Connect X
In this section, we demonstrate how to approach the simple problem of playing checkers using heuristics. While not a deep learning solution, it is our view that this bare-bones presentation of the concepts is much more useful for people without significant prior exposure to RL.
If you are new to the concept of using AI for board games, the presentation by Tom van de Wiele (https://www.kaggle.com/tvdwiele) is a resource worth exploring: https://tinyurl.com/36rdv5sa.
The objective of Connect X is to get a number (X) of your checkers in a row – horizontally, vertically, or diagonally – on the game board before your opponent. Players take turns dropping their checkers into one of the columns at the top of the board. This means each move may have the purpose of trying to win for you or trying to stop your opponent from winning.
Figure 12.1: Connect X board
Connect X was the first competition that introduced agents: instead of a static submission...
