A Computer Can Solve Chess, Not
Exhaustive searching of the chess game tree is impractical
- 20 possible initial moves
- On average there are about 35 moves possible from a given position
- Typical games are about 100 moves long
Estimate 35100 boards in the tree … there are fewer protons in the entire universe
For a computer to play good chess it needs smarts!
In the 1960s the pioneers of artificial intelligence -- researchers who study making computers “intelligent” thought that “the day is near when a computer will be the reigning world chess champion”