For subscribers
Chess and geopolitics in the supercomputer era
The next world championship match between Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi and China’s Ding Liren will likely be decided as much by superiority in multipurpose supercomputing as by individual human ingenuity.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Chinese chess grandmaster Ding Liren (left) and Russian chess grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi at the chess Candidates Tournament FIDE 2022 in Madrid on June 17.
PHOTOS: AFP
Kenneth Rogoff
Follow topic:
For centuries, chess has been a metaphor for war in myth and in literature. In the next world championship match, which will take place in 2023 between Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi and China's Ding Liren, the comparison may be more apt than ever, with the outcome likely to be decided as much by superiority in multipurpose supercomputing as by individual human ingenuity in chess. And while the Russian military's dismal early performance in Ukraine hardly suggests an ability to benefit from artificial intelligence in warfare, China is the real deal on that front.
The match between "Nepo" and "Ding", as the chess world calls them, has arisen because the world No. 1 and defending champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, has decided that, having won the world title five times since 2013 (not always easily), he is ready to step down at age 31. (Nepo is 32, and Ding is 29.)
