NIC: Sadler on books and AlphaZero

by New In Chess
1/15/2019 – Courtesy our friends At New in Chess: GM MATTHEW SADLER on books looks at two of Simon Williams' recent video series. Plus, what would AlphaZero think about the World Championship match that was held at a stone’s throw from DeepMind’s headquarters in London? Sadler and NATASHA REGAN, authors of Game Changer: AlphaZero’s Groundbreaking Chess Strategies and the Promise of AI, provide a glimpse.
On this DVD, we will look at a simple-to-learn yet surprisingly effective system that White can play after 1 d4 d5. In all cases White will play 2 c4 - and if given the chance, 3 cxd5!

AlphaZero's Thoughts

by GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan

The idea of analysing the World Championship Match between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana together with AlphaZero, London-based DeepMind’s general-purpose artificial intelligence system, first occurred to us just after the thrilling Candidates Tournament held in Berlin in March 2018. Still in the middle of writing our book about AlphaZero and thrilled by the incredible games we were seeing, we felt that — despite all the attention that the match would receive from other silicon and human commentators — AlphaZero’s perspective could still add something unique and valuable.

book coverPart of the mystery of a match lies in the opening choices, in which the intentions of a competitor never fully become revealed. For example, Caruana’s Queen’s Gambit Declined seemed to cast a huge shadow over Carlsen’s White games. From the outside, it felt as if Caruana’s choice of opening had significantly disrupted Carlsen’s strategy with the White pieces and made him lose confidence in 1.d4. The strange thing is that we never got to see the reason for this loss of confidence: both in Game 2 and Game 7, Carlsen attempted to make progress in sidelines rather than testing out Caruana’s preparation in the main lines.

In this article, we thought it would be interesting to take a deeper look at some of those intriguing moments in the Queen’s Gambit Declined and get AlphaZero’s thoughts on what it considered to be best play.

Game 2 was in retrospect a crucial moment for Caruana in the match: after a fraught first game in which he had been required to muster all his defensive mastery to counter ­Carlsen’s stellar opening and middlegame strategy, Caruana achieved the first of many comfortable draws with Black with excellent preparation.

 
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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,184,21554%2421---
1.d4958,93255%2434---
1.Nf3286,32756%2441---
1.c4184,72256%2443---
1.g319,88456%2427---
1.b314,59854%2428---
1.f45,95348%2377---
1.Nc33,90650%2384---
1.b41,79048%2378---
1.a31,25054%2406---
1.e31,08149%2409---
1.d396950%2378---
1.g467046%2361---
1.h446654%2382---
1.c343951%2425---
1.h328956%2420---
1.a411860%2461---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39267%2511---
1.Na34762%2476---
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qc2 Nc6 9.a3 Qa5 10.Rd1 Rd8 This rare choice from Caruana was not AlphaZero's main choice, which preferred the standard main line 10...Be7 . AlphaZero - like most commentators - recommended 11.Nd2 , with a fairly positive expected score of 65-70_percent_. Still closer to a draw than a win but definitely chances for White. Let's take a look at some of the lines that AlphaZero looked at in building up this assessment. 11.Nd2 dxc4 AlphaZero's main continuation. 11...d4 is great fun, but (impressively) AlphaZero's 1-millisecond line is essentially the main line you find after analysing with other engines: Black sacrifices a piece, gets it back and ends up a bit worse with a terrible pawn structure: 12.Nb3 Qb6 13.Na4 Bb4+ 14.axb4 Qxb4+ 15.Nd2 Qa5 16.Qb3 e5 17.Bg5 Nb4 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Be2 Bd7 20.Ra1 dxe3 21.fxe3 b5 22.0-0 bxa4 23.Qc3 f5 24.Nf3 f6 25.Nh4 Nc6 26.Qa3 e4 27.c5 Rab8 28.Nxf5 Bxf5 29.Rxf5 Kg7 30.Bc4 Rd2 is AlphaZero's main line, with an almost 60_percent_ expected score. We suppose that with deep preparation of this middlegame as Black, you might be able to get away with this line if you're happy fighting for a draw. 12.Nxc4 AlphaZero's preferred choice, though we were keener on the more aggressive 12. Bxc4, keeping more pieces on the board. 12.Bxc4 Be7 , and now: 13.0-0 13.Bd3 was an almost equivalent move, according to AlphaZero. Again we like this move a little more than AlphaZero's main line, as it keeps more pieces on the board: e5 14.Nc4 Qc7 15.Nb5 Qb8 16.Bg3 Bg4 17.f3 Be6 18.Nd4 Bxc4 19.Bxc4 Qc8 , when you feel that White should have a path to a small annoying edge. This is AlphaZero's main line: 20.Nxc6 Qxc6 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.Qb3 Kf8 23.0-0 Nd5 24.Bf2 a6 25.Rd1 Nb6 26.Rxd8+ Bxd8 27.Qd1 Bf6 28.Ba2 - wouldn't Magnus have enjoyed this as White? - Na4 29.Qd2 e4 30.Bd5 Qd7 31.Qb4+ Kg8 32.Qxb7 Qxb7 33.Bxb7 Bxb2 34.Bc6 Nc5 35.a4 , ending with a 59_percent_ expected score for White. 13...Qf5 (the only move AlphaZero spent any time on) 14.Nde4 Nd5 15.Qc1 15.Bg3 Nxc3 16.bxc3 Rxd1 16...Ne5 17.Rxd8+ Bxd8 18.Qd1 Bb6 19.Nd6 Qf6 20.Bb5 was good for White in Graf-Dobrev, Leipzig 2007 (1-0, 34) 17.Rxd1 e5 made AlphaZero less happy than the main line 15...Nxf4 15...Nxc3 16.Nxc3 e5 17.Nd5 Be6 18.Bd3 Qh5 19.Nxe7+ Nxe7 20.Bg3 Rac8 21.Bc2 , with a 62_percent_ expected score for White 16.Rxd8+ Nxd8 16...Bxd8 17.exf4 Bc7 18.g3 Bd7 19.Rd1 Be8 , with a 63_percent_ expected score for White - the ideas are very similar to the main line 17.exf4 Bd7 , and now a main line that feels tactically very fraught, but was more or less the only line that AlphaZero seriously considered (!) : 18.b4 Rc8 19.Rd1 Ba4 19...Rxc4 20.Rxd7 Qxe4 21.Qd2 Qc6 22.Rxe7 wins for White 20.Nd6 Bxd6 21.Rxd6 Qc2 22.Qe3 Be8 23.Bf1 Nc6 24.Rd2 Qb3 25.Ne4 Qxe3 26.fxe3 Kf8 27.Nd6 Rc7 28.e4 f6 29.Bb5 Ke7 30.e5 , with a 59_percent_ expected score for White. This line is an example of why analysing with AlphaZero in the opening is an unusually instructive experience. Out of a mass of possibilities, it invariably takes a clear, coherent view on one path and pursues it with enormous focus and vigour. It's like having Karpov or Kramnik on tap and asking them for a clear opinion about any position! The resulting line is a wonderful framework around which to build your own understanding of the position and develop your own ideas. It's going too far to claim that AlphaZero's view on the position represents perfection and to accept it without question, but it is unfailingly interesting and challenging for the opponent. 12...Rxd1+ 13.Qxd1 Qd8 14.Qxd8+ Nxd8 15.Be2 Black has two approaches in this position: quiet development with 15...Bd7, or the more forceful 15...Nd5, which aims to achieve immediate liquidation. We decided to take on AlphaZero from this position using some help from engines where required. 15.Na4 Bf8 16.Nab6 is a surprising idea that was first tried by Euwe in 1954 but seems insufficient for an advantage: axb6 17.Nxb6 Ra5 18.Nxc8 Rc5 19.Nb6 g5 20.Bg3 Rc2 21.Na4 Ne4 , Gerusel-Eisinger, Bad Aibling 1965, was drawn in 35 moves. 15...Bd7 AlphaZero likes 15...Nd5 less, moving to a solid 71_percent_ expected score for White: 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Nd6 Bd7 the favourite move of the engines, completing development before trying to liquidate Black's isolated d-pawn with ...d5-d4. On 17...d4 White plays 18.e4 18.b4 18.Kd2 d4 19.e4 Ne6 20.Bg3 Bc6 21.f3 Rd8 22.e5 a5 23.Bc4 a4 was assessed by AlphaZero as a 54_percent_ expected score for White 18...Bb6 19.0-0 Ne6 (as Black, AlphaZero was keener on plans with ...a5, to swap off as many pawns as possible) 20.Bg3 d4 21.Bf3 Bc6 21...dxe3 22.Bxb7 Rf8 23.fxe3 Bxe3+ 24.Kh1 Bb6 25.Bd5 - AlphaZero is starting to get very positive about this, moving to a 75_percent_ expected score 22.Bxc6 bxc6 23.Nc4 dxe3 24.fxe3 Ng5 25.Rd1 Ne4 26.Rd7 Kf8 was a 65_percent_ expected score for White. 16.0-0 Bc6 This was my (Matthew) favoured solid approach, and the engines were very happy with it, too. 17.Rc1 Bf8 18.Bg3 Nd5 Black starts to exchange minor pieces. 19.Na5 Playing the knight to a5 is a recurring plan in these positions. It makes Black's light-squared bishop insecure and ties down a black piece to the defence of the b7-pawn. If Black plays ...b6, then White gets some extra weak light squares to work with. Nxc3 20.Rxc3 Bd5 21.f3 f6 22.e4 Ba2 DIAGRAM ... and that's why you need engines to help you! We were extremely nervous about this move, but it seems crucial to keeping Black's position together. 23.Kf1 23.b3 b6 24.Nc4 Rc8 and the bishop is impossible to catch! 23...b6 24.Nc6 e5 25.Bf2 Be6 Here AlphaZero's evaluation starts to drop from 68_percent_ evaluation to 62_percent_. 26.Bb5 Bf7 27.Nxd8 Rxd8 28.Ke2 Bd6 29.Bc4 h5 30.b4 Bxc4+ 31.Rxc4 Kf8 32.a4 AlphaZero's evaluation is at a 66_percent_ expected score, but White's advantage feels manageable for Black. All-in-all, Black's position is not fun to play - Black is only playing for two results - but backed by some accurate computer preparation (for example, a few ideas like 22...Ba2 in our main line) Black should be able to count on navigating to an endgame in which White's advantage probably cannot be realized.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Magnus Carlsen-Fabiano Caruana- 2
Queen's Gambit Declined 5.Bf4-AlphaZero analysis 10.0-0-0-

As you can see, analysing with AlphaZero is a rollercoaster ride. While its play is generally sound and strategical, it is extremely sensitive to the slightest opportunities for active counterplay, which it prosecutes with great energy and purpose. This gives great feedback when trying out ideas against it, especially those involving the arrangement of your pieces on different sets of squares: AlphaZero won’t be shy to shout a low evaluation at you if it doesn’t like your choices. All-in-all, it’s been a great experience analysing with an engine quite unlike any other, and we hope you enjoyed this insight into the brain of an artificial intelligence system that taught itself to play chess.

How AlphaZero evaluates

AlphaZero’s evaluation is based on how it would expect to do against itself from the current position. It uses a weighted average of all the lines it has seen during its analysis which lets AlphaZero take account of everything going on in the position before giving its final evaluation. We think this is what gives AlphaZero its intuitive feel for positions, allowing it to steer towards positions that are generally promising. In this article we talk about the evaluation as a percentage. An expected score of 70% for White would signify good winning chances and a definite advantage for White.

Sadler on Books

Sadler on booksSimon Williams has been busy recently with two DVD’s for ChessBase: one on the Exchange Slav: Simple but Powerful: Ex-change on d5 in the Slav and the Queen’s Gambit, and one on the Queen’s Gambit Declined 5.♗f4: A Dynamic Weapon against the Queen’s Gambit Declined — 5.♗f4.

Williams is not always the most concise of presenters, but he is unfailingly enthusiastic and strongly focused on giving the viewer the minimum number of lines to be able to play an opening properly rather than providing reams of long variations. As you might expect, this approach works better for some openings than for others. I felt that the analysis in the DVD on the QGD was erring on the light side, particularly in intricate variations such as the old mainline (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.♘c3 ♘f6 4.♘f3 ♗e7 5.♗f4 0-0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 ♗xc5 8.♕c2 ♘c6 9.a3 ♕a5 10.0-0-0). I felt that I had been entertained, but possibly learnt too little!

On this DVD, we will look at a simple-to-learn yet surprisingly effective system that White can play after 1 d4 d5. In all cases White will play 2 c4 - and if given the chance, 3 cxd5!

The other DVD works much better and Williams does his usual nice approach of offering a choice of lines — the normal solid main lines as well as something spicy. This time, the idea that caught my eye was: 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.♘c3 ♘f6 5.f3

 

The Berliner Exchange Slav. I first saw this line mentioned in former Correspondence World Champion and computer programmer Hans Berliner’s The System, with the main line given as: 5...♘c6 6.e4 dxe4 7.d5 ♘e5 8.fxe4 e6

 

Unfortunately, Berliner was very cagey about this line: ‘Despite the fact that there are numerous violent attacking attempts here, and I have spent hundreds of hours on this, including much computer help, I have not been able to find any concrete advantage for White.’

It just shows you how times change! When Berliner’s book came out in 1999, I scoffed a little at all these ridiculous opening ideas. Fifteen years’ work with engines later, nothing seems stupid anymore!

In any case, Simon Williams does a pretty good job in this DVD of making me enthusiastic for the Exchange Slav, which is not something I’d ever think I’d say! 3 stars for the QGD and 4 stars for the Exchange Slav.

This DVD concentrates on the increasingly popular 5.Bf4 variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined and gives White a dynamic and aggressive weapon against Black's set-up.

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In issue 2018#8

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The final issue of 2018 contains 106 pages of the best in chess, including:

Magnus Carlsen unbeatable
Carlsen’s choice
Just like two years ago in New York, Magnus Carlsen steered for a tiebreak in the World Championship match against Fabiano Caruana in London. A choice that was widely criticized, but again proved highly effective.

AlphaZero’s thoughts
And what would the strongest program around think about the match that was held at a stone’s throw from DeepMind’s headquarters in London? Matthew Sadler reports.

Short Stories
Nigel Short wonders what changes are needed to keep the World Championship attractive for a broad audience.

FIDE Presidents
Arkady Dvorkovich is only the seventh FIDE president.

So happy together in Isle of Man
Radek Wojtaszek was the sensation of the 2018 edition of the Chess.com Open in Isle of Man, taking home £ 38,000. His wife, Alina Kashlinskaya, added another £ 7,000 to their celebration day by winning the top women’s prize.

MVL Master of Shenzhen - breaks Ding Liren's Century
At the Shenzhen Masters, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ended Ding Liren’s unbeaten streak of 100 games and took the title on tiebreak.

Opera Game
Paul Morphy’s rise from child prodigy to the ‘pride and sorrow of chess’ forms the backdrop to a new movie.

NIC’s Café
A chess-themed pub in downtown Oslo, Maurice Ashley on ‘The Daily Show’  and a revisited flyover in Kolkata.

Your Move
Not everyone rejoiced when a rapid tiebreak decided the world title.

Celeb64: George C. Scott

Chess Pattern Recognition
Why not gain some space while advancing a pawn for a fianchetto?

Judit Polgar
Crucial moments can dramatically change the course of a game. Or can even have far-reaching consequences for a player’s career.

And much more...

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