Computer Chess Club Archives


Search

Terms

Messages

Subject: Re: In chess we will reach diminishing returns just like in Checckers 1994

Author: martin fierz

Date: 01:44:11 10/30/03

Go up one level in this thread


On October 29, 2003 at 18:37:28, Roger D Davis wrote:

>On October 29, 2003 at 03:15:23, Jorge Pichard wrote:
>
>>"Experiments in Chinook show that there comes a point where increased search
>>depth provides diminishing returns."
>>
>>From a mathematical game theory point of view, checkers is a simpler game than
>>chess. There are only 5x1020 positions (5 with 20 zeros after it) in checkers,
>>whereas chess has at least 1040 positions. Knowing this how long it will take to
>>reach diminishing returns in chess?
>>
>>http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1270
>
>Strangely, the article states that Chinook won the championship in 1994 from Dr.
>Marion Tinsley. Then it goes on to say that Tinsley resigned the title, claiming
>ill health, and died of cancer a year later. Not exactly a victory for the
>program, I'd say.

many people have said things like what you say. but of course the program can't
help it - those were clearly the rules of that match. there was also a long and
ugly anti-chinook campaign by would-be friends of tinsley after this match, but
nothing like it by tinsley himself.

after the aborted match against tinsley, chinook played and defeated the world's
number two player, don lafferty. it played it's final games in 1996 at the US
national tournament, winning with the largest gap to the runner up ever IIRC.
they retired the program after that tournament.

the chessbase article contains a number of incaccuracies... not too surprising -
they are *chess*base after all :-)

cheers
  martin



This page took 0 seconds to execute

Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700

Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.