In a message dated 3/19/02 10:39:59 PM, shmage at pipeline.com writes:
<< >....In chess the first move can be only one of 18 ...as far as I can
>tell the number of possibilities never gets much higher than 18 and
>is often significantly lower...
That is scarcely the case. In an end game a centrally-positioned Queen may have as many as 27 possible moves without even considering any other pieces.
Shane Mage
>>
Sure, I am no expert in chess, but consider that in go, the first move is one of 361 (my first two totals were incorrect, I blame the board, a fine Acme product). No two games end alike endgames are as unique as snowflakes. My experience in chess is that every game ends the same. There are qualitative differences between the two games. Chess lends itself to computer simulation because of the comparatively larger number of given moves that would be impractical or result in the loss of the piece. With go it is all about encircelment and initiative. The source of such initiative resides in the human mind and has yet been unduplicated through technical means. Now yahtzee on the other hand. . .