How to Crush Your Opponents Like AlphaZero

 Hello Chess Friends!

In 2017, a chess engine shocked the world, and that was AlphaZero, developed by a British AI company called Deepmind. Its predecessor was AlphaGo (which convincingly destroyed the greatest Go program and a world-champion player (No.2 Player In The World Lee Sodol) ). For chess, it was called AlphaZero. This engine had reached superhuman strength simply by playing millions of games between itself. 

Deepmind trained AlphaZero without any human knowledge (no positional ideas, chess strategy, no endgame database, no openings book). Its evaluations are from the estimated chance of winning or drawing (not centipawns).  

AlphaZero calculates in terms of probability each move will be played, and uses a sort of tree data structure to calculate the best moves. Therefore improving accuracy and reducing the amount of calculation required.

AlphaZero's Play

1. AlphaZero likes to target the king of the opponent

2. AlphaZero likes king safety.

3. AlphaZero like to keep the center stable before it uses its kingside pawns to open the lines of attack.

4. AlphaZero launches a queenside or kingside attack only if the center is controlled, stable, or fixed, so the opponent has no counterplay.

5. AlphaZero sacrifices material (sometimes, for about 1-2 pawns) to open lines and diagonals against the king of the opponent.

6. AlphaZero attacks with the opposite colored bishops.

7. AlphaZero plants knights on beautiful outposts, and sacrifices material to get enough time to transfer them there.

8. AlphaZero loves building wing attacks against enemy kings in a closed center.

9. AlphaZero strangles its opponents by making the pieces of the opposing side extremely passive and then exchanging off active pieces. 

10.  AlphaZero defends by introducing imbalance and tactics as well.

11. AlphaZero delays occupying the open file if it can open the file of the king on the board.

12. AlphaZero restricts the mobility and freedom of the opponent's king, for pans in the middlegame and the endgame.

13.  AlphaZero always looks for the chance for a kingside attack, it will always look at the kingside to start as quickly as possible.

As you can see, AlphaZero loves attacking in the middle game. Always going toward the kingside, as its focal point. 

Tactical and Positional Leitmotifs In AlphaZero's Play

1. AlphaZero loves those outposts - AlphaZero likes those immovable pieces with certain weaknesses/holes in the position because it improves the activity of the pieces. So, oftentimes, it maneuvers pieces to valuable posts. Central posts in particular are the most useful because they give AlphaZero a central presence to support pieces. AlphaZero will spend time transferring these pieces to strong squares, although during this, the opponent will launch a counterattack. So, it must restrict the opponent's available piece play by restricting mobility.

2. AlphaZero loves piece activity -  AlphaZero maximizes the potential of its own pieces, restricting activity from the opponent's own.  This allows for superior side attacks and advantages. AlphaZero builds this seemingly little advantage from equal-looking positions. AlphaZero isn't afraid to break rules, although risk comes along with this. These positions are highly complex.

3. AlphaZero loves attacking the king with the rook's pawn - Weaken the squares and pawn structure, restrict movement, and create targets. It can only do this if the center is fully controlled, and the opponent cannot launch an attack back in the center. However, the rook's pawn can be weak/exposed. 

4. AlphaZero loves to create a weak complex of the same color squares around the opponent's king - This is to create a way of attack that the opponent cannot blockade/stop/block. AlphaZero achieves this by having: An open file in front of its own king, an open diagonal pointed towards the opposite king, and the restricted position of the opponent's king. Sacrifices can open these files and remove the defenders of the complex of colors.  AlphaZero doesn't achieve mate immediately by doing this but has to achieve this optimal position first(achieve the first three prereqs, open file on the opp's king, etc).

5. Sacrifice for the tempo, room for pieces to attack, and damage to the opponent's structure - This increases attacking chances for the material. To sacrifice-  pieces must be brought into play against the opponent's king, and major pieces have to quickly go on the open files from these sacrifices. However, it's risky to do this and increases the chance of defeat. AlphaZero will sack always if the king is in a potential attacking square. AlphaZero doesn't rush to deliver the checkmate but has all the pieces join in the attack, maybe taking many, many, many moves to get all the pieces close to the king.

6. Opposite Side Castling- Castling queenside, whilst the opponent castles Kingside. This allows for pawn storms and pawn sacrifices. Although the opponents cannot be extremely solid, it has to be attackable, has weak pawn cover, not enough defending pieces, etc. The opponent can push pawns on the Queenside, however, and the opponent's counterplay poses risks. 

7. King Safety - Put up the maximum defense in strange situations, and save all the material you can, even if the position looks quiet for now.  

Now, let's examine some of these games that AlphaZero played in some infamous matches against Stockfish.

Game 1- AlphaZero(White) v Stockfish(Black)

Here, AlphaZero sacrifices for piece activity.  What is the move that gave AlphaZero a significant winning advantage?

AlphaZero played in lieu of those common themes, it sacrificed for piece activity and achieved significant piece outposts by rerouting its knight through many, many, many moves, and placed pieces in optimal squares until it had a beautiful position.

Game 2- AlphaZero(White) v Stockfish(Black)

AlphaZero sacrificed a piece for active play, what is the move?

AlphaZero sacrificed another piece, what is that move???

Find the brilliant sequence that leads to a more amazingly active position for White:

Find The Beautiful Pawn Move that leads to yet another more active position for white:

Find The Move That Leads To Yet Another, Another, More Attacking/Aggresive Position For White:

Now, let's examine AlphaZero playing as black. Will the engine's aggression continue to sail high against Stockfish's d4 as black?

Game 3- AlphaZero(Black) v Stockfish(White)

Look for the brilliant move that gave AlphaZero back some material, but also threatened a vicious, restricting, and suffocating attack.

Conclusion

AlphaZero is a revolutionary chess engine that has redefined the way we think about the game. Its ability to learn and adapt quickly has made it one of the strongest players in the world and has inspired many chess players to strive for similar levels of understanding and improvement.

While it may not be possible for a human to completely replicate AlphaZero's level of play, there are still many lessons we can learn from it. By studying its games and analyzing its techniques, we can gain valuable insights into the principles of chess strategy and tactics.

In order to play like AlphaZero, it is essential to focus on developing a strong foundation of chess knowledge and understanding. This includes studying classic games, learning key concepts and principles, and developing a deep understanding of chess strategy and tactics.

In addition, it is important to constantly strive for improvement and to be open to new ideas and approaches to the game. By constantly challenging ourselves and seeking out new challenges, we can continue to develop our chess skills and play like AlphaZero.

If you would like to learn more about AlphaZero, I would wholly recommend reading Game Changer by Natasha Regan and Matthew Sadler, a book dedicated to AlphaZero and brilliant chess strategies that AlphaZero employs in its games.