Charles Babbage (1792-1871) was an English mathematician and inventor whose research and prototypes made significant contributions to the development of a mechanical calculating machine.  Two years after his death, Harper’s Weekly ran an article about Babbage, the middle paragraphs of which revealed his great vision in foreseeing calculating machines (called “computers” today) that would be able to give proofs of sophisticated mathematical theorems and be able to evaluate and select the proper moves necessary for playing chess.  Credit for stimulating the modern quest for computer chess is sometimes given to a 1950 essay by Claude Shannon, a Bell Laboratories scientist, but reading the Harper’s Weekly article uncovers the existence of the idea nearly a century before.  In 1997, chess master Garry Kasparov was defeated in a chess match by IBM’s Deep Blue computer; in 2003, the two played to a draw.

1) June 7, 1873, p. 486, col. 4 & p. 487, col. 1
article, on Charles Babbage

“Babbage, Charles.”  The Columbia Encyclopedia.   www.bartleby.com/65/ba/Babbage.html

“Computer Chess Develops.”  Why Files.org:  www.whyfiles.org/040chess/main4.html