Checkers Is Solved
Abstract
The game of checkers has roughly 500 billion billion possible positions (5 × 1020). The task of solving the game, determining the final result in a game with no mistakes made by either player, is daunting. Since 1989, almost continuously, dozens of computers have been working on solving checkers, applying state-of-the-art artificial intelligence techniques to the proving process. This paper announces that checkers is now solved: Perfect play by both sides leads to a draw. This is the most challenging popular game to be solved to date, roughly one million times as complex as Connect Four. Artificial intelligence technology has been used to generate strong heuristic-based game-playing programs, such as Deep Blue for chess. Solving a game takes this to the next level by replacing the heuristics with perfection.
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The support of Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Alberta's Informatics Circle of Research Excellence (iCORE), and the Canada Foundation for Innovation is greatly appreciated. Numerous people contributed to this work, including M. Bryant, J. Culberson, B. Gorda, B. Knight, D. Szafron, K. Thompson, and N. Treloar.
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Published In
Science
Volume 317 | Issue 5844
14 September 2007
14 September 2007
Copyright
American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Submission history
Received: 20 April 2007
Accepted: 6 July 2007
Published in print: 14 September 2007
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