Checkers solved

[Kaido]

text

Solver program was running since 1989 and has analyzed 500 billion billion checkers positions - 5 x 10^20 . They say checkers has roughly the square root of the number of positions in chess, so chess will remain unsolved for a long, long time. They're working on Othello next!

 

[sygyzy]

I hope they never solve cheese, it's mysteriousness adds to the flavor.

 

[KLin]

I'd like to see them solve Chess. Then "Global Thermonuclear War".

<Joshua> Shall we play a game? </Joshua>

 

[lupi]

Everytime I read one of these I think about SkyNet.

 

[silverpig]

Cool!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: lupi
Everytime I read one of these I think about SkyNet.

Go see my other post

 

[JRich]

Psshh... KING ME!

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: KLin
I'd like to see them solve Chess. Then "Global Thermonuclear War".

<Joshua> Shall we play a game? </Joshua>

I would like to play.


Interesting article.

 

[Safeway]

Alas, I can sleep at night knowing that I will always lose at checkers if playing against that program.

 

[esun]

You won't always lose. You could draw.

 

[Oceandevi]

I would be impressed if it could always beat you at rock, paper, scissors.

 

[homercles337]

The full permutation FTW!

 

[paulney]

How is this even an achievement?
They built a big-ass decision tree by brute-forcing all possible permutations.
Big farking deal.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Safeway
Alas, I can sleep at night knowing that I will always lose at checkers if playing against that program.

Actually, a perfectly played game will always end in a draw, not a loss.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

18 years to crunch all that? Wow.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: paulney
How is this even an achievement?
They built a big-ass decision tree by brute-forcing all possible permutations.
Big farking deal.

Most humans cannot even fathom the size of 5*10^20.

 

[everman]

How long would it take with modern technology like Bluegene/L?

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: Kaido
text

Solver program was running since 1989 and has analyzed 500 billion billion checkers positions - 5 x 10^20 . They say checkers has roughly the square root of the number of positions in chess, so chess will remain unsolved for a long, long time. They're working on Othello next!

hope they dont solve tic tac toe next. i have always won at that game.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: paulney
How is this even an achievement?
They built a big-ass decision tree by brute-forcing all possible permutations.
Big farking deal.

with intel quad core cpus, why cant we do that w/chess in, like, 8 days? (instead of 19yrs on a 486 for checkers.)

edit:
it took 10yrs on Eniac supercomputer in 1960's to solve BlackJack. (nowadays, your cell phone has more CPU power than ENAIC.)

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: everman
How long would it take with modern technology like Bluegene/L?

I'm sure you could do the math via Moore's Law.

It's always interesting to think back to "OMG! Computers will NEVER be that fast!!!!!"

when today's high-end personal computer is probably as powerful as a supercomputer in the late 80s.

 

[Argo]

Originally posted by: JEDI

Originally posted by: paulney
How is this even an achievement?
They built a big-ass decision tree by brute-forcing all possible permutations.
Big farking deal.

with intel quad core cpus, why cant we do that w/chess in, like, 8 days? (instead of 19yrs on a 486 for checkers.)

edit:
it took 10yrs on Eniac supercomputer in 1960's to solve BlackJack. (nowadays, your cell phone has more CPU power than ENAIC.)

They're working chess from the end. IE, first they're solving all positions with 2 peaces (1 each), then 3, then 4, all the way to the 32 peices. Right now they're up to 7 peices, where it supposedly took several years to build those on modern supercomputers with the final database on the level of several terabytes.

So I think it's safe to say we're pretty long way from "solving" chess.