A little bit about chess history…
An antique Chaturanga board and pieces
An early Jaques Staunton set.
• Chess, as we know it today, was
born out of the Indian
game chaturanga before the 600s
AD.
• The game spread throughout Asia
and Europe over the coming
centuries, and eventually evolved
into what we know as chess around
the 16th century.
• One of the first masters of the
game was a Spanish priest named
Ruy Lopez. Although he didn't
invent the opening named after
him, he analyzed it in a book he
Early Days
1. Alan Turing and Chess (1950s):
Alan Turing, the famous British mathematician and
computer scientist, was one of the pioneers of
computer science. In the 1950s, he developed a
program for the computer that played chess,
although it was never implemented on a computer
during his lifetime due to the lack of computational
resources.
2. Arthur Samuel (1950s-1960s):
American computer scientist Arthur Samuel
developed one of the earliest computer programs to
play chess. His program, named "Samuel's
Checkers-playing Program," marked a significant
step in artificial intelligence research. Although it
was designed for checkers, not chess, it laid the
foundation for future developments in game-playing
AI.
1960s - 1970s:
1. First Computer Chess Programs: In
the early 1960s, computer scientists began
experimenting with chess programs. MIT's
MacHack (1966) became one of the first
programs to compete in chess
tournaments, demonstrating the potential of
computers in strategic games.
2. Development of Chess Algorithms:
Scientists like Donald Michie and Richard
D. Greenblatt made significant
contributions to chess programming during
this period. Greenblatt's program,
MacHack VI, became the first to achieve
the title of "master" in 1967.
1980s:
1. Rise of Microcomputers: With the
advent of personal computers, chess
programs became accessible to the
general public. Programs like Sargon,
Chessmaster, and Fritz gained popularity
on platforms like Commodore 64 and IBM
PC.
2. Supercomputer Era: The 1980s saw
the emergence of supercomputers
designed for chess. IBM's Cray Blitz and
Belle were notable examples. Belle,
developed by Ken Thompson and Joe
Condon, won the World Computer Chess
Championship in 1980.
1990s:
1. Deep Thought and Deep Blue: IBM's
Deep Thought, designed by Feng-hsiung
Hsu, became the first computer to defeat a
world champion in a single game when it
defeated Garry Kasparov in 1989. Its
successor, Deep Blue, famously defeated
Kasparov in a six-game match in 1997,
marking a historic moment in the
development of chess-playing AI.
2. Chess Engines for PCs: The 1990s
witnessed the proliferation of chess
engines for personal computers. Programs
like Fritz and Junior became popular
choices for both casual players and
2000s - Present:
1. Open Source Engines: Open source
chess engines like Stockfish and GNU
Chess gained prominence, allowing
developers worldwide to contribute to their
improvement. Stockfish, in particular,
became one of the strongest chess engines
globally.
2. Online Chess Platforms: The rise of
the internet led to the creation of online
chess platforms, enabling players to
compete globally. Websites like
Chess.com, lichess.org, and Internet
Chess Club (ICC) offer a platform for
2000s - Present:
3. AlphaZero and Neural Networks
(2017): DeepMind's AlphaZero marked a
significant advancement by using deep
learning techniques to master chess. It
learned the game from scratch, relying on
neural networks and Monte Carlo Tree
Search (MCTS). AlphaZero demonstrated
remarkable performance, challenging
traditional chess knowledge and strategies.
4. AI-Assisted Human Play: AI has
become an integral part of chess training
and analysis. Players now use chess
engines to analyze games, identify
mistakes, and improve their skills, leading
to a fusion of human intuition and artificial
• Reinforcement learning
• Monte-Carlo Tree Search
algorithm (MCTS)
• Innovative moves
Conclusion
The history of computers and chess
reflects the continuous advancement of
technology, from early conceptualizations
in the 1950s to the development of
sophisticated AI-driven engines in the
present day, reshaping the way we play
and understand this timeless game.
Used materials:
Chess history - https://url.zip/488da14
Computers connected with chess - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_chess
https://url.zip/a3f8fd0
Biographies:
Arthur Samuel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Samuel_(computer_scientist)
Alan Turing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing
AlphaZero - https://www.deepmind.com/blog/alphazero-shedding-new-light-on-chessshogi-and-go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L2sUGcOgh0
THANK YOU FOR THE ATTENTION