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We should all embrace the power of games

Board games especially – dating back to at least 3000 BC – have never been idle entertainment but help boost the memory and teach valuable strategic skills

14 October 2023

9:00 AM

14 October 2023

9:00 AM

Around the World in 80 Games: A Mathematician Unlocks the Secrets of the Greatest Games Marcus du Sautoy

4th Estate, pp.384, 22

If both players in a game of draughts stick to their optimal moves, the game will always end in a draw. You or I might have guessed that anecdotally. But being a mathematician, Marcus du Sautoy knows it for sure. The calculations that proved it took 200 desktop computers 18 years to perform.

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