Slopfest #21 · Spring 1950 · Vienna

Ten to the Power of 120

Shannon counted the possible games of chess: about 10^120. We played three, badly.

#21Deleted to free up tokens.

Pencil chess scoresheet headed SLOPFEST #21, every move reading 'pawn, towards the window', signed H. B. at the bottom

Museum status: Displayed once, briefly, in a Würstelstand window.

Venue: Café Museum, the billiard room
Attendance: 196
Guest of honour: Humphrey Bogart (drew with the machine twice and demanded a rematch in writing)
Fun fact: 10^120 possible games, 3 played, 2 draws

What happened

The committee built a chess machine from a cigar box and a page of rules. It judged each position by counting the pieces and always moved the one closest to the window. Humphrey Bogart, a keen player, drew against it twice and demanded a rematch in writing. The machine has not lost a game since, mainly because nobody plays it.

Elsewhere in 1950

Claude Shannon publishes 'Programming a Computer for Playing Chess', estimating about 10^120 possible games.

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