Browse Books

Reviewer: Kent Campbell

Anyone interested in both computers and chess will probably find this book appealing. It covers the history of computer chess, from Claude Shannon's 1950 paper on programming computers to play chess, up to the 1996 tournament between Deep Blue and Gary Kasparov. Unfortunately, the book was published too early to include Kasparov's recent loss to Deep Blue. In the course of describing the history of computer chess, the author briefly explains how computers play chess and provides complete descriptions of many games played by computers. (Readers interested in a more thorough explanation of how computers play chess should consult Levy and Newborn's book [1].) In general, the book is well written and easy to read. There are a few typographical errors and some inconsistencies in the text, none extremely serious. The only difficulty I had while reading the book was that I found the level of detail uneven. For instance, in a chapter titled “The Foundations,” the author presents too much detail, including a pseudocode listing, with too little explanation. Similarly, I found the description of the minimax algorithm unclear. In other places, some details are left out. For instance, the author refers frequently to chess ratings but does not describe how they are determined. This unevenness probably reflects the difficulty involved in writing a book that will appeal to a fairly diverse audience. Overall, I found the book interesting and enjoyable. Those seriously interested in computer chess will find it a good introduction to the history of computer chess. Chess players, even those who play as badly as I do, will enjoy reading about attempts to beat the best human chess players in the world.