THE idea that chess-playing skill is a proxy for machine intelligence is not new. It goes back as far as 1770, when Wolfgang von Kempelen, a Hungarian inventor, unveiled a wooden, clockwork-powered ...

An endearingly nutty, proudly analog tribute to the ultra-nerdy innovators of yesteryear, this quasi-mockumentary is easy to admire in spirit even when its haphazard construction practically defines ...

Since the 18th century, people have been fascinated by the idea of machines that could play chess against humans. With the advent of the digital electronic computer in the mid-20th century, that dream ...

When you visit the History of Computer Chess exhibit at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, the first machine you see is “The Turk.” In 1770, a Hungarian engineer and diplomat ...