Rolf C. Smith

Home * People * Rolf C. Smith

Rolf C. Smith, an American computer scientist and early chess programmer. Along with Franklin D. Ceruti, Rolf C. Smith co-authored the chess program Schach, which competed at the first three ACM North American Computer Chess Championships, the ACM 1970, ACM 1971 and the ACM 1972. Already written in 1968 as part of the requirements for the degree of Master of Computer Science at the Texas A&M University under advisor Dan D. Drew, its development continued by Captain Franklin D. Ceruti and Captain Rolf C. Smith, U.S. Air Force, during the time of the Vietnam War in South Vietnam and Thailand, as mentioned by Smith in the ACM 1971 panel session. =R.C. Smith= Programmer R.C. Smith from Englishtown, New Jersey, author of the R. Smith's Chess Explorer 1 (RSCE-1) written in Cobol, submitted to the USCF for evaluation, and subject of an 1978 Computerworld article, who had no knowledge what work had already be done in that field, is therefor likely not the same person. RSCE-1's purpose was not to play games, but position analysis, to find mates, and to perform a move path enumeration of up to three plies, later dubbed Perft, with Perft(3) result of 8,902 from the initial position already mentioned.

=Programs=
 * Schach

=Publications=
 * Ben Mittman, Rolf C. Smith et al. (1971) Computer Chess Programs (Panel). pdf from The Computer History Museum

=References=

Up one level