The Royal Game (2020) (codemetas.de)

In a recent exploration of chess and AI, the author reflects on their personal journey in contributing to the world of chess engines, while also delving into the historical significance of computer chess. The piece emphasizes that game playing has been pivotal in the advancement and public perception of machine intelligence, tracing back to early automata like the Mechanical Turk. Despite the rise of sophisticated machine learning techniques in recent years, the author argues for the enduring value of classical approaches to developing chess engines. The article further explains the underlying architecture of chess engines and briefly discusses the Universal Chess Interface (UCI) protocol, which facilitates communication between programs and graphical user interfaces in chess. By providing a high-level overview of game-playing algorithms and linking them to the foundational work of figures like Alan Turing, the author illustrates not only the technical evolution of chess engines but also highlights the broader implications for AI and cognitive science. This retrospective shines a light on how historical perceptions of machines and computation have shaped modern AI development, making it a significant contribution to the ongoing dialogue about the capabilities of artificial intelligence.