Into the Mind of a Computer

We've all seen the decision trees Chess programs use to calculate their next move. But those quickly fleeting lists of numbers and locations are frankly less than meaningful to humans. But Thinking Machine 4 is different. The Java-based human Vs. machine game elegantly displays both the "influence" of all pieces on the board (think pebbles in a pond) and the "pressure" felt by the machine to move a given piece, based upon its internal decision tree. The result is nothing short of art. For example, here's how Thinking Machine 4 saw and then dorked my Ruy Lopez opening salvo.


[Enlarge image]