Abstract
The game of chess is an ideal task for comparing search heuristics of individuals with a range of skill levels. Reanalysis of the deGroot (1965) protocols yields evidence of a potentially powerful heuristic for pruning branches of the search tree. The strategy involves expanding search immediately following a negative evaluation, and narrowing search immediately following a positive evaluation. Application of this homing heuristic was found in grand masters and masters, but not in lower rated chess players.
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Reynolds, R.I. The application of a search heuristic by skilled problem solvers. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 29, 55–56 (1991). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334768
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334768