Zobrist hashing

<p>Zobrist hashing (also referred to as Zobrist keys or Zobrist signatures ) is a <a href="/facts/Hash_function/rk6MlCt3">hash function</a> construction used in <a href="/facts/Computer_program/e38jH9N9">computer programs</a> that play <a href="/facts/Abstract_board_game/bv6APAq9">abstract board games</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Computer_chess/2wE8AU5d">chess</a> and <a href="/facts/Computer_go/84qlIttL">Go</a>, to implement <a href="/facts/Transposition_table/KslgQ7sn">transposition tables</a>, a special kind of <a href="/facts/Hash_table/Ht4ptDPF">hash table</a> that is indexed by a board position and used to avoid analyzing the same position more than once. Zobrist hashing is named for its inventor, <a href="/facts/Albert_Lindsey_Zobrist/UPkjVGa4">Albert Lindsey Zobrist</a>.  It has also been applied as a method for recognizing substitutional alloy configurations in simulations of crystalline materials.  Zobrist hashing is the first known instance of the generally useful underlying technique called <a href="/facts/Tabulation_hashing/XIK2xu0D">tabulation hashing</a>.
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Zobrist hashing open-in-new

Zobrist hashing