Word: chess
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Kasparov's latest venture seems tamer. He will probably win this match with ease, if for no other reason than because too many chess ignoramuses like me will vote. Even in the case of an upset, though, his invisible opponents are safely human and no one will discern any apocalyptic meaning from the result...
...what about the chess game? It seems harmless enough, and maybe it is. Yet like Kasparov's battle with Deep Blue, "Kasparov vs. the World" is a particularly dramatic demonstration of how technology is capable of changing society...
...Chess, even for novices, is essentially a social game and has been for the millennia humans have played it. People play chess in front of Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square on warm summer nights as much for the company as for the game itself. Indeed, for the vast majority of chess players worldwide who don't play professionally, chess' social dynamic is the game's purpose...
...chess on the Internet fill the same role? For that matter, can e-commerce replace the corner bookstore without a net loss to the community? The answer is no: By turning to the Internet for things we once filled through human interaction, we are losing something as a society, a little bit of the glue that holds us together...
...fact, high school stuff might not be such a great idea, after all. At Harvard, you have the opportunity to be someone completely new. That varsity football letter jacket might be hard to explain if you come here and decide you want to join, say, the Chess Club...