An introduction to computer chess

Abstract

Chess has been an intriguing problem for individuals interested in machine intelligence for many years. Claude Shannon, the American mathematician, first proposed a plan for computer chess in 1949 [81]. The literature on mechanical chess-playing prior to this time reveals that the early automatons were merely facades which concealed a skilled human player [50]. Shannon believed that chess was an ideal problem for experimentation with machine intelligence since the game is clearly defined in terms of allowed operations (the legal moves) and in the ultimate goal (mate). At the same time, chess is neither so simple as to be trivial nor so complex as to be impossible. Shannon felt that the development of a credible chess program would demonstrate that “mechanized thinking” was feasible.