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Pre-AI, it's hard to imagine that opening moves had changed much. Following the birth of computer engines, has AI changed opening theory, and if so, how?

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    Things have gotten deeper and more precise. Sep 28, 2019 at 23:16
  • And with the advancement of neural nets (especially now as compared to my last comment almost 3 years ago), opening theory has changed even more. Jun 21, 2022 at 2:55

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AI has changed theory by allowing theoreticians to grind through variations tirelessly. Due to the tactical prowess of even common computer programs it's pretty easy to ensure that variations contain no unexpected barbs.

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I would say not yet. I would think what is called AI (it is not actually AI but that's a different discussion) has made some people question how they approach chess and maybe led to some ideas but I wouldn't say AI has made any significant contributions to theory.

When matches are held between traditional engines and AI engines they are held in conditions that greatly favor the AI engine. Traditional engines are still way ahead. AI is just the cool new thing.

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    This may be somewhat true for Lc0 due to its reliance on a GPU, but Stockfish nowadays uses a neural net/"AI" for its evaluation (and it runs fine on a normal CPU). Jun 21, 2022 at 3:01

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