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Spanish moon-face at Frankfurt Masters
World-class round robin poses a special challenge for Fritz on Primergy
by Hartmut Metz
A Spanish film star is thought to be one of the top favourites at the 1999
Frankfurt Chess Classic meeting. The movie hero speaks fluent Spanish and is of
German origin. To be more precise, he grew up in Hamburg and is the favourite
child of ChessBase chess software company. The offspring is called Fritz and the
chess computer programme plays one of the main roles in the movie "La otra cara
de la luna" ('The other side of the moon') which recently had its premiere in
Barcelona. 'Man versus machine' is the ever-fascinating theme of this
Spanish-French co-production which was filmed in Venice and Barcelona. Spanish
top actress Ingrid Rubio plays the part of a chess programmer and Didier Bezace
a chess grandmaster. The screen play was written by Josep Lluis Comeron and
Ricard Figueres was the producer. The latest 5.32 Fritz version was chosen as
the chess programme, because in Spanish it is able to come out with plenty of
lip if the situation requires.
However, Spanish jokes will not be in order when the iridescent disc, of which
200,000 copies have already been sold, goes into action in Frankfurt's
Ballsporthalle. From Tuesday, 29 June to Friday, 2 July (daily between 2 and 6
p.m.) Fritz will not face Didier Bezace but real life chess grandmasters. The
septet consists of Alexander Morozevich, Peter Svidler (both from Russia),
Michael Adams (Great Britain), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Peter Leko, Judit
Polgar (both from Hungary) and the German no. 3, Christopher Lutz (of SG Cologne
Porz Bundesliga team) and their rating average is 2,690 ELO. No participant is
more than 28 years of age, and this new generation of young rising stars like
Alexander Morozevich, world ranking number five, or Peter Leko has what it take
to reach the highest rank and to become a world champion in the future. The
undisputed number one of women's chess is Judit Polgar, although her sister
Susan currently holds the title of women's world champion. Nevertheless, Peter
Svidler, Veselin Topalov and Michael Adams are also players who have arrived at
the very top of the world chess hierarchy.
In April the British player managed to win the tournament in Dos Hermanas
(Spain) ahead of three of the four players in the Siemens Giants event, which
will take place every day at 6.30 p.m. after the Masters'. Vladimir Kramnik,
FIDE world champion Anatoly Karpov (both from Russia) and Viswanthan Anand
(India) had to concede to Adams in Dos Hermanas. It was only due to Kasparov's
habitual absence at this kind of tournament that the 27-year old British player
did not make a fool of all the elite players now at the Siemens Giants chess
meeting. However, this time Kasparov and his arch-rival Karpov will face the
challenge of meeting each other in the same tournament. For the first time since
the Las Palmas tournament in 1996 both world champions will bull-eye each other.
Although the Fritz chess programme convincingly won last year's Ordix Open,
which always take place on the weekend after the Siemens Giants, its inventor
and manufacturer feels uneasy. "The Frankfurt Masters is a new superlative
dimension. Never before has Fritz operated on such powerful hardware as Primergy
870", admits Matthias Wüllenweber with some degree of stage fright, before
explaining "This is the first time that the computer chess programme has
participated in such a strong field of players. Admittedly, previous
'mini-matches' against Karpov and Anand were more spectacular, but a double
round robin against top class grandmasters is more thrilling." The 'Bill Gates'
of chess software draws special attention to his preparations for opening. "This
field has to be approached in a completely different way", reveals Wüllenweber.
The main focus of Chessbase's work will be on opening systems that have been
spotted as weaknesses in the opponents' repertoire, as this offers an
opportunity to stage an ambush. A team of strong chess players, headed by German
grandmaster Rainer Knaak, and databases with collections of several million
games generate sufficient know-how to enable the Hamburg-based software company
to spot chess variations that are most disliked by Adams, Morozevich and the
rest of the pack. One has to bear in mind that recently a standard Fritz
programme demonstrated its strength of play in beating Judit Polgar by a 5.5 -
2.5 margin in a rapid chess match held in Budapest.
With typical Hanseatic lack of emotion, Wüllenweber intimates that 'Fritz on
Primergy' might drive the lady Hungarian player and six world class grandmasters
into a corner: "We hope to achieve a performance well above 2,700 ELO." In 1998,
the old Fritz 5 version had already played cat and mouse with its opponents and
reached a performance of approx. 2,800 ELO. This is a level which is regularly
achieved only by Kasparov. Wüllenweber is sure that he can rely on a successful
symbiotic-like relationship between a commercial software product that anyone
can buy for 99 DM (50,61 Euro), and hardware developed by Siemens. "If the Fritz
programme is operating at its upper limits it has to find corresponding hardware
with a 'brutal' configuration, and this is exactly what Primergy 870 supplies",
asserts the 37-year old. With regard to the impressive technical data he sums
up: "Four high-speed processors, probably at 555 megahertz, will check one
million positions per second. At this computing speed the high-capacity Primergy
processor storage of four gigabytes therefore offers sufficient capacity for
huge hash tables."
One novelty will add another new element to the improved abilities of the
computer monster. "For the first time Fritz will have access to the endgame
database. If it detects a position with king, rook and pawn versus king and rook
within the analysis of a rook endgame with four versus three pawns, it will
automatically retrieve an evaluation from the endgame database" explains
Wüllenweber, and adds "This new feature can only be used due to an extremely
fast high-speed hard disk, in order to avoid slowing down calculations. We
therefore appreciate the opportunity to bring into operation powerful server
hardware." In consequence, the Chessbase guru concludes "As far as hardware is
concerned, Primergy 870 helps to achieve a 'nice little' improvement in
performance and, hopefully, this will also apply in the field of software."
However, the company owner from Hamburg doubts whether these efforts will be
sufficient to beat Viswanathan Anand in a rapid chess revenge match on 3 July (8
p.m.) and 4 July (1.30 p.m.). It is difficult to predict the outcome against the
world rating list number 2 from India, "as he knows Fritz inside out". Even if
the machine loses the four game-match, Wüllenweber hopes once again to come out
a winner: "We want to see games at this high level as this provides new insights
into positional chess, which can be used to improve the next programme version.
It goes without saying that Fritz will dominate in tactical skills using the
Primergy 870 super-hardware."
Chess needs to make its voice better heard
Interview with Hans-Walter Schmitt, the 'Jack of all trades' of the Frankfurt
Chess Classic meeting - utopian dreamer or visionary realist?
by Hartmut Metz
For three years chess organisers have vainly tried to arrange a meeting between
Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov at the chessboard. Hans-Walter Schmitt has
pulled this off. From 29 June to 2 July, the 2 world champions will face each
other at the Frankfurt Chess Classic meeting in the Ballsporthalle. Number 2 in
the world ratings, Viswanathan Anand from India and number 3, Vladimir Kramnik
from Russia, complete the Siemens Giants line-up which could not be more
prestigious. What expectations does the 47-year old Siemens marketing manager
have now he has launched this coup? In an interview with Hartmut Metz, the
president of SC Frankfurt-West chess club provides some details about the chess
meeting and potential developments in the chess world.
Viswanathan Anand is a regular participant at the Frankfurt Chess Classic
meetings and your favourite among the top class players. Will he manage to
repeat last year's success?
Viswanathan Anand is not only a regular visitor and everybody's darling at the
Frankfurt Chess Classics, since 1994 he has also played an important role as a
model figure who contributes to the on-going success of the Frankfurt chess
meeting. His well-received simuls in 1994 and 1995 smoothed the way for some
'extra' chess in Frankfurt. Due to his personality and his commitment, he
increases sympathy and identification with our youth programme "White Tiger",
which is a group-oriented chess training programme for children. In 1995 he
became an honorary member of our club, SC Frankfurt-West, and only once did he
miss the Frankfurt event, in 1996, because of his wedding. In 1995 and 1996 we
came across a second model player, and Vladimir Kramnik took over patronage for
another, achievement-oriented training programme "Black Bear", which benefits
promising players by providing individual tuition.
Last year the white tiger and the black bear settled the outcome of the Siemens
Giants. Is the tiger going to win again this year?
It looks as if he is unbeatable as far as Frankfurt tournaments are concerned.
He became the Frankfurt hero after winning the 1997 event ahead of Karpov,
Topalov and Lobron, as well as the 1998 competition which was a category 22
tournament with Kasparov, Kramink and Ivanchuk as other participants. >From this
point of view he would have a psychological advantage if a world championship
match against Kasparov were to be held in Frankfurt. If one compares rapid chess
results in recent years Anand appears to be a favourite not only according to
statistics but also because he can rely on his popularity among the Frankfurt
chess community at large. Although we, members of the Schmitt family from Bad
Soden, are also known world-wide for our support of the A(nand)-Team, the
organisers aim to deliver the same conditions for every single player in the
Siemens Giants'.
In his days Bobby Fischer made the embarrassing comment that an American player
has no chance of winning a round robin if three Russian players are
participating.
This reproach is not justified for the Frankfurt chess meeting where, for sure,
Russian players do not join forces. Everybody takes his own chance, and perhaps
our Indian honorary member can benefit from rivalry among the Russians.
What do you expect from other players? FIDE world champion Anatoly Karpov is
only number 9 in the world rating list and it seems as if he has only an outside
chance of winning.
I cannot see a clear favourite and, as is often the case, form on the day will
decide who will succeed. This excitement is an important feature of the Siemens
Giants and, in consequence, the result is wide open as both world champions will
line up for the strongest rapid chess tournament in 1999. Those who write off
Anatoly Karpov might be in for a big surprise if one brings to mind the FIDE
world championship finale in Lausanne in 1998. Although I know that this match
between Karpov and Anand was played in an uneven situation due to Vishy's
'fatigue' after the Groningen qualification marathon, I would say that he came
back to life when he managed to draw the match level at 3-3. Nevertheless, he
was doomed to failure when victory was in his sights, as he could not control
his nerves in rapid chess, his favourite discipline. In Frankfurt a similar
competition involving both mind and body will be played out between the four
contestants.
How would you evaluate Garry Kasparov's prospect for success after he finished
in a disappointing third place in 1998?
Imagine an Olympiad between animals would take place between the white tiger,
the black bear, the grey wolf and the old fox: nobody can predict who will be
the eventual winner. If Kasparov gets into an over-intense state of mind, he can
easily become a victim of a cunning devil like Karpov who often uses
understatement as a lethal weapon. But there is no doubt that the strongest
player of all times will take this strategy into account. I would like to modify
a saying from the world of football: 'The truth is on the board of play.' Maybe
in the end Vladimir Kramnik will appear as the conquering hero in the public
spotlight.
This time the Masters tournament is made up of players under the 28-year age
limit. Was the idea to counter last year's line-up when 'old soldiers' were
invited who had been Robert Hübner's opponents during his drive for the world
championship?
In the first place we would like to please our customers which means providing
entertainment for chess fans. During a six year period we have established a
master event with alternative main themes. In 1998 we invited players whom
Robert Hübner met in candidate matches for the world championship, plus the
player who qualified from the Ordix Open. This time the theme is computer chess
and young chess players. These players have grown up with new technology and
they use the computer daily in order to get information, to communicate with the
chess world and to train using computer programmes. Most appropriately, the
Fritz chess programme won last year's Ordix Open, and it will therefore enter
the tournament as 'Fritz on Primergy'. As it happens, our principal sponsor
Siemens Computer Systems devote a lot of attention to the field of 'information
meets communication'. This is a very important relationship as the Frankfurt
chess meeting mainly relies on support from a world-wide operating company like
Siemens. Other major tournaments, e.g. Dortmund, act differently as they put
together financial resources from local sponsors.
Is it important to make this distinction? In the end cash is cash!
Chess is a global sport which is competing with other 'entertaining' sports, and
it therefore depends on world-wide identification with regard to sponsors,
organisers, players, media attraction and audiences. Expansion of markets for
chess has to be a prime goal of everyone in the chess world. From this point of
view I would say that FIDE's activities are downright counter-productive. The
current project to organise the world championships in Las Vegas, that mecca of
commerce, is absolutely foolish if the intention is to produce a new image for
chess.
In what way?
Elista, Linareas, Dos Hermanas, Wijk aan Zee, Novgorod, Sarajevo, Dortmund are
first-class addresses in the chess world. However, in metropolises like New
York, Moscow, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Hongkong, and in a banking
metropolis like Frankfurt, we have to push our sport in different framework
conditions, because 'brutal' competition exists with other sports and rival
sectors in the entertainment business. We have to persuade sponsors that it is
worth their while to invest already highly-taxed money, as in return they will
get many times the amount of outlay in a different currency.
'Old soldiers' like Victor Korchnoi or Jan Timman are charismatic players. Are
young players in a position to replace them?
Up to now no young player can match the charisma of Victor Korchnoi or Jan
Timman. How could they manage this if one takes into consideration the time it
takes to become a legendary player. However, this feature is compensated by new
elements, their flamboyant style and their potential to become future world
champions. Morozevich, Judit Polgar, Adams, Svidler, Topalov and Leko are well
on their way towards reaching the pinnacle of the chess world.
What will be the result in the Masters event?
Like in the Siemens Giants the outcome of the tournament is absolutely open. It
is up to the bookmakers in London to work out the odds of individual players'
chances. I'm curious to see who will come up with something new and who will
perform with the greatest fighting spirit to gain the right to be included in
the Siemens Giants field in the year 2000. Shortly before the Las Vegas FIDE
world championship, this is a very particular consideration. It will also be
exciting to see how the new computer-oriented chess generation will hold out
against their plaything 'Fritz on Primergy'. Some well-known chess journalists
reckon 'Fritz on Primergy' as the potential winner. Personally, I think that
Michael Adams and the world's best woman player, Judit Polgar, are the
favourites.
What about 'Fritz on Primergy''s prospects? The Chessbase company is so euphoric
about the Primergy 870 hardware - some commentators predict a debacle for the
human players.
Last year the Fritz programme dominated the Ordix Open with an outstanding 9.5
points from 11 games. However, this surprising result was mainly due to the
pairing system, whereas this time each competitor can do some 'home-made'
preparation with White and Black, in order to beat their 'natural, regular'
sparring partner. I'm therefore more sceptical, as players like Peter Leko and
Christopher Lutz will surely find some weakness in the computer's game. We will
wait and see if the new Fritz software and the 'brute force' of Primergy 870 are
compatible components and can come up with some spectacular results.
And what is your forecast for the Chessbase-Siemens coalition in the revenge
match against Viswanathan Anand?
Against Vishy Anand 'Fritz on Primergy' will have considerably less chance of
winning for three reasons: Vishy will have the advantage of watching Fritz on
Primergy in action for four days, he is by far the best and fastest player who
reveals no emotions when he plays against a computer. Finally, as I already
mentioned, he is unbeatable when he comes to Frankfurt.
The overall budget for the Frankfurt Chess Classic meeting is approximately half
a million German marks. This is quite a substantial sum for a chess event which
only very organisers manage to put together. Often a patron provides funds from
his private funds. You succeeded in attracting Siemens, Ordix, Goldmann & Sachs,
Holiday Inn at the Main-Taunus centre, Taunus Savings Bank and some others as
sponsors who expect a return in some way. Is this only due to your top position
in the Siemens company?
I would first like to answer the latter part of the question: I'm a marketing
manager in the computer and systems department of Siemens Computer Systems, with
responsibilities for operational activities in the order of a several thousand
million budget. Within the Siemens Group I'm simply a small cogwheel which has
been running smoothly well for a decade. My philosophy is that everything that
works well has to fulfil five pre-requisites: team work, creativity, courage,
orientation towards market values and persuasiveness. These are also basic
conditions for organising a successful chess meeting that satisfies the needs of
customers by a distinctive concept and provides some return for sponsors. It
goes without saying that my daily work is oriented towards increasing the value
of Siemens shares. However, I'm not a patron who is putting his money into
Siemens shares in order to force up the price of our shares. My business is
limited to trading and making good sales, which is also my maxim with respect to
chess sponsoring. It was not until 1998 when we risked putting together an
international top event by signing the world champion Kasparov. In consequence,
participation of the four leading players from the world rating list came along
with the inclusion of sponsors from world-wide operating businesses. For the
first time I considered it worthwhile to get in touch with Siemens Nixdorf's
board of directors, as I assumed that from their sponsor's point of view, chess,
technology and intelligent system solutions would be a perfect fit for Europe's
biggest computer producer. The power of my arguments proved to be sufficient to
get the thing going.
One has to say that this was a successful attempt as your company is again
backing the event.
World-wide, media coverage was excellent and our presentation of chess
superstars in Frankfurt was praised to the skies. A successful reception in the
centre of Frankfurt in the Römer was attended by the Federal Minister of the
Interior, Manfred Kanther, and positive reception helped to make acquisition
much easier. We achieved the right balance between investment and return and
this year we signed all the players we aimed for. Kasparov versus Karpov is the
ultimate highlight. I pursued this goal without any personal antipathy although
in 1998 Karpov withdrew from the tournament at short notice. The chess fans want
to see this clash and as we are here to serve our customers this match will take
place at the Frankfurt Chess Classic meeting.
You managed to bring together both world champions and the number two and three
on the world rating list for this chess meeting which coincides with the diamond
jubilee of your chess club. Can this event be topped in the year 2000 after all?
OK, many people regard this year's Frankfurt Chess Classic as an unbeatable
highpoint. I understand this argument and, honestly speaking, I am thinking
about sharing out responsibilities or selling the marketing rights for this
chess meeting. By the way, it was on a pure whim that I started to play chess in
1972, at the late age of 20. At the time Fischer was beating Spassky in
Reykjavik and I took it upon myself and announced at the Bolongaro Palace in the
Höchst district of Frankfurt that one day the world champion would play in our
city. I was already aware that my talent at chess was enough to progress from
hobby player to regional league level. However, I regarded myself as capable of
organising events beyond the local level. All right, I have achieved my goal. It
may sound bold, arrogant and quite incomprehensible, but from my point of view
this year's chess meeting is already over. To put it a different way, I know for
sure that my team, all sponsors and spectators will get the very best that is
currently available on the chess market.
Are you tired of your task when you say 'goal achieved' or 'share out
responsibilities'? One can hardly believe that this is the Jack of all trades
speaking.
You are right. I feel as if other ideas are lying dormant in me which would last
for at least 25 years more. I think it would be great fun and good business to
put them into practice. Maybe you would categorise me as a utopian although I
would be more pleased to be regarded as a visionary realist.
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