 12:13:50 (David_Levy) Anand has now been sent another letter...
03/26/00 12:13:56 (David_Levy) ...asking him to reply immediately.
03/26/00 12:14:01 (David_Levy) If he does not accept
03/26/00 12:14:05 (David_Levy) within the next day or so
03/26/00 12:14:12 (David_Levy) the invitation to him will be rescinded
03/26/00 12:14:20 (David_Levy) and Kramnik will be invited to be the challenger.
03/26/00 12:14:47 (MSO_Admin) Bruce Birchall has asked a question by e-mail here...
03/26/00 12:15:30 (MSO_Admin) What connection has MSO got with the Kasparov-Anand world
03/26/00 12:15:38 (MSO_Admin) chess championship match in London in October? Will there be a
03/26/00 12:15:45 (MSO_Admin) series of MSO-organised events as a fringe or curtain-raiser to the
03/26/00 12:15:50 (MSO_Admin) main attraction. If so, may we know what they will consist of?
03/26/00 12:15:56 (David_Levy) Unfortunately,
03/26/00 12:16:00 (David_Levy) for contractual reasons,
03/26/00 12:16:06 (David_Levy) we are unable to answer that question
03/26/00 12:16:11 (David_Levy) at the present time.
03/26/00 12:16:18 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 12:16:33 (MSO_Admin) Further questions are invited from the floor, please, Fred and Jouni.
03/26/00 12:16:55 (fredkok) what kind of new events will take place at mso4?
03/26/00 12:17:07 (David_Levy) We have a number
03/26/00 12:17:10 (David_Levy) of new events this year.
03/26/00 12:17:14 (David_Levy) We are hosting the
03/26/00 12:17:20 (David_Levy) 10x10 Draughts Olympiad.
03/26/00 12:17:28 (David_Levy) at adults and junior levels.
03/26/00 12:17:32 (David_Levy) in collaboration with the
03/26/00 12:17:37 (David_Levy) FMJD.
03/26/00 12:17:45 (David_Levy) , the world draughts federation.
03/26/00 12:17:50 (David_Levy) We are also hosting
03/26/00 12:17:54 (David_Levy) the European Shogi Championships
03/26/00 12:18:00 (David_Levy) as part of a three-year agreement
03/26/00 12:18:05 (David_Levy) with the European Federation
03/26/00 12:18:10 (David_Levy) of Shogi Associations.
03/26/00 12:18:18 (David_Levy) Our biggest bridge tournament
03/26/00 12:18:19 (David_Levy) this year
03/26/00 12:18:23 (David_Levy) will be the London heat
03/26/00 12:18:35 (David_Levy) of the MSO Worldwide Simultaneous
03/26/00 12:18:37 (David_Levy) Pairs Championship
03/26/00 12:18:43 (David_Levy) which is being organised for us
03/26/00 12:18:48 (David_Levy) by the World Bridge Federation.
03/26/00 12:18:54 (David_Levy) There are also some other events
03/26/00 12:19:02 (David_Levy) at an advanced stage of planning
03/26/00 12:19:07 (David_Levy) which we cannot speak about
03/26/00 12:19:08 (David_Levy) at the moment
03/26/00 12:19:10 (David_Levy) because they are
03/26/00 12:19:14 (David_Levy) not 100 percent certain.
03/26/00 12:19:18 (David_Levy) We still expect to have
03/26/00 12:19:22 (David_Levy) at least twelve thousand
03/26/00 12:19:24 (David_Levy) and maybe as many
03/26/00 12:19:28 (David_Levy) as fifteen thousand
03/26/00 12:19:30 (David_Levy) entries this year.
03/26/00 12:19:34 (David_Levy) Next question!
03/26/00 12:19:45 (MSO_Admin) Another Bruce Birchall question
03/26/00 12:19:50 (MSO_Admin) seems appropriate at this point.
03/26/00 12:19:57 (MSO_Admin) Do you foresee a day when entry is not open to all, because of the
03/26/00 12:20:05 (MSO_Admin) sheer overload that would create and countries send a small number
03/26/00 12:20:13 (MSO_Admin) of their selected representatives to the Olympiad, perhaps three per
03/26/00 12:20:20 (MSO_Admin) discipline, as at the Olympic Games?
03/26/00 12:20:28 (David_Levy) Perhaps something like this will happen
03/26/00 12:20:33 (David_Levy) but rather than have
03/26/00 12:20:44 (David_Levy) each country send a certain number of players,
03/26/00 12:20:50 (David_Levy) our idea is to allow people to
03/26/00 12:20:58 (David_Levy) qualify by taking part in tournaments on the Internet.
03/26/00 12:21:04 (David_Levy) As the Internet moves in
03/26/00 12:21:09 (David_Levy) to just about every home,
03/26/00 12:21:15 (David_Levy) we believe that more and more people
03/26/00 12:21:24 (David_Levy) will be playing mind sports on the web.
03/26/00 12:21:30 (David_Levy) and this opens the possibility
03/26/00 12:21:34 (David_Levy) for players from
03/26/00 12:21:37 (David_Levy) all over the world to
03/26/00 12:21:47 (David_Levy) take part throughout the year.
03/26/00 12:21:50 (David_Levy) However,
03/26/00 12:21:59 (David_Levy) the number of players
03/26/00 12:22:03 (David_Levy) that we can afford
03/26/00 12:22:07 (David_Levy) to bring to London
03/26/00 12:22:12 (David_Levy) at our own expense
03/26/00 12:22:16 (David_Levy) will always be limited
03/26/00 12:22:20 (David_Levy) so the majority of players
03/26/00 12:22:27 (David_Levy) will always be those who can afford to come
03/26/00 12:22:32 (David_Levy) . End of answer.
03/26/00 12:22:44 (MSO_Admin) Thank you for that! Fred and Jouni, do you have more questions, please?
03/26/00 12:23:00 (fredkok) are there any regional events organised?
03/26/00 12:23:14 (David_Levy) Yes, Last year we had
03/26/00 12:23:17 (David_Levy) a Korean Olympiad
03/26/00 12:23:21 (David_Levy) in July
03/26/00 12:23:26 (David_Levy) which was a huge success.
03/26/00 12:23:32 (David_Levy) It was open only to Koreans
03/26/00 12:23:40 (David_Levy) but had five thousand entries
03/26/00 12:23:46 (David_Levy) and seventeen thousand spectators.
03/26/00 12:24:01 (David_Levy) There will be another Korean Olympiad this year.
03/26/00 12:24:12 (David_Levy) There will also be an Olympiad in Singapore in September.
03/26/00 12:24:21 (David_Levy) So we are moving from one regional event last year
03/26/00 12:24:25 (David_Levy) to two this year
03/26/00 12:24:30 (David_Levy) and probably a third one in Milan in December.
03/26/00 12:24:35 (David_Levy) Next year,
03/26/00 12:24:38 (David_Levy) we are planning
03/26/00 12:24:48 (David_Levy) a Central European Olympiad in Prague in July
03/26/00 12:24:59 (David_Levy) so the number of regional events is increasing steadily
03/26/00 12:25:04 (David_Levy) . End of answer.
03/26/00 12:25:23 (fredkok) impressive i think you need a lot of staff!!
03/26/00 12:25:23 (MSO_Admin) Another related question that Bruce Birchall sent in by e-mail here...
03/26/00 12:25:33 (MSO_Admin) Splendid as the concept of MSO is, I feel you rather let yourself
03/26/00 12:25:41 (David_Levy) Yes we do, and we are already planning
03/26/00 12:25:51 (David_Levy) to increase the staff at our head office!
03/26/00 12:25:59 (MSO_Admin) down in your publicity, as regards the event reaching its full
03/26/00 12:26:06 (MSO_Admin) potential. The typesetting of the leaflet/entry form is very crammed
03/26/00 12:26:12 (MSO_Admin) and doesn't lend itself to clarity and legibility therefore.
03/26/00 12:26:20 (MSO_Admin) Some 8570517060f the entries are from England and unsurprisingly
03/26/00 12:26:28 (MSO_Admin) England does rather well in the medals tables. Given the
03/26/00 12:26:38 (MSO_Admin) Scandinavian backer, could not more be done, say, to get Finns and
03/26/00 12:26:47 (MSO_Admin) Swedes and Norwegians aboard a specially commissioned charter
03/26/00 12:26:56 (MSO_Admin) flight for a 9-day break in London?
03/26/00 12:27:16 (David_Levy) There are several points here.
03/26/00 12:27:24 (David_Levy) Firstly, we are aware that there are many areas
03/26/00 12:27:29 (David_Levy) in which we still have to improve.
03/26/00 12:27:34 (David_Levy) The entry form is one of them.
03/26/00 12:27:41 (David_Levy) Because of the complexity of our event,
03/26/00 12:27:50 (David_Levy) and the number of different tournaments we hold at the Olympiad
03/26/00 12:27:58 (David_Levy) we have to develop and evolve the entry form
03/26/00 12:28:02 (David_Levy) over a period of years.
03/26/00 12:28:10 (David_Levy) until we get it absolutely right.
03/26/00 12:28:20 (David_Levy) So far as foreign participants are concerned,
03/26/00 12:28:32 (David_Levy) we actually have thirty percent from abroad,
03/26/00 12:28:35 (David_Levy) not fifteen percent.
03/26/00 12:28:40 (David_Levy) Certainly we would like to attract
03/26/00 12:28:43 (David_Levy) more players from outside the UK.
03/26/00 12:28:50 (David_Levy) These days, there are so many cheap flights
03/26/00 12:29:00 (David_Levy) that the effort and hassle of getting a charter
03/26/00 12:29:03 (David_Levy) is not worthwhile.
03/26/00 12:29:06 (David_Levy) I firmly believe
03/26/00 12:29:13 (David_Levy) that as the event grows from year to year
03/26/00 12:29:17 (David_Levy) and becomes established
03/26/00 12:29:26 (David_Levy) as the premier event in the Mind Sports calendar,
03/26/00 12:29:30 (David_Levy) ever-increasing numbers
03/26/00 12:29:34 (David_Levy) coming from outside the UK
03/26/00 12:29:38 (David_Levy) as more and more people
03/26/00 12:29:58 (David_Levy) decide to spend part or all of their summer
03/26/00 12:30:01 (David_Levy) holiday in London.
03/26/00 12:30:05 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 12:30:37 (MSO_Admin) Please might we have another question?
03/26/00 12:30:41 (Jouni) What is the role of International Computer Chess Association today?
03/26/00 12:30:59 (David_Levy) Last year we decided
03/26/00 12:31:10 (David_Levy) to broaden our scope
03/26/00 12:31:15 (David_Levy) and we are changing the name
03/26/00 12:31:18 (David_Levy) of the organisation
03/26/00 12:31:24 (David_Levy) to the International Computer Games Association.
03/26/00 12:31:33 (David_Levy) and the journal is also changing its name
03/26/00 12:31:40 (David_Levy) to the International Computer Games Journal.
03/26/00 12:31:50 (David_Levy) This year we are reviving the Computer Olympiad
03/26/00 12:31:55 (David_Levy) which was popular when we
03/26/00 12:32:00 (David_Levy) organised it from 1989 to 1992.
03/26/00 12:32:10 (David_Levy) Nowadays there are far more programmers in the world
03/26/00 12:32:14 (David_Levy) writing programs for mind sports
03/26/00 12:32:18 (David_Levy) than there were in those days
03/26/00 12:32:20 (David_Levy) so we are expecting
03/26/00 12:32:30 (David_Levy) a lot more entries for this year's Computer Olympiad
03/26/00 12:32:34 (David_Levy) than we had previously.
03/26/00 12:32:37 (David_Levy) I believe that
03/26/00 12:32:44 (David_Levy) all these factors mean that the ICGA as it now is
03/26/00 12:32:53 (David_Levy) will be able to offer its members much more
03/26/00 12:32:58 (David_Levy) because there are things which can be
03/26/00 12:33:01 (David_Levy) learned from one game
03/26/00 12:33:04 (David_Levy) that can help programmers
03/26/00 12:33:07 (David_Levy) working on another game.
03/26/00 12:33:09 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 12:33:16 (MSO_Admin) Thanks for that question!
03/26/00 12:33:46 (MSO_Admin) Who would like to ask the next question, please?
03/26/00 12:33:54 (fredkok) i count the days, see you!
03/26/00 12:34:19 (Jouni) What if chess or bridge would be an IOC olympic sport?
03/26/00 12:34:39 (David_Levy) The IOC has already decided
03/26/00 12:34:43 (David_Levy) in principle to introduce
03/26/00 12:34:46 (David_Levy) chess and bridge
03/26/00 12:34:49 (David_Levy) as what they call
03/26/00 12:34:51 (David_Levy) exhibition sports
03/26/00 12:34:57 (David_Levy) This is possibly going to happen
03/26/00 12:35:03 (David_Levy) as early as 2002 at the Winter Olympics
03/26/00 12:35:06 (David_Levy) in Salt Lake City
03/26/00 12:35:09 (David_Levy) although this is not yet
03/26/00 12:35:12 (David_Levy) 100 percent certain.
03/26/00 12:35:18 (David_Levy) It is a logical step for the IOC
03/26/00 12:35:25 (David_Levy) partly because the Winter Olympics
03/26/00 12:35:32 (David_Levy) do not have as many events as the SUmmer Olympics
03/26/00 12:35:35 (David_Levy) and partly because
03/26/00 12:35:39 (David_Levy) it is nowadays recognised
03/26/00 12:35:45 (David_Levy) that chess and bridge as mind sports
03/26/00 12:35:51 (David_Levy) are genuinely sporting occupations.
03/26/00 12:35:58 (David_Levy) It may be the case that one day
03/26/00 12:36:03 (David_Levy) many many years from now
03/26/00 12:36:06 (David_Levy) the Mind Sports Olympiad
03/26/00 12:36:15 (David_Levy) might have a close association with the IOC
03/26/00 12:36:22 (David_Levy) but that will be their decision to invite us.
03/26/00 12:36:32 (David_Levy) Right now, we have absolutely
03/26/00 12:36:36 (David_Levy) no connection with the IOC.
03/26/00 12:36:42 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 12:36:47 (MSO_Admin) This leads us into
03/26/00 12:36:58 (MSO_Admin) Bruce Birchall's last question by e-mail:
03/26/00 12:37:07 (MSO_Admin) Does he (David Levy) foresee a time when a wide range of Mind Sports are
03/26/00 12:37:18 (MSO_Admin) part of the Olympic Games? And if so will the idea of a separate Mind Sports
03/26/00 12:37:26 (MSO_Admin) Olympiad have had it day and served its purpose? ... What is our ultimate
03/26/00 12:37:34 (MSO_Admin) destiny and our strategy towards achieving it ? are we aspiring to
03/26/00 12:37:44 (MSO_Admin) Apartheid/separate development of Mind Sports, gradual entrism into the IOC
03/26/00 12:37:51 (MSO_Admin) or amalgamation between MSO and IOC?
03/26/00 12:37:59 (MSO_Admin) I ask because there was a healthy women's Olympics (athletics) movement in
03/26/00 12:38:06 (MSO_Admin) the 20s and 30s which held five quadrennial games (necessary because of the
03/26/00 12:38:15 (MSO_Admin) efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin. the founder of the modern Games to
03/26/00 12:38:22 (MSO_Admin) exclude women from it) which eventually voted to throw its lot in with the
03/26/00 12:38:31 (MSO_Admin) IOC, when finally offered an enlarged number of women's events within it ---
03/26/00 12:38:37 (MSO_Admin) though many women viewed this as a sell-out on unfavourable terms. (A
03/26/00 12:38:44 (MSO_Admin) chapiter in the book Sporting Females is devoted to that history)
03/26/00 12:38:50 (MSO_Admin) There are perhaps lessons and parallels that can be drawn from that history.
03/26/00 12:39:02 (MaxTL) Hello and good evening... not many fans here it seems?
03/26/00 12:39:12 (David_Levy) Your quesiton is very interesting...
03/26/00 12:39:14 (David_Levy) ...and very broad.
03/26/00 12:39:25 (David_Levy) In general, I think there is one basic philosophiclal
03/26/00 12:39:32 (David_Levy) difference between MSO and the aims of the IOC.
03/26/00 12:39:37 (David_Levy) It has always been our philosophy
03/26/00 12:39:41 (David_Levy) that at the Mind Sports Olympiad,
03/26/00 12:39:44 (David_Levy) anyone may enter.
03/26/00 12:39:52 (David_Levy) and I would like to see this philosophy continued.
03/26/00 12:39:57 (David_Levy) If there does come a time
03/26/00 12:40:03 (David_Levy) when the IOC invites us to form
03/26/00 12:40:07 (David_Levy) a close relationship with them
03/26/00 12:40:10 (David_Levy) I will like to see
03/26/00 12:40:13 (David_Levy) us organising
03/26/00 12:40:20 (David_Levy) an Olympiad where everybody may enter.
03/26/00 12:40:28 (David_Levy) and then maybe the leading players in every mind sport
03/26/00 12:40:34 (David_Levy) could perhaps progress or qualigy
03/26/00 12:40:41 (David_Levy) for an Olympic event.
03/26/00 12:40:44 (David_Levy) But again I must stress
03/26/00 12:40:47 (David_Levy) that at the moment
03/26/00 12:40:51 (David_Levy) we have absolutely no connection
03/26/00 12:40:53 (David_Levy) with the IOC.
03/26/00 12:40:55 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 12:41:03 (MSO_Admin) Hi, Max! Thanks for joining us.
03/26/00 12:41:09 (MaxTL) Hi
03/26/00 12:41:14 (MSO_Admin) Max or Jouni, do you have any questions for David Levy?
03/26/00 12:41:44 (MaxTL) I'd like to ask, rumor has it that Kasparov plans to play a Computer again soon?
03/26/00 12:42:01 (David_Levy) This is a distinct possibility.
03/26/00 12:42:08 (David_Levy) I met with Kasparov in London
03/26/00 12:42:13 (David_Levy) on November 17th
03/26/00 12:42:14 (MaxTL) Do you know more about it?
03/26/00 12:42:20 (David_Levy) and discussed this very question with him.
03/26/00 12:42:25 (David_Levy) We are interested in organising
03/26/00 12:42:29 (David_Levy) a world title match
03/26/00 12:42:34 (David_Levy) between Kasparov and a computer.
03/26/00 12:42:38 (David_Levy) In my view,
03/26/00 12:42:40 (David_Levy) there is no point
03/26/00 12:42:46 (David_Levy) in organising any computer match
03/26/00 12:42:47 (David_Levy) with Kasparov
03/26/00 12:42:50 (David_Levy) unless it is
03/26/00 12:42:53 (David_Levy) for the World Championship.
03/26/00 12:42:59 (David_Levy) By making the match a title match,
03/26/00 12:43:03 (David_Levy) we would give a huge incentive
03/26/00 12:43:09 (David_Levy) to the computer manufacturer.
03/26/00 12:43:13 (David_Levy) For example,
03/26/00 12:43:19 (David_Levy) although IBM beat Kasparov
03/26/00 12:43:24 (David_Levy) with their Deep Blue machine,
03/26/00 12:43:31 (David_Levy) Deep Blue did not win the World Championship.
03/26/00 12:43:36 (David_Levy) By putting his title at stake,
03/26/00 12:43:39 (David_Levy) Kasparov could create
03/26/00 12:43:43 (David_Levy) huge interest in the computer world
03/26/00 12:43:52 (David_Levy) and the publicity for the match would be enormous.
03/26/00 12:43:57 (David_Levy) The prize money would also
03/26/00 12:43:59 (David_Levy) be enormous.
03/26/00 12:44:10 (David_Levy) However, Kasparov first wants to defend his title
03/26/00 12:44:13 (David_Levy) against a human player.
03/26/00 12:44:18 (David_Levy) This is because he has not done so
03/26/00 12:44:24 (David_Levy) since he crushed Anand in 1995.
03/26/00 12:44:30 (David_Levy) As a result,
03/26/00 12:44:34 (David_Levy) Kasparov's next title match
03/26/00 12:44:39 (David_Levy) is planned for this October
03/26/00 12:44:43 (David_Levy) with a human opponent
03/26/00 12:44:45 (David_Levy) and all being well
03/26/00 12:44:51 (David_Levy) there will be a title defence
03/26/00 12:44:56 (David_Levy) against a computer next year.
03/26/00 12:45:00 (David_Levy) Presuming of course
03/26/00 12:45:06 (David_Levy) that Kasparov is successful this year.
03/26/00 12:45:08 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 12:45:13 (MaxTL) Breathtaking news for the computer chess community, but do you think Kasparov will really take the risk (of loosing the title)?
03/26/00 12:45:28 (David_Levy) I believe that he will
03/26/00 12:45:30 (David_Levy) for two reasons.
03/26/00 12:45:38 (David_Levy) Firstly, he very much wants to show the world
03/26/00 12:45:43 (David_Levy) that in a longer match than the one
03/26/00 12:45:47 (David_Levy) he played in New York
03/26/00 12:45:52 (David_Levy) he can win against any computer program.
03/26/00 12:46:01 (David_Levy) Remember, the match in New York was only six games.
03/26/00 12:46:05 (David_Levy) Because Kasparov
03/26/00 12:46:11 (David_Levy) had not been able to see any previous games
03/26/00 12:46:13 (David_Levy) by his opponent
03/26/00 12:46:20 (David_Levy) he was unable to prepare properly
03/26/00 12:46:21 (David_Levy) for that match.
03/26/00 12:46:28 (David_Levy) In a 16-game match or a 20-game match,
03/26/00 12:46:32 (David_Levy) he could use the first few games
03/26/00 12:46:36 (David_Levy) to learn a great deal about
03/26/00 12:46:38 (David_Levy) his opponent's
03/26/00 12:46:41 (David_Levy) style and abilities
03/26/00 12:46:44 (David_Levy) and then he could use
03/26/00 12:46:46 (David_Levy) this knowledte
03/26/00 12:46:48 (David_Levy) in the later games
03/26/00 12:46:50 (David_Levy) of the match.
03/26/00 12:46:52 (David_Levy) This would make
03/26/00 12:46:53 (David_Levy) the contest
03/26/00 12:46:56 (David_Levy) more interesting.
03/26/00 12:47:02 (David_Levy) The other reason, of course,
03/26/00 12:47:08 (David_Levy) is that for a world title challenge,
03/26/00 12:47:12 (David_Levy) a computer manufacturer
03/26/00 12:47:17 (David_Levy) would have to put up a huge prize fund.
03/26/00 12:47:23 (David_Levy) In the New York match in 1997,
03/26/00 12:47:27 (David_Levy) IBM achieved publicity
03/26/00 12:47:34 (David_Levy) which has been esitmated at $200 million
03/26/00 12:47:36 (David_Levy) or more in value.
03/26/00 12:47:39 (David_Levy) As a result,
03/26/00 12:47:43 (David_Levy) one can reasonably expect
03/26/00 12:47:51 (David_Levy) that for Kasparov's world title defence
03/26/00 12:47:53 (David_Levy) against a computer,
03/26/00 12:48:00 (David_Levy) the prize fund could easily
03/26/00 12:48:05 (David_Levy) reach $10 million or more.
03/26/00 12:48:11 (David_Levy) From the Professional point of view,
03/26/00 12:48:16 (David_Levy) this is very appealing for Kasparov.
03/26/00 12:48:19 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 12:48:53 (MaxTL) Will it be a mainframe, or parallel machine again (or a PC)?
03/26/00 12:49:09 (David_Levy) This question is impossible
03/26/00 12:49:13 (David_Levy) to answer at the moment.
03/26/00 12:49:15 (David_Levy) There are a number
03/26/00 12:49:19 (David_Levy) of good programs in the world
03/26/00 12:49:25 (David_Levy) and deciding on the computer challenger
03/26/00 12:49:28 (David_Levy) will not be easy.
03/26/00 12:49:39 (David_Levy) I would favour
03/26/00 12:49:41 (David_Levy) a qualifying contest
03/26/00 12:49:47 (David_Levy) for example a match between
03/26/00 12:49:55 (David_Levy) the reigning Computer World Champion Shredder
03/26/00 12:50:01 (David_Levy) and the previous Computer World Champion Fritz
03/26/00 12:50:09 (David_Levy) . There is also the possibility
03/26/00 12:50:24 (David_Levy) that Feng Hsu
03/26/00 12:50:30 (David_Levy) who designed the hardware
03/26/00 12:50:33 (David_Levy) for Deep Blue
03/26/00 12:50:36 (David_Levy) might soon be
03/26/00 12:50:42 (David_Levy) in possession of a very strong
03/26/00 12:50:44 (David_Levy) new program.
03/26/00 12:50:48 (David_Levy) He has left IBM
03/26/00 12:50:52 (David_Levy) but rumour has it
03/26/00 12:50:56 (David_Levy) that he has a new chip of his own
03/26/00 12:51:03 (David_Levy) and he would certainly like
03/26/00 12:51:07 (David_Levy) to play a match with Kasparov
03/26/00 12:51:10 (David_Levy) . However,
03/26/00 12:51:16 (David_Levy) since his new hardware has not yet
03/26/00 12:51:18 (David_Levy) taken part
03/26/00 12:51:22 (David_Levy) in any serious
03/26/00 12:51:24 (David_Levy) chess event,
03/26/00 12:51:29 (David_Levy) it is not possible to say for certain
03/26/00 12:51:32 (David_Levy) how strong it might be.
03/26/00 12:51:38 (David_Levy) Nevertheless,
03/26/00 12:51:40 (David_Levy) whichever program
03/26/00 12:51:42 (David_Levy) is chosen,
03/26/00 12:51:46 (David_Levy) there is still the question
03/26/00 12:51:49 (David_Levy) of what type of computer
03/26/00 12:51:50 (David_Levy) will be used.
03/26/00 12:51:55 (David_Levy) I think it most likely
03/26/00 12:51:59 (David_Levy) in fact almost certain
03/26/00 12:52:01 (David_Levy) that it will be
03/26/00 12:52:05 (David_Levy) a multi-processor machine.
03/26/00 12:52:10 (David_Levy) But this could be a PC with
03/26/00 12:52:13 (David_Levy) a multi-processor board
03/26/00 12:52:18 (David_Levy) or it could be something much bigger.
03/26/00 12:52:27 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 12:52:34 (MSO_Admin) Thanks, a really probing question!
03/26/00 12:52:44 (MaxTL) Thank you very much for the answers.
03/26/00 12:52:55 (David_Levy) You're welcome!
03/26/00 12:53:11 (MSO_Admin) Do you think there is a logical sequel to Kasparov vs. the World?
03/26/00 12:53:22 (MSO_Admin) as held on the Microsoft Gaming Zone?
03/26/00 12:53:26 (David_Levy) I would like to see
03/26/00 12:53:30 (David_Levy) this type of event
03/26/00 12:53:33 (David_Levy) repeated regularly
03/26/00 12:53:36 (David_Levy) . I believe
03/26/00 12:53:45 (David_Levy) that it is wonderful promotion
03/26/00 12:53:46 (David_Levy) for the game
03/26/00 12:53:51 (David_Levy) ; it is the ambition
03/26/00 12:53:55 (David_Levy) of almost every chess player
03/26/00 12:53:59 (David_Levy) to play against Kasparov
03/26/00 12:54:06 (David_Levy) but unfortunately it is not possible
03/26/00 12:54:09 (David_Levy) for everyone to do so
03/26/00 12:54:15 (David_Levy) . So this is the next best thing.
03/26/00 12:54:18 (David_Levy) However, there are
03/26/00 12:54:21 (David_Levy) various improvements
03/26/00 12:54:23 (David_Levy) one can imagine.
03/26/00 12:54:25 (David_Levy) For example,
03/26/00 12:54:32 (David_Levy) players could be awarded prizes
03/26/00 12:54:38 (David_Levy) according to how often they pick the right mvoe
03/26/00 12:54:43 (David_Levy) and players could also
03/26/00 12:54:46 (David_Levy) guess Kasparov's moves
03/26/00 12:54:48 (David_Levy) and there could be
03/26/00 12:54:50 (David_Levy) competitions for
03/26/00 12:54:52 (David_Levy) whoever gets the most
03/26/00 12:54:57 (David_Levy) of Kasparov's moves correct.
03/26/00 12:54:59 (David_Levy) In fact, I think
03/26/00 12:55:03 (David_Levy) there are many, many ways
03/26/00 12:55:05 (David_Levy) to create even
03/26/00 12:55:10 (David_Levy) more interest for the publicv.
03/26/00 12:55:13 (David_Levy) The Kasparov game
03/26/00 12:55:17 (David_Levy) has now served as a model
03/26/00 12:55:19 (David_Levy) for similar contests
03/26/00 12:55:22 (David_Levy) in other midn sports
03/26/00 12:55:25 (David_Levy) and I am pleased to say
03/26/00 12:55:28 (David_Levy) that the idea looks as though
03/26/00 12:55:31 (David_Levy) it is here to stay.
03/26/00 12:55:33 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 12:55:45 (MSO_Admin) Thank you for that!
03/26/00 12:55:57 (MSO_Admin) Who would like to ask the next question?
03/26/00 12:56:31 (Jouni) What is the most surprising computer games achievement in the history?
03/26/00 12:56:57 (David_Levy) This is a difficult
03/26/00 12:57:00 (David_Levy) question to answer.
03/26/00 12:57:03 (David_Levy) On the one hand,
03/26/00 12:57:07 (David_Levy) I suppose the obvious answer
03/26/00 12:57:15 (David_Levy) is Kasparov losing in 1997 to Deep Blue.
03/26/00 12:57:21 (David_Levy) This was a very big surprise for me
03/26/00 12:57:24 (David_Levy) and for many other
03/26/00 12:57:29 (David_Levy) serious chess players.
03/26/00 12:57:36 (David_Levy) But there are some other remarkable feats
03/26/00 12:57:40 (David_Levy) in the history of computer mind sports.
03/26/00 12:57:45 (David_Levy) One of these is the
03/26/00 12:57:49 (David_Levy) enormous success
03/26/00 12:57:54 (David_Levy) of the Chinook program
03/26/00 12:57:58 (David_Levy) which plays 8x8 draughts.
03/26/00 12:58:03 (David_Levy) at World Championship level.
03/26/00 12:58:08 (David_Levy) The remarkable thing
03/26/00 12:58:10 (David_Levy) about Chinook
03/26/00 12:58:12 (David_Levy) is twofold:
03/26/00 12:58:17 (David_Levy) firstly, it has a massive database
03/26/00 12:58:22 (David_Levy) of endgame positions
03/26/00 12:58:30 (David_Levy) so that when the number of
03/26/00 12:58:36 (David_Levy) pieces on the board is reduced sufficiently
03/26/00 12:58:43 (David_Levy) it plays absolutely perfectly
03/26/00 12:58:46 (David_Levy) and instantaneously.
03/26/00 12:58:52 (David_Levy) The other remarkable thing about Chinook
03/26/00 12:58:59 (David_Levy) is that sometimes it can search to a depth
03/26/00 12:59:04 (David_Levy) of 40 ply or thereabouts
03/26/00 12:59:11 (David_Levy) this means that in some openings
03/26/00 12:59:17 (David_Levy) as early as black's second move
03/26/00 12:59:22 (David_Levy) the program is able to search
03/26/00 12:59:26 (David_Levy) to the end of the game.
03/26/00 12:59:30 (David_Levy) In other words, it has almost
03/26/00 12:59:35 (David_Levy) but not quite solved the game of draughts
03/26/00 12:59:38 (David_Levy) on an 8x8 board.
03/26/00 12:59:44 (David_Levy) A more recent triumph
03/26/00 12:59:53 (David_Levy) in the world of computerised mind sports
03/26/00 13:00:00 (David_Levy) has been Fred Ginsberg's program
03/26/00 13:00:03 (David_Levy) which plays bridge.
03/26/00 13:00:09 (David_Levy) For many years it was assumed
03/26/00 13:00:16 (David_Levy) that playing bridge at a world class level
03/26/00 13:00:19 (David_Levy) would be very difficult
03/26/00 13:00:22 (David_Levy) if not impossible
03/26/00 13:00:25 (David_Levy) for a program to achieve
03/26/00 13:00:29 (David_Levy) because of the fact that
03/26/00 13:00:33 (David_Levy) many of the cards are hidden
03/26/00 13:00:38 (David_Levy) ; in other words
03/26/00 13:00:45 (David_Levy) the program does not know the location of all the cards.
03/26/00 13:00:45 (Chessparov) Mr.Levy do you think the use of chess playing programs will have an adverse effect on the game?
03/26/00 13:00:53 (David_Levy) But Ginsberg's program
03/26/00 13:01:01 (David_Levy) is able to play the cards at a very very
03/26/00 13:01:03 (David_Levy) high level indeed.
03/26/00 13:01:07 (David_Levy) For example,
03/26/00 13:01:17 (David_Levy) at the last Olympiad in Lille,
03/26/00 13:01:26 (David_Levy) there was what is called a par competition
03/26/00 13:01:32 (David_Levy) in which the world's best players
03/26/00 13:01:47 (MSO_Admin) We'll get to your question in a moment, Chessparov - please be patient
03/26/00 13:01:52 (David_Levy) have to decide
03/26/00 13:01:57 (David_Levy) how to play a number of hands
03/26/00 13:02:01 (David_Levy) . Ginsberg's program
03/26/00 13:02:05 (David_Levy) took part in the competition
03/26/00 13:02:08 (David_Levy) and showed itself to be
03/26/00 13:02:11 (David_Levy) world calibre.
03/26/00 13:02:14 (David_Levy) I consider this
03/26/00 13:02:18 (David_Levy) to be an outstanding feat.
03/26/00 13:02:20 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:02:29 (MSO_Admin) Welcome to all the new members of the chat session!
03/26/00 13:02:36 (MSO_Admin) We've been going for an hour...
03/26/00 13:02:40 (MSO_Admin) due to a confusion over time zones.
03/26/00 13:02:46 (MSO_Admin) Chessparov, please repeat your question.
03/26/00 13:02:52 (MSO_Admin) (Press the up arrow and then return.)
03/26/00 13:04:01 (MSO_Admin) Chessparov asked: Mr. Levy do you think the use of chess playing programs will have an adverse affect on the game?
03/26/00 13:04:03 (Chessparov) Mr. Levy do you think the use of chess playing programs,online, will adversely effect the game?
03/26/00 13:04:17 (MSO_Admin) Thanks, Chessparov
03/26/00 13:04:23 (David_Levy) COuld you possibly
03/26/00 13:04:28 (David_Levy) be a bit more explicit in your question?
03/26/00 13:05:34 (Chessparov) I play chess online & find that many more of my opponents are using programs ie Chessmaster 7000 to play their games for them.
03/26/00 13:05:57 (David_Levy) This of course is very silly of them
03/26/00 13:06:04 (David_Levy) What do they hope to achieve by this?
03/26/00 13:06:09 (David_Levy) Maybe they hope to get a good rating
03/26/00 13:06:14 (David_Levy) so that they can boast to their friend
03/26/00 13:06:17 (David_Levy) s that they are strong
03/26/00 13:06:20 (David_Levy) players when they are not.
03/26/00 13:06:26 (David_Levy) Of course, this type of cheating is possible
03/26/00 13:06:30 (David_Levy) nowadays because of the strength
03/26/00 13:06:34 (David_Levy) of the best programs.
03/26/00 13:06:38 (David_Levy) For example, there was a
03/26/00 13:06:44 (David_Levy) scandal last year at an open chess
03/26/00 13:06:49 (David_Levy) tournament in Germany.
03/26/00 13:06:51 (David_Levy) A club player
03/26/00 13:06:56 (David_Levy) who was a very average player
03/26/00 13:07:02 (David_Levy) and had never had a good result in his life
03/26/00 13:07:08 (David_Levy) suddenly won a strong open tournament
03/26/00 13:07:12 (David_Levy) ahead of several Grandmasters
03/26/00 13:07:15 (David_Levy) . In the last round,
03/26/00 13:07:25 (David_Levy) he was playing a very strong Grandmaster
03/26/00 13:07:29 (David_Levy) and smashed him off the board.
03/26/00 13:07:33 (David_Levy) When the Grandmaster resigned,
03/26/00 13:07:37 (David_Levy) the club player told him
03/26/00 13:07:45 (David_Levy) that it was checkmate eight moves later.
03/26/00 13:07:52 (David_Levy) The Grandmaster said "How do you know?"
03/26/00 13:07:55 (David_Levy) and the club player replied
03/26/00 13:08:05 (David_Levy) "Just analyse the position and you'll see
03/26/00 13:08:08 (David_Levy) it's mate in eight."
03/26/00 13:08:13 (David_Levy) Of course, it was soon
03/26/00 13:08:18 (David_Levy) discovered that he had been cheating.
03/26/00 13:08:20 (David_Levy) He had long hair
03/26/00 13:08:27 (David_Levy) which concealed an earphone in his ear
03/26/00 13:08:34 (David_Levy) and on his lap he had held a small keyboard
03/26/00 13:08:42 (David_Levy) He had a friend in a hotel
03/26/00 13:08:44 (David_Levy) room nearby
03/26/00 13:08:54 (David_Levy) and his friend had Fritz running on a PC.
03/26/00 13:08:59 (David_Levy) It was Fritz, and not the club player,
03/26/00 13:09:05 (David_Levy) who was responsible for all the moves
03/26/00 13:09:12 (David_Levy) and it was Fritz who announced mate in eight.
03/26/00 13:09:15 (David_Levy) The club player, of course,
03/26/00 13:09:21 (David_Levy) got a lot of publicity at first
03/26/00 13:09:26 (David_Levy) for what everyone thought
03/26/00 13:09:29 (David_Levy) was a sensational result
03/26/00 13:09:34 (David_Levy) . But when some people started
03/26/00 13:09:40 (David_Levy) to analyse his games they
03/26/00 13:09:45 (David_Levy) found that Fritz would make the same move
03/26/00 13:09:52 (David_Levy) that he would in almost every case.
03/26/00 13:09:57 (David_Levy) and that is how he was discovered.
03/26/00 13:10:02 (David_Levy) So the German Chess Federation
03/26/00 13:10:05 (David_Levy) have banned him and
03/26/00 13:10:11 (David_Levy) he had to give back his prize money
03/26/00 13:10:16 (David_Levy) and he may even have to go to court
03/26/00 13:10:21 (David_Levy) I suppose it is impossible
03/26/00 13:10:27 (David_Levy) to prevent people from doing this kind of thing
03/26/00 13:10:33 (David_Levy) but clearly they should be punished
03/26/00 13:10:38 (David_Levy) if they do it in a real tournament.
03/26/00 13:10:40 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:10:46 (MSO_Admin) Thank you for the question!
03/26/00 13:10:50 (Chessparov) Thank you!
03/26/00 13:10:53 (MSO_Admin) Who would like to ask the next question, please?
03/26/00 13:11:12 (chuck) Do you think that "assisted" chess matches are the wave of the future?
03/26/00 13:11:26 (David_Levy) I think they are a
03/26/00 13:11:28 (David_Levy) very interesting idea.
03/26/00 13:11:35 (David_Levy) There are all sorts of
03/26/00 13:11:36 (maiko) Is there any chance to have a game Levy against deep blue?
03/26/00 13:11:42 (David_Levy) variations on this theme.
03/26/00 13:11:46 (David_Levy) For example,
03/26/00 13:11:51 (David_Levy) there could be a form of assisted chess
03/26/00 13:11:54 (David_Levy) in which each player
03/26/00 13:11:58 (David_Levy) is allowed to use the computer
03/26/00 13:12:04 (David_Levy) only a fixed number of times
03/26/00 13:12:06 (David_Levy) during each game.
03/26/00 13:12:10 (David_Levy) For example, five times.
03/26/00 13:12:15 (David_Levy) This would create all sorts
03/26/00 13:12:19 (David_Levy) of interesting psychological
03/26/00 13:12:22 (David_Levy) possibilities
03/26/00 13:12:29 (David_Levy) . A player might deliberately
03/26/00 13:12:34 (David_Levy) might try to create a complicated position
03/26/00 13:12:39 (David_Levy) so that his opponent would be tempted
03/26/00 13:12:42 (David_Levy) to use his computer
03/26/00 13:12:45 (David_Levy) early in the game
03/26/00 13:12:51 (David_Levy) and would later not have access
03/26/00 13:12:54 (David_Levy) to it because he would use
03/26/00 13:12:57 (David_Levy) all his allowance.
03/26/00 13:13:04 (David_Levy) It would always be a question
03/26/00 13:13:07 (David_Levy) in the mind of each player
03/26/00 13:13:11 (David_Levy) that "Should I use this
03/26/00 13:13:19 (David_Levy) program on this move, or work it out for myself?"
03/26/00 13:13:27 (David_Levy) So I think that there are a number of
03/26/00 13:13:31 (David_Levy) very interesting possibilities
03/26/00 13:13:34 (David_Levy) for this form of chess.
03/26/00 13:13:36 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:13:41 (MSO_Admin) We'll go back to
03/26/00 13:13:50 (MSO_Admin) maiko's question next:
03/26/00 13:14:00 (MSO_Admin) Is there any chance to have a game Levy against deep blue?
03/26/00 13:14:10 (David_Levy) Unfortunately Deep Blue is so strong
03/26/00 13:14:14 (David_Levy) that the game would not be
03/26/00 13:14:19 (David_Levy) interesting for anybody to watch.
03/26/00 13:14:25 (David_Levy) I did play against an earlier verstion
03/26/00 13:14:29 (David_Levy) which was called Deep Thought
03/26/00 13:14:36 (David_Levy) and it crushed me 4-0.
03/26/00 13:14:42 (David_Levy) That was just over 21 years after
03/26/00 13:14:49 (David_Levy) I made a bet that I would not lose a match
03/26/00 13:14:52 (David_Levy) to a computer program
03/26/00 13:14:55 (David_Levy) within ten years.
03/26/00 13:14:58 (David_Levy) Now the difference
03/26/00 13:15:03 (David_Levy) in strength is so enormous
03/26/00 13:15:08 (David_Levy) that I would stand no chance at all.
03/26/00 13:15:11 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:15:27 (MSO_Admin) When was the first time you lost a game, not a match, of chess to a computer?
03/26/00 13:15:40 (David_Levy) The first time was in 1978
03/26/00 13:15:43 (David_Levy) in Toronto
03/26/00 13:15:47 (David_Levy) when I played the match to determine
03/26/00 13:15:52 (David_Levy) the result of my ten-year bet.
03/26/00 13:15:58 (David_Levy) I got ahead in the match quite comfortably
03/26/00 13:16:03 (David_Levy) by playing very carefully
03/26/00 13:16:10 (David_Levy) and avoiding tactics as much as possible
03/26/00 13:16:15 (David_Levy) but then in the fourth game of the match
03/26/00 13:16:19 (David_Levy) I became over-confident
03/26/00 13:16:28 (David_Levy) and thought I would try to beat the computer tactically.
03/26/00 13:16:32 (David_Levy) I played very sharplyi
03/26/00 13:16:37 (David_Levy) and was destroyed.
03/26/00 13:16:42 (David_Levy) In the next game,
03/26/00 13:16:47 (David_Levy) I went back to my original style
03/26/00 13:16:51 (David_Levy) and I killed it
03/26/00 13:16:55 (David_Levy) and that won the match.
03/26/00 13:16:57 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:17:05 (MaxTL) What do you think what FIDE's reaction would be, if the Kasparov-Comp match takes place and the Computer wins?
03/26/00 13:17:24 (David_Levy) If this is a world title match,
03/26/00 13:17:29 (David_Levy) then FIDE of course will be very unhappy
03/26/00 13:17:31 (David_Levy) for two reasons:
03/26/00 13:17:36 (David_Levy) firstly because FIDE
03/26/00 13:17:41 (David_Levy) does not control Kasparov's matches
03/26/00 13:17:46 (David_Levy) and so they pretend that
03/26/00 13:17:53 (David_Levy) Kasparov's matches are not the World Championship.
03/26/00 13:17:59 (David_Levy) But of course, every serious chess player knows
03/26/00 13:18:07 (David_Levy) that Kasparov is certainly the world's strongest player by far
03/26/00 13:18:14 (David_Levy) so therefore Kasparov's matches
03/26/00 13:18:19 (David_Levy) are the only ones which can in all honesty
03/26/00 13:18:26 (David_Levy) be considered to be World Championship matches.
03/26/00 13:18:34 (David_Levy) But if Kasparov were to lose the title to a computer,
03/26/00 13:18:41 (David_Levy) this would be another blow to FIDE
03/26/00 13:18:46 (David_Levy) because unfortunately FIDE
03/26/00 13:18:52 (David_Levy) has not seen fit to embrace
03/26/00 13:18:58 (David_Levy) all the benefits of computer chess.
03/26/00 13:19:02 (David_Levy) They do not realise, for example,
03/26/00 13:19:06 (David_Levy) the vast amount of money
03/26/00 13:19:12 (David_Levy) which they could have attracted to chess
03/26/00 13:19:17 (David_Levy) if they had been more receptive
03/26/00 13:19:20 (David_Levy) to the idea of computers
03/26/00 13:19:28 (David_Levy) competing at the very top level.
03/26/00 13:19:35 (David_Levy) So if the World Chess Championship was
03/26/00 13:19:38 (David_Levy) held by a computer,
03/26/00 13:19:44 (David_Levy) it would be a double blow for FIDE.
03/26/00 13:19:47 (David_Levy) It would of course say
03/26/00 13:19:52 (David_Levy) it was not the World Chess Championship.
03/26/00 13:19:58 (David_Levy) But in my view, anyone or anything
03/26/00 13:20:04 (David_Levy) which wins a long match
03/26/00 13:20:07 (David_Levy) against Kasparov
03/26/00 13:20:15 (David_Levy) has the right to call itself World Champion.
03/26/00 13:20:20 (David_Levy) If my cat won a 20-game match
03/26/00 13:20:23 (David_Levy) against Kasparov,
03/26/00 13:20:28 (David_Levy) then who could deny that my cat
03/26/00 13:20:33 (David_Levy) was the world's strongest chess player?
03/26/00 13:20:37 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:20:45 (Jouni) Is it possibe to get caught of doping at MSO or is any 'drug' allowed?
03/26/00 13:21:02 (David_Levy) A very interesting question.
03/26/00 13:21:11 (David_Levy) At MSO, we have not yet introduced a drug code.
03/26/00 13:21:13 (David_Levy) However,
03/26/00 13:21:19 (David_Levy) because bridge is being considered by the IOC
03/26/00 13:21:24 (David_Levy) as a exhibition sport
03/26/00 13:21:28 (David_Levy) for the Winter Olympics,
03/26/00 13:21:33 (David_Levy) the World Bridge Federation
03/26/00 13:21:37 (David_Levy) was compelled to do drug testing
03/26/00 13:21:44 (David_Levy) at the recent World Team Championships
03/26/00 13:21:48 (David_Levy) (Bermuda Bowl) in January.
03/26/00 13:21:56 (David_Levy) Urine samples were taken
03/26/00 13:22:02 (David_Levy) at random from a number of the players
03/26/00 13:22:06 (David_Levy) but none tested positive.
03/26/00 13:22:13 (David_Levy) But that isn't the end of the story.
03/26/00 13:22:18 (David_Levy) It seems that coffee has been
03/26/00 13:22:22 (David_Levy) determined to be a drug for
03/26/00 13:22:26 (David_Levy) the purposes of the IOC.
03/26/00 13:22:32 (David_Levy) And there is going to be a limit
03/26/00 13:22:36 (David_Levy) on the number of cups of coffee
03/26/00 13:22:45 (David_Levy) that bridge players may consume
03/26/00 13:22:48 (David_Levy) within a specified period.
03/26/00 13:22:55 (David_Levy) Of course, these are the very early days
03/26/00 13:23:00 (David_Levy) of the question of drugs in mind sports.
03/26/00 13:23:06 (David_Levy) and I believe that it will be some years
03/26/00 13:23:13 (David_Levy) before any generally-agreed regulations
03/26/00 13:23:15 (David_Levy) come into force
03/26/00 13:23:20 (David_Levy) which are accepted by the players
03/26/00 13:23:24 (David_Levy) and by the federations.
03/26/00 13:23:28 (David_Levy) I do know of one player
03/26/00 13:23:31 (David_Levy) a chess player
03/26/00 13:23:34 (David_Levy) who used to smoke
03/26/00 13:23:40 (David_Levy) grass before important games.
03/26/00 13:23:48 (David_Levy) He was a very talented Canadian International Master.
03/26/00 13:23:51 (David_Levy) This was in the days when
03/26/00 13:23:58 (David_Levy) we used to play a five-hour session
03/26/00 13:24:03 (David_Levy) in major chess tournametns
03/26/00 13:24:05 (David_Levy) and this guy told me
03/26/00 13:24:08 (David_Levy) that for the first four hours
03/26/00 13:24:12 (David_Levy) he would have the most
03/26/00 13:24:16 (David_Levy) brillianjt and original
03/26/00 13:24:19 (David_Levy) ideas at the chess board,
03/26/00 13:24:23 (David_Levy) really beautiful ideas.
03/26/00 13:24:28 (David_Levy) But then in the final hour
03/26/00 13:24:31 (David_Levy) he was completely unable
03/26/00 13:24:35 (David_Levy) to think properly.
03/26/00 13:24:39 (David_Levy) with disastrous results
03/26/00 13:24:44 (David_Levy) so he gave up smoking grass before
03/26/00 13:24:46 (David_Levy) chess games.
03/26/00 13:24:48 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:24:55 (chuck) which mind sports are being considered by the IOC for the Winter Olympics? ...and what is the general public's response to this?
03/26/00 13:25:19 (David_Levy) So far as I know,
03/26/00 13:25:24 (David_Levy) only bridge and chess at the moment.
03/26/00 13:25:30 (David_Levy) Although I have heard
03/26/00 13:25:32 (David_Levy) reliable rumours
03/26/00 13:25:37 (David_Levy) that Go is the next one on the list.
03/26/00 13:25:46 (David_Levy) I believe that the international bridge
03/26/00 13:25:51 (David_Levy) and chess federations
03/26/00 13:25:53 (David_Levy) are very happy about this
03/26/00 13:26:00 (David_Levy) because the recognition of chess
03/26/00 13:26:03 (David_Levy) and bridge as sports
03/26/00 13:26:07 (David_Levy) will help national federations
03/26/00 13:26:09 (David_Levy) in many companies
03/26/00 13:26:13 (David_Levy) to get government funding
03/26/00 13:26:17 (David_Levy) . This is because
03/26/00 13:26:19 (David_Levy) in many countries
03/26/00 13:26:24 (David_Levy) the government will fund sports
03/26/00 13:26:31 (David_Levy) but might not fund mind sports otherwise.
03/26/00 13:26:37 (David_Levy) Therefore I believe there will be
03/26/00 13:26:44 (David_Levy) general public support for this idea.
03/26/00 13:26:46 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:26:56 (MSO_Admin) Thank you for the question!
03/26/00 13:26:58 (MSO_Admin) Who would like to ask the next question, please?
03/26/00 13:27:47 (MSO_Admin) I'll ask the next question in that case...
03/26/00 13:27:59 (MSO_Admin) If we test for physical stimulants
03/26/00 13:28:07 (MSO_Admin) when we're testing physical competitors,
03/26/00 13:28:18 (MSO_Admin) should we be testing mental athletes for the use of smart drugs?
03/26/00 13:28:28 (David_Levy) I suppose that if we are going to test at all
03/26/00 13:28:33 (David_Levy) then we should tst for anything
03/26/00 13:28:39 (David_Levy) which might enhance a player's performance
03/26/00 13:28:43 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:29:16 (Jouni) What is the most physical mind sport at MSO?
03/26/00 13:29:32 (David_Levy) I have to think hard about that one.
03/26/00 13:29:42 (David_Levy) I suppose
03/26/00 13:29:48 (David_Levy) poker may be the most physical
03/26/00 13:30:02 (David_Levy) but I can't really think
03/26/00 13:30:05 (David_Levy) of any that are
03/26/00 13:30:11 (David_Levy) really physical.
03/26/00 13:30:43 (MSO_Admin) What about the Pentamind?
03/26/00 13:30:53 (David_Levy) One could say that the Pentamind is the most physical
03/26/00 13:30:56 (David_Levy) because it requires
03/26/00 13:31:00 (David_Levy) the largest number of hours play
03/26/00 13:31:07 (David_Levy) because you have to take part in at least five events
03/26/00 13:31:11 (David_Levy) to have a chance of winning.
03/26/00 13:31:19 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:31:22 (chuck) why do you think there is a lack of team mind sports?
03/26/00 13:31:35 (David_Levy) There is not really
03/26/00 13:31:43 (David_Levy) a great lack of team mind sports
03/26/00 13:31:47 (David_Levy) for the major mind sports
03/26/00 13:31:53 (David_Levy) such as bridge, chess and 10x10 draughts;
03/26/00 13:32:02 (David_Levy) there are already Olympiads for all three of these games
03/26/00 13:32:08 (David_Levy) which have been running for many years
03/26/00 13:32:13 (David_Levy) in which countries send teams
03/26/00 13:32:20 (David_Levy) . As I mentioned earlier this evening,
03/26/00 13:32:29 (David_Levy) we are hosting this year's 10x10 draughts olympiad
03/26/00 13:32:38 (David_Levy) in which perhaps 25-30 countries will send teams
03/26/00 13:32:43 (David_Levy) or maybe even more.
03/26/00 13:32:49 (David_Levy) There is also a possibility
03/26/00 13:32:54 (David_Levy) but at the moment
03/26/00 13:32:58 (David_Levy) it is only a slim possibility
03/26/00 13:33:02 (David_Levy) that we may host this year's
03/26/00 13:33:05 (David_Levy) chess olympiad at MSO
03/26/00 13:33:08 (David_Levy) . This is because the
03/26/00 13:33:14 (David_Levy) intended venue, Istanbul,
03/26/00 13:33:21 (David_Levy) is pulling out and
03/26/00 13:33:27 (David_Levy) FIDE needs some other country
03/26/00 13:33:29 (David_Levy) to organise it.
03/26/00 13:33:38 (David_Levy) We are exploring this possibility
03/26/00 13:33:39 (David_Levy) at the moment.
03/26/00 13:33:45 (David_Levy) In addition to these three games,
03/26/00 13:33:51 (David_Levy) there is quite a lot of
03/26/00 13:33:55 (David_Levy) team competition
03/26/00 13:33:57 (David_Levy) in the UK at least
03/26/00 13:34:01 (David_Levy) in dominoes and cribbage
03/26/00 13:34:08 (David_Levy) and I am sure there are
03/26/00 13:34:12 (David_Levy) team competitions in the far east
03/26/00 13:34:18 (David_Levy) for Chinese Chess, Shogi, Go etc.
03/26/00 13:34:22 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:34:38 (MSO_Admin) Who would like to ask the next question, please?
03/26/00 13:34:50 (Jouni) I would like to note that chess Olympiad is not really a team event, even the points counted are not team points, which is silly. In a true team mental sport there is only one board for all.
03/26/00 13:35:18 (David_Levy) I understand your idea here
03/26/00 13:35:25 (David_Levy) and you can certainly argue
03/26/00 13:35:33 (David_Levy) that the scoring system in the Chess Olympiad
03/26/00 13:35:37 (David_Levy) means that it is not a team event
03/26/00 13:35:47 (David_Levy) However there are certain team aspects
03/26/00 13:35:49 (David_Levy) for example
03/26/00 13:35:56 (David_Levy) sometimes a player must try very hard
03/26/00 13:35:58 (David_Levy) to win a game
03/26/00 13:36:06 (David_Levy) in order for his team to avoid losing a match
03/26/00 13:36:15 (David_Levy) against a close rival
03/26/00 13:36:19 (David_Levy) so although I agree with you
03/26/00 13:36:22 (David_Levy) that in a sense
03/26/00 13:36:27 (David_Levy) it is less of a team event than many other
03/26/00 13:36:33 (David_Levy) sports, I still believe
03/26/00 13:36:35 (David_Levy) that there is a strong
03/26/00 13:36:41 (David_Levy) team aspect to the Chess Olympiads.
03/26/00 13:36:48 (David_Levy) In bridge, it is clearly the case
03/26/00 13:36:54 (David_Levy) that the Olympiads are team events.
03/26/00 13:36:58 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:37:11 (MaxTL) Once more about the recognition issue: Did you ever meet official of organisations like IOC etc., who apply other criteria than to be "physical", to judge what is a sport?
03/26/00 13:37:51 (David_Levy) No, I have never really discussed
03/26/00 13:37:55 (David_Levy) this issue with any officials.
03/26/00 13:38:01 (David_Levy) Our policy in the Mind Sports Olympiad
03/26/00 13:38:07 (David_Levy) is that in principle
03/26/00 13:38:13 (David_Levy) we accept any activity
03/26/00 13:38:15 (David_Levy) in which the mind
03/26/00 13:38:18 (David_Levy) is the part of the body
03/26/00 13:38:25 (David_Levy) which determines your success or failure.
03/26/00 13:38:30 (David_Levy) rather than your physical
03/26/00 13:38:37 (David_Levy) attributes or physical performance.
03/26/00 13:38:38 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:39:19 (MSO_Admin) Please could we have another question from the floor?
03/26/00 13:39:34 (chuck) How many do you hope will attend the next MSO?
03/26/00 13:39:41 (David_Levy) I hope that
03/26/00 13:39:44 (David_Levy) we will achieve
03/26/00 13:39:47 (David_Levy) our target of 12,000
03/26/00 13:39:49 (David_Levy) to 15,000.
03/26/00 13:39:55 (David_Levy) When we started the Olympiad in 1997
03/26/00 13:40:01 (David_Levy) my ambition was that by the year 2000
03/26/00 13:40:04 (David_Levy) we would have more entries
03/26/00 13:40:09 (David_Levy) than the Olympic Games.
03/26/00 13:40:12 (David_Levy) This year the Olympic Games
03/26/00 13:40:17 (David_Levy) has announced 10,200 entries
03/26/00 13:40:25 (David_Levy) expected. We might well exceed that.
03/26/00 13:40:30 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:40:36 (MSO_Admin) Thanks for that question!
03/26/00 13:41:21 (MSO_Admin) I invite you all to ask another question for the discussion.
03/26/00 13:43:25 (David_Levy) Does anyone have any
03/26/00 13:43:30 (David_Levy) bright ideas for new games
03/26/00 13:43:34 (David_Levy) we could add to the next Olympiad?
03/26/00 13:44:35 (Jouni) Is rock,paper and scissors already there?
03/26/00 13:44:46 (chuck) Are you familiar with the game Set?
03/26/00 13:44:51 (David_Levy) It isn't, but somebody has
03/26/00 13:44:59 (David_Levy) suggested putting in a rock,
03/26/00 13:45:04 (David_Levy) scissors and paper tournament in the
03/26/00 13:45:07 (David_Levy) Computer Olympiad this year
03/26/00 13:45:12 (David_Levy) and I think we are probably going to do that.
03/26/00 13:45:25 (David_Levy) Yes, I am - I played it with some American
03/26/00 13:45:31 (David_Levy) friends last year and I think it's a great game.
03/26/00 13:45:35 (David_Levy) However, I have to say that
03/26/00 13:45:41 (David_Levy) both of my children trounced me at it
03/26/00 13:45:47 (David_Levy) I actually met the woman who invented it
03/26/00 13:45:52 (David_Levy) last year at the New York toy fair
03/26/00 13:45:55 (David_Levy) and when I told her
03/26/00 13:45:59 (David_Levy) how much I had enjoyed the game,
03/26/00 13:46:04 (David_Levy) she said that she was amazed it had
03/26/00 13:46:06 (David_Levy) spread to England.
03/26/00 13:46:11 (David_Levy) I think it's an excellent game for
03/26/00 13:46:14 (David_Levy) people of all agesa
03/26/00 13:46:19 (David_Levy) and can probably be sued
03/26/00 13:46:25 (David_Levy) to train people in sharpening upt
03/26/00 13:46:28 (David_Levy) their mental skills.
03/26/00 13:46:32 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:46:47 (MSO_Admin) Do you keep in touch with many new modern proprietary games?
03/26/00 13:46:59 (David_Levy) I make no attempt to do so
03/26/00 13:47:03 (David_Levy) because there are some 2,000
03/26/00 13:47:10 (David_Levy) new proprietary games launched every year.
03/26/00 13:47:15 (David_Levy) However, I often get approaches
03/26/00 13:47:18 (David_Levy) from individuals or companies
03/26/00 13:47:21 (David_Levy) about new games
03/26/00 13:47:29 (David_Levy) and our answer is always the same:
03/26/00 13:47:33 (David_Levy) if you can guarantee enough players
03/26/00 13:47:37 (David_Levy) and provide some prize money,
03/26/00 13:47:44 (David_Levy) then we will host a tournament for you at MSO.
03/26/00 13:47:49 (David_Levy) This is because we like to have
03/26/00 13:47:52 (David_Levy) people promote games
03/26/00 13:47:58 (David_Levy) not for any financial reward on our part
03/26/00 13:48:03 (David_Levy) but because we want to do
03/26/00 13:48:06 (David_Levy) whatever we can
03/26/00 13:48:08 (David_Levy) to promote mind sports
03/26/00 13:48:11 (David_Levy) and their growth.
03/26/00 13:48:13 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:48:26 (MaxTL) Thanks to Mr. Levy and the MSO team, good night everyone.
03/26/00 13:48:50 (chuck) How was Settlers of Catan decided to be added to the event this year? I was very happy about that because I was third place in the World Boardgaming Championships this year. :-)
03/26/00 13:48:57 (chuck) ...our of 94 players. =)
03/26/00 13:49:09 (David_Levy) It was decided by recommendation.
03/26/00 13:49:13 (David_Levy) Someone recommended it to me
03/26/00 13:49:19 (David_Levy) and because we want to
03/26/00 13:49:25 (David_Levy) encourage any game which is popular
03/26/00 13:49:30 (David_Levy) we decided to give it a try again.
03/26/00 13:49:32 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:49:55 (chuck) well, I believe it is the best selling game of this decade according to Greg Costikyan selling 3 million copies in Germany alone! =)
03/26/00 13:49:56 (MSO_Admin) Why wasn't there a Magic: the Gathering tournament at MSO III?
03/26/00 13:50:03 (David_Levy) WE would certainly have
03/26/00 13:50:06 (David_Levy) liked to have had one.
03/26/00 13:50:14 (David_Levy) and we tried very hard to convince
03/26/00 13:50:19 (David_Levy) Wizards of the Coast to organise one.
03/26/00 13:50:28 (David_Levy) But I think they had some internal reorganisation
03/26/00 13:50:33 (David_Levy) possibly connected with the fact
03/26/00 13:50:41 (David_Levy) that the company was bought by Hasbro.
03/26/00 13:50:47 (David_Levy) Nevertheless, I hope very much
03/26/00 13:50:55 (David_Levy) that we will have a Magic tournament in the future.
03/26/00 13:50:58 (David_Levy) I was invited two years ago
03/26/00 13:51:07 (David_Levy) by the Head Office of Wizards of the Coast
03/26/00 13:51:14 (David_Levy) to attend a Magic tournament in Rio de Janiero.
03/26/00 13:51:23 (David_Levy) There were something like 1500 players
03/26/00 13:51:29 (David_Levy) almost all of whom were from Brazil.
03/26/00 13:51:33 (David_Levy) This shows just how
03/26/00 13:51:35 (David_Levy) possible it is
03/26/00 13:51:45 (David_Levy) to organise really big Magic tournaments
03/26/00 13:51:51 (David_Levy) and I don't see why we shouldn't
03/26/00 13:51:56 (David_Levy) be able to do something similar at MSO
03/26/00 13:52:00 (David_Levy) if Wizards want us to.
03/26/00 13:52:03 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:52:07 (Jouni) what is your most favourite mind and physical sport?
03/26/00 13:52:19 (David_Levy) My favourite mind sport is poker.
03/26/00 13:52:24 (David_Levy) I play whenever I can
03/26/00 13:52:30 (David_Levy) in a school we have going in London.
03/26/00 13:52:37 (David_Levy) Ideally I would like to play once a week
03/26/00 13:52:42 (David_Levy) but some of the people I play with
03/26/00 13:52:47 (David_Levy) travel a lot on business
03/26/00 13:52:52 (David_Levy) so we can't always get enough players for a game.
03/26/00 13:52:57 (David_Levy) The difference between the way
03/26/00 13:53:01 (David_Levy) I play poker and the way we
03/26/00 13:53:03 (David_Levy) play at MSO
03/26/00 13:53:06 (David_Levy) is that I play for money
03/26/00 13:53:12 (David_Levy) but at MSO we are not allowed to play for money
03/26/00 13:53:17 (David_Levy) because of the laws in England.
03/26/00 13:53:21 (David_Levy) Despite this, poker is becoming
03/26/00 13:53:27 (David_Levy) one of our most popular events.
03/26/00 13:53:31 (David_Levy) even without money prizes.
03/26/00 13:53:40 (David_Levy) As to physical sports,
03/26/00 13:53:43 (David_Levy) I hate taking part
03/26/00 13:53:45 (David_Levy) in all physical sports
03/26/00 13:53:49 (David_Levy) and always did so.
03/26/00 13:53:56 (David_Levy) My worst experience with physical sport
03/26/00 13:54:01 (David_Levy) was when my bridge partner
03/26/00 13:54:04 (David_Levy) at university
03/26/00 13:54:11 (David_Levy) persuaded me to enter a bridge-golf tournament.
03/26/00 13:54:18 (David_Levy) On the first tee of the golf course,
03/26/00 13:54:22 (David_Levy) I missed the ball24 times
03/26/00 13:54:25 (David_Levy) before I hit it
03/26/00 13:54:29 (David_Levy) and was disgusted to discover
03/26/00 13:54:33 (David_Levy) that each time I missed it
03/26/00 13:54:36 (David_Levy) counted as one stroke!
03/26/00 13:54:44 (David_Levy) On the first hole, I scored 69.
03/26/00 13:54:50 (David_Levy) This would have been an outstanding score
03/26/00 13:54:56 (David_Levy) for a beginner on the whole course,
03/26/00 13:55:00 (David_Levy) but not on the first hole.
03/26/00 13:55:04 (David_Levy) Fortunately it started to rain
03/26/00 13:55:06 (David_Levy) on the third hole
03/26/00 13:55:13 (David_Levy) and I have never played golf since!
03/26/00 13:55:14 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:55:19 (chuck) which mind sports are considered too random by the government to be allowed to be played for money?
03/26/00 13:56:06 (David_Levy) Any mind sport involving
03/26/00 13:56:12 (David_Levy) cards except for bridge and cribbagte
03/26/00 13:56:20 (David_Levy) The reason why cribbage can be played
03/26/00 13:56:22 (David_Levy) for prizes is that
03/26/00 13:56:28 (David_Levy) there is an exception in the Gaming Act
03/26/00 13:56:34 (David_Levy) which allows cribbage and dominoes,
03/26/00 13:56:40 (David_Levy) both of which have the luck element,
03/26/00 13:56:44 (David_Levy) to be played for money
03/26/00 13:56:50 (David_Levy) provided they are played on premises
03/26/00 13:56:56 (David_Levy) licensed to serve alcohol.
03/26/00 13:56:58 (David_Levy) The reason for this
03/26/00 13:57:04 (David_Levy) is that both games are widely played in pubs
03/26/00 13:57:10 (David_Levy) where people often play for money.
03/26/00 13:57:18 (David_Levy) so the Gaming Act respects this tradition.
03/26/00 13:57:22 (David_Levy) Fortunately for us,
03/26/00 13:57:28 (David_Levy) the venue for this year's Olympiad,
03/26/00 13:57:32 (David_Levy) Alexandra Palace,
03/26/00 13:57:37 (David_Levy) has a number of bar areas
03/26/00 13:57:42 (David_Levy) and is licensed to serve alcohol.
03/26/00 13:57:51 (David_Levy) Therefore we can have cribbage and domino
03/26/00 13:57:55 (David_Levy) tournaments this year with nice prizes.
03/26/00 13:58:00 (David_Levy) In fact we are working with the official
03/26/00 13:58:06 (David_Levy) British organisation for cribbage and domino
03/26/00 13:58:11 (David_Levy) championships and we expect to have
03/26/00 13:58:19 (David_Levy) a few hundred players for each tournament this year.
03/26/00 13:58:24 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 13:58:36 (chuck) when was the Gaming Act accepted? Since I live in the US, I'm not familiar with England's laws...
03/26/00 13:58:51 (David_Levy) 1968 is the current version
03/26/00 13:58:58 (David_Levy) but I believe there was an earlier act as well.
03/26/00 13:59:13 (MSO_Admin) Would you like to be able to offer prizes for poker and backgammon?
03/26/00 13:59:22 (David_Levy) Yes I would.
03/26/00 13:59:27 (David_Levy) They are both games of great skill.
03/26/00 13:59:37 (David_Levy) Unfortunately the judges who made the law do not
03/26/00 13:59:43 (David_Levy) realise that games that have a luck element
03/26/00 13:59:52 (David_Levy) can still be games where skill is the determining factor.
03/26/00 13:59:57 (David_Levy) For example, if you look
03/26/00 14:00:00 (David_Levy) at the results of the most
03/26/00 14:00:04 (David_Levy) important backgammon tournaments,
03/26/00 14:00:10 (David_Levy) the same players tend to be at the
03/26/00 14:00:13 (David_Levy) top of the list every time
03/26/00 14:00:25 (David_Levy) . The same is true to a large extent in poker.
03/26/00 14:00:35 (David_Levy) At the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas,
03/26/00 14:00:40 (David_Levy) which is like the World Championship,
03/26/00 14:00:44 (David_Levy) the top players
03/26/00 14:00:49 (David_Levy) tend to end up
03/26/00 14:00:58 (David_Levy) near the top of the tournament more often than not.
03/26/00 14:01:05 (David_Levy) This is because poker is a game of great skill.
03/26/00 14:01:08 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 14:01:38 (chuck) Are there any other laws of England that would be interesting for foreigners to know who are planning to compete in the MSO?
03/26/00 14:02:11 (David_Levy) Yes - if you win a prize of 3,000 pounds or more
03/26/00 14:02:29 (David_Levy) if you win a large cash prize, I think the limit may be 3,000 pounds or more,
03/26/00 14:02:32 (David_Levy) but I'm not sure about that,
03/26/00 14:02:41 (David_Levy) then you have to pay income tax on your prize
03/26/00 14:02:45 (David_Levy) . End of answer.
03/26/00 14:04:14 (David_Levy) When is the next major event in which a chess program will take part alongside humans?
03/26/00 14:04:16 (Jouni) what has been the most popular and least popular sport at MSO?
03/26/00 14:04:25 (David_Levy) In this year's Dutch Chess Championship,
03/26/00 14:04:37 (David_Levy) the program Fritz is taking part
03/26/00 14:04:43 (David_Levy) . This in itself is not so remarkable
03/26/00 14:04:48 (David_Levy) but what is remarkable
03/26/00 14:04:55 (David_Levy) is the fact that Fritz is eligible for the title.
03/26/00 14:05:00 (David_Levy) This is the first time in history
03/26/00 14:05:06 (David_Levy) that a computer program has been eligible
03/26/00 14:05:12 (David_Levy) to win a national chess championship.
03/26/00 14:05:20 (David_Levy) in one of the leading chess countries.
03/26/00 14:05:22 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 14:05:33 (David_Levy) The most popular is chess;
03/26/00 14:05:42 (David_Levy) followed closely by Bridge and Stratego.
03/26/00 14:05:57 (David_Levy) The least popular was jigsaw puzzles which we abandoned after the first year.
03/26/00 14:06:02 (David_Levy) End of answer.
03/26/00 14:07:57 (David_Levy) Thank you for visiting us.
03/26/00 14:08:18 (MSO_Admin) Thank you all very much for turning up to the chat session.
03/26/00 14:08:21 (Jouni) Thank you all
03/26/00 14:08:23 (MSO_Admin) It has been very interesting.
03/26/00 14:09:13 (chuck) Thanks
03/26/00 14:10:21 (chuck) hey Chris. cool chat session. :-)
03/26/00 14:11:44 (chuck) alright, well I gotta go...bye
03/26/00 14:16:26 (MSO_Admin) We thank you all for your incisive and interesting questions
03/26/00 14:16:41 (MSO_Admin) and hope that you enjoyed finding out the answers as much as I did.
03/26/00 14:17:46 (MSO_Admin) Our next star guest chat session will feature Will Shortz
03/26/00 14:17:55 (MSO_Admin) on the evening of Sunday 23rd April.
03/26/00 14:18:09 (MSO_Admin) Between now and then there are lots of exciting features coming up on the MSO web site:
03/26/00 14:18:33 (MSO_Admin) contests of three natures: programming, trivia and creativity,
03/26/00 14:19:20 (MSO_Admin) our IQ tests, our message boards (please sign the petition to show support for the Century of the Brain and the Millennium of the Mind) and not least our online gameplay.
03/26/00 14:20:13 (MSO_Admin) We look forward to your company then!
03/26/00 14:20:25 (MSO_Admin) For MSO Worldwide, this is Chris Dickson signing off!
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