[Ads-l] centaur / reverse centaur

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Wikipedia has a pertinent article titled "Advanced chess".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_chess

The names "advanced chess", "cyborg chess", and "centaur chess" have
all been used. After a quick examination I did not see an early
citation for "centaur". It seems that Garry Kasparov used the term
"advanced chess".

Garson

On Mon, Aug 3, 2026 at 2:56 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Interesting topic, Dave. Here is a three-message thread in 2001 that
> uses "Centaur" with the desired sense. The third message explains the
> meaning of "Centaur". The thread suggests that "Centaur" was already
> in use.
>
> While searching I found that there was a chess playing computer
> program called "Centaur" circa 1999, but I do not believe that program
> was a human/machine hybrid.
>
> Usenet discussion message,
> Timestamp: Dec 2, 2001, 11:51:15 AM
> Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.computer
> From: Gian-Carlo Pascutto
> Subject: Fritz 7 Analysis Board
> Database: Google Groups Search
> Accessed August 3, 2026
> https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.chess.computer/c/n5cphEASajQ/m/tsV-p9cAt4sJ
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> I find it most useful in Centaur/Advanced chess, where it can be used
> to check the variants the engine produces for deep hidden threats.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Usenet discussion message,
> Timestamp: Dec 2, 2001, 2:06:41 PM
> Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.computer
> From: Knob Nose
> Subject: Fritz 7 Analysis Board
> Database: Google Groups Search
> Accessed August 3, 2026
> https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.chess.computer/c/n5cphEASajQ/m/PtQZToTMxGgJ
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> What is "Centaur/Advanced chess"?
> [End excerpt]
>
> Usenet discussion message,
> Timestamp: Dec 4, 2001, 10:41:20 AM
> Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.computer
> From: Jeroen ;-}
> Subject: Fritz 7 Analysis Board
> Database: Google Groups Search
> Accessed August 3, 2026
> https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.chess.computer/c/n5cphEASajQ/m/A2tElVX5cZMJ
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> > What is "Centaur/Advanced chess"?
>
> A centaur is a mythical creature with the head and torso of a man
> joined to the body of a horse. So it is a combination of two. It has
> been translated to the combination of man and machine, operating as
> one.
>
> Centaur chess or more common, advanced chess, is a player playing
> chess with (legal) computer assistance.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Mon, Aug 3, 2026 at 11:18 AM dave at wilton.net <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> > This sense is not in the OED.
> >
> > The terms are currently being flacked on various podcasts by Cory Doctorow, of "enshittification" fame, who has a new book on the subject.
> >
> > There are undoubtedly antedatings to be found. I have yet to confirm (or refute) the attribution of the term to Gary Kasparov, although this sense of "centaur" does seem to have arisen in the world of chess.
> >
> >
> > Harmon, Amy. "Queen, Captured by Mouse: More Chess Players Use Computers for Edge." New York Times, 6 February 2003, B6/6. ProQuest Newspapers.
> >
> > "Mr. Kasparov champions the idea of 'advanced chess,' in which humans compete by using sanctioned computer software during the game, and he has participated in one such game. The future of chess, Mr. Kasparov and others suggest, lies not in the competition between man and machine, but in their fusion.
> >
> > "On the Internet site of ChessBase, a leading publisher of chess programs, a Centaur Room is set aside for people who want to play as a team with their computers."
> >
> >
> >
> > Holtel, Stefan. "From Computer to Centaur: Cognitive Tools Turn the Rules Upside Down." KM World, February 2015, 18/1–2. ProQuest Magazines.
> >
> > "In 2005, an advanced chess tournament took place that allowed any combination of humans and computers. Steven Cramton and Zackary Stephen, who only held amateur status in Elo (named after physics professor Arpad Elo) chess rankings, took their regular desktop computers and squeezed them for their purposes. They won that tournament against chess masters with superior chess ratings and even superior hardware and software. Both players had leveraged their expertise to align computing power to win chess games. They created a superior team comprising humans and machines. In essence, a new form of chess intelligence had emerged. "Kasparov concluded, 'Human strategic guidance combined with the tactical acuity of a computer was overwhelming.'
> >
> > "Kasparov coined the term 'centaur' to describe that human-machine combination. The Greek mythological creature consists of a human torso with head and arms and the body and legs of a horse."
> >
> >
> > Samothrakis, Spyridon. "Artificial Intelligence Inspired Methods for the Allocation of Common Goods and Services." PLOS One, 16.9, September 2021. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257399. [ https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0257399 ]( https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0257399 )
> >
> > "Current trends point to 'reverse centaurs' when it comes to automation. Given that it is easier to manage humans using algorithms (e.g. organise taxi drivers) vs performing the actual task (e.g. autonomous cars), there is a certain market tendency to extract profits from over-exploitation. Instead of machines aiding humans (i.e. what is called a 'centaur' in chess), we run the risk of economies of very low wages where humans help machines (i.e. more akin to a very boring and intensive production line, hence 'reverse centaur’)."
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org