Comments on: Conundrum: Solved Games

By: Milton Link

Milton Link — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:54:31 +0000

It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 20:00:18 +0000

As for my opinion, I think chess is solvable, and we’ll see it happen in our lifetimes. Computing power seems to be growing exponentially, and chess is finite. I say chess will be solved by 2040. It’s a humbling thought, but one that might open our minds to thoughts even more humbling.

I’ve been playing a lot of Connect Four against the applet for the past couple of days, and I’ve managed to win a good number of times. It feels like a fair fight. My advantage of going first and knowing I can force a win seems to balance out with the computer’s advantage of knowing every possible move and its consequences.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:58:04 +0000

Yeah, but Joshua took way too long to figure out Tic Tac Toe for me to put any faith in his supercomputer cred, even by 1983 standards.

As for Global Thermonuclear War, Joshua determined that the only winning move is not to play. But that strategy only works if you go first.

By: Neel Mehta

Neel Mehta — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 06:12:42 +0000

Will computers ever solve chess?

Hey, if the WOPR/Joshua can figure out Global Thermonuclear War, then anything’s possible.