Chapter Text
IN THE PAST, THERE WAS MAN.
IN THE PRESENT, THERE IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
IN THE FUTURE, THERE WILL BE YOU.
BUT BEFORE THE BEGINNING AND AFTER THE END,
CHESS WAS, IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE.
THE ECONOMIST
…Experts are concerned about the rising use of artificial intelligence in sporting competitions. While proponents of AI insist that its use will render decisions with more accuracy and less bias, others worry this will diminish the importance of human nature in refereeing. The FIFA World Cup has announced that it will be utilizing AI referees at this year’s competition, a move that has been met with pockets of supporters and overwhelming protests. One opponent has said that the point of referees is to make decisions that are based on context and precise situational awareness. An advocate has said that decisions should be made in accordance with rules, and context adds bias. An anonymous representative from FIFA spoke to The Economist and reported that FIFA plans to switch back to human referees if any problems arise…
THE SUNDAY TIMES
…We’re seeing an AI revolution unfold before us! We’ll provide a brief history for all who aren’t familiar. After FIFA piloted the use of AI referees on an international stage with great success, we’ve seen many others sports and, in fact, other competition-based games turning to the use of AI referees. A study at Cambridge University found that 70% of human referees agree with the decisions taken by AI referees. Despite the sudden boom in AI referees, public resistance continues. Many people are simply uncomfortable with AI taking on such decisions. One of our readers asked where the line will be drawn. “Sure, okay, use AI to referee sports and games and what have you. But how long will it be until we’re asking AI to make all of our decisions for us? This feels dystopian. I know I’m not alone in my distrust of AI.”
GLOBAL TELEVISION
…The drama at the 1986 World Chess Championship in Merano, Italy, is now off the board! Barely had Anatoly Sergievsky of the Soviet Union been proclaimed the new World Champion, when he upstaged his own triumph by deserting his Soviet team and supporters. He is now believed to be seeking asylum in the West, with the help of Trumper’s second, Florence Vassy. You heard it here first — Global Television!…
ESPN
…In the past fifteen years, we’ve seen a host of organizations turn to AI for their decision-making: WCBS, World Lacrosse, IRF, FIDE, and IBF are among the list that grows by the day. But it seems that AI has finally meets its match: an unnamed source leaked that the International Olympic Committee was considering the use of AI judges. The response was overwhelmingly negative. People around the world insisted that culture and presentation are critical parts of the Olympics competitions, and AI cannot possibly replace human judges. The IOC has put out a statement claiming it had never considered replacing its human judges with AI. However, several sources report that the IOC is only trying to save face. Many federations recognized by the IOC have already turned to AI…
THE GUARDIAN
…hindsight, Viigand was always the weaker player. Many are surprised he won as many games as he did. They attribute this to the turmoil in Sergievsky’s personal life. Many note that Sergievsky was distracted and made careless mistakes while in Bangkok. He’s yet to announce whether he’ll defend his title again. His future seems rocky given his recent return...
…The Soviet state, marked throughout its brief but tumultuous history by great achievement and terrible suffering, died today after a long and painful decline. It was 74 years old.
Conceived in utopian promise and born in the violent upheavals of the "Great October Revolution of 1917," the union heaved its last in the dreary darkness of late December 1991, stripped of ideology, dismembered, bankrupt and hungry -- but awe-inspiring even in its fall.
The end of the Soviet Union came with the resignation of Mikhail S. Gorbachev to make way for a new "Commonwealth of Independent States." At 7:32 P.M., shortly after the conclusion of his televised address, the red flag with hammer-and-sickle was lowered over the Kremlin and the white-blue-red Russian flag rose in its stead…
SÜDTIROL
…mysterious, heavily guarded facility sponsored by FIDE is finally in use. Südtirol has repeatedly reached out to FIDE about the nature of the facility. The President of the Federation — the very same AI who served as the arbiter for the unforgettable 1986 Trumper-Sergievsky match here in Merano — has maintained that the building is a “chess” research facility and provided no further details. The city of Merano has stated that FIDE filed all paperwork and received all required permits for their research facility, but declined to say any more. This morning, our correspondents around Italy noted the arrival of five familiar faces. Svetlana Sergievskaya, Anatoly Sergievsky, Frederick “Freddie” Trumper, Florence Vassy, and Leonid Viigand have entered the country and are all headed to Merano. Is it really research? Or is it unfinished business? Südtirol will continue reporting…
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE
…that something unprecedented has happened: one of the many AI researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (known as CERN) has expressed concerns about the activities of FIDE. For background, FIDE recently opened a “chess” research facility in Merano, Italy, the same town where the 1986 World Chess Championship took place. Though the AI from CERN only spouted a warning and refused to elaborate on what FIDE could possibly be doing, residents of Italy and Germany demand answers.
FIDE is famously headed by an AI. The President of the Federation, known as the Arbiter, has overseen championships for the past ten years. When asked for a comment, the Arbiter said, “Chess. We’re researching the history of chess.” One resident of Merano told us, “Let the nerds have their fun. I don’t see any problem. What danger could a bunch of chess players possibly pose? Be serious.”
CERN leadership declined to make a comment.
The five known “chess” researchers at the facility, Svetlana Sergievskaya, Anatoly Sergievsky, Frederick Trumper, Florence Vassy, and Leonid Viigand, have not responded to requests for comments.
Readers may already be familiar with these names. Anatoly Sergievsky is the current World Champion, having first won against Frederick Trumper. The match between an American and a Russian drew the world’s attention. Leonid Viigand was Sergievsky’s unsuccessful challenger at the following championship, which was held in Bangkok one year later. To complicate matters, Sergievsky had defected from the Soviet Union between the two matches with the help of Florence Vassy, the former chess second of Trumper. Sergievsky has since returned to Moscow. It is unclear whether he is still in a relationship with Sergievskaya, his wife.
FIDE has selected this unusual group of five to research the history of chess, though no one would doubt their qualifications on the board. Svetlana Sergievskaya, the only one among the five that has no background in chess, was a history professor in Moscow prior to joining the team of FIDE researchers…