Barthelemy’s analysis of chess as a decision tree highlights the complexity and challenge players face in finding the best move to lead them to victory. By reimagining chess as a network of forces represented by interaction graphs, he identified key pieces with high “betweenness centrality” and calculated “fragility scores” to determine their importance in matches. Surprisingly, he found a universal pattern in fragility scores across players and openings, with tension peaking in the middle game and dissipating towards the endgame. His analysis could identify pivotal moments in matches and showcases the intricate dynamics of chess gameplay.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/01/complexity-physics-finds-crucial-tipping-points-in-chess-games/