X3D Fritz - Match Conditions

Match Conditions

Fritz ran on four Intel Pentium 4 Xeon CPUs at 2.8 GHz.

The match was unique in how Kasparov relayed his moves to the computer. In most human-computer matches, the human makes their moves on a normal board, as in a normal game. These moves are fed into the computer by an intermediary seated where a normal human opponent would be, and its replies played on the board by the same person. In this match, however, no normal board and no intermediary was used. Instead, Kasparov, wearing special goggles, saw a three-dimensional projection of the board floating in the air in front of him. He spoke his moves out loud, thus conveying them to the computer which had a speech recognition system. The computer's replies were shown on the projected board.

The time controls for each game were as follows:

• Start with 120 minutes.
• After move 40, add 60 minutes.
• After move 60, add 15 minutes and 30 seconds per move.

The match was held at the New York Athletic Club in New York City, USA. Kasparov got $150,000 USD for playing and an extra $25,000 for the drawn match. Kasparov would have earned an extra $50,000 instead if he had won.