David Levy (chess player)
Encyclopedia
David Neil Laurence Levy (born 14 March 1945, in London), is a Scottish
International Master of chess
, a businessman noted for his involvement with computer chess
and artificial intelligence
, and the founder of the Computer Olympiad
s and the Mind Sports Olympiads. He has written more than 40 books on chess and computers.
in 1968. He tied for fifth place at the 1969 Praia da Rocha
Zonal
tournament
, scoring over two-thirds and thereby obtaining the title of International Master. He played on Board One for the Scottish team at the 1972 Chess Olympiad
in Skopje
, Yugoslavia
, scoring six wins, five draws, and seven losses (47.2%).
Levy became a professional chess writer in 1971, and has been prolific. Several of his books were co-written with English Grandmaster and prolific chess author Raymond Keene
. Levy also married Keene's sister. He has functioned as literary agent for the escaped Great Train robber
, Ronald Biggs.
In the late 1970s, Levy consulted with Texas Instruments on the development of the Chess module for the TI-99/4A Home Computer Project.
In 1997, he led the team that won the Loebner Prize
for the program called "CONVERSE".
The prize competition rewards the program that is best able to simulate human communication. Levy entered the contest again in 2009, and won.
Since 1999, he has been the president of the International Computer Games Association
.
He was Chairman of the Rules and Arbitration Committee for the Kasparov
vs Deep Junior
chess match in New York
in 2003.
Levy once started a business called Tiger Computer Security with a famous computer hacker, Mathew Bevan. Now he is the Chief Executive Officer
of Intelligent Toys Ltd, a London-based company that develops toys that incorporate AI.
Levy also wrote Love and Sex With Robots
, published in the United States in 2007 by HarperCollins
, and forthcoming from Duckworth
in the UK. It is the commercial edition of his Ph.D. thesis, which he defended successfully on 11 October 2007, at Maastricht University, The Netherlands. On 17 January 2008, he appeared on the late night television show The Colbert Report to promote his book. In September 2009, Levy predicted that sex robots would hit the market within a couple of years.
(AI) luminaries, ultimately totaling 1,250 British pounds, that no computer program would win a chess match against him within ten years. In 1973, he wrote:
Until 1977, no computer program was good enough to pose a serious threat to Levy. In April 1977, he played a two-game match against Chess 4.5
, a program written by David Slate and Larry Atkin of Northwestern University
that had done well in human events, including winning the 1977 Minnesota Open. After Levy won the first game, the second was not played since Levy could not possibly lose the match. On 17 December, Levy played a two-game match against KAISSA; once again Levy won the first game and the match was terminated. In August 1978, Levy played a two-game match against MacHack; this time both games were played, Levy winning 2-0.
The final match necessary for Levy to win the bet also was played in late August 1978, this time against Chess 4.7
, the successor to Chess 4.5. In 1978 Levy won the bet, defeating the Chess 4.7 in a six-game match by a score of 4.5-1.5. The computer scored a draw in game two (after getting a completely winning position but being outplayed by Levy in the endgame) and a win in game four, when Levy essayed the very sharp, dubious Latvian Gambit
. Levy wrote, "I had proved that my 1968 assessment had been correct, but on the other hand my opponent in this match was very, very much stronger than I had thought possible when I started the bet." He observed that, "Now nothing would surprise me (very much)."
In order to further stimulate the growth of computer chess, Levy offered $1,000 to the authors of the first chess program to defeat him in a four- or six-game match; Omni magazine
added $4,000 to this, for a total of $5,000. In 1989, the authors of the Deep Thought
program won the prize when their program beat Levy.
In 1996, Popular Science
asked Levy about Garry Kasparov
's impending match against Deep Blue. Levy confidently stated that "...Kasparov can take the match 6 to 0 if he wants to. 'I'm positive, I'd stake my life on it.'" In fact, Kasparov lost the first game
, and won the match
by a score of only 4-2. The following year, he lost their historic rematch
2.5-3.5.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
International Master of chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, a businessman noted for his involvement with computer chess
Computer chess
Computer chess is computer architecture encompassing hardware and software capable of playing chess autonomously without human guidance. Computer chess acts as solo entertainment , as aids to chess analysis, for computer chess competitions, and as research to provide insights into human...
and artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, and the founder of the Computer Olympiad
Computer Olympiad
The Computer Olympiads are a multi-games event taking place every year in which computer programs compete against each other. The majority of the games are board games but other games such as Bridge take place as well...
s and the Mind Sports Olympiads. He has written more than 40 books on chess and computers.
Life and career
Levy was born in London. He won the London Junior Chess Championship in 1965 and 1966. He won the Scottish Chess ChampionshipScottish Chess Championship
The Scottish Chess Championship is organised by Chess Scotland, formerly the Scottish Chess Association. It has been running since 1884, and nowadays takes the form of a nine round tournament played over two weekends and the week in between...
in 1968. He tied for fifth place at the 1969 Praia da Rocha
Praia da Rocha
Praia da Rocha is the beach and built up area on the Atlantic Ocean which is the southern section of the municipality/concelho of Portimão, Algarve, southern Portugal....
Zonal
Zonal
Zonal can refer to:* Zonal and meridional, directions on a globe* Zonal and poloidal, directions in a toroidal magnetically confined plasma* Zonal polynomial, a symmetric multivariate polynomial...
tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
, scoring over two-thirds and thereby obtaining the title of International Master. He played on Board One for the Scottish team at the 1972 Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
in Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, scoring six wins, five draws, and seven losses (47.2%).
Levy became a professional chess writer in 1971, and has been prolific. Several of his books were co-written with English Grandmaster and prolific chess author Raymond Keene
Raymond Keene
Raymond Dennis Keene OBE is an English chess Grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author.p196 He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England to earn a Grandmaster norm, in 1974. In 1976 he became the second...
. Levy also married Keene's sister. He has functioned as literary agent for the escaped Great Train robber
Great Train Robbery (1963)
The Great Train Robbery is the name given to a £2.6 million train robbery committed on 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire, England. The bulk of the stolen money was not recovered...
, Ronald Biggs.
In the late 1970s, Levy consulted with Texas Instruments on the development of the Chess module for the TI-99/4A Home Computer Project.
In 1997, he led the team that won the Loebner Prize
Loebner prize
The Loebner Prize is an annual competition in artificial intelligence that awards prizes to the chatterbot considered by the judges to be the most human-like. The format of the competition is that of a standard Turing test. In each round, a human judge simultaneously holds textual conversations...
for the program called "CONVERSE".
The prize competition rewards the program that is best able to simulate human communication. Levy entered the contest again in 2009, and won.
Since 1999, he has been the president of the International Computer Games Association
International Computer Games Association
The International Computer Games Association was founded as the International Computer Chess Association in 1977 by computer chess programmers to organise championship events for computer programs and to facilitate the sharing of technical knowledge via the ICCA Journal.Renamed the 'ICGA' in...
.
He was Chairman of the Rules and Arbitration Committee for the Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
vs Deep Junior
Deep Junior
Junior is a computer chess program authored by the Israeli programmers Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky. Grandmaster Boris Alterman assisted, in particular with the opening book...
chess match in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 2003.
Levy once started a business called Tiger Computer Security with a famous computer hacker, Mathew Bevan. Now he is the Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Intelligent Toys Ltd, a London-based company that develops toys that incorporate AI.
Levy also wrote Love and Sex With Robots
Love and Sex With Robots
Love and Sex With Robots , by David Levy, is a book about the future development of robots that will have sex with humans. The book claims that this practice will be routine by 2050....
, published in the United States in 2007 by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, and forthcoming from Duckworth
Gerald Duckworth and Company Ltd
-History:Founded in 1898 by Gerald Duckworth, Duckworth is an independent British publisher. It was important in the development of English literature in the first half of the twentieth century, being the publisher of figures such as Virginia Woolf , W. H. Davies, Anthony Powell, John Galsworthy...
in the UK. It is the commercial edition of his Ph.D. thesis, which he defended successfully on 11 October 2007, at Maastricht University, The Netherlands. On 17 January 2008, he appeared on the late night television show The Colbert Report to promote his book. In September 2009, Levy predicted that sex robots would hit the market within a couple of years.
Computer chess bet
Beginning in 1968, Levy made a famous bet with four Artificial IntelligenceArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
(AI) luminaries, ultimately totaling 1,250 British pounds, that no computer program would win a chess match against him within ten years. In 1973, he wrote:
Clearly, I shall win my ... bet in 1978, and I would still win if the period were to be extended for another ten years. Prompted by the lack of conceptual progress over more than two decades, I am tempted to speculate that a computer program will not gain the title of International Master before the turn of the century and that the idea of an electronic world championWorld Chess ChampionshipThe World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
belongs only in the pages of a science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
book.
Until 1977, no computer program was good enough to pose a serious threat to Levy. In April 1977, he played a two-game match against Chess 4.5
Chess (Northwestern University)
Chess was a pioneering chess program from the 1970s, authored by Larry Atkin and David Slate at Northwestern University. Chess ran on Control Data Corporation's line of supercomputers. It dominated the first computer chess tournaments, such as the World Computer Chess Championship and ACM's North...
, a program written by David Slate and Larry Atkin of Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
that had done well in human events, including winning the 1977 Minnesota Open. After Levy won the first game, the second was not played since Levy could not possibly lose the match. On 17 December, Levy played a two-game match against KAISSA; once again Levy won the first game and the match was terminated. In August 1978, Levy played a two-game match against MacHack; this time both games were played, Levy winning 2-0.
The final match necessary for Levy to win the bet also was played in late August 1978, this time against Chess 4.7
Chess (Northwestern University)
Chess was a pioneering chess program from the 1970s, authored by Larry Atkin and David Slate at Northwestern University. Chess ran on Control Data Corporation's line of supercomputers. It dominated the first computer chess tournaments, such as the World Computer Chess Championship and ACM's North...
, the successor to Chess 4.5. In 1978 Levy won the bet, defeating the Chess 4.7 in a six-game match by a score of 4.5-1.5. The computer scored a draw in game two (after getting a completely winning position but being outplayed by Levy in the endgame) and a win in game four, when Levy essayed the very sharp, dubious Latvian Gambit
Latvian Gambit
The Latvian Gambit is an aggressive but dubious chess opening, which often leads to wild and tricky positions. This opening is uncommon at the top level of over-the-board play, but some correspondence chess players are devoted to it...
. Levy wrote, "I had proved that my 1968 assessment had been correct, but on the other hand my opponent in this match was very, very much stronger than I had thought possible when I started the bet." He observed that, "Now nothing would surprise me (very much)."
In order to further stimulate the growth of computer chess, Levy offered $1,000 to the authors of the first chess program to defeat him in a four- or six-game match; Omni magazine
Omni (magazine)
OMNI was a science and science fiction magazine published in the US and the UK. It contained articles on science fact and short works of science fiction...
added $4,000 to this, for a total of $5,000. In 1989, the authors of the Deep Thought
Deep Thought (chess computer)
Deep Thought was a computer designed to play chess. Deep Thought was initially developed at Carnegie Mellon University and later at IBM. It was second in the line of chess computers developed by Feng-hsiung Hsu, starting with ChipTest and culminating in Deep Blue...
program won the prize when their program beat Levy.
In 1996, Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
asked Levy about Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
's impending match against Deep Blue. Levy confidently stated that "...Kasparov can take the match 6 to 0 if he wants to. 'I'm positive, I'd stake my life on it.'" In fact, Kasparov lost the first game
Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1996, Game 1
Deep Blue–Kasparov, 1996, Game 1 is a famous chess game in which a computer played against a human being. It was the first game played in the 1996 Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov match, and the first time that a chess-playing computer defeated a reigning world champion under normal chess tournament...
, and won the match
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov was a pair of famous six-game human-computer chess matches played between the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue and the World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. The first match was played in February 1996 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kasparov won the match 4–2, losing one...
by a score of only 4-2. The following year, he lost their historic rematch
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov
Deep Blue versus Garry Kasparov was a pair of famous six-game human-computer chess matches played between the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue and the World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. The first match was played in February 1996 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kasparov won the match 4–2, losing one...
2.5-3.5.
Books by Levy
- Keene, R. D. and Levy, D. N. L. Levy, Siegen Chess Olympiad, CHESS Ltd., 1970.
- Keene, Ray and Levy, David, Chess Olympiad 1972, Doubleday, 1973, ISBN 0-385-06925-1.
- Levy, David, Gligoric'sSvetozar GligoricSvetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
Best Games 1945-1970, R.H.M. Press, 1972. ISBN 0-89058-015-4. - Levy, David, The Sicilian Dragon, Batsford, 1972.
- Levy, David, How FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
Plays Chess, R.H.M. Press, 1975. ISBN 0-923891-29-3. - Levy, D.N.L., Howard Staunton 1810-74, The Chess Player, Nottingham, 1975, ISBN 4-87187-812-0
- Levy, David, Chess and Computers, Computer Science Press, Potomac, Maryland, 1976. ISBN 0-914894-02-1.
- Levy, David, 1975—U.S. Computer Chess Championship, Computer Science Press, Potomac, Maryland.
- Levy, David, 1976—U.S. Computer Chess Championship, Computer Science Press, Potomac, Maryland.
- Levy, David and Newborn, Monroe, More Chess and Computers: The MicrocomputerMicrocomputerA microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...
Revolution, The Challenge Match, Computer Science Press, Potomac, Maryland, and Batsford, London, 1980. ISBN 0-914894-07-2. - Computer Gamesmanship: Elements of Intelligent Game Design, by David Levy, 1983, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-49532-1.
- The Chess Computer Handbook ISBN 0-7134-4220-4
- Heuristic Programming in Artificial Intelligence (with D. F. Beal), 1989. ISBN 0-7458-0778-X
- How Computers Play Chess (with Monroe Newborn) ISBN 4-87187-801-5
- Computer Games I ISBN 4-87187-802-3
- Computer Games II ISBN 4-87187-803-1
- Computer Chess Compendium ISBN 4-87187-804-X
- Computer Gamesmanship ISBN 4-87187-805-8
- How to Play the Sicilian Defence (with Kevin O'Connell (chess player)Kevin O'Connell (chess player)Kevin John O'Connell is an Irish chess master. He is the author of 28 books on chess, hundreds of magazine articles and a couple of thousand newspaper columns, mostly on chess but also on computing and sports psychology.Awarded the titles of International Arbiter in 1998, FIDE Master in 2003 and...
) ISBN 4-87187-806-6 - Instant Chess (with Kevin O'ConnellKevin O'Connell (chess player)Kevin John O'Connell is an Irish chess master. He is the author of 28 books on chess, hundreds of magazine articles and a couple of thousand newspaper columns, mostly on chess but also on computing and sports psychology.Awarded the titles of International Arbiter in 1998, FIDE Master in 2003 and...
) ISBN 4-87187-807-4 - How to Play the King's Indian Defence (with Kevin O'Connell (chess player)Kevin O'Connell (chess player)Kevin John O'Connell is an Irish chess master. He is the author of 28 books on chess, hundreds of magazine articles and a couple of thousand newspaper columns, mostly on chess but also on computing and sports psychology.Awarded the titles of International Arbiter in 1998, FIDE Master in 2003 and...
) ISBN 4-87187-808-2 - Play Chess Combinations and Sacrifices ISBN 4-87187-809-0
- Oxford Encyclopedia of Chess Games, Volume 1, 1485-1866 (with Kevin O'Connell (chess player)Kevin O'Connell (chess player)Kevin John O'Connell is an Irish chess master. He is the author of 28 books on chess, hundreds of magazine articles and a couple of thousand newspaper columns, mostly on chess but also on computing and sports psychology.Awarded the titles of International Arbiter in 1998, FIDE Master in 2003 and...
), 1980, Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-923891-54-4 - Korchnoi's Chess Games" (with Kevin O'Connell (chess player)Kevin O'Connell (chess player)Kevin John O'Connell is an Irish chess master. He is the author of 28 books on chess, hundreds of magazine articles and a couple of thousand newspaper columns, mostly on chess but also on computing and sports psychology.Awarded the titles of International Arbiter in 1998, FIDE Master in 2003 and...
) ISBN 4-87187-810-4 - Sacrifices in the Sicilian ISBN 4-87187-811-2
- Levy, David, Robots Unlimited: Life in a Virtual Age, A.K. Peters, London, 2005. ISBN 1-56881-239-6.
- Levy, David, Love and Sex With Robots: The Evolution of Human-Robot Relationships, Harper Collins, New York, 2007. ISBN 0-06-135975-0.
External links
- The History of Computer Chess: An AI Perspective. Watch Full Lecture - WMV 183MB | Google Video featuring Murray Campbell (IBM Deep Blue Project), Edward Feigenbaum, David Levy, John McCarthy, and Monty Newborn. at Computer History Museum
- Levy and the hacker at crypt magazine
- Author page at HarperCollins
- Artificial Intelligence Researcher David Levy Predicts Human-Robot Marriages:
- About.com interview (10/2007)
- A critique of Love and Sex With Robots, by James Trimarco
- Interview with David Levy about upcoming Kasparov-Junior match (circa 2003)