<P> This article documents the progress of significant human--computer chess matches . </P> <P> Chess computers were first able to beat strong chess players in the late 1980s . Their most famous success was the victory of Deep Blue over then World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, but there was some controversy over whether the match conditions favored the computer . </P> <P> In 2002--2003 three human - computer matches were drawn . But whereas Deep Blue was a specialized machine, these were chess programs running on commercially available computers . </P>

When did a computer first beat a human at chess