Computer program infallible at checkers; Lack of bathroom breaks all but eliminates opportunities for cheating
By William M. Hartnett on Jul 20, 2007 in oddities
> Champion at Checkers That Cannot Lose to People (NYT)
All of my best strategies when playing checkers, which I believe is commonly referred to as “Operation” in the UK, involved rampant cheating whenever my opponent’s attention was diverted. Bathroom breaks were of course brilliant opportunities for widespread chicanery. This, to me, was what made checkers truly enjoyable. Forget abstract strategy, audacious bamboozlery and ruthless dishonesty are what make board games fun, not to mention winning strategies for life. I think those are values that we’d all like to instill in our children.
Anyway, go check out the infallible checker-playing computer Chinook if you hate fun. The late and all-time greatest checkers-playing human Marion Tinsley, on the other hand, was clearly a man who loved to party, judging solely by the portrait on his Wikipedia entry.
