Isn’t chess a “finite” game where no luck is involved? Are computers able to calculate perfect strategies for both players?
And if yes, then which side is at the advantage?
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There’s a concept in computer science called “intractable”. That means a problem that theoretically has a solution, but you can’t solve it in practice with the computing power available to you.
The solution to chess is intractable. Since chess is a finite game, there is definitely a perfect way to play any given position. (That doesn’t mean you can always win – sometimes perfect play would still lead to a draw, and some positions are lost no matter what you do, unless your opponent blunders.). But we can’t actually calculate that perfect solution, except for endgame positions with a maximum of 7 or fewer total pieces between both sides (white has a king and three other pieces, black has a king and two other pieces, etc.)
It is very strongly believed that if both sides played perfectly the outcome would be a draw. There are a number of reasons for this: (1) just having the first move probably isn’t enough of an advantage to be able to force a win against a perfect opponent, (2) games between human grandmasters are mostly draws, (3) have the strongest computer program play both sides of a game and it will mostly draw, and (4) in hundreds of years of chess no one has found any kind of forcing win. But none of this is a perfect proof, and we can’t rule out that a perfect game would be a white win or even a black win.
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