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Well, he may not have an official rating, but Strogatz did once beat a grandmaster at chess. http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2006/05/checkmate-professor-beats-

by tashi 8y ago

Well, he may not have an official rating, but Strogatz did once beat a grandmaster at chess. http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2006/05/checkmate-professor-beats-grandmaster-campus-exhibition http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2006/05/checkmate-professor-... I've been pretty impressed with him as a sort of cross-disciplinary math wizard ever since I used his Nonlinear Dynamic and Chaos textbook in a class. His research is pretty wide ranging. He may be wrong about the future, but I'd be shocked if it was because of a lack of technical understanding of the algorithms.

mindgam3 8y ago
You forgot to mention his sole grandmaster win came from a simultaneous exhibition where GM Larry Christiansen played against 35 people at once. Trust me, playing 30 boards at once is a wee bit of a handicap. Not that I doubt his cross-disciplinary math skills or whatnot. But let's not pretend that he's anything resembling a serious chess player.
- tashi 8y ago
  I don't think I forgot to mention that, I used a hyperlink to point to it instead. As a guy who loves chess and has studied it off and on over the years, I doubt I'll ever win a game against a grandmaster under any circumstances, so it still seems impressive to me. But even I know enough, from watching videos on YouTube that analyze some of the AlphaZero vs. Stockfish games, to appreciate that AlphaZero was playing in a style I haven't seen before. What's the threshold for someone serious enough to write a chess article?
  - mindgam3 8y ago
    Saying "Strogatz did once beat a grandmaster in chess" without specifiying that it was simultaneous exhibition is a lie by omission. I am a chess player, and I would never insult another player by claiming to have beaten him or her without specifying the format. There is a way for you to say what you want to say without exaggerating to make a point. What's the threshold for someone serious enough to write a chess article? There's no threshold whatsoever, as long as you communicate a respect for the game and you don't try to use chess as a metaphor to make a larger point about AI and humanity that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. If a rank amateur can appreciate that AlphaZero plays chess beautifully and wants to write about it, by all means. I happen to agree. Just please don't abuse my beloved game for marketing purposes or to win an argument.

by tashi 8y ago

mindgam3 8y ago

You forgot to mention his sole grandmaster win came from a simultaneous exhibition where GM Larry Christiansen played against 35 people at once. Trust me, playing 30 boards at once is a wee bit of a handicap. Not that I doubt his cross-disciplinary math skills or whatnot. But let's not pretend that he's anything resembling a serious chess player.

tashi 8y ago
I don't think I forgot to mention that, I used a hyperlink to point to it instead. As a guy who loves chess and has studied it off and on over the years, I doubt I'll ever win a game against a grandmaster under any circumstances, so it still seems impressive to me. But even I know enough, from watching videos on YouTube that analyze some of the AlphaZero vs. Stockfish games, to appreciate that AlphaZero was playing in a style I haven't seen before. What's the threshold for someone serious enough to write a chess article?
- mindgam3 8y ago
  Saying "Strogatz did once beat a grandmaster in chess" without specifiying that it was simultaneous exhibition is a lie by omission. I am a chess player, and I would never insult another player by claiming to have beaten him or her without specifying the format. There is a way for you to say what you want to say without exaggerating to make a point. What's the threshold for someone serious enough to write a chess article? There's no threshold whatsoever, as long as you communicate a respect for the game and you don't try to use chess as a metaphor to make a larger point about AI and humanity that doesn't hold up to scrutiny. If a rank amateur can appreciate that AlphaZero plays chess beautifully and wants to write about it, by all means. I happen to agree. Just please don't abuse my beloved game for marketing purposes or to win an argument.