Learning From AlphaZero: How It Changed Human Strategy

“He doesn't play like a machine. More like a chess artist.”

— GM Peter Heine Nielsen

In 2017, AlphaZero, developed by Google DeepMind, sparked a revolution in the chess world. Without watching a single human game, it mastered chess by playing millions of games against itself. AlphaZero brought a fresh perspective to chess—and most importantly, it taught humans to think differently about the game.

1. Understanding Over Memorization

AlphaZero didn’t memorize opening books like humans do. Instead of sticking to classic lines, it developed a deep positional understanding. Every move was the product of intuition refined through millions of trials. A valuable lesson for us:

📌 Rather than memorizing openings, one should focus on developing the way they think.

For instance, AlphaZero often chose flexible and creative systems like the English Opening (1.c4), aiming to push the opponent out of theory right from the start.

2. The Art of Positional Sacrifice

“You gain not by sacrificing a piece, but by seizing the idea.”

One recurring theme in AlphaZero’s games is the positional sacrifice. This represents a new philosophy, distinct from the classical sacrificial style in chess history. When AlphaZero gave up material, it often gained strategic initiative on the board.

A positional sacrifice doesn’t result in immediate tactical profit, but it creates long-term advantages such as:

• Space dominance
• Increased piece activity
• Restriction of the opponent’s pieces
• Sustained strategic pressure
• Control over the game’s direction

AlphaZero showcased this approach not in just a few examples, but consistently—especially in the famous 100-game match against Stockfish 8 in 2017.

♟️ The 100-Game Series: A Turning Point in Chess

This special series, conducted by DeepMind under equal hardware conditions, was designed to compare the playing styles of two AIs:

• AlphaZero won 28 games
• 72 games ended in draws
• 0 losses

The result itself was revolutionary. But even more impressive were the games themselves. AlphaZero didn’t chase material advantages—it harmonized its pieces to gradually outplay its opponent. It gave up material but captured the soul of the position.

This shattered the view of chess as merely a game of calculation. People began to think:

“Maybe it’s not about gain. It’s about control.”

3. The Power of Waiting: Crushing with Patience

AlphaZero’s style is aggressive but never rushed. Its games often reveal a strategy of patiently nurturing small advantages instead of launching premature attacks. This is a key lesson for players seeking quick results:

📌 Let the position mature—long-term success will follow.

4. The Steep Learning Curve: How Did AlphaZero Become So Good?

AlphaZero reached a superhuman level of chess in just a few hours by playing games against itself. According to DeepMind’s scientific paper, AlphaZero surpassed Stockfish after just four hours of training. This reveals the steep learning curve it followed.

• In chess, AlphaZero surpassed Stockfish after only 4 hours;
• In shogi, AlphaZero surpassed Elmo after 2 hours;
• In Go, AlphaZero outperformed the 2016 AlphaGo version that defeated the legendary Lee Sedol—after just 30 hours.

Note: Each training step represents 4,096 board positions.

5. What Did We Learn?

AlphaZero’s games are instructive not just technically, but philosophically:

• Position triumphs over material.
• Think in principles, not memorized lines.
• Patience is a weapon in chess.
• Creativity isn’t exclusive to humans.

AlphaZero taught us not just to play differently, but to think differently. Perhaps that’s why, in the future, chess will not only be a human endeavor—but a creative arena shared with machines that think alongside us.