Chess computers to become 'unbeatable' in ten years

Sofia: Chess computers will be almost unbeatable in 10 years and may bring about radical new rules for the ancient game, world champion Veselin Topalov predicts.

"At the present moment I don't fear humans. Computers I think are very strong," the Bulgarian grandmaster told The Associated Press in an interview.

"Probably they will be better than 99.9 per cent of human beings" in a decade from now, he said.

Topalov, 30, also raised the possibility that today's version of chess could give way to "Fischer Random Chess" invented by eccentric former champion Bobby Fischer which sets back-row pieces randomly to narrow the importance of rehearsed openings.

Random

Random chess will take off, Topalov said, "when the chess we play now is exhausted from computers and [knowledge of] openings and everything will be [fore]seen. It will not happen next year."

Symmetrically shuffling pieces behind the pawns creates 960 possible lineups, with games then played under normal chess rules.