July 19, 2007
Problem solved
It was fun while it lasted, but no one need pick up a game of draughts again. Researchers at the University of Alberta say they have solved the game of checkers, as it is known in the US and Canada, using brute force computing.
Since 1989, a dozen or more computers have been working simultanteously to calculate all possible moves arising from the game’s traditional starting position. The result? A perfectly played game of daughts will result in a draw every time, just like tic-tac-toe.
Anyone anxious to test their skills against the Canadians’s perfect chess computer can try it here.
