Record set for smallest computer chess program

[Kerry Liles]

Breaking a long-standing record, the newest entry weighs in at 487 bytes...

http://www.geek.com/games/computer-chess-created-in-487-bytes-breaks-32-year-old-record-1614445/

[Keven Eyre]

Re: Record set for smallest computer chess program

That is really impressive.

[Garland Best]

Re: Record set for smallest computer chess program

I used to have a Sinclair ZX-81 and the 1kB chess program. It was pretty random. The opening book consisted of 1. e4 e5 and 1. d4 d5

Later I purchased a 16kB RAM pack that needed velcro added to stop from jiggling, and bought a more advanced program. The opening book now was 3 moves deep, and it could actually calculate. The ZX-81 had a total of 4 chips inside, and the CPU also had to function as the graphics card. In fact normally it could only spend time running your program during the pause between the scan line reaching the bottom of the TV screen and starting again at the top. To get around this the chess program would disable the display while calculating, and enable the display after making the move. So for 3 minutes all you saw was snow on the screen, and you were hoping that the computer hadn't crashed.

Its David vs Goliath moment was when it defeated a Commodore 64 running Sargon III. Fun times.:)

[Roger Patterson]

Re: Record set for smallest computer chess program

Breaking a long-standing record, the newest entry weighs in at 487 bytes...

http://www.geek.com/games/computer-c...ecord-1614445/

in the comments section at Slate, someone remarked that it is not fully compliant with chess rules, in particular it allows the king to move or stay in check. Don't know myself if that is true, but if so, it is questionable that you can consider it a "chess program" if it doesn't adhere to the rules of chess.

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Record set for smallest computer chess program

in the comments section at Slate, someone remarked that it is not fully compliant with chess rules, in particular it allows the king to move or stay in check. Don't know myself if that is true, but if so, it is questionable that you can consider it a "chess program" if it doesn't adhere to the rules of chess.

I haven't looked at how it runs... I do notice that there is a version that allows pawns to Queen (maybe *only* to queen, not any promotion?) so perhaps there are some caveats. On the other hand I don't know what the parameters of the task were either - "make (mostly!) legal moves" etc. Anyway, having wasted some of my time writing some PC assembler in the past, I can appreciate the enormity of what they have actually accomplished.

[Garland Best]

Re: Record set for smallest computer chess program

The XZ81 program didn't follow the rules completely either (no castling, queening pawns, or en passant)

[Roger Patterson]

Re: Record set for smallest computer chess program

?... Anyway, having wasted some of my time writing some PC assembler in the past, I can appreciate the enormity of what they have actually accomplished.

No doubt you have fond memories of when "640k was enough for anyone"...

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Record set for smallest computer chess program

No doubt you have fond memories of when "640k was enough for anyone"...

lol - apparently that quote was not quite what Bill G. claims to have said (I have no idea personally). I started programming in the summer between Grade X and Grade XI before there were personal computers and using what could only be charitably called "pre-mainframe, mini computers"... There were times when I would have traded my lunch for another 4K!! Now I've bought a Raspberry Pi computer on a circuit board to be able to relive those heady days (although the Pi has way more power and resources than anything built in the 60s (and the Pi costs $35.)