Homework 2: Checkers competition

CS15-381 Artificial Intelligence , Fall semester 2002

Instructor: Tuomas Sandholm

TAs: Kate Larson and Pat Riley
If there are questions about the server and support code, then email Kate.

Cup: WeH 5203, October 15th, 10:30am - about 12:00pm. Arrive early to set up.

Writeup due: October 22 (beginning of class)

Rematches: October 29, 10:30am - 12:00pm Results
November 7, 10:30am-12:00pm Results

Maximum points: 120

RESULTS from Tuesday, Oct. 15

First round ps pdf
Winners' round ps pdf
Losers' round ps pdf

New CheckersInterface

Write a program that plays the game of checkers. There will be a checkers cup where the students' programs compete with each other. A checkers server, random player , and endgame databases are provided.

Each player will have 5 minutes to complete all its moves (not 5 minutes per move). If this time runs out, that player loses. Each player program will have a dedicated Linux box in the cluster in WeH 5203. The opponent and other players are going to execute on other machines.
The player programs may not use any other computational resources than the one designated computer. The player program can be written in any language, but we encourage everyone to use java. Feel free to discuss solution approaches with others, but do not share code. We encourage the use of outside resources. However, all resources used must be documented, and the downloading and use of other's code is strictly prohibited.

To start you off, we recommend the following two web sites:

The ACF site describes the rules that we will be following, as well as many other resources about checkers. Chinook is the World Man-Machine Checkers Champion. Both sites provide links to other checker sites that may be of use to you in your program development.

Evaluation is based on success in the cup as well as on how novel and advanced the techniques are that are deployed in the player program. Deliverables:

Source code of the player program.
Writeup that describes in detail all the techniques and ideas deployed. It should also discuss how these techniques affected the play in the cup. As the programs play, the server will display the moves that are made. Cut-and-paste them into your document. That will also assist you in explaining what happened in the games.

Prizes will be given to the three best programs, and the winner of the looser's final. Rematches will be held 10/29 and 11/7 so you can improve your program throughout the semester. The rematches are optional, and lead to extra credit.

A description of the tournament and some general rules and comments can be found here.