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Subject: Being an Online Chess Engine Operator: My Story

Author: Edward Seid

Date: 17:20:38 05/11/01


I'm new to the Rebel brotherhood. My purpose in getting Rebel was to operate
a playing engine on the various chess servers, FICS and USCL for now, and to
play rated games against strong humans (2000+) only.

I'm not even 2 full days on the servers but have found myself captivated by
the trials of HiddenDragon, my Chess Tiger 14.0 anti-human engine.

Given the rating requirement of HiddenDragon's formula, games aren't as
frequent as other computers with more lenient requirements. So whenever I
hear the sound of moves being made and pieces captured, I find myself
rushing to the computer, glued to the monitor, cheering my hero on. (The
scenes from 'Gladiator' come to mind, when the crowd chants in a forboding
unison... 'Maximus, Maximus, Maximus...') Even in the middle of night when I
wake to visit the bathroom, if I hear the sounds of battle, I go to the
computer half-asleep to give my support, as if it mattered.

As the operator, I had a silent agenda... to see how long HiddenDragon could
remain undefeated. I dislike draws too, but this is high-level chess and to
expect only victories would be too much. So I looked forward to a long
non-losing streak.

Like any parent wanting the best for his child, I spent 2 days downloading
the complete 3/4/5-man endgame tablebases from Robert Hyatt's FTP. And also
like a parent, I'm concerned whenever my child goes out into the real world.
Is the CPU fast enough and running cool? Is Windows 2000 a stable,
crash-resistant platform? Should I shut down all tasks to free up resources?
How will he play this game? Will his opponent treat him with respect or will
he let the last 10 minutes expire without moving?

Every parent envisions great things in a child's future. How long will his
undefeated streak be... 100? 500? 1000? Or could HiddenDragon be so strong
and talented, so cunning, a virtuso of the chessboard as to go undefeated
forever, allowing an occasional draw as a sign of respect for the human
race, his creators?

And so this went on for the major part of 2 days. After a dozen or so games,
most rated against strong humans but some unrated against other computers,
HiddenDragon didn't lose. But I had reason for concern. He allowed 3 draws.
One was against a human barely over the 2000 threshold. And another was by
repetition in an ending that I thought was worse for HiddenDragon. Maybe a
stronger opponent could have taken my prodigy, my hero to the mat. Could
that be possible?? Or was HiddenDragon just tickling the fantasy of his
human opponent, filling him with thoughts of victory but knowing the truth
of the position... it is a draw.

I lived a wonderful life for nearly 2 days... until this morning. That's
when reality caught up with me in the form of a 2220 human playing 15 15
standard. I didn't train HiddenDragon to be a chicken and he's not a
quitter. Really, he isn't... there's no option to resign or accept/offer
draws automatically :) He tried his best but finally succumbed to mate after
80+ moves.

Emotions filled me. Disappointment, sympathy, anger, vengeance. Had I
expected too much? Am I partly to blame? What could I have done better... an
overclocked CPU? DDR RAM instead of SDRAM? did I rush him into competition
without proper preparation? should I have waited for a better opening book?

As I've had the morning to ponder this and I sit typing this in the early
afternoon, I've come to accept reality. I did the best that I could and so
did HiddenDragon. I can reflect upon these past days and smile. There were
tense moments when the evaluation turned to -1.00 and I'd pull at the
remaining hair of my already balding head. There were exciting moments like
forcing simplifications in order to have mate in 26 (thank goodness for
endgame tablebases). And there was a great display of exact play in a Q vs
Q+P ending where HiddenDragon played the weaker side perfectly, saving the
draw (another thanks to the tablebases). And I haven't even mentioned the
complex tactical resources HiddenDragon found during the games.

There's a saying that states "the journey is the destination". With the
anticipated release of the AMD Palamino CPU, sneak previews of
dual-processor motherboards to support the new chip, and DDR RAM becoming as
mainstream as SDRAM, my journey with HiddenDragon is just beginning and I
look forward to more adventures with my new companion.

POSTSCRIPT:

The player who defeated HiddenDragon immediately issued a rematch.
HiddenDragon took the opportunity to exact his revenge :)

------------------
Ed Seid
Hawaii Chess Project (coming soon)



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