I’m sure you’re aware of the AlphaZero chess software, which made the headlines a year or so ago.

A few years ago we welcomed GM Matthew Sadler and WIM Natasha Regan to talk about their book Chess for Life. They’ve now written an outstanding book about AlphaZero: Game Changer, which I’ve written about here.

GM Daniel King, who, as you may know, lives just round the corner from The Roebuck, has an online review here, and you’ll also find several videos of Matthew discussing some of AlphaZero’s games on YouTube.

If you haven’t bought the book already you should certainly do so. The games are absolutely fascinating – and also amazingly beautiful. After reading it you’ll have a totally different perspective on chess, and perhaps some ideas you can use in your own games. But more than that, if you have any interest at all in computing and artificial intelligence you’ll also want to study this book.

We’re thinking about inviting Matthew and Natasha to give a talk on Game Changer here at Richmond, probably after the Thames Valley matches have been completed. They’re interested in doing this as long as we can find a suitable date and venue. Would you be interested in coming along? Do let us know.