On 20 Feb 2007 10:01:48 +0000 (GMT), David Richerby
wrote:

Ray Johnstone wrote:
wrote:
Is the initial position in chess a mutual Zugswang?

We will probably never know. See:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~ray/Chessgames.htm

Just because chess is likely impossible to brute-force doesn't mean we
can never know the outcome of theoretical best play. For example, it
is known that the game of `chomp' is a theoretical win for the first
player but nobody knows how to force the win except in very simple
cases.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chomp


Dave.
I agree, which is why I said "probably". I can't imagine any method
other than brute force but I couldn't have imagined calculus, Newton's
laws...


www.iinet.com.au/~ray