Computer beats human at Japanese chess for the first time
The Mainichi Daily News of Japan reports that a computer has beaten a human being at shogi (or Japanese chess) for the first time ever. The match, between Ichiyo Shimizu and an Akara 2010 computer, took place at the University of Tokyo. You may think that we've made a mistake, because didn't a computer beat Gary Gasparov at chess in 1997? Shogi is a lot more difficult than chess however, and a computer had yet to beat a person before this particular contest. Oh, and Shimizu isn't the best shogi player out there. The JSA will apparently conduct an in-depth analysis of the match between the computer and Shimizu, who is a woman, before allowing a much-higher ranked male player to compete against the machine. The Japanese Shogi Association imposed a rule on its members, who need the organisation's explicit permission to play against a computer. Make of that what you will. Read more: New Scientist
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