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February

By: HISTORY.com Editors

1996

World chess champion Garry Kasparov loses game to computer

HISTORY.com Editors

A computer screen is photographed February 16, 1996 at IBM's headquarters in Armonk, New York, during IBM's supercomputer Deep Blue' s matches against world chess champion Garry Kasparov.

Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images

Published: November 24, 2009

Last Updated: May 27, 2025

On February 10, 1996, after three hours, world chess champion Garry Kasparov loses the first game of a six-game match against Deep Blue, an IBM computer capable of evaluating 200 million moves per second. Man was ultimately victorious over machine, however, as Kasparov bested Deep Blue in the match with three wins and two ties and took home the $400,000 prize. An estimated 6 million people worldwide followed the action online.

Kasparov had previously defeated Deep Thought, the prototype for Deep Blue developed by IBM researchers in 1989, but he and other chess grandmasters had, on occasion, lost to computers in games that lasted an hour or less. The February 1996 contest was significant in that it represented the first time a human and a computer had duked it out in a regulation, six-game match, in which each player had two hours to make 40 moves, two hours to finish the next 20 moves and then another 60 minutes to wrap up the game.

Kasparov, who was born in 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan, became the Soviet Union’s junior chess champion at age 13 and in 1985, at age 22, the youngest world champ ever when he beat legendary Soviet player Anatoly Karpov. Considered by many to be the greatest chess player in the history of the game, Kasparov was known for his swashbuckling style of play and his ability to switch tactics mid-game.

In 1997, a rematch took place between Kasparov and an enhanced Deep Blue. Kasparov won the first game, the computer the second, with the next three games a draw. On May 11, 1997, Deep Blue came out on top with a surprising sixth game win–and the $700,000 match prize.

In 2003, Kasparov battled another computer program, “Deep Junior.” The match ended in a tie. Kasparov retired from professional chess in 2005.

How a Phony 18th-Century Chess Robot Fooled the World

For much of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a chess-playing automaton known as the “Turk” drew huge crowds at exhibitions across Europe and the United States.

'The Automaton Chess Player', 1845. Illustration published in The Illustrated London News.

By: Evan Andrews

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on February 10th

1763

The French and Indian War ends

The Seven Years’ War, a global conflict known in America as the French and Indian War, ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris by France, Great Britain and Spain. In the early 1750s, France’s expansion into the Ohio River valley repeatedly brought the country into armed conflict with the British colonies. In 1756, […]

1:40m read

1957

Laura Ingalls Wilder, chronicler of American frontier life, dies

On February 10, 1957, Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the best-selling Little House series of children’s novels based on her childhood on the American frontier, dies at age 90 in Mansfield, Missouri. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born in a log cabin near Pepin, Wisconsin, on February 7, 1867, the second of Charles and Caroline Quiner […]

2:10m read

1962

Pilot Gary Powers exchanged in U.S.-Soviet spy swap

On February 10, 1962, American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers is released by the Soviets in exchange for Soviet Colonel Rudolf Abel, a senior KGB spy who was caught in the United States five years earlier. The two men were brought to separate sides of the Glienicker Bridge, which connects East and West Berlin across […]

4:56m read

1966

Auto safety crusader Ralph Nader testifies before Congress

On February 10, 1966, Ralph Nader, a young lawyer and the author of the groundbreaking book Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile, testifies before Congress for the first time about unsafe practices in the auto industry. By the mid-1960s, U.S. automakers were still largely unregulated. Nader’s book, which was published […]

2:14m read

1970

Avalanche buries skiers in France

On February 10, 1970, an avalanche crashes down on a ski resort in Val d’Isere, France, killing 42 people, mostly young skiers. This disaster was the worst such incident in French history. The resort at Val d’Isere was operated by a nonprofit youth organization and attracted many young ski enthusiasts. On the morning of February […]

1:22m read

1971

Vietnam War journalists killed in helicopter crash

Four journalists, including photographer Larry Burrows of Life magazine, Kent Potter of United Press International, Henri Huett of the Associated Press and Keisaburo Shimamoto of Newsweek, die in a South Vietnamese helicopter operating in Laos. The journalists had been covering Operation Lam Son 719, a limited attack into Laos by South Vietnamese forces, when their […]

1:04m read

1972

Ziggy Stardust makes his earthly debut

On February 10, 1972, a relatively minor rocker named David Bowie debuts the spaceman character Ziggy Stardust during a concert at Greater London’s Toby Jug pub. It’s one of those events that virtually nobody witnessed—but many wish they had. More than just a rock musician in a costume costume, Bowie effortlessly inhabited the identity of […]

1:52m read

1992

Star boxer Mike Tyson convicted of rape

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, accused of raping 18-year-old beauty-pageant contestant Desiree Washington, is found guilty by an Indiana jury. The following month, Tyson was given a 10-year prison sentence, with four years suspended. Mike Tyson rose to fame in 1986 when he beat Trevor Berbick and became, at age 20, the youngest heavyweight […]

1:36m read

2006

Final episode of “Arrested Development” airs on Fox

Celebrated by critics and beloved by its relatively small but devout fan base, the Fox television series “Arrested Development” airs its last episode on Fox on February 10, 2006. “Arrested Development,” created by Mitchell Hurwitz, premiered in November 2003. It was almost universally acclaimed by critics, who praised its sharp, complicated writing and stellar acting, […]

2:42m read

2014

Iconic child star Shirley Temple dies at 85

On February 10, 2014, Shirley Temple Black, who as a child in the 1930s became one of Hollywood’s most successful stars, dies at her Woodside, California, home at age 85. The plucky, curly-haired performer sang, danced and acted in dozens of films by the time she was a teen; as an adult, she gave up […]

2:24m read

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About the author

HISTORY.com Editors

HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan, Matt Mullen, Christian Zapata and Cristiana Lombardo.

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Citation Information

Article title
World chess champion Garry Kasparov loses game to computer
Author
HISTORY.com Editors
Website Name
History
URL
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/february-10/kasparov-loses-chess-game-to-computer
Date Accessed
June 25, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
May 27, 2025
Original Published Date
November 24, 2009

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