The Notorious MFT: The Checkered Story of the GOAT of GOATS
On April 3, 1995, the human race lost the GOAT of GOATS, a stone-cold assassin, a man whom Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky can only admire from down the road. As for Wolfgang Mozart and Isaac Newton, let’s just say that the three of them can argue over which appetizer to order with dinner. The subject of this essay belongs at that table; those three would have a lot to talk about. And yes, five days after his death, The New York Times gave him a healthy two-column obituary.
The Notorious MFT was a bad man, how bad? Humans posed such a weak challenge that in 1958, he gave up his world title out of boredom. For the next 50 years or so, he would become World Champion whenever he wanted. Everyone knew he was the GOAT, so he didn’t need to rub elbows with us mere mortals. He could do whatever he wanted, his legacy was secure. If he felt like playing, he did; if not, he stayed home.
Before I get to this man and his remarkable story, I have a few thoughts on the word goat and the now ubiquitous acronym GOAT. When I was younger, the word goat had a negative context when it came up in sports. The goat was the person responsible for their team losing. Poor Bill Buckner, who booted a ground ball for the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, is a famous example. I still remember where I was when I saw the ball roll by him as much of New England screamed in dread.
Not too long ago, something interesting happened, the word goat became the acronym GOAT, and everything changed. Now when I hear anyone mention The GOAT, they are always speaking of The Greatest Of All Time. Many people attribute this change in meaning to the great Muhammed Ali, a man who was much more than one of the greatest boxers who ever lived. Ali’s wife, Lonnie, incorporated G.O.A.T. Inc. in 1992. That was the beginning of the metamorphosis.
Ali fought in and outside the ring. As much as he was a fantastic fighter, he was undoubtedly a historic crusader for social justice. Our man, while not nearly as famous, also dedicated his life to improving the circumstances of those born less fortunate. Few would argue that Ali was one of the greatest boxers who ever lived. No one would ever say that The Noriorious MFT was anything other than the greatest in his field. It’s not even up for debate.
Now we get to the man for whom this essay is named. The Notorious MFT, also known as Marion Franklin Tinsley, was the greatest checkers player who ever lived. He never lost a match, you read that right, he never lost a single match! He only lost four games his entire life when he sat down to play checkers against a fellow human being. Can you imagine? I don’t know what to say in the face of such a ridiculous record. All I can do is stand in awe of the genius that was Marion Tinsley.
Tinsley was a mathematician and a lay preacher. He got his Ph.D. in mathematics from The Ohio State University. The records at that university will show that Tinsley concentrated in combinatorial analysis, those same archives will not document all the time he spent studying checkers while there. The man never married, he lived checkers, the game was his one true love.
Tinsley left his position teaching math at Florida State University for a similar post at Florida A&M, a public university historically attended by African-Americans. Instead of becoming a missionary to Africa, Tinsley decided to stay closer to home to spread the word about mathematics and his faith. I have been searching, and I can not find anyone who has gone on record with a single bad word to say about him. By all accounts, he was a kind and gentle soul, except when seated to play checkers. Then he transformed into an aggressive menace.
Tinsley’s full story can not be told without considering the development of computers and the software that runs them. Many people took it upon themselves to try to defeat Tinsley. When the humans failed and failed again, a man in Canada decided to write some code. He and his team made it their mission to create a computer program that could defeat the most magnificent checkers player of all time.
Jonathan Schaeffer of the University of Alberta in Canada led a team that dared to believe that they could beat Tinsley. How did they fare? Do you have any guesses? What do you think happened?
They failed. Schaeffer’s program, named Chinook, defeated Tinsley twice in individual games but lost the match. It is essential to note that no human ever beat Tinsley twice in a game of checkers. His four losses were to four different people.
After Tinsley’s death, the team did something extraordinary. They designed a software program that solved checkers. What does this mean? The best any opponent can hope for is a tie. The software can not be defeated. It plays perfectly every time it is engaged.
It took the team decades to dial the software in. Obviously, this is a significant accomplishment, one worthy of world acclaim. Think about this: there are 5 x 1020 possible moves on a standard checkerboard. Imagine the computing power, as well as the brainpower, required to attack that problem.
Schaeffer and his team were motivated and inspired by the greatness of Tinsley. They were driven to build a program that could defeat him. They were on the cusp of perfecting the program when Tinsley succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 68.
Tinsley’s grave is in Columbus, Ohio. Schaeffer hopes to make a pilgrimage to the site one day. Chinook lives on, you can find it with a Google search. You can even challenge the program to a game if you dare. If you play, prepare yourself to lose, you certainly will. Same as with the people who came up against The Notorious MFT, the undeniable GOAT of GOATS.
