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Subject: Re: chess solved

Author: Robin Smith

Date: 16:26:20 12/13/00

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On December 13, 2000 at 13:33:55, Bruce Moreland wrote:

>On December 13, 2000 at 12:50:16, walter irvin wrote:
>
>>would most people considder chess to be solved if a computer had an oppening
>>database that always left the computer +2.50 when it was out of book and not
>>ever permitting the blocking of position??? with best play does anyone believe
>>that black does not lose ?? also if 100% represents the total number of legal
>>positions then what % make up positions that could SAFELY be reached vs strong
>>opposition ???(3% perhaps)and if that is the case then should that not be the
>>positions to solve???
>
>There is no guarantee that this would solve chess, but the odds would be high
>that there is at least one forced win if white can force a +2.5 computer
>evaluation from the root.

The likelyhood of chess being a win for white, with perfect play from both
sides, is very low.  This is born out by computer-computer games, where the draw
percentage increases as search depth/time increases and also by the fact that
super GM vs. super GM games have a much higher draw rate than games by lower
rated players.  In both cases as playing strength increases the percentage of
draws also increases.  Strong evidence that chess is a draw.  Also, in decisive
games one almost invariably finds that one of the players either made a mistake
or mistakes, or at the very least took unneccesary risks.  And most strong
chesspayers believe a perfectly played game should end in a draw.  When Kasparov
was once asked why he did not win a particular game he replied "Chess is a draw,
no?".

So, there will NEVER be any computer opening database, no matter how big, where
computers (playing white) think the 1st position out of book is always at least
+2.50 for the computer .... unless the computer has a seriously flawed
evaluation, in which case it will hardly mean chess is solved.

Robin Smith



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