Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins

by Garry Kasparov

I knew dozens of elite players and they were, if not “normal,” whatever that means, all quite different from one another. Even selecting only from the world champions, they ranged from the mellow musicality of Vasily Smyslov to the chain-smoking and wisecracking of Mikhail Tal. Botvinnik was a stern professional from dawn to dusk in his suit and tie while Spassky had the air of a bon vivant and would occasionally show up to his games in tennis whites. My own nemesis for five consecutive world championship matches, Karpov, was considered ice to my fire, both on and off the board. His soft-spoken demeanor and dependable character matched his quiet, boa constrictor chess style, while my exuberance and outspokenness mirrored my dynamic attacking play. The only thing all of us had in common was being very good at chess.