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∂AIL Dr. David Levy↓104 Hamilton Terrace↓London NW8 9UP↓England∞

Dear David:

	Enclosed is a draft for 250 pounds.  It is remarkable that
1978 turned out to be the very first year in which there was a
chance at a real contest.  To tell the truth,
winning the bet would have had a disappointing aspect.
Namely, when I made the bet I thought that more conceptual progress
would be made than has occurred and that this progress would be
necessary for master level chess.  While Atkins and Slate have made
progress, it is mostly a refinement and debuugging of older ideas.

	In acting as a protagonist in this contest, I think you have
done a good job in keeping the public informed of the actual scientific
state of computer chess, even though I haven't always agreed with all
your statements.  The one major lack in the commentary on computer
chess games, and it is more the programmers' fault than yours, is
the lack of information about what the program actually thought it
was doing and what variations it considered in its analysis.  It would
be very worthwhile if you could get this data before you publish an
analysis of the games of the final matches.

.reg