In 2007, computer scientist Jonathan Schaeffer and his research team at the University of Alberta published a landmark paper in Science magazine proving that English Draughts (8x8 Checkers) is mathematically solved. Perfect play from both sides guarantees a draw.
1. What Does "Solved Game" Mean?
In game theory, a game is considered weakly solved if an algorithm can determine the outcome (Win, Loss, or Draw) from the initial starting position assuming perfect play by both players.
With 500 billion billion (5 x 10^20) possible positions, checkers is the largest board game ever solved by artificial intelligence.
2. Board Setup & Strategic Positioning
Chinook was developed starting in 1989. In 1994, Chinook made history by becoming the first computer program to win a human World Championship title against legendary Grandmaster Marion Tinsley.
From 1997 to 2007, Schaeffer's team used dozens of distributed supercomputers to compute endgame database tables containing every position with 10 or fewer pieces on the board (over 39 trillion positions).
3. Key Traps & Defensive Counter-Play
No human player can defeat a modern checkers engine running full endgame databases. Because the game is solved, an AI will never make a tactical blunder. If a human plays flawlessly, the game will always end in a draw; if the human makes a single sub-optimal move, the AI will force a win.