Current Research and Future Prospects

Abstract

The games played at the first World Computer Championship serve as an accurate guide as to the current state of the art. In my opinion, the standard of play exhibited in Stockholm was not outstandingly better than that of Bernstein’s program (1957) or even of Turing’s hand simulation. It is true that the programs of today do not make gross tactical blunders so often as those of twenty years ago, but in terms of strategical concepts the advances that have been made during the past two decades are negligible.

‘But probably computers, in the future, can help chess players. If you have an adjourned game and you have a good program,… as to me I am a little bit lazy and so I need a good computer.’

Boris Spassky