The mastermind behind the computer that beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov will be in Hong Kong next week to give players the blues.
Dr Tan Chung-jen, the IBM team leader that created Deep Blue, the world's most powerful chess-playing computer, will be at the University of Hong Kong on Tuesday.
He will connect, via the Internet, any challenger who wants to pit his wits against the computer in New York. Deep Blue Junior, a less powerful version of the original - and which will be introduced on Monday at City University - will be on hand for face-to-face matches.
Yesterday, university organisers were trying to contact Hong Kong's own chess masters, computer consultant Jonathan Ady and former mainlander Yang Xian, to attend the forum.
But Hong Kong University's dean of engineering Paul Cheung Ying-sheung said the forum also had a more serious purpose. 'We will discuss the practical applications of supercomputers as well as their implications for our understanding of intelligence.
'That's why we have invited sociologists, philosophers and engineers. We want to know why it was such a big deal for Deep Blue to beat the world chess champion.' Deep Blue stunned the world in May when Kasparov stormed out of their last match after being forced into an indefensible position.
