Home > Tech and Japan > Computer Shogi "Bows Out" of Competition with Man

Tech and Japan

Mark the quotation marks; computer shogi (Japanese Chess) developers are not bowing out because a computer can't beat man, but rather, on the contrary, they quit developing such computers as the "goal has been attained".



In the world of chess, an IBM computer Deep Blue tied up with the reigning world champion Garry Kasparov over a pair of six-game matches in 1996 and 1997. The second match was memorable in that a computer ever defeated a reigning world champion.



Japan has its equivalent called Shogi wherein captured pieces return to the board to be used as your own. Shogi, therefore, is generally considered more complex than chess and harder for a computer to beat. A group of computer technicians though of developing Deep Blue's equivalent to challenge professional shogi players. Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ) started a project with the mission to beat top shogi players and sent a challenge to the Japan Shogi Association.



In October that year a new-born computer shogi defeated Woman Master Ichiyo Shimizu and later challenged Denou Tournament of computers playing against professional shogi players and finished with a fair score of 10-6.



The society worked out its own rating of current A-class shogi professionals and the strongest shogi computer software. As of July 2015, the winning average of the strongest shogi computers was estimated to be 63%, equal to that of Grand Master Habu and surpassing that of 10 top shogi professionals.



Regretting the computer shogi never had a chance to challenge Grand Master Habu, Prof. Hitoshi Matsubara of Hakodate Future University commented to NHK:



"Now that it's dead certain within several years man will have no chance of beating computer shogi, we believe that our job is done to challenge man with computer in the Game of Shogi".



Kasparov played with Deep Blue; why not Habu? Here's a subtle mental play peculiar to the Japanese. Yoshiharu Habu is a great shogi master of all time and most Japanese can't bear the sight of Habu beaten up by a mere piece of machine.

