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On Jul 20, 3:05 am, " wrote:
Computer Program Can't Lose at Checkers
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

WASHINGTON (AP) - Perhaps Chinook, the checker-playing computer
program, should be renamed ``King Me.'' Canadian researchers report
they have ``solved'' checkers, developing a program that cannot lose
in a game popular with young and old alike for more than athousand
years.``The program can achieve at least a draw against any
opponent,playing either the black or white pieces,'' the researchers
say in this week's online edition of the journal Science.

http://netscape.compuserve.com/news/...ain-9-l7&idq=/...


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To my mind, "solving" checkers would not simply
mean being able to handle any human or present
computer opponent without losing; instead, I want
to have every legal checkers position scored as a
win/loss/draw, by calculating every simpler position
that can arise from it and so forth; like the endgame
tablebases in chess. I suppose you would begin
with the simplest positions, and work backwards,
adding more and more for many years until one day,
your efforts suddenly hit a wall -- having tackled
every legal position and tallied the results.

Although checkers uses a similar board to chess,
only half the squares are actually used; critically,
since every man moves and captures the same
way (until a promotion at least), this should be
much easier than solving chess. Also, many of
the possible moves of a random checker will be
blocked, reducing further the possible legal moves.

I am wondering whether they really "solved" the
game or, as the chosen language suggests, they
merely succeeded in never losing in practice.


I would also wonder what rules were in effect when the game of Checkers was
reportedly solved.

Specifically, did they use the mandatory capture or optional capture rules?
Mandatory capture apparently allows for "huffing", that is, one player can
remove an opponent palyer's checker that did not make a capture when had an
open opportunity to capture.