KnightCap: A chess program that learns by combining TD(lambda) with game-tree search

Abstract

In this paper we present TDLeaf(lambda), a variation on the TD(lambda) algorithm that enables it to be used in conjunction with game-tree search. We present some experiments in which our chess program ``KnightCap'' used TDLeaf(lambda) to learn its evaluation function while playing on the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS, fics.onenet.net). The main success we report is that KnightCap improved from a 1650 rating to a 2150 rating in just 308 games and 3 days of play. As a reference, a rating of 1650 corresponds to about level B human play (on a scale from E (1000) to A (1800)), while 2150 is human master level. We discuss some of the reasons for this success, principle among them being the use of on-line, rather than self-play.