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History and Milestone Developments in Computer Chess Algorithms from 1947 -1986

by Evarista Onokpasa
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International Journal of Computer Applications
Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Volume 187 - Number 51
Year of Publication: 2025
Authors: Evarista Onokpasa
10.5120/ijca2025925838

Evarista Onokpasa . History and Milestone Developments in Computer Chess Algorithms from 1947 -1986. International Journal of Computer Applications. 187, 51 ( Oct 2025), 7-16. DOI=10.5120/ijca2025925838

@article{ 10.5120/ijca2025925838,
author = { Evarista Onokpasa },
title = { History and Milestone Developments in Computer Chess Algorithms from 1947 -1986 },
journal = { International Journal of Computer Applications },
issue_date = { Oct 2025 },
volume = { 187 },
number = { 51 },
month = { Oct },
year = { 2025 },
issn = { 0975-8887 },
pages = { 7-16 },
numpages = {9},
url = { https://ijcaonline.org/archives/volume187/number51/history-and-milestone-developments-in-computer-chess-algorithms-from-1947-1986/ },
doi = { 10.5120/ijca2025925838 },
publisher = {Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA},
address = {New York, USA}
}
%0 Journal Article
%1 2025-10-23T00:18:42.768801+05:30
%A Evarista Onokpasa
%T History and Milestone Developments in Computer Chess Algorithms from 1947 -1986
%J International Journal of Computer Applications
%@ 0975-8887
%V 187
%N 51
%P 7-16
%D 2025
%I Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Abstract

According to Shannon there are ”at least 10120 ways to play the game of Chess from start to finish. A computer operating at the rate of one variation per micro-second would require over 1090 years to calculate the first move!”[5]. This brings to the fore the importance of applying efficient algorithms, heuristics and data structures in the design of computer chess engines. Much work has been done in the development of computer chess algorithms. This paper takes a journey on the history of a few famous, published algorithms for computer chess. It considers in a concise manner, the strategies conceived and applied in designing different chess engines from 1947-1986 (the eras of foundational computer chess and the start of computer chess championships). These strategies, include chess knowledge, game tree search, tree pruning strategies, the use of evaluation, transposition and refutation tables, as well as specialized hardware designed to optimize strength of play of computers.

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Index Terms

Computer Science
Information Sciences

Keywords

Chess strategies game tree tree pruning and evaluation functions

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