Belle (chess machine)

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Belle was the name of a chess computer and its associated software, developed by Joe Condon and Ken Thompson at Bell Labs in the 1970s and 1980s. Belle was the first computer built for the sole purpose of chess playing. The strongest computer chess system of its time, Belle achieved an ELO rating of 2250, and officially became the first master-level machine in 1983. It won the ACM North American Computer Chess Championships of 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1986.

In 1982, Belle was confiscated by the US State Department at Kennedy Airport when heading to the USSR to compete in a computer chess tournament; its shipping was considered to be an illegal transfer of advanced technology to a foreign country. It took over a month and a $600 fine to get BELLE out of customs.