Chess programming

I have read about Chess programming on this site.I am student of Mathematics & Computing studying in Indian Institute of Technology. I want to know whether CHESS PROGRAMMING is still a hot topic like it used to be till few years back especially after DEEP BLUE beating world champion. How much is the use of AI in it and what are the prospects of research in it?Who are the leading organisation and people in this field? Can independent research be done by oneself in this? Regds kaushik