Answers.Body: <p>When combatting the horizon affect, you want to consider any short term actions that will greatly affect your position evaluation. Thus, in addition to captures, you will also want to include:</p>
  <ol>
  <li>When the opponent can make a king next move</li>
  <li>When the current player can make a king next move</li>
  <li>When the only legal moves left will lead to capture the turn after for the opponent</li>
  <li>When the only legal moves left will lead to capture the turn after for the current player</li>
  </ol>
  <p>3 and 4 are commonly called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zugzwang" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Zugzwang</a> and play a very prominent role in high level checkers, but may be a bit more difficult to implement. However, they will contribute perhaps most of all when combatting the horizon affect.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-11-29T15:02:21.493Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-11-29T15:02:21.493Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: chessprogrammer
Body: <p>I am implementing an AI for a mobile checkers game, and have used alpha-beta pruning with Minimax.</p>
  <p>Now I have the problem of horizontal effect, and need to do Quiesence search to avoid that.
  Any advice on what makes a position volatile for a checkers game?</p>
  <p>I want to consider the cases when player can take a piece, and also when any piece can be taken by opponent a volatile position, and continue searching for another depth.
  Anything else?</p>
  
Tags: <game-ai><minimax><game-theory><alpha-beta-pruning><checkers>
Title: What is a good way of identifying volatile positions for a checkers game?
UserDisplayName: Paiman Roointan
ThreadText: # What is a good way of identifying volatile positions for a checkers game?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2020-11-29)
  
  I am implementing an AI for a mobile checkers game, and have used alpha-beta pruning with Minimax.
  
  Now I have the problem of horizontal effect, and need to do Quiesence search to avoid that.
  Any advice on what makes a position volatile for a checkers game?
  
  I want to consider the cases when player can take a piece, and also when any piece can be taken by opponent a volatile position, and continue searching for another depth.
  Anything else?
  
  **Tags:** game-ai, minimax, game-theory, alpha-beta-pruning, checkers
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2020-11-29. Score: 1
  
  When combatting the horizon affect, you want to consider any short term actions that will greatly affect your position evaluation. Thus, in addition to captures, you will also want to include:
  
  1. When the opponent can make a king next move
  2. When the current player can make a king next move
  3. When the only legal moves left will lead to capture the turn after for the opponent
  4. When the only legal moves left will lead to capture the turn after for the current player
  
  3 and 4 are commonly called [Zugzwang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zugzwang) and play a very prominent role in high level checkers, but may be a bit more difficult to implement. However, they will contribute perhaps most of all when combatting the horizon affect.
  
  
  ---
  
  