AlphaZero plays very differently to other chess engines. Unlike existing chess programs that use thousands of rules programmed by experts, AlphaZero has no rules. Instead it learns to play chess from scratch by playing against itself millions of time.
The result is a chess style that is unlike anything that has come before. AlphaZero plays intuitively and dynamically – discarding large quantities of accepted chess theory in the process.
And it wins.
When Deepmind asked us to make a film to showcase this leap forward in AI, we thought it was fascinating to be exposed to the inner workings of some of the crucial members of the team. From there our job was to piece together this elaborate puzzle to bring the story to life to new audiences - not just chess geniuses.
By including some awesome moments from the games, we also let AlphaZero's chess speak for itself. After all, its playing style shows the power of a very human, friendly quality – creativity.