How many ways are there to play a game of chess?

ooh about two dozen or so I'd say.... Nah as previous poster said, I reckon its infinite.
 
From the start of a game, I could legally just move knights back and forth forever. Pointless, but perfectly legal moves. Therefore, the answer to the question as stated is thus: There are an infinite number of ways to play a game of chess. :)
 
Berserker said:
From the start of a game, I could legally just move knights back and forth forever. Pointless, but perfectly legal moves. Therefore, the answer to the question as stated is thus: There are an infinite number of ways to play a game of chess. :)
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I thought a game is drawn if so many moves are repeated?
 
Well, as the estimates for number of atoms in the universe range from 4^78 to 6^79 (or thereabouts), then it would appear you are correct. :)

I just wish they'd hurry up and figure out quantum computing. :D
 
Berserker said:
I just wish they'd hurry up and figure out quantum computing. :D
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What is this? And why do you want it to hurry? Do you want to go on an adventure with a terminator man-machine?

I do. I want to blow someones head off with a shotgun and watch it grow back. :p
 
Has anyone played Go? Just saw it mentioned in the Wiki article, I played it a bit a few months ago. There's a huge difference between someone who's been playing it a while and a relative rookie. Very popular over the net.
 
Johnny Girth said:
Playing by the standard rules. How many combinations of moves do you think there actually are?

I reckon there's more than a google combinations.

Higher or lower?
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There are more moves than the total number of individual atomic particles (electrons, protons, et.c) in the entitre universe. Hence a deterministic algorithm cannot ever play the most optimal game of chess.

A quick estimate is there are roughly 10 different moves you can play in one step. an average game lasts 100 moves. Therefore there are 10^100 different moves. There are only 10^81 different particles in the universe.
 
Dave said:
I thought a game is drawn if so many moves are repeated?
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If the exact same position is repeated 3 times. The draw needs to be claimed however. Also, if for 50 consecutive moves, there are no pawns pushed and no captures, a draw can be claimed.
 
daz said:
Infinite.

I think top computers only analyse games an average of 12 moves ahead.
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Definitely not infinite. there are finite pieces on on a finite number of squares, each peice has a finite number of moves. Of course, you can have loops but ignoring that it is a finite search space of massive porportions.


Computers search for billions of moves, and yeah only get 8-12 moves ahead. A human only searches a 10-15 states to a depth of 3, 4 at the most. Granda Masters have some very good heuristics.
 
I'm wicked at chess!... I have no strategy!... I don't think any moves ahead!... So my opponent get totally thrown off and it usually ends on a stalemate!! :D
 
wow chess thread!

Im not sure how the ultimate chess computers "think" but surely they dont compute every move everytime? THey have some kind of "attack" mode built in.Or are they programmed to just work out everymove wuth no tactics to it.

wrr what am i saying i mean, develop a queen rather than respond to a random pawn movement? Or do random moves by the human make it calculate possibilities for that too???
 
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