Game Changer – AlphaZero’s Groundbreaking Chess Strategies and the Promise of AI by Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan

Game Changer won the 2019 English Chess Federation (ECF) Book of the Year award, the Averbakh-Boleslavsky Award 2019, and the FIDE Book of the Year award 2019. These prestigious accolades highlight the book's impact on chess and broader AI communities.

It took AlphaZero only a few hours of self-learning to become the chess player that shocked the world. The artificial intelligence system, created by DeepMind, 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For Game Changer, Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan investigated more than two thousand previously unpublished games by AlphaZero. 

• This book is typically for intermediate to advanced players in the range of Elo 1500 and above
• Kasparov’s brilliant foreword sets the scene for an outstanding book that has shaken the chess world!
• Explore how AlphaZero became the world's top chess engine in a few hours of self-learning, defeating the strongest engine at the time without losing a single game
• Understand the immense impact that artificial intelligence is having on chess
• Learn about the science behind AlphaZero through interviews with the developers of AlphaZero at Google Deepmind
• Analyse the unique playing strategies of AlphaZero based on 2350 games played between AlphaZero and Stockfish in the beginning of 2018 
• A ‘must-have’ book for chess lovers who wish to understand how AlphaZero has revolutionized the game

Reader’s reviews:

A game-changing book to treasure! - G.Stirling.

Having a background in neural networks, I was captivated by how these techniques were applied to chess through AlphaZero, an extraordinary breakthrough tool. The book provides an insightful analysis of AlphaZero's chess strategies. Still, the true marvel remains AlphaZero, who’s intuitive, Grandmaster-like decisions leave us in awe despite the mystery behind how it calculates success probabilities - J. Dickhaut.

About the authors:

Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan are notable figures in the chess community, recognized for their contributions as authors and players.

Matthew Sadler is an accomplished chess Grandmaster and a two-time British Chess Champion, having won the title in 1995 and again in 1997. He represented England at the 1996 Chess Olympiad, earning a gold medal for his performance on board four. Sadler has also been active in chess writing, with notable works including Queen's Gambit Declined, which won the British Chess Federation's Book of the Year award in 2000. After stepping back from professional play in his mid-20s to pursue a career in IT, he returned to chess competition and has since focused on computer chess, particularly the innovations brought by AlphaZero. His recent works include Game Changer and The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement
 
Natasha Regan is a Women’s International Master who has significantly contributed to chess literature alongside her playing career. She holds a degree in mathematics from Cambridge University, which complements her analytical approach to chess. Regan co-authored Game Changer with Sadler, exploring the groundbreaking strategies of AlphaZero and its implications for chess play. She has also collaborated with Sadler on previous works, including Chess for Life, which won the English Chess Federation's Book of the Year award in 2016

Together, Sadler and Regan have garnered acclaim for their insightful analysis of modern chess strategies influenced by artificial intelligence.

Other details:

Paperback
416 pages
Dimensions: 16.99cm x 2.54cm x 23.52cm
ISBN-13: 9789056918187