This article was first published in  vol. 8, nr. 2, March 1997

Before saying more about bridge software, I'll first give you a tough quiz to put your teeth into. If you pass this test, you measure up to the very finest players. If you run into a few difficulties, you may find some consolation in the fact that all hitherto existing bridge computer programs get hopelessly stuck on these problems, too.

1. S/none 7             (dummy)  K 5  K 9 8 6 5 3  K 10 6 4  - Q 9 5 3  J 10 9 6  Q  A Q 7 3  e -

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The opponents bid 1NT(15-17) - 3NT. Partner, West, leads 8 (attitude), small, small to the jack. Declarer leads J and plays small in dummy (partner 7, high-low even). How do you, East, continue the defence?

2. W/NS A 3  7 4  Q 8 7 4  A K Q 6 3 - - e Q 2  A K Q 10 8 3  A K 10 3 2  -

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After an opening bid of  2 on your left (at least 4-4 in the majors, and weak), you declare 7. The lead is J. Right-hand opponent has doubled 4 on the way. What is your plan?

3. E/none J 10 2  A 10 7 4 3  A Q 8  9 2 - - e A K 9 7 6 4 3  6  10  A K 7 3

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Against 7 the K is led. You take A and ruff a heart. The queen of spades does not drop under A, but both opponents follow suit. How do you continue?

4. S/both 4 2  A Q 7 5  K J  Q 7 6 3 2 - - e A K J 8 6 3  K 6 4 2  6 5  J

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And how do you tackle this 4-contract after a trump lead?

October 1996, Sunday night. I get home after a competition weekend in the Dutch First Division (second National level). I am still feeling miserable. My weekend was spoiled by this hand:
 

2. W/NS A 3  7 4  Q 8 7 4  A K Q 6 3 - - e Q 2  A K Q 10 8 3  A K 10 3 2  -

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West opens 2, showing a weak hand with both major suits. Unpleasant, but on the other hand, it becomes a lot easier for us to stay out of a heart contract. We confidently reach 7. West leads the J. I greet dummy with approval. "Well bid," I remember thinking. I count five trumps, twice Ace-King-Queen, A and a ruff in dummy. What can go wrong?  Trumps four-zero. If left-hand opponent has them all, I will go down. If oppo- nent on the right has them, I can finesse against his jack. But then I cannot ruff a heart anymore. Well, then they'd better not be four-zero. I take A and lead a diamond to the ace. West discards a spade. I curse under my breath and start thinking again. Are there any chances left? In clubs, maybe? If those are four-four, I can discard a loser on the fifth club.

Beaten by the computer! The humiliation is complete when the machine subtly announces that it just scored plus 2140. Humiliation is quickly replaced by a feeling of excitement. Playing bridge seemed to be such an insurmountable task for artificial intelligence. Many attempts  have been made to develop bridge software of some capability. But until now not a single program has proven capable of offering more than mediocre opposition to even the most inexperienced club player. And yet, GIB had just played a hand better than two Dutch First Division declarers. This has to be a revolutionary program. If this was not a coincidence, it would mean a major breakthrough in the area of computer bridge.

I try another deal:

3. E/none J 10 2  A 10 7 4 3  A Q 8  9 2 5  K Q J 5  9 5 4 3 2  Q 8 4 Q 7-  9 8 2  K J 7 6  J 10 6 4- e A K 9 7 6 4 3  6  10  A K 7 3

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3. E/none -  10  A Q  - -  Q  9 5  - --  -  K J  J - e 3  -  10  3

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According to the report of the 1967 European Championships, former World Champion Hans Kreijns needed three seconds for this double squeeze; GIB fifteen. Kreijns doesn't have to worry,… yet.

What is GIB?

GIB stands for Goren-In-a-Box, and is named after the late Charles Goren, one of the greatest bridge players of all time. GIB was developed by Matthew Ginsberg, an American professor who specializes in artificial intelligence. GIB can not bid yet, nor interpret an auction, but it can declare and defend like a tiger.

Many IMP readers are familiar with the training program  Bridge Master , a set of 180 hands ranging from simple (level 1) to nearly unsolvable (level 5). Until now, the best score was achieved by the American program Bridge Baron, which brought 33 of the 180 problems (18.3%) to an end successfully. GIB pulverized that score with a mighty 116 correct (64.4%), including 24 of the 36 problems at level five (66.7%). Click HERE for details about the experiment.

In upcoming issues of Bridge Magazine IMP, many sides of GIB will be highlighted, such as:

• The Delphic oracle: the inner workings of GIB
• Why is Zia afraid of Matt Ginsberg?
• The adventures of GIB at a North American bridgeclub night
• The future of GIB, and GIB's vision on computer bidding
• Top experts outplayed by GIB

4. S/both 4 2  A Q 7 5  K J  Q 7 6 3 2 Q 10 9 5  J 10  A Q 10 8 7  5 4 7----  9 8 3  K J 7 6  J 10 6 4 e A K J 8 6 3  K 6 4 2  6 5  J

Back to the weekend of the divisional competition. There was another difficult hand. I modified it slightly to prevent 'noise'.
 

1. S/none 7  K 5  K 9 8 6 5 3  K 10 6 4 10 8 6 4 2  8 7 4  A 7  J 5 4- Q 9 5 3  J 10 9 6  Q  A Q 7 3  e A K J  A Q 3 2  J 10 4 2  9 8

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North-South bid 1NT-3NT. Partner, West, leads 8 (attitude), won by the jack. Declarer leads J and plays low in dummy to your queen. Partner has 3-5 high card points. Declarer has A-K-J and a whole bunch of diamond tricks. He has to lose the lead once more to either A or A. Three quick club tricks are required and therefore a club switch is the only chance for the defence. But which club?  GIB thinks for a minute and returns J. What a relief! Because as far as I'm concerned, there's not a single player of flesh and blood who could come up with the incredibly beautiful (and killing) continuation of Q at the table!

Do you have interesting play problems that you'd like to present to GIB? Send the full hand, with all details and the result at the table to Bridge Magazine IMP or directly by e-mail to: eskeso@xs4all.nl