Answers.Body: <p>Minimax is the base algorithm, and alpha beta pruning is an optimisation that you can apply to minimax to make it more efficient.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2021-02-25T11:21:03.150Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2021-02-25T11:21:03.150Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: L292092
Answers.Body: <p>Both algorithms should give the same answer. However, their main difference is that alpha-beta does not explore all paths, like minimax does, but prunes those that are guaranteed not to be an optimal state for the current player, that is max or min. So, alpha-beta is a better implementation of minimax.</p>
  
  <p>Here are the time complexities of both algorithms</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Minimax: <span class="math-container">$\mathcal{O}(b^d)$</span>,  </li>
  <li>Alpha-beta (best-case scenario): <span class="math-container">$\mathcal{O}(b^{d/2})  = \mathcal{O}(\sqrt{b^d})$</span> </li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>where <span class="math-container">$b$</span> is an average branching factor with a search depth of <span class="math-container">$d$</span> plies.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-06-03T10:35:26.167Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-06-04T11:19:50.057Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2020-06-04T11:19:50.057Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: ddaedalus
Body: <p>Should I use minimax or alpha-beta pruning (or both)? Apparently, alpha-beta pruning prunes some parts of the search tree. </p>
  
Tags: <comparison><minimax><alpha-beta-pruning>
Title: Should I use minimax or alpha-beta pruning?
UserDisplayName: goldilocks
ThreadText: # Should I use minimax or alpha-beta pruning?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2020-06-03)
  
  Should I use minimax or alpha-beta pruning (or both)? Apparently, alpha-beta pruning prunes some parts of the search tree.
  
  **Tags:** comparison, minimax, alpha-beta-pruning
  
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  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2020-06-03. Score: 7 | Accepted answer
  
  Both algorithms should give the same answer. However, their main difference is that alpha-beta does not explore all paths, like minimax does, but prunes those that are guaranteed not to be an optimal state for the current player, that is max or min. So, alpha-beta is a better implementation of minimax.
  
  Here are the time complexities of both algorithms
  
  * Minimax: $\mathcal{O}(b^d)$,
  * Alpha-beta (best-case scenario): $\mathcal{O}(b^{d/2}) = \mathcal{O}(\sqrt{b^d})$
  
  where $b$ is an average branching factor with a search depth of $d$ plies.
  
  
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  ### Answer by username_1 on 2021-02-25. Score: 1
  
  Minimax is the base algorithm, and alpha beta pruning is an optimisation that you can apply to minimax to make it more efficient.
  
  
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