Man vs Machine

How to beat GNUChess 5.0

 

Computers have learned to play chess very well. Initially, computers were taught to play chess with the hope that programmers could write code that would allow the computer to teach itself to play better and better chess.  So called “Artificial Intelligence”.  This didn’t happen.  What did happen was that computers got faster. A lot faster.  Programmers could not process many more potential moves in a given time, and not have to rely so much on their evaluations of the chess positions.  Memory increased, computers got faster, and chess theory (which could be bulk loaded into a chess playing program) advanced.  Now computers beat world champions.

 

However, every now and then, a player may stumble upon a line of play that the computers program (which was, after all, written by other humans) does not handle way.  So it was with this columns game.  In only 12 moves, Blacks King is checkmated in the middle of the board.

 

Claxton v GNUChess, May 1, 2007

 

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 (A gambit against a computer.  Generally speaking, an excellent opportunity to learn from our mistakes.) dxc3 4. Nxc3 d6 5. Nf3 Nc6

 

after 6. … Nf6

6. Bc4 Nf6 (This is the beginning of Blacks troubles.  6. … e6 is much better.) 7. e5 Ng4 8. exd6 (White and Black exchange errors here.  Better for White was 8. e6, which really ties up Black.  Better for Black was 8. … exd6) Qxd6 9. O-O Qc5 (Black chooses not to exchange Queens, which allows White to bring his King Rook into play for free.  Instead he exposes his own Queen early in a game in the middle of the board.)  10. Bb5 (10. Nd5 immediate was the right move here. Black his having trouble defending all the threats.)

 

after 9. … Qc5

 

a6 11. Nd5 Nh6 (Capitulation.  Slightly better was 11. … Qd6 to shut off the open d-file. But after 12. Bf4 e5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Qxe5 15. Re1 Bd6 16. Rxe5+ Bxe5 17. Bxc6+ bxc6 18. Nb6 Rb8 Blacks position is hopeless. Analysis by Crafty) 12. Nc7# {White mates} 1-0

 

after 10. … a6

 

So what does the future hold?  It’s a fairly safe bet that computers will get faster and faster, they will have more memory (the original IBM PC maxed out at 64KB, now its hard to buy one with less than 1GB), and they will have more disk space.  My prediction? Within the next generation or 2 of computers (we’re only talking a year or so) the best computer will beat the best human in a match.  Time to give up chess? Hardly.  Are there no more track athelets because cars can go faster? No more artists because of HD-TV?  Human vs human chess will live on.