At just 18 years old, Gukesh Dommaraju has made history by becoming the youngest World Chess Champion after defeating China’s Ding Liren at the World Chess Championship 2024 in Singapore. This achievement has been celebrated by the entire world, including the Google community, with CEO Sundar Pichai and DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis playing a central role in integrating AI into the world of chess. Hassabis also praised former world chess champion Viswanathan Anand for inspiring a generation of Indian chess prodigies.
Google’s official sponsorship for the championship further highlights the company’s contributions to AI in chess through models like AlphaZero, showcasing its state-of-the-art capabilities in strategy and learning for games like chess. This championship was not just a contest of skill, but also reflected how technology is at the heart of chess. For the first time, AI cameras were used to track players’ focus and emotions in real time by monitoring their eye movements and seating positions, with the most number of cameras ever used in a chess championship.
Interestingly, two weeks ago, Hassabis made the historic inaugural move at the start of the championship, further highlighting the shared passion for chess between him and Dommaraju. They are both making history in their respective fields, with Hassabis playing a pivotal role in advancing AI through innovations like AlphaFold, which was one of the youngest innovations to win the Nobel Prize.
During the FIDE World Championship 2024 press conference, both Gukesh and Ding emphasized the profound influence of the book on AlphaZero’s playing style on their own approach. Google’s Gemini has also introduced the Chess Champ experiment, allowing users to play chess in a text-based format using Gemini’s knowledge base to generate accurate visual responses, enhancing the interactive experience.
Google’s AlphaZero has also made significant strides in the world of chess, defeating open-source chess program Stockfish 8 in a 100-game match and mastering Go and shogi within hours using reinforcement learning. Unlike traditional engines, AlphaZero relies on self-reinforcement to achieve advanced performance, showcasing its expertise in the field of AI.
