
Game Changer
AlphaZero's Groundbreaking Chess Strategies and the Promise of AI
New in Chess (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 1. January 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
416 pages
978-90-5691-818-7 (ISBN)
Description
It took AlphaZero only a few hours of self-learning to become the chess player that shocked the world. The artificial intelligence system AlphaZero had been fed nothing but the rules of the Royal Game when it beat the world's strongest chess engine in a prolonged match. The selection of ten games published in December 2017 created a worldwide sensation: how was it possible to play in such a brilliant and risky style and not lose a single game against an opponent of superhuman strength?
For Game Changer, Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan investigated more than two thousand previously unpublished games by AlphaZero. They also had unparalleled access to its team of developers at DeepMind and were offered a unique look 'under the bonnet' to grasp the depth and breadth of AlphaZero's search. Sadler and Regan reveal its thinking process and tell the story of the human motivation and the techniques that created AlphaZero.
Game Changer also presents a collection of lucidly explained chess games of astonishing quality. Both professionals and club players will improve their game by studying AlphaZero's stunning discoveries in every field that matters: opening preparation, piece mobility, initiative, attacking techniques, long-term sacrifices and much more.
The story of AlphaZero has a wider impact. Game Changer offers intriguing insights into the opportunities and horizons of Artificial Intelligence. Not just in solving games, but in providing solutions for a wide variety of challenges in society.
Reviews / Votes
Chess has been shaken to its roots by AlphaZero, but this is only a tiny example of what is to come. Hidebound disciplines like education and medicine will also be shaken. -- Garry Kasparov BBC Focus magazine, January 2019, carries an excerpt from new book Game Changer. Its an excerpt from the Introduction by Demis Hassabis, founder of artificial intelligence company DeepMind, the devlopers of AlphaZero - the technology which is the subject of Game Changer. The article points out why this technology is important in a much wider arena than the world of chess! Most unnerving was that AlphaZero seemed to express insight. It played like no computer ever has, intuitively and beautifully, with a romantic, attacking style. -- Steven Strogatz, professor of mathematics at Cornell, New York Times Quite inspirational. I was thinking at several points during the game [in Round 11 of the 2019 Tata Steel Chess Tournament]: how would AlphaZero have approached this? World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen I love Game Changer. This is a phenomenal book. -- International Master John Bartholomew, on his YouTube Channel One of the most important chess books ever written. -- Grandmaster Raymond Keene, The Spectator I absolutely love it. A fascinating read: provocative, inspiring, instructive and joyful. AlphaZeros style is great fun, some of the things it is doing are incredible. This is just a great book. Grandmaster Daniel King, on his YouTube channelMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Netherlands
Product notice
Klappenbroschur
Illustrations
900
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 174 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
771 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-5691-818-7 (9789056918187)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Matthew Sadler | Natasha Regan
Game Changer
AlphaZero's Groundbreaking Chess Strategies and the Promise of AI
E-Book
01/2019
Simon + Schuster LLC
€19.77
Available for download
Persons
Author
Matthew Sadler is a Chess Grandmaster who twice won the British Championship and was awarded an individual Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympiad
Natasha Regan is a Women's International Master from England who achieved a degree in mathematics from Cambridge University
Introduction
. Demis Hassabis (1976) is co-founder and CEO of DeepMind, the world's leading AI research organisation which developed 'AlphaGo', the first program to master Go. A child chess prodigy, he is also a renowned computer scientist, neuroscientist and videogame designer.
Preface
Garry Kasparov (1963) is a former World Chess Champion. After his retirement from chess in 2005 he devoted his time to politics and writing. His latest book is Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins