Positions

How many different positions can occur in a game of chess? I have been wondering about it for a long time.

That's quite a complicated question.

Depending on how many moves have been played, the answer will be hugely different.

If you talking about an average 40 move game. I read somewhere your looking at 10 to the power of 120 number of moves.

Just think of it 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x ............ 120 times. Which ends up a stupidly large figure.

RYBKA the program's most sophisticated computer chess world, in every match can analyze up to 2 million steps.

No one knows exactly since chess remains an unsolved game. According to http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/dvorsky20061208/, the number of legal positions is between 10^(43) and 10^(50).

The great player Taratkower, when asked about his position during a game said,
"both positions are equal, the kings side is bad,and so is the queens".

For chess players that play games whilst travelling by train.
Beware of inferiour lines !!!

The one that makes the last but one mistake, wins!!!

After one move each you could have 400 different positions (you each have a choice of 16 pawn moves and 4 knight moves therefore total possible positions = 20 x 20). After that i got headache and stopped worrying about it!

The closest formula to try and work this out that I can think of is: (64^32) x (64^31) x (64^30).... x (1^1). For all intents and purposes this is an infinit amount of permutations, which is why the game is such fun. The main thing is to find the correct combinations, like Torchwood obviously does..... Regards Mamba

the moves of a an average advaned player is upto 5o to 60 moves.That to an position can repeat if a player plays the same moves.

More moves than microseconds have passed since the beginning of the universe.