GM Daniel King posted a YouTube video (sorry I don't have the link) explaining that Alpha Zero is being used to test out new ideas for chess to see new ways to saving the game from draw death.
One new idea being tested is the concept of self capturing your own pawns to accelerate the attack on the opposing king. He shows an example of this where there are games when one's own pawns block up the attacking paths to the enemy king.
In the experiment Black captures it's own pawn to bring the rook into the attack against the White king. Another one shows the White King capturing it's own pawns to make it possible to get at the black king.
These are experimental tests being run by AlphaZero to use the processing power of the computer to finding new ways to play the game of chess by creating it's own chess variants and testing their viability. Some of these new ideas could be used in the future for chess. Other ideas are also cropping up like Kramnik's no castling rule. Somebody mentioned the idea of changing the queen's powers from rook and bishop to that of an archbishop - that of a bishop and knight similar to Capablanca's idea of introducing the Marshall and the Chancellor.
One new idea being tested is the concept of self capturing your own pawns to accelerate the attack on the opposing king. He shows an example of this where there are games when one's own pawns block up the attacking paths to the enemy king.
In the experiment Black captures it's own pawn to bring the rook into the attack against the White king. Another one shows the White King capturing it's own pawns to make it possible to get at the black king.
These are experimental tests being run by AlphaZero to use the processing power of the computer to finding new ways to play the game of chess by creating it's own chess variants and testing their viability. Some of these new ideas could be used in the future for chess. Other ideas are also cropping up like Kramnik's no castling rule. Somebody mentioned the idea of changing the queen's powers from rook and bishop to that of an archbishop - that of a bishop and knight similar to Capablanca's idea of introducing the Marshall and the Chancellor.