mclure%Sri-Unix@sri-unix.UUCP (07/12/84)
This is, quite simply, the best book on the subject of computer chess. Nothing else comes close. It is a series of essays about the computer chess field, both technical and general. This edition adds two essays and a new appendix. One essay is by Condon/Thompson and is about Belle. The other is by Wilkins and is about using knowledge to guide search as implemented in his PARADISE Lisp-based program for creating plans in highly tactical middle-game positions. The appendix includes notable games played by computers between the 1st and 2nd editions, along with commentary. I don't think these two additions warrant the expenditure of the $28 for the book if you already have the 1st edition. But a paperback version is out that costs much less. If you want a complete library, however, it is mandatory. My favorite chapter is the Slate/Atkin description of Chess 4.5. I think this chapter will stand as the best treatise on computer chess for many years. It describes, in excruciating detail, the construction and programming required for the Chess 4.5 program that reigned supreme in the 1970's and is still going strong in Slate/Blanchard's NUCHESS program. It is non-trivial. This chapter can be used by ambitious programmers as the basis for the construction of their own chess programs. It leaves few stones unturned. For additional help, get Jim Gillogly's 1978 publication on the TECH program from Carnegie-Mellon University. It provides additional details about some topics not covered by Slate/Atkin. Stuart