Dynamic Move Chains and Move Tables in Computer Chess
The idea of dynamic move chains has been described in a preceding paper [8]. It allows the search tree to be forward-pruned, which is known to be dangerous, because it can remove important moves that would only be evaluated through a more exhaustive search process. This paper has added to the forward-pruning technique, through the use of 'Move Tables' that can act in the same way as Transposition Tables, but for moves not positions. They use an efficient memory structure and have put the design into the context of short or long-term memories. The forward-pruning technique can also be fortified, to help to remove some of the error. For example, a minimum beam width can guarantee x dynamic moves are searched, making the result more reliable. Or a minimum window for the evaluation difference can determine if a full search is subsequently required. Therefore, with some configuration, dynamic move chains can be reliably used and relatively independently of the position. This has advanced some of the future work theory of the earlier paper as well and made more explicit where logical plans or more knowledge-based approaches might be applied.