While some of us can just about muddle through a Sudoku, others are aiming higher. The BBC has the story of how a team from the University of Alberta has solved Checkers (or “Draughts” as we like to call it in this part of the world). The Chinook program was already well capable of beating the best human players, now it’s not worth even trying since it can’t be beaten. Earlier incarnations of Chinook made use of evolutionary approaches. The latest release is the result of a phenomenal amount of CPU time dedicated to analysing every possible game position and determining the best move for each. A solution for Chess is still some way off.