Zermelo and the early history of game theory (Q5928239)

The first formal theorem in the theory of games seems to be one proved by \textit{E. Zermelo} [``Über eine Anwendung der Mengenlehre auf die Theorie des Schachspiels,'' Proc. Fifth Int. Congr. Math., Cambridge University Press, Vol. 2, 501--504 (1913; JFM 44.0092.04)]. The present authors are concerned with some confusion, at least in the English language literature, about Zermelo's theorem and related early work by \textit{D. König} [``Über eine Schlussweise aus dem Endlichen ins Unendliche,'' Acta Sci. Math. Szeged 3, 121--130 (1927; JFM 53.0170.04)] and \textit{L. Kálmar} [``Zur Theorie der abstrakten Spiele,'' Acta Sci. Math. Szeged 4, 65--85 (1928/29; JFM 54.0096.01)], and attempt to shed some light on the statements and proofs in all three of these works. Briefly, Zermelo concentrated on the analysis of two-person games without chance moves, where the players have strictly opposing interests and only finitely many game positions are possible. He addressed two problems: What does it mean for a player to be in a ``winning'' position, and if he is in a winning position, can the number of moves needed to force a win be determined. The work in these three papers is examined more closely, and in the appendix the authors give an English translation of Zermelo's paper.