RE: [Bug-gnubg] [Fwd: gnubg search function]

[Thomas Hauk]

Hello,

No, the search technique is not based on null-move search, MDF, or other 
such variants (like negascout). It's called *-minimax, and is a search 
procedure for trees with chance nodes that allows cutoffs while 
maintaining optimality. It was introduced by Ballard in an AIJ article in 
1983 (I don't have the full reference at home). Apparently, no one has 
touched it in twenty years. (Including Tesauro in TD-Gammon).

My thesis will involve implementing this algorithm for several domains 
(backgammon being a natural choice) and conducting experiments to 
determine its efficiency.

--Tom