'For the international chess community, it was the stuff of Greek tragedy -- possibly even a blow against humanity. Garry Kasparov, arguably the greatest chess player the ancient game has seen, was defeated by IBM’s computer, Deep Blue.' Thus wrote Sean Farnel in his review of Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine. The documentary film by Vikram Jayanti was shown at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.

The review by Farnel concluded, 'IBM’s stock rose 15% the day following the match.' True or false? No, it's false, another urban legend about chess. On Monday, 12 May 1997, the day after the decisive sixth game, IBM's stock finished at its high for the day, up 3.6% on moderate volume. That's a nice gain for a day trader, but a long way from 15%. We don't buy the 'blow against humanity', either. It was inevitable that a machine would one day beat the reigning chess World Champion.

Forget the hyperbole, but do see the film. By all accounts, it's excellent.