Competitions, Controversies, and Computer Chess
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Spacewarduino
1 SPACEWARDUINO Kaivan Wadia (Department of EECS) – Massachusetts Institute of Technology Advisor: Prof. Philip Tan ABSTRACT Spacewar! was one of the first ever computer games developed in the early 1960s. Steve Russell, Martin Graetz and Wayne Witaenem of the fictitious "Hingham Institute" conceived of the game in 1961, with the intent of implementing it on a DEC PDP-1 computer at MIT. Alan Kotok obtained some sine and cosine routines from DEC following which Steve Russell started coding and the first version was produced by February 1962. Spacewar! was the first computer game written at MIT. In the duration of this project we hope to implement the same game on an Arduino Microcontroller with a Gameduino shield while examining the original assembly code and staying as true to the original version of the game as possible. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 3 2. UNDERSTANDING THE SOURCE CODE 4 3. VECTOR GRAPHICS AND SPACESHIPS 7 4. SPACEWAR! NIGHT SKY 9 5. THE ARDUINO/GAMEDUINO IMPLEMENTATION 11 6. CONCLUSION 13 7. REFERENCES 14 3 1. INTRODUCTION The major aim of this project is to replicate the first computer game written at MIT, Spacewar!. In the process we aim to learn a lot about the way video games were written for the machines in the pioneering days of computing. Spacewar! is game of space combat created for the DEC PDP-1 by hackers at MIT, including Steve Russell, Martin Graetz, Wayne Witaenem, Alan Kotok, Dan Edwards, and Peter Samson. The game can be played on a Java emulator at http://spacewar.oversigma.com/. -
Virginia Chess Federation 2010 - #4
VIRGINIA CHESS Newsletter The bimonthly publication of the Virginia Chess Federation 2010 - #4 -------- Inside... / + + + +\ Charlottesville Open /+ + + + \ Virginia Senior Championship / N L O O\ Tim Rogalski - King of the Open Sicilian 2010 State Championship announcement/+p+pO Op\ and more, including... / Pk+p+p+\ Larry Larkins revisits/+ + +p+ \ the Yeager-Perelshteyn ending/ + + + +\ /+ + + + \ ________ VIRGINIA CHESS Newsletter 2010 - Issue #4 Editor: Circulation: Macon Shibut Ernie Schlich 8234 Citadel Place 1370 South Braden Crescent Vienna VA 22180 Norfolk VA 23502 [email protected] [email protected] k w r Virginia Chess is published six times per year by the Virginia Chess Federation. Membership benefits (dues: $10/yr adult; $5/yr junior under 18) include a subscription to Virginia Chess. Send material for publication to the editor. Send dues, address changes, etc to Circulation. The Virginia Chess Federation (VCF) is a non-profit organization for the use of its members. Dues for regular adult membership are $10/yr. Junior memberships are $5/yr. President: Mike Hoffpauir, 405 Hounds Chase, Yorktown VA 23693, mhoffpauir@ aol.com Treasurer: Ernie Schlich, 1370 South Braden Crescent, Norfolk VA 23502, [email protected] Secretary: Helen Hinshaw, 3430 Musket Dr, Midlothian VA 23113, [email protected] Tournaments: Mike Atkins, PO Box 6138, Alexandria VA, [email protected] Scholastics Coordinator: Mike Hoffpauir, 405 Hounds Chase, Yorktown VA 23693, [email protected] VCF Inc Directors: Helen Hinshaw (Chairman), Rob Getty, John Farrell, Mike Hoffpauir, Ernie Schlich. otjnwlkqbhrp 2010 - #4 1 otjnwlkqbhrp Charlottesville Open by David Long INTERNATIONAL MASTER OLADAPO ADU overpowered a field of 54 Iplayers to win the Charlottesville Open over the July 10-11 weekend. -
1999/6 Layout
Virginia Chess Newsletter 1999 - #6 1 The Chesapeake Challenge Cup is a rotating club team trophy that grew out of an informal rivalry between two Maryland clubs a couple years ago. Since Chesapeake then the competition has opened up and the Arlington Chess Club captured the cup from the Fort Meade Chess Armory on October 15, 1999, defeating the 1 1 Challenge Cup erstwhile cup holders 6 ⁄2-5 ⁄2. The format for the Chesapeake Cup is still evolving but in principle the idea is that a defense should occur about once every six months, and any team from the “Chesapeake Bay drainage basin” is eligible to issue a challenge. “Choosing the challenger is a rather informal process,” explained Kurt Eschbach, one of the Chesapeake Cup's founding fathers. “Whoever speaks up first with a credible bid gets to challenge, except that we will give preference to a club that has never played for the Cup over one that has already played.” To further encourage broad participation, the match format calls for each team to field players of varying strength. The basic formula stipulates a 12-board match between teams composed of two Masters (no limit), two Expert, and two each from classes A, B, C & D. The defending team hosts the match and plays White on odd-numbered boards. It is possible that a particular challenge could include additional type boards (juniors, seniors, women, etc) by mutual agreement between the clubs. Clubs interested in coming to Arlington around April, 2000 to try to wrest away the Chesapeake Cup should call Dan Fuson at (703) 532-0192 or write him at 2834 Rosemary Ln, Falls Church VA 22042. -
100 Years of Shannon: Chess, Computing and Botvinik Iryna Andriyanova
100 Years of Shannon: Chess, Computing and Botvinik Iryna Andriyanova To cite this version: Iryna Andriyanova. 100 Years of Shannon: Chess, Computing and Botvinik. Doctoral. United States. 2016. cel-01709767 HAL Id: cel-01709767 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/cel-01709767 Submitted on 15 Feb 2018 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. CLAUDE E. SHANNON 1916—2001 • 1936 : Bachelor in EE and Mathematics from U.Michigan • 1937 : Master in EE from MIT • 1940 : PhD in EE from MIT • 1940 : Research fellow at Princeton • 1940-1956 : Researcher at Bell Labs • 1948 : “A Mathematical Theory of Communication”, Bell System Technical Journal • 1956-1978 : Professor at MIT 100 YEARS OF SHANNON SHANNON, BOTVINNIK AND COMPUTER CHESS Iryna Andriyanova ETIS Lab, UMR 8051, ENSEA/Université de Cergy-Pontoise/CNRS 54TH ALLERTON CONFERENCE SHORT HISTORY OF CHESS/COMPUTER CHESS CHESS AND COMPUTER CHESS TWO PARALLELS W. Steinitz M. Botvinnik A. Karpov 1886 1894 1921 1948 1963 1975 1985 2006* E. Lasker G. Kasparov W. Steinitz: simplicity and rationality E. Lasker: more risky play M. Botvinnik: complicated, very original positions A. Karpov, G. Kasparov: Botvinnik’s school CHESS AND COMPUTER CHESS TWO PARALLELS W. -
Learning Long-Term Chess Strategies from Databases
Mach Learn (2006) 63:329–340 DOI 10.1007/s10994-006-6747-7 TECHNICAL NOTE Learning long-term chess strategies from databases Aleksander Sadikov · Ivan Bratko Received: March 10, 2005 / Revised: December 14, 2005 / Accepted: December 21, 2005 / Published online: 28 March 2006 Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2006 Abstract We propose an approach to the learning of long-term plans for playing chess endgames. We assume that a computer-generated database for an endgame is available, such as the king and rook vs. king, or king and queen vs. king and rook endgame. For each position in the endgame, the database gives the “value” of the position in terms of the minimum number of moves needed by the stronger side to win given that both sides play optimally. We propose a method for automatically dividing the endgame into stages characterised by different objectives of play. For each stage of such a game plan, a stage- specific evaluation function is induced, to be used by minimax search when playing the endgame. We aim at learning playing strategies that give good insight into the principles of playing specific endgames. Games played by these strategies should resemble human expert’s play in achieving goals and subgoals reliably, but not necessarily as quickly as possible. Keywords Machine learning . Computer chess . Long-term Strategy . Chess endgames . Chess databases 1. Introduction The standard approach used in chess playing programs relies on the minimax principle, efficiently implemented by alpha-beta algorithm, plus a heuristic evaluation function. This approach has proved to work particularly well in situations in which short-term tactics are prevalent, when evaluation function can easily recognise within the search horizon the con- sequences of good or bad moves. -
ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1.1 Eadweard Muybridge, Descending
APPENDIX: ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1.1 Eadweard Muybridge, Descending Stairs and Turning Around, photographs from series Animal Locomotion, 1884-1885. 236 237 Figure 1.2 Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 oil on canvas, 1912. Philadelphia Museum of Art. 238 Figure 1.3 Giacomo Balla, Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash, oil on canvas, 1912. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York. 239 Figure 1.4 A. Michael Noll, Gaussian Quadratic, computer-generated image, 1963. 240 Figure 1.5 Stephen Rusell with Peter Samson, Martin Graetz,Wayne Witanen, Alan Kotok, and Dan Edwards, Spacewar!, computer game, designed at MIT on DEC PDP-1 assembler, 1962. Above: view of screen. Below: console. 241 Figure 1.6 Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait, photograph of image created on Commodore Amiga 1000 computer using Graphicraft software, 1986. 242 Figure 1.7 Nam June Paik, Magnet TV, black and white television with magnet, 1965. 243 Figure 1.8 Nam June Paik, Zen for TV, black and white television, 1963-1975. 244 Figure 1.9 Vito Acconci, Centers, performance on video, 20 minutes, 1971. 245 Figure 1.10 Joan Jonas, Left Side, Right Side, performance on video, 1972. Pat Hearn Gallery, New York. 246 Figure 1.11 Dan Graham, Present Continuous Past, installation view, 1974. 247 Figure 1.12 Gary Hill, Hole in the Wall, installation at the Woodstock Artists Association, Woodstock, NY, 1974. 248 Figure 1.13 Nam June Paik, TV Buddha, mixed-media video sculpture, installed at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 1974. 249 Figure 2.1 jodi (Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans), wwwwwwwww.jodi.org, screenshot. -
Scenarios for Using the ARPANET at the International Conference On
VAlirc NIC 11863 SCENARIOS for using the ARPANET at the INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER COMMUNICATION Washington, D.C. October 24—26, 1972 ARPA Network Information Center Stanford Research Institute Menlo Park, California 94025 , 11?>o - 3 £: 3c? - 16 $<}0-l!:}o 3 - & i 3o iW |{: 3 cp - 3 NIC 11863 SCENARIOS for using the ARPANET at the INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER COMMUNICATION Washington, D.C. October 24—26, 1972 ARPA Network Information Center Stanford Research Institute Menlo Park, California 94025 SCENARIOS FOR USING THE ARPANET AT THE ICCC We intend that the following scenarios be used by individuals to browse the ARPA Computer Network (ARPANET) in its current early stage of development and thereby to introduce themselves to some possibilities in computer communication. The scenarios include only a few of the existing ARPANET resources. They were chosen for this booklet (somewhat haphazardly) to exhibit variety and sophistication, while retaining simplicity. The scenarios are by no means complete or perfect. We have tried to make them accurate, but are certain that they contain errors. The scenarios are, therefore, only one kind of tool for experiencing computer communication. We assume that you will attend the various showings of film and videotape, pay close attention at the several scheduled demonstrations of specific resources, approach the ARPANET aggressively yourself using these scenarios, and unhesitatingly call upon the ICCC Special Project People for the advice and encouragement you are sure to need. The account numbers and passwords provided in these scenarios were generated spe cifically for the ICCC. It is hoped that some of them will remain available after the ICCC for continued browsing. -
Kasparov's Nightmare!! Bobby Fischer Challenges IBM to Simul IBM
California Chess Journal Volume 20, Number 2 April 1st 2004 $4.50 Kasparov’s Nightmare!! Bobby Fischer Challenges IBM to Simul IBM Scrambles to Build 25 Deep Blues! Past Vs Future Special Issue • Young Fischer Fires Up S.F. • Fischer commentates 4 Boyscouts • Building your “Super Computer” • Building Fischer’s Dream House • Raise $500 playing chess! • Fischer Articles Galore! California Chess Journal Table of Con tents 2004 Cal Chess Scholastic Championships The annual scholastic tourney finishes in Santa Clara.......................................................3 FISCHER AND THE DEEP BLUE Editor: Eric Hicks Contributors: Daren Dillinger A miracle has happened in the Phillipines!......................................................................4 FM Eric Schiller IM John Donaldson Why Every Chess Player Needs a Computer Photographers: Richard Shorman Some titles speak for themselves......................................................................................5 Historical Consul: Kerry Lawless Founding Editor: Hans Poschmann Building Your Chess Dream Machine Some helpful hints when shopping for a silicon chess opponent........................................6 CalChess Board Young Fischer in San Francisco 1957 A complet accounting of an untold story that happened here in the bay area...................12 President: Elizabeth Shaughnessy Vice-President: Josh Bowman 1957 Fischer Game Spotlight Treasurer: Richard Peterson One game from the tournament commentated move by move.........................................16 Members at -
Virginia Chess Federation 2008 - #6
VIRGINIA CHESS Newsletter The bimonthly publication of the Virginia Chess Federation 2008 - #6 Grandmaster Larry Kaufman See page 1 VIRGINIA CHESS Newsletter 2008 - Issue #6 Editor: Circulation: Macon Shibut Ernie Schlich 8234 Citadel Place 1370 South Braden Crescent Vienna VA 22180 Norfolk VA 23502 [email protected] [email protected] k w r Virginia Chess is published six times per year by the Virginia Chess Federation. Membership benefits (dues: $10/yr adult; $5/yr junior under 18) include a subscription to Virginia Chess. Send material for publication to the editor. Send dues, address changes, etc to Circulation. The Virginia Chess Federation (VCF) is a non-profit organization for the use of its members. Dues for regular adult membership are $10/yr. Junior memberships are $5/yr. President: Mike Hoffpauir, 405 Hounds Chase, Yorktown VA 23693, mhoffpauir@ aol.com Treasurer: Ernie Schlich, 1370 South Braden Crescent, Norfolk VA 23502, [email protected] Secretary: Helen Hinshaw, 3430 Musket Dr, Midlothian VA 23113, jallenhinshaw@comcast. net Scholastics Coordinator: Mike Hoffpauir, 405 Hounds Chase, Yorktown VA 23693, [email protected] VCF Inc. Directors: Helen Hinshaw (Chairman), Rob Getty, John Farrell, Mike Hoffpauir, Ernie Schlich. otjnwlkqbhrp 2008 - #6 1 otjnwlkqbhrp Larry Kaufman, of Maryland, is a familiar face at Virginia tournaments. Among others he won the Virginia Open in 1969, 1998, 2000, 2006 and 2007! Recently Larry achieved a lifelong goal by attaining the title of International Grandmaster, and agreed to tell VIRGINIA CHESS readers how it happened. -ed World Senior Chess Championship by Larry Kaufman URING THE LAST FIVE YEARS OR SO, whenever someone asked me Dif I still hoped to become a GM, I would reply something like this: “I’m too old now to try to do it the normal way, but perhaps when I reach 60 I will try to win the World Senior, which carries an automatic GM title. -
Extended Null-Move Reductions
Extended Null-Move Reductions Omid David-Tabibi1 and Nathan S. Netanyahu1,2 1 Department of Computer Science, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel [email protected], [email protected] 2 Center for Automation Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA [email protected] Abstract. In this paper we review the conventional versions of null- move pruning, and present our enhancements which allow for a deeper search with greater accuracy. While the conventional versions of null- move pruning use reduction values of R ≤ 3, we use an aggressive re- duction value of R = 4 within a verified adaptive configuration which maximizes the benefit from the more aggressive pruning, while limiting its tactical liabilities. Our experimental results using our grandmaster- level chess program, Falcon, show that our null-move reductions (NMR) outperform the conventional methods, with the tactical benefits of the deeper search dominating the deficiencies. Moreover, unlike standard null-move pruning, which fails badly in zugzwang positions, NMR is impervious to zugzwangs. Finally, the implementation of NMR in any program already using null-move pruning requires a modification of only a few lines of code. 1 Introduction Chess programs trying to search the same way humans think by generating “plausible” moves dominated until the mid-1970s. By using extensive chess knowledge at each node, these programs selected a few moves which they consid- ered plausible, and thus pruned large parts of the search tree. However, plausible- move generating programs had serious tactical shortcomings, and as soon as brute-force search programs such as Tech [17] and Chess 4.x [29] managed to reach depths of 5 plies and more, plausible-move generating programs fre- quently lost to brute-force searchers due to their tactical weaknesses. -
Robert Alan Saunders
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LEMELSON CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF INVENTION AND INNOVATION Robert Alan Saunders Transcript of an interview conducted by Christopher Weaver at National Museum of American History Washington, D.C., USA on 29 November 2018 with subsequent additions and corrections For additional information, contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270 or [email protected] All uses of this manuscript are covered by an agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and Robert Alan Saunders dated November 29, 2018. For additional information about rights and reproductions, please contact: Archives Center National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution MRC 601 P.O. Box 37012 Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 Phone: 202-633-3270 TDD: 202-357-1729 Email: [email protected] Web: http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/rights-and-reproductions Preferred citation: Robert Alan Saunders, “Interview with Robert Alan Saunders,” conducted by Christopher Weaver, November 29, 2018, Video Game Pioneers Oral History Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Acknowledgement: The Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Entertainment Software Association and Coastal Bridge Advisors for this oral history project. For additional information, contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270 or [email protected] Abstract Robert Saunders begins discussing his early family life, education, and early exposure to electrical engineering. He next recounts his time at MIT, recalling members of the Tech Model Railroad Club and his work with the TX-0 and PDP-1 computers. Saunders discusses the contributions of Spacewar! team members to the project and his development of the original PDP-1 game controllers. -
{Download PDF} Kasparov Versus Deep Blue : Computer Chess
KASPAROV VERSUS DEEP BLUE : COMPUTER CHESS COMES OF AGE PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Monty Newborn | 322 pages | 31 Jul 2012 | Springer-Verlag New York Inc. | 9781461274773 | English | New York, NY, United States Kasparov versus Deep Blue : Computer Chess Comes of Age PDF Book In terms of human comparison, the already existing hierarchy of rated chess players throughout the world gave engineers a scale with which to easily and accurately measure the success of their machine. This was the position on the board after 35 moves. Nxh5 Nd2 Kg4 Bc7 Famously, the mechanical Turk developed in thrilled and confounded luminaries as notable as Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. Kf1 Bc3 Deep Blue. The only reason Deep Blue played in that way, as was later revealed, was because that very same day of the game the creators of Deep Blue had inputted the variation into the opening database. KevinC The allegation was that a grandmaster, presumably a top rival, had been behind the move. When it's in the open, anyone could respond to them, including people who do understand them. Qe2 Qd8 Bf3 Nd3 IBM Research. Nearly two decades later, the match still fascinates This week Time Magazine ran a story on the famous series of matches between IBM's supercomputer and Garry Kasparov. Because once you have an agenda, where does indifference fit into the picture? Raa6 Ba7 Black would have acquired strong counterplay. In fact, the first move I looked at was the immediate 36 Be4, but in a game, for the same safety-first reasons the black counterplay with a5 I might well have opted for 36 axb5.