Four Billion Positions

With a 64-bit Zobrist key, at roughly how many distinct positions should you expect your first collision?

A

About 2212^{21}, roughly two million, from the birthday bound 2643\sqrt[3]{2^{64}}. A 32-bit key collides after only about 2112^{11}, roughly two thousand.

B

About 2322^{32}, roughly four billion, from the birthday bound 264\sqrt{2^{64}}. A 32-bit key collides after only about 2162^{16}, roughly 65 thousand.

C

About 2642^{64}, roughly 18 quintillion, from the per-pair probability 2−642^{-64}. A 32-bit key collides after only about 2322^{32}, roughly four billion.

D

About 2632^{63}, roughly nine quintillion, from the pigeonhole bound 264/22^{64}/2. A 32-bit key collides after only about 2312^{31}, roughly two billion.