HansBerliner%CMU-CS-A@sri-unix.UUCP (10/28/83)
lock on the tournament. CRAY Blitz won from Belle when the latter rejected a draw because it had been set to play for a win at all costs (Belle's only chance, but this setting was a mistake as CRAY BLITZ also had to win at all costs). In the end AWIT snuck into 3 rd place in all this commotion, without having every played any of the contenders. One problem with a Swiss pairing system used for tournaments where only a few rounds are possible is that it only brings out a winner. The other scores are very much dependent on what happens in the last round. Belle was using a new modification in search technique which based on the results could be thought of as a mistake. Probably it is not though, though possiby the implementation was not the best. In any case Thompson apparently thought he had to do something to improve Belle for the tournament. In any case, it was not a lost cause for Thompson. He shared this years Turing award with Ritchie for developing UNIX, received a certificate from the US chess federation for the first non-human chess master (for Belle), and a $16,000 award from the Common Wealth foundation for the invention award of the year (software) for his work on UNIX, C, and Belle. Lastly, it is interesting to note that this is the 4th world championship. They are held 3 years apart, and no program has won more than one of them.