The opening moves in a chess game lay the foundation for every match. Likewise, assigning cement transport orders to contract hauliers plays a crucial role in the daily race for competitiveness. Algorithms can help planners and dispatchers avoid checkmate from their first move. By Thomas Bergmans and Dirk Schlemper, INFORM GmbH, Germany.
When you see a good move, look for a better one. That was the advice given by 27-times world chess champion, mathematician and philosopher Emanuel Lasker some 100 years ago. With computers non-existent at the time, Lasker had to rely solely on his brain’s analytical skills and the search for a better move meant investing time. Today, computers have revolutionised the way in which chess is played. Since the mid-1990s there have been massive improvements in evaluating positions and searching for good moves. In fact, chess programmes are so powerful that even the best players in the world do not stand a chance of winning a game.
