HiTech, also referred to as Hitech, is a chess machine The computer used an algorithm developed by Berliner to narrow the choices when selecting a move, called B*, or B-star. The algorithm would evaluate decision trees and assign nodes with an "optimistic" or "pessimistic" score, with the aim of finding a path that was sufficient to solve the problem, rather than perfect.
HiTech's name refers to a chess-playing program called TECH that was developed at Carnegie Mellon.
Early matches
HiTech won the 1985 and 1989 editions of the North American Computer Chess Championship. In November 1985, the Associated Press reported that over five months of play, it had earned the rank of master and achieved the highest rating ever given a chess machine. At that time, its developers argued it was 50% faster than any other chess-playing computer systems. The computer began competing on the chess circuit, only going against humans, in 1986.
HiTech was the first computer to be rated over 2400 in chess,
Championships
In 1987, it won the Pennsylvania State Chess Championship, scoring 4.5 points out of 5 after a four-way tie. HiTech had an overall performance score of 2559, considered a high Senior Master rating. However, an interpretation of the rules denied HiTech the money prize, the State Title, and trophy, as only a resident could earn the title. Hitech won the Pennsylvania State Chess Championship twice, winning again in July 1988. It won with a score of 4.5 - 0.5, beating international master Edward Formanek in the process. Rules had changed since 1987, allowing a computer to win the title, but not the trophy or prize money. However, Professor Formanek gave Hitech the trophy he had been awarded as the highest human competitor.
In May 1988, Hitech was described by TIME as being able to compete in hotel competitions remotely. The main computer remained at Pittsburgh, while a contraption TIME called "an ungainly-looking brute," would be operated by Berliner and Carl Ebeling at the tournament. The remote Hitech relied on its phone line connection to Pittsburgh to communicate moves. This meant that whenever the hotel would use their phone line, the computer would need to be relinked via a phone call.
In 1988 HiTech defeated GM Arnold Denker 3½-½ in a match in New York City. Hitech won the four-game match, the first a draw and the last three wins, marking the first time a grandmaster was beaten by a chess program. According to the New York Times at the time, most experts agreed Denker, however, was "badly off form," as a largely retired individual at 74 years old. Denker called Hitech's play an impressive achievement. The Carnegie Mellon University Libraries began holding the computer in 2022, as part of the university's Robotics Project. It was donated from the collection of Chris Atkeson.