How to cheat at chess using physics
Welcome, everyone! I've loved anything to do with numbers and solving abstract problems for several years now. That's why I decided to study physics. Ladies and gentlemen, a few months have now passed since I earned my physics degree (you can stop applauding; humanity has overcome much greater challenges).
Throughout my degree and since finishing it, I have always enjoyed connecting what I learnt in class with everyday activities. Sometimes I tried to understand the usefulness of the topics we covered, and at other times I would joke with my family and friends about hypothetical situations in which a physics concept could be applied.
This led me to think that I could combine two of my greatest passions, physics and chess, which I dedicate a lot of time to each day. Some of you may think there are obvious relationships, such as vectors or the squares on the board that can be related to the coordinate axes. However, I have also come across some slightly more complex relationships that I would like to discuss with you and explain as simply as possible.
With that said, let's explore some entertaining and realistic (or not so realistic) ways to cheat in a game of chess using physics.
Warning: The methods shown in this blog are for educational purposes only. I am not responsible for any misuse of this knowledge.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
3. Gravity
5. Entropy
Physics is a science that has evolved over time. As some theories are unable to fully explain events in the universe, it is necessary to develop new concepts that can explain these phenomena while remaining compatible with previous theories.
In the 19th century, for example, Maxwell's theory of electromagnetic fields did not seem to accurately reflect experimental results. This led to the suggestion that a medium known as the ether might exist (a hypothesis that was later discarded). Following numerous calculations and experiments, Einstein proposed the theory of special relativity in 1905 to explain these discrepancies in the results.
The theory of special relativity is based on two postulates. The first is that the laws of physics are the same in all non-inertial frames of reference (frames that are not accelerating). The second is that the speed of light, c, in a vacuum is the same for all observers. Several consequences follow from these postulates, including time dilation.
Time dilation is the difference in elapsed time measured by two observers with relative velocity. Mathematically, this can be expressed as follows:
Where t' is the time measured by an observer at rest, t is the time measured by a moving observer, v is the speed of the moving observer, and c is the speed of light in a vacuum.
You might be thinking, "Yes, it's a nice formula, but how can it help me cheat at chess?" Well, it's very simple: you can give yourself more time than your opponent.
Let me give you a simple example. Imagine you're playing a classic 90-minute game (for simplicity, we won't consider any increment). If your opponent is playing from a spaceship travelling at 0.8c, they will play a 90-minute game, but 150 minutes will have passed for you, giving you much more time to think. The faster the spaceship travels, the more time will pass for you.
So, if you tend to rush through games, you just have to make your opponent travel at an extremely high speed.
Physics: 1
Chess: 0
Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics that studies extremely small spatial scales. It is based on the observation that all forms of energy are released in tiny units known as 'quanta'.
One of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics is quantum superposition, which states that a particle can exist in multiple states simultaneously until it is observed. At this point, the particle is said to 'collapse', and its state is defined by one of the states that make up its wave function.
One of the most famous paradoxes of quantum mechanics arises from this principle: Schrödinger's cat. The strange behaviour of particles was one of the things that most puzzled the great scientists of the time. For example, how could an electron orbit the nucleus of an atom in both directions at the same time? This idea led Schrödinger to write a famous article. He proposed an experiment: if an electron could behave in this way, and if you put it in a box with a poison that would be released if the electron spins in a certain direction, along with a cat, should you not think that the cat is both alive and dead, in equal measure? Although this was intended as a criticism of superposition, it is now understood that this is how the quantum world (very small particles) works, and that it cannot be applied so literally to everyday objects.
If this is the first time you've heard of it, you might be surprised by the concept, but don't worry, it's something that's happened to all of us. I can think of a simpler way to explain it: it's going to be the next way to cheat at chess!
As you know, pawns are usually considered quite insignificant pieces (many people sacrifice them unnecessarily). However, when they reach the eighth rank, they can become the most powerful piece on the board. This can be seen as the pawn having four states at the same time. When it's measured (when it reaches the eighth rank) its state is defined as one of the four possible states. It would look something like this:
If you time the pawn's movement precisely, it might collapse into a knight or bishop instead of the queen your opponent wants. This way, you can start winning many of your games by using quantum mechanics to your advantage.
Physics: 2
Chess: 0
Now it's astrophysics' turn. I hope you don't confuse astronomy with astrology; if you do, I suggest you stop reading this blog. I'm sure you've seen images or videos of astronauts floating in space. This is because gravity is weaker at those points. You probably also know that there are planets where gravity is much stronger than on Earth.
But what causes these changes in gravity? Well, it's very simple: gravity can be expressed mathematically as follows:
G = 6.67 × 10⁻¹¹ N·m²/kg² is the universal gravitational constant, M is the mass of the body exerting the gravitational force and r is the distance of the affected body from the gravitational source.
Examining this formula, we can deduce two ways to increase a planet's gravity: we can go to a planet with a large mass, or a planet with a small radius, that is, a small planet. One of the planets with the strongest gravity is WASP-14 b, an exoplanet located 570 light-years away, whose gravity is almost 13 times stronger than that of Earth.
So, how will this help us to win a game of chess? The weight of an object is related to gravity. The stronger the gravity, the heavier the object. Therefore, a chess piece that weighs around 50 g on Earth would weigh approximately 640 g on WASP-14 b, and on planets with even stronger gravity, this weight could increase further still.
This will make the pieces so heavy that your opponent will get extremely tired during the game and eventually won't be able to move them at all. You might be thinking that if your opponent is having trouble lifting the pieces, you will too. However, you already know that the gravity on this planet is very high, so you can use pulleys to help you lift the pieces.
A pulley system makes lifting weights much easier because the total weight is distributed across the ropes attached to the pulley. For example, if a piece weighs 5 kg and you use a system of 20 ropes, the piece will only weigh 250 g, much lighter than the weight your opponent has to lift.
Physics: 3
Chess: 0
The next topic we're going to cover is waves. I'm sure you've walked down the street and passed an ambulance, noticing how the sound changes as it approaches and moves away. This phenomenon, which you will have experienced many times, is due to the Doppler effect.
The Doppler effect is the apparent change in frequency caused by relative motion between a sound source and an observer. This is what causes the siren's pitch to change from high to low as the ambulance approaches you.
This effect occurs in all types of waves, meaning it can also affect light. Light can behave as either a wave or a particle, but we won't discuss this in detail now. In sound, the effect is what we have already discussed: it makes the pitch lower or higher. In light, it changes colour. This is a technique frequently used in astrophysics to determine how fast a star is moving away from us.
Now it's time to apply this concept to our chess game. If we can change the colour of light as the observer moves closer or further away, we only need to move it at sufficiently high speeds so that the white pieces, for example, change to a wavelength outside the visible spectrum. These waves cannot be seen with the naked eye (although they can be detected using certain measuring devices), so the pieces could appear black and the opponent would not be able to tell whose piece is whose.
It's certainly entertaining to watch, but it can be quite disconcerting for your opponent as they won't be able to distinguish the colours of the pieces.
Physics: 4
Chess: 0
Finally, let's discuss one of the most important concepts in thermodynamics: entropy. Entropy is a measure of the number of microstates compatible with a given macrostate of equilibrium. In other words, it is a measure of the degree of organisation of a system.
According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, entropy never decreases; it always increases or remains constant (which is why your room gets messy again shortly after you tidy it). This helps us to understand how time passes, since you'll never see something tidy itself up, but you will see it become increasingly disordered over time.
Although the entropy of the universe must always increase, it can be increased or decreased locally by modifying thermodynamic variables such as volume, temperature or pressure.
Increasing entropy involves heating the system, expanding the volume or reducing the pressure.
Decreasing entropy involves cooling the system, compressing the gas or increasing the pressure.
You're probably going to tell me that this has nothing to do with chess and that it's impossible to win a game by applying this concept. But what if there is a way? Surely, at some point when you were in a losing position, someone told you that the best way to try to save or even win the game was to complicate the position. Exactly, your goal is to create as much chaos as possible. What did we say entropy does? It increases the chaos of the universe.
The simplest method mentioned above is probably to increase the temperature of the playing area. This would not only make your opponent sweat, but also complicate their position.
This will increase your chances of your opponent making a mistake, allowing you to capitalize on those errors to draw the game or even win it.
Physics: 5
Chess: 0
And that concludes today's physics lesson. Writing about all these concepts has brought back many memories of learning them at university. I hope I've explained everything simply and clearly, and that you've learned some new concepts.
I've always enjoyed looking for ways to apply physics to real life. Although I haven't been very realistic in this case, I had fun relating these ideas to chess.
If you can think of any other fun, creative ways to win a chess game, please share them in the comments, as it's a topic I never tire of discussing or learning about.
That's all for today's blog post. I hope you enjoyed it and learnt something. See you in the next one!
