One Jump Ahead

See HumanPerfectionInCheckers.

From the book's cover page:

"Playing chess is like looking out over a limitless ocean: playing checkers is like looking into a bottomless well."

-- MarionTinsley, World checkers champion [now deceased].

This extraordinary book tells the story of the world champion checkers program, Chinook. From its beginnings in 1988, Chinook quickly became a worthy opponent for the world championship. By 1992, it had defeated all of the world's top human players -- except for one. The world champion, Dr. MarionTinsley, was as close to perfection in checkers as was humanly possible. Although initially a research project, the Chinook effort soon changed directions and became a quest to defeat Tinsley. Instead of an impersonal contest between a man and a machine, this became a personal battle between two humans striving for supremacy at checkers.

In this fascinating account, JonathanSchaeffer, the originator and leader of the Chinook team, provides an engrossing story of failures and successes. Over the period 1988 to 1996, we follow the development of Chinook from an innocent question asked over lunch through to the final dramatic showdown against the unbeatable world champion. This is an entertaining story for anyone with an interest in computing.

CategoryBook ISBN 0387949305