Press Release:

Combinatorial Game Theory

The Banff International Research Station will host the "Combinatorial Game Theory" workshop from January 9 to January 14, 2011.


Success at computer Chess was, in part, due to insightful heuristics but also due to the increase in speed and memory size of computers. Success in computer Go has been much slower. Fifteen years ago, a rank beginner could beat most of the computer Go programs in the world. Today, a good club player can still achieve this feat. More insights are needed! Recent developments are exciting. The 'enriched environment' evaluation technique has already impacted the professional game; while a Monte-Carlo technique, using the non-human skills of speed and accurate bookkeeping of the computer, has brought the computer to the professional level on 9x9 and is gaining ground on the full 19x19 board.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).

BIRS Scientific Director, Nassif Ghoussoub
E-mail: birs-director[@]birs.ca
http://www.birs.ca/~nassif