full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Alex Gendler: A brief history of chess

Unscramble the Blue Letters

But the emergence of formal competitive play in the late 19th ctunery mnaet that strategic calculation would eventually trump dramatic flair. And with the rise of international competition, cshes took on a new geopolitical importance. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union devoted great resources to cultivating chess talent, dominating the cpmsnohiiaphs for the rest of the century. But the player who would truly upest Russian dominance was not a citizen of another country but an IBM computer called Deep Blue. Chess-playing computers had been developed for decades, but Deep Blue’s tupirmh over Garry Kasparov in 1997 was the first time a mcaihne had defeated a sitting champion.

Open Cloze

But the emergence of formal competitive play in the late 19th _______ _____ that strategic calculation would eventually trump dramatic flair. And with the rise of international competition, _____ took on a new geopolitical importance. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union devoted great resources to cultivating chess talent, dominating the _____________ for the rest of the century. But the player who would truly _____ Russian dominance was not a citizen of another country but an IBM computer called Deep Blue. Chess-playing computers had been developed for decades, but Deep Blue’s _______ over Garry Kasparov in 1997 was the first time a _______ had defeated a sitting champion.

Solution

  1. meant
  2. championships
  3. chess
  4. triumph
  5. century
  6. upset
  7. machine

Original Text

But the emergence of formal competitive play in the late 19th century meant that strategic calculation would eventually trump dramatic flair. And with the rise of international competition, chess took on a new geopolitical importance. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union devoted great resources to cultivating chess talent, dominating the championships for the rest of the century. But the player who would truly upset Russian dominance was not a citizen of another country but an IBM computer called Deep Blue. Chess-playing computers had been developed for decades, but Deep Blue’s triumph over Garry Kasparov in 1997 was the first time a machine had defeated a sitting champion.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

Important Words

  1. blue
  2. calculation
  3. called
  4. century
  5. champion
  6. championships
  7. chess
  8. citizen
  9. cold
  10. competition
  11. competitive
  12. computer
  13. computers
  14. country
  15. cultivating
  16. decades
  17. deep
  18. defeated
  19. developed
  20. devoted
  21. dominance
  22. dominating
  23. dramatic
  24. emergence
  25. eventually
  26. flair
  27. formal
  28. garry
  29. geopolitical
  30. great
  31. ibm
  32. importance
  33. international
  34. kasparov
  35. late
  36. machine
  37. meant
  38. play
  39. player
  40. resources
  41. rest
  42. rise
  43. russian
  44. sitting
  45. soviet
  46. strategic
  47. talent
  48. time
  49. triumph
  50. trump
  51. union
  52. upset
  53. war