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QUOTE |
A team of Canadian computer science researchers proved that a game of checkers, if played perfectly, will end in a draw-no matter what. This proof is the culmination of 18 years of research and represents "the most complicated game ever 'solved'." In a game of US checkers, there around 5x1020 possible different configurations. Drawing from a database of 39 trillion possible arrangements of 10 or fewer pieces on the board, the researchers found which would lead to a win for red, a win for black, or a draw. They then demonstrated that a specific opening sequence, played perfectly, would invariably lead to a configuration that ended in a draw. |