As chess documentary go, this one is pretty good, even if far from being unbiased. Rather, it is biased both ways, trying to show both sides of the story, but throwing in enough innuendo to make it all seem either a terrible corporate conspiracy or an obstinate refusal to accept defeat from Garry Kasparov. Riddled with scenes from the 1927 film "Le joueur d'échecs", about The Turk, the wondrous mechanical chess player that turned out to be human operated, it doesn't take much to know which direction the film leaned towards.
But if you ignore the dramatization, the film is quite filled with interesting information. It is great to see Kasparov explain how the computer strategy is different from a human player's and how the exponential nature of the calculations don't render themselves well to following a long term plan.
What I didn't like is that it is not so much about chess itself. The games are not shown, no moves, no knowledge of the game is required in order to watch it. But, as documentaries go, this one was above average and I have to recognize it as such.
But if you ignore the dramatization, the film is quite filled with interesting information. It is great to see Kasparov explain how the computer strategy is different from a human player's and how the exponential nature of the calculations don't render themselves well to following a long term plan.
What I didn't like is that it is not so much about chess itself. The games are not shown, no moves, no knowledge of the game is required in order to watch it. But, as documentaries go, this one was above average and I have to recognize it as such.