Alpha-beta pruning

What is the principle behind alpha-beta pruning?

Why is it helpful in minimax evaluation?

What is progressive deepening? When is it useful?

What is the expectiminimax algorithm? For what types of games is it useful? Does a Nash equilibrium always correspond to an optimal strategy? Explain.

How does a game tree help to evaluate moves in a game? What is combinational explosion?

What is heuristic evaluation and why is it helpful in games with large game trees?

Briefly explain the principle behind minimax evaluation.

What do we mean by symmetry in a game move? How does it help in game tree evaluation?

Consider the following variation of the n-Queens Problem: If some of the squares that would be attacked by the placement are obstructed by the placement of pawns on an n x n chessboard, can more than n-Queens be placed on the partial board that remains? For example, if five pawns are added to a 3 × 3 chessboard, then four non-attacking Queens may be placed on the board (Figure 3.30).

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