Course Description
There is a great deal of interesting culture and theoretical problems surrounding the game of chess, and it is beneficial for critical thinking to learn to play the game of chess and to improve one’s play. No chess experience is required for taking this course. We will undoubtedly have students in the course at all levels of play (including beginners and very advanced players). In the first week or two we will learn the basics of the game together and also develop certain techniques for thinking about the game, and we will help each other to improve throughout the quarter. We will spend the first part of each class meeting playing chess, working on select chess problems, puzzles, and “backwards chess” problems. In most classes the instructor will present a brief lecture and guide discussion on some aspect of chess and its relation to philosophical, cultural, and other theoretical questions. Among the theoretical issues we will cover:
- chess in relation to artificial intelligence and the nature of computation;
- some connections between chess and fundamental results in logic and the nature of formal systems;
- some more philosophical questions surrounding the nature of “rule-following”;
- analogies between chess and military strategies;
- the history and general philosophy of the game as it relates to certain models of politics;
- chess puzzles in connection with certain ethical dilemmas;
- comparison to other games (like Go), contrasting their respective “philosophies.”
We will also design new variants of chess as a group, and learn how to develop some general principles for thinking critically and systematically about game design.
For more details, here is the Syllabus.