Computer Chess Club Archives


Search

Terms

Messages

Subject: Re: What is MVV/LVA?

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 11:57:58 10/02/98

Go up one level in this thread


On October 02, 1998 at 13:37:56, John Coffey wrote:

>What is MVV/LVA?
>
>John Coffey


First coined by Ken Thompson, and Belle.  Stands for "Most Valuable
Victim, Least Valuable Aggressor".  It is a methodology for ordering
captures that requires very little "work".  Pick the most valuable
piece that you are attacking, then capture that piece with the least
valuable piece that is attacking it...

It is quite good in hardware implementations.  Belle had a design that
let it ask, using one machine cycle, "what is the most valuable piece
under attack" and then using another cycle it could ask "what is the
least valuable piece that attacks that square?"

It fails in obvious places.  IE you would try QxR, even if the rook is
defended, before you would try QxP when the pawn is "free" for the taking.



This page took 0 seconds to execute

Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700

Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.