Garri Kasparov wears 3D glasses in New York on Thursday. The ‘Man versus Machine’ competition will be broadcast live in 3D. (AP/PTI)

New York: International chess great Garri Kasparov said on Thursday he wanted to prove “human players are not hopeless” when he battles world champion computer programme Deep Junior next week in the latest “Man versus Machine” contest.

The Azerbaijan-born Kasparov, who has played computers thrice since 1989 and famously lost to IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue six years ago, will pit his skill and intuition against the Israeli-built software programme over six games in New York starting on Sunday.

“After the other matches I felt hooked to be part of this competition because I believe it is very important for the game of chess and the human race as a whole,” Kasparov, 39, said at a news conference. Now I hope to use my experience to help set new standards and also prove that human players are not hopeless.”

The developers of Deep Junior, programmers Shay Bushinsky and Amir Ban, said at the same news conference that the computer’s key to success in the $1 million match will be how efficiently it uses its considerable calculating ability.

Kasparov could be distracted by the weather, his personal life or tiredness, but all the computer has to worry about is losing power. (Reuters)