[xxs]

>Mac chess app with the release of the M1.

That would be exceptionally sloppy development. Phones have had more than enough power for long enough. 4 core Skylake (Mac 2016) would be well beyond human capabilities, if it's just raw power.

The "thinking" (difficult) limit should be considered moves ahead, both depth and count. With a possible limit to time, if there is any time control.

[s1gsegv]

You can code review it for yourself, it’s open source: https://github.com/apple-oss-distributions/Chess/tree/Chess-...

IIRC it does just set a time limit on thinking

[Ajedi32]

> 4 core Skylake (Mac 2016) would be well beyond human capabilities

Not if the computer's time limit is set at 15 microseconds. It's not a question of whether the computers have "enough power"; just whether they are more powerful now than they were previously.

And yes, obviously that's a very sloppy and error-prone way to implement a difficulty control.

[dominicrose]

I'm guessing the app got better precisely because there was a time limit.

[epolanski]

Even a computer from 20+ years ago will comfortably crush Carlsen, it really goes down to the specific engine used, chess engines have evolved a lot during the years.

Carlsen knows how to play anti-bot chess where some engines may struggle, but that only applies to amateurish engines.