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Chess (Northwestern University)

January 01, 1970

Chess was a pioneering chess program from the 1970s, written by Larry Atkin, David Slate and Keith Gorlen at Northwestern University. Chess ran on Control Data Corporation's line of supercomputers. Work on the program began in 1968 while the authors were graduate students at the university.[1] The first competitive version was Chess 2.0 which gradually evolved to Chess 3.6 and was rewritten as the 4.x series. It dominated the first computer chess tournaments, such as the World Computer Chess Championship and ACM's North American Computer Chess Championship. At the ACM event, Chess won eight of the ten tournaments held from 1970 to 1979. NWU Chess adopted several innovative or neglected techniques including bitboard data structures, iterative deepening, transposition tables, and an early form of forward pruning later called futility pruning. The 4.x versions were the first programs to abandon selective search in favor of full-width fixed-depth searching.

In 1976, Chess 4.5 won the Class B section of the Paul Masson American Class Championships, the first time a computer was successful in a human tournament.[2] The performance rating was 1950.

In February 1977, Chess 4.6, the only computer entry, surprised observers by winning the 84th Minnesota Open against competitors just under Master level. It achieved a USCF rating close to or at Expert, higher than previous programs' Class C or D, by winning five games and losing none.[3][4][2] Stenberg (rated 1969) became the second Class A player to lose to a computer in a tournament game, the first being Jola.

Because of its Minnesota victory, grandmaster Walter Browne invited Chess 4.6 on a CDC Cyber 176 to his simultaneous chess exhibition; to Browne and others' surprise, Chess 4.6 defeated the United States chess champion.[4] Also in 1977, Chess 4.6 won the second World Computer Chess Championship in Toronto, ahead of 15 other programs including KAISSA; Chess 4 had finished in second place to KAISSA at the first tournament in 1974. The favorite to win the tournament, like all but one other entry Chess 4.6 ran on a computer located away from the tournament; despite losing 90 minutes to hardware failure at the start of its first match the program rapidly defeated its opponent in 27 moves, earlier than any other first-round match. Chess 4.6 was capable of defeating 99.5% of United States Chess Federation-rated players under tournament conditions, and was stronger in blitz chess.[1]

In 1978, the improved Chess 4.7—which had by now achieved a 2030 rating after 31 tournament games[5]—played against David Levy who, in 1968 had wagered that he would not be beaten by a computer within ten years. Whereas Chess 4.7 had beaten Levy under blitz conditions, the bet involved forty moves over a two-hour period, the computer's choices being relayed by telephone from Minnesota to the board.[6] Levy won the bet convincingly, defeating Chess 4.7 in a six-game match by a score of 4.5-1.5,[7][8] The computer scored a draw in game two after getting a completely winning position but being outplayed by Levy in the endgame, and a win in game four—the first computer victory against a human master[5]—when Levy essayed the very sharp, dubious Latvian Gambit.[9] Levy wrote, "I had proved that my 1968 assessment had been correct, but on the other hand my opponent in this match was very, very much stronger than I had thought possible when I started the bet."[10] He observed that, "Now nothing would surprise me (very much)."[11] International Master Edward Lasker stated in 1978, "My contention that computers cannot play like a master, I retract. They play absolutely alarmingly. I know, because I have lost games to 4.7."[12]

The last revision of the program was Chess 4.9 in 1979. It won the 10th ACM North American Computer Chess Championship tournament in Detroit and played at the expert level (2100). David Slate, with William Blanchard of Vogelback Computing Center at Northwestern University, later wrote a new program in Fortran, originally dubbed "Chess 5.0", but later renamed Nuchess. It competed from 1980 to 1984 but was never the dominating force of its predecessor. Its best competitive result was a second place finish in the 1981 North American Computer Chess Championship. During the 1980's the software paradigm of chess dominance gave way to specialized chess hardware machines like Belle, HiTech, and Chiptest, and the Northwestern series of programs was retired from competition after 1984.

In 1978 and 1979, Atkin and Peter W. Frey published in BYTE a series on computer chess programming, including the Pascal source for Chess 0.5, a chess engine suitable for microcomputers.[13][14][15][16] Atkin, Slate, and Frey later wrote microcomputer chess, checkers, and Reversi programs for Odesta. Advertisements cited their Northwestern affiliation and authorship of Chess 4.7, "World Computer Chess Champion, 1977-1980".[17]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Jennings, Peter (January 1978). "The Second World Computer Chess Championships". BYTE. p. 108. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  2. ^ a b Hapgood, Fred (23–30 December 1982). "Computer chess bad-human chess worse". New Scientist. pp. 827–830. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  3. ^ Wheland, Norman D. (October 1978). "A Computer Chess Tutorial". BYTE. p. 168. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b Douglas, John R (January 1979). "Grandmaster Walter Browne versus Chess 4.6". BYTE. p. 110. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  5. ^ a b Douglas, J R (December 1978). "Chess 4.7 versus David Levy". BYTE. p. 84. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  6. ^ Mather, Ian, The great computer chess bet, The Observer 20 August 1978
  7. ^ David Levy, "Man Beats Machine!", Chess Life & Review, November 1978, pp. 600-03, at pp. 601-03.
  8. ^ David Levy and Monroe Newborn, More Chess and Computers: The Microcomputer Revolution, The Challenge Match, Computer Science Press, Potomac, Maryland, and Batsford, London, 1980, pp. 10-30. ISBN 0-914894-07-2.
  9. ^ David Levy, "Man Beats Machine!", Chess Life & Review, November 1978, pp. 600-03, at pp. 602-03.
  10. ^ David Levy and Monroe Newborn, More Chess and Computers: The Microcomputer Revolution, The Challenge Match, Computer Science Press, Potomac, Maryland, and Batsford, London, 1980, p. 30. ISBN 0-914894-07-2.
  11. ^ David Levy and Monroe Newborn, More Chess and Computers: The Microcomputer Revolution, The Challenge Match, Computer Science Press, Potomac, Maryland, and Batsford, London, 1980, Preface. ISBN 0-914894-07-2.
  12. ^ "Tiny Computer Sends Chess Foe Down Tube". Milwaukee Journal. Washington Post Service. 1978-12-10. pp. Discover 1. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  13. ^ Frey, Peter W; Atkin, Larry R (October 1978). "Creating a Chess Player / An Essay on Human and Computer Chess Skill". BYTE. p. 182. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  14. ^ Frey, Peter W; Atkin, Larry R (November 1978). "Creating a Chess Player Part 2: Chess 0.5". BYTE. p. 162. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  15. ^ Atkin, Larry R; Frey, Peter W (December 1978). "Creating a Chess Player Part 3: Chess 0.5 (continued)". BYTE. p. 140. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  16. ^ Frey, Peter W; Atkin, Larry R (January 1979). "Creating a Chess Player / Part 4: Strategy in Computer Chess". BYTE. p. 120. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Explore the Frontiers of Intelligence". BYTE (advertisement). December 1982. p. 99. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  • "Chess Skill in Man and Machine", Chess 4.5 - The Northwestern University Chess Program, L. Atkin & D. Slate, pp. 82–118, Springer-Verlag, 1977 - devotes a chapter to the history and internals of Chess 4.5
    • reprinted in "Computer Chess Compendium", Chess 4.5 - The Northwestern University Chess Program, L. Atkin & D. Slate, pp. 80–103, Springer-Verlag, 1988,

External links edit

  • Source code for Chess 4.6 available at
  • Playable version of Chess 4.9 available (login as guest, then type 'chess') at [2]

January 01, 1970
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Chess was a pioneering chess program from the 1970s written by Larry Atkin David Slate and Keith Gorlen at Northwestern University Chess ran on Control Data Corporation s line of supercomputers Work on the program began in 1968 while the authors were graduate students at the university 1 The first competitive version was Chess 2 0 which gradually evolved to Chess 3 6 and was rewritten as the 4 x series It dominated the first computer chess tournaments such as the World Computer Chess Championship and ACM s North American Computer Chess Championship At the ACM event Chess won eight of the ten tournaments held from 1970 to 1979 NWU Chess adopted several innovative or neglected techniques including bitboard data structures iterative deepening transposition tables and an early form of forward pruning later called futility pruning The 4 x versions were the first programs to abandon selective search in favor of full width fixed depth searching In 1976 Chess 4 5 won the Class B section of the Paul Masson American Class Championships the first time a computer was successful in a human tournament 2 The performance rating was 1950 In February 1977 Chess 4 6 the only computer entry surprised observers by winning the 84th Minnesota Open against competitors just under Master level It achieved a USCF rating close to or at Expert higher than previous programs Class C or D by winning five games and losing none 3 4 2 Stenberg rated 1969 became the second Class A player to lose to a computer in a tournament game the first being Jola Because of its Minnesota victory grandmaster Walter Browne invited Chess 4 6 on a CDC Cyber 176 to his simultaneous chess exhibition to Browne and others surprise Chess 4 6 defeated the United States chess champion 4 Also in 1977 Chess 4 6 won the second World Computer Chess Championship in Toronto ahead of 15 other programs including KAISSA Chess 4 had finished in second place to KAISSA at the first tournament in 1974 The favorite to win the tournament like all but one other entry Chess 4 6 ran on a computer located away from the tournament despite losing 90 minutes to hardware failure at the start of its first match the program rapidly defeated its opponent in 27 moves earlier than any other first round match Chess 4 6 was capable of defeating 99 5 of United States Chess Federation rated players under tournament conditions and was stronger in blitz chess 1 In 1978 the improved Chess 4 7 which had by now achieved a 2030 rating after 31 tournament games 5 played against David Levy who in 1968 had wagered that he would not be beaten by a computer within ten years Whereas Chess 4 7 had beaten Levy under blitz conditions the bet involved forty moves over a two hour period the computer s choices being relayed by telephone from Minnesota to the board 6 Levy won the bet convincingly defeating Chess 4 7 in a six game match by a score of 4 5 1 5 7 8 The computer scored a draw in game two after getting a completely winning position but being outplayed by Levy in the endgame and a win in game four the first computer victory against a human master 5 when Levy essayed the very sharp dubious Latvian Gambit 9 Levy wrote I had proved that my 1968 assessment had been correct but on the other hand my opponent in this match was very very much stronger than I had thought possible when I started the bet 10 He observed that Now nothing would surprise me very much 11 International Master Edward Lasker stated in 1978 My contention that computers cannot play like a master I retract They play absolutely alarmingly I know because I have lost games to 4 7 12 The last revision of the program was Chess 4 9 in 1979 It won the 10th ACM North American Computer Chess Championship tournament in Detroit and played at the expert level 2100 David Slate with William Blanchard of Vogelback Computing Center at Northwestern University later wrote a new program in Fortran originally dubbed Chess 5 0 but later renamed Nuchess It competed from 1980 to 1984 but was never the dominating force of its predecessor Its best competitive result was a second place finish in the 1981 North American Computer Chess Championship During the 1980 s the software paradigm of chess dominance gave way to specialized chess hardware machines like Belle HiTech and Chiptest and the Northwestern series of programs was retired from competition after 1984 In 1978 and 1979 Atkin and Peter W Frey published in BYTE a series on computer chess programming including the Pascal source for Chess 0 5 a chess engine suitable for microcomputers 13 14 15 16 Atkin Slate and Frey later wrote microcomputer chess checkers and Reversi programs for Odesta Advertisements cited their Northwestern affiliation and authorship of Chess 4 7 World Computer Chess Champion 1977 1980 17 References edit a b Jennings Peter January 1978 The Second World Computer Chess Championships BYTE p 108 Retrieved 17 October 2013 a b Hapgood Fred 23 30 December 1982 Computer chess bad human chess worse New Scientist pp 827 830 Retrieved 22 January 2015 Wheland Norman D October 1978 A Computer Chess Tutorial BYTE p 168 Retrieved 17 October 2013 a b Douglas John R January 1979 Grandmaster Walter Browne versus Chess 4 6 BYTE p 110 Retrieved 17 October 2013 a b Douglas J R December 1978 Chess 4 7 versus David Levy BYTE p 84 Retrieved 17 October 2013 Mather Ian The great computer chess bet The Observer 20 August 1978 David Levy Man Beats Machine Chess Life amp Review November 1978 pp 600 03 at pp 601 03 David Levy and Monroe Newborn More Chess and Computers The Microcomputer Revolution The Challenge Match Computer Science Press Potomac Maryland and Batsford London 1980 pp 10 30 ISBN 0 914894 07 2 David Levy Man Beats Machine Chess Life amp Review November 1978 pp 600 03 at pp 602 03 David Levy and Monroe Newborn More Chess and Computers The Microcomputer Revolution The Challenge Match Computer Science Press Potomac Maryland and Batsford London 1980 p 30 ISBN 0 914894 07 2 David Levy and Monroe Newborn More Chess and Computers The Microcomputer Revolution The Challenge Match Computer Science Press Potomac Maryland and Batsford London 1980 Preface ISBN 0 914894 07 2 Tiny Computer Sends Chess Foe Down Tube Milwaukee Journal Washington Post Service 1978 12 10 pp Discover 1 Retrieved 21 January 2015 Frey Peter W Atkin Larry R October 1978 Creating a Chess Player An Essay on Human and Computer Chess Skill BYTE p 182 Retrieved 17 October 2013 Frey Peter W Atkin Larry R November 1978 Creating a Chess Player Part 2 Chess 0 5 BYTE p 162 Retrieved 17 October 2013 Atkin Larry R Frey Peter W December 1978 Creating a Chess Player Part 3 Chess 0 5 continued BYTE p 140 Retrieved 17 October 2013 Frey Peter W Atkin Larry R January 1979 Creating a Chess Player Part 4 Strategy in Computer Chess BYTE p 120 Retrieved 17 October 2013 Explore the Frontiers of Intelligence BYTE advertisement December 1982 p 99 Retrieved 6 February 2015 Chess Skill in Man and Machine Chess 4 5 The Northwestern University Chess Program L Atkin amp D Slate pp 82 118 Springer Verlag 1977 devotes a chapter to the history and internals of Chess 4 5 reprinted in Computer Chess Compendium Chess 4 5 The Northwestern University Chess Program L Atkin amp D Slate pp 80 103 Springer Verlag 1988 External links editSource code for Chess 4 6 available at 1 Playable version of Chess 4 9 available login as guest then type chess at 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chess Northwestern University amp oldid 1223474349, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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