Cheating Chess
I'm a nerd so I was playing chess. I downloaded a good chess program. It's simple, doesn't take up much memory, lists every move in an easy to read format, and is very difficult to beat. I didn't realize how difficult it truly was. This program cheats.
I was actually doing well against it for the first time. Normally, I make so many mistakes that the program captures my key pieces before I can even mount any sort of offensive. This time, however, I was holding my own. In the Middle Game (the phase in which pieces have developed and attacks and defenses can begin to be made), my knight was under attack and I wanted to move it to a safe square. I also wanted to use it to threaten his rook and bishop which were still pinned behind some pawns. But the program wouldn't let me do it. It was a perfectly legal move, it just wouldn't let me do it. So I moved another piece and the program took my knight on the next move. I assumed it was just a glitch and continued the game.
The game progressed to the End Game (when there are few pieces on the board and there is a great deal of space for maneuvering). This was the first time I've gotten to an End Game playing this program. I saw an opportunity to make a good move. I wanted to move my bishop into a fork AND pin position. I just learned what these terms mean and the complexity of this attack was its strength.
A fork is when one piece is threatening two pieces. The opponent is forced to give up one of his pieces to save the other. In this instance, my bishop was going to attack both his rook and his king. The king was in check and couldn't move to take my bishop because my queen would be attacking it (the king can't move into check). So his only move would be to move the king and let me take the rook. It would have given me a very nice advantage in the End Game, especially with his other rook still behind his pawns, incapable of moving. But the program wouldn't let me perform the move. I'd click the piece, drag it to the square, and unclick, but nothing would happen. I had to do another move. Later on in the game, the program let me move my bishop to the square I had wanted to move it to, but this time the fork attack was not present.
I lost in 28 moves. I probably would have lost anyway, but I would have had a better chance with a knight and with him lacking a rook. That rook eventually was a major part in the program's checkmate.
I don't know why a program would cheat.
I was actually doing well against it for the first time. Normally, I make so many mistakes that the program captures my key pieces before I can even mount any sort of offensive. This time, however, I was holding my own. In the Middle Game (the phase in which pieces have developed and attacks and defenses can begin to be made), my knight was under attack and I wanted to move it to a safe square. I also wanted to use it to threaten his rook and bishop which were still pinned behind some pawns. But the program wouldn't let me do it. It was a perfectly legal move, it just wouldn't let me do it. So I moved another piece and the program took my knight on the next move. I assumed it was just a glitch and continued the game.
The game progressed to the End Game (when there are few pieces on the board and there is a great deal of space for maneuvering). This was the first time I've gotten to an End Game playing this program. I saw an opportunity to make a good move. I wanted to move my bishop into a fork AND pin position. I just learned what these terms mean and the complexity of this attack was its strength.
A fork is when one piece is threatening two pieces. The opponent is forced to give up one of his pieces to save the other. In this instance, my bishop was going to attack both his rook and his king. The king was in check and couldn't move to take my bishop because my queen would be attacking it (the king can't move into check). So his only move would be to move the king and let me take the rook. It would have given me a very nice advantage in the End Game, especially with his other rook still behind his pawns, incapable of moving. But the program wouldn't let me perform the move. I'd click the piece, drag it to the square, and unclick, but nothing would happen. I had to do another move. Later on in the game, the program let me move my bishop to the square I had wanted to move it to, but this time the fork attack was not present.
I lost in 28 moves. I probably would have lost anyway, but I would have had a better chance with a knight and with him lacking a rook. That rook eventually was a major part in the program's checkmate.
I don't know why a program would cheat.
posted by rob | 7:43 AM
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