1.

Choose among the following problems/games that are commonly

resolved efficiently through artificial intelligence (AI) strategies
and techniques.
 Chess

Note: The problems listed above may also be treated as games

and vice versa.
2. Provide the following information about the problem/game that
you have selected. Perform the necessary research needed in
order to provide accurate answers for each item.

i. Clearly describe the problem or state the objective of the

game.
 The main goal of chess is to checkmate your opponent's king,
which means putting the king in a position where it is under
direct attack and cannot escape. The game can also end in a
draw under certain conditions.

ii. Characterize the possible initial state of the problem/game.

 The opening, or the first position of a chess game, plays a
crucial role in determining control of the board and protecting
the king. A strong opening can improve the mobility of major
pieces, control the center of the board, and create opportunities
for capturing enemy pieces and advancing pawns.

iii. List the possible actions relative to the problem/game.

In chess, several possible actions and outcomes include:
1. Castling: This is a special move that enhances the king’s safety by
moving both the king and rook simultaneously. Castling is allowed
only if neither the king nor the rook has moved during the game, all
squares between them are empty, and the king is not in check or
moving through a square under attack.
2. Pawn Promotion: When a pawn reaches the opposite side of the
board, it can be promoted to any piece except the king. Most
players promote a pawn to a queen, but it can also be promoted to a
rook, knight, or bishop. If promoted to a queen, it’s possible to have
two queens on the board. When promoted to a piece other than a
queen, it's called under-promotion.

3. En Passant: This is a special and somewhat confusing move for

beginners. It allows a pawn to capture an opponent’s pawn that has
just moved two squares forward, as if it had only moved one. The en
passant capture must happen immediately and only applies under
specific conditions: the capturing pawn must be on the 5th rank,
and the opposing pawn must move two squares forward to land
beside it.
3. Answer the following questions.
a. In what aspect(s) of the problem/game can artificial intelligence
be incorporated? Rationalize your answer.

 Artificial intelligence can be integrated into chess at the

highest levels of play, where advanced AI chess engines are
used to analyze and predict moves. AI enhances gameplay by
analyzing patterns, predicting human errors, and suggesting
strategies. AI can simulate different game scenarios and help
players improve their skills. Programs like Maia focus not only
on defeating opponents but also on predicting typical human
mistakes, making AI a significant revolution in modern chess.

b. Which is more appropriate in solving the problem/game that you

have selected, informed or uninformed search, and why?

 Informed search is more appropriate because it utilizes

domain-specific information to make better decisions, such as
evaluating a position's closeness to a goal (checkmate).
Informed search, like best-first search or heuristic search, can
assess board positions and predict the next best move,
improving the decision-making process. This approach helps
players strategically plan to achieve the primary goal of
checkmating the opponent's king.

c. At what specific part of the problem/game can a search

strategy or technique be applied? Rationalize your answer.

 Search strategies are particularly useful in the opening moves

and in tactical situations where multiple move combinations
(often 25 levels or more) are possible. During the game,
players must recognize favorable combinations of moves from
a vast number of potential board configurations. Search
strategies like minimax or alpha-beta pruning can be applied to
identify optimal strategies by evaluating possible future moves
and their outcomes.

d. Would you agree that implementing the constraint satisfaction

strategy can improve the process of solving your chosen
problem/game? Why or why not?
  No, constraint satisfaction problems (CSP) are not directly
applicable to chess because chess allows rule-breaking within
strategic frameworks. While CSP is useful for adhering to strict
limitations, in chess, strategic flexibility is often key to success.
The game’s complexity, with countless possible board states,
requires adaptability, making rule-based constraint solutions
less effective.

e. Which would be easier to design based on your selected

problem/game, the search tree or the game tree? Why?

 The game tree would be easier to design for chess because it

represents all possible game outcomes based on move
sequences, allowing AI to assess strategies through algorithms
like minimax. Game trees, especially when paired with
recursion, evaluate every possible move and its potential
consequences, which is vital for chess's sequential decision-
making.

f. What are the possible effect, favorable or not, of removing the

search or the game strategy in the problem/game that you have
selected? Elaborate on your answer.

 Removing search or game strategy from chess would result in

the loss of systematic decision-making. Players would struggle
to make informed moves, which could hinder their ability to
reach favorable outcomes or plan long-term strategies. Game
strategies are critical in understanding tactical moves and
decision-making, so eliminating them would diminish the
quality of play and reduce the effectiveness of training tools
like AI engines.

g. By analyzing the information that you have provided above, is it

possible to utilize the alpha- beta pruning strategy to solve your
chosen problem/game? Why or why not?

 Yes, alpha-beta pruning is suitable for chess because it

optimizes the minimax algorithm by reducing the number of
nodes that need to be evaluated. This speeds up the decision-
making process by pruning branches that won’t impact the
final outcome, allowing AI to assess deeper levels of the game
tree efficiently.

h. Can your stated problem or objective be met with the aid of

artificial intelligence? Rationalize your answer.
 Yes, artificial intelligence can significantly help meet the
objectives of improving chess gameplay and solving complex
problems. AI can analyze data from past games, predict moves,
and learn from mistakes, enhancing the player’s ability to make
better decisions. AI's ability to process vast amounts of data and
simulate outcomes makes it a valuable tool for solving
challenges in chess.