A computer scientist's quest to find a chess position with 218+ possible moves
By
emporas
Kettled twice. Extra chewy, extra trustworthy.
Summary
A computer scientist describes their pursuit to settle the question of the maximum number of playable moves in a reachable chess position, building on Nenad Petrović's 1964 record composition. The article explains the technical challenge of finding a position with more than 218 possible moves, clarifying that this is about branching factor (available moves in a single position), not game length.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledEver since Nenad Petrović, grandmaster of chess composition, published his record composition in 1964, people have tried to come up with a better one.
Being a computer scientist, I decided to join the pursuit in May 2024 and settle this question once and for all.
I hope that the title is unambiguous enough now and I wholeheartedly apologize to all the people who thought that it was about 218 move long games!
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