Author: Terry McCracken
Date: 10:34:46 12/22/00
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On December 22, 2000 at 12:12:06, Charles Milton Ling wrote: On December 22, 2000 at 11:49:22, Tania Devora wrote: How many positions or moves exist in chess? I mean all the possible moves!, good moves, stupid moves like. 1.h4 1.a5. 2.Th3 2.a4 Ta3 3.Ta6 3.Tg3 4.Ta6 Th3 etc etc........ I think that the number will be verrryyyy HUUGEE!! I think that any machine or computer in the future could see all the possibilities in chess. What do you think? Anybody have an idea? of how many possibilities exist in the chess game? I recall having read that the number of possible games is far greater than the number of atoms in the known universe (or something to that effect). Charley Agreed! In Aron Nimzovich's, MY SYSTEM gives the possible number of positions on the chessboard, albiet only a fraction would be 'Legal Positions';) However, mathmatically it should be a good estimate even if the data is somewhat dated! Here is an excerpt from the Introduction of MY SYSTEM; I hope I'm not going to be chastised for copyright infringement!! From the Intro; Again I quote Dr. Davidson: " Kasner and Newman estimate that the total of possible moves in a game of chess is 10 to the power ( 10 to the 50th ). This a figure for which we have no name. It is composed first by taking a one with fifty zeros after it, thus: 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 and then multiplying ten by itself that many times. An ordinary 200-page book accommodates 330,000 letters or numerals; three such volumes would provide space for about a million numerals. To write the number 10 to the 10th to the 50th power would take 30,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, volumes: all this space being required merely to write down the numeral indicating all the different moves in a chess game." Luckly only an infinitesimal porportion of all possible chess moves possesses practical significance; but even this small number gives us a game whose complexity is as disturbing as it is attractive. I hope this answers your question! Best Regards, Terry McCracken
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