Author: Laurence Chen
Date: 11:12:52 12/14/98
To all chess collectors, Are you people chess players or just players who like to collect the best engine available for the cheapest price? In my previous posting, I wrote about my findings in the CM engine, and it seems that I drew a lot of hot-headed people who felt that their prize collection was under attack. I presented games and positions to support my findings, and asked anyone to prove me wrong. So far no one from the CM club stepped up to the challenge. If you guys want to believe that CM is infallible and that is like the pope, then let me present this problem, in a two car race between a Jeep and a Ferrari which car would win the race? Think about it this problem. I bet you that all Ferrari lovers will say that their car is the fastest, and it should win the race no problem at all. Really I say !!! Guess what, sorry to disappoint you Ferrari lovers, you are wrong, the Jeep will beat your car, although your car is the fastest. How is that possible you may ask? Did the Jeep had a stronger tuned engine which is faster than the Ferrari? NO !!! The Jeep did not have any hidden super engine, so the Jeep did not cheat. So how is the Jeep able to beat the Ferrari then if the Ferrari is the fastest car. Think about it, it is what I being saying my past posting. I was hoping for an intellectual discussion of chess in this BBS, to my disappointment, I only got a bunch of hot aired opinions. So, my fellow chessplayers, and to those who addicts to collect chess engines, I won't make any more posting since my posting have been viewed with such anti-thesis. Well going back to the two car race, the Jeep and the Ferrari, let me tell you that the Jeep won the race fair and square, no cheating involved at all. The answer to the question I proposed is a very simple one, very elementary, IT CANNOT BE ANSWERED, NOT ENOUGH INFORMATION !!! This may be shocking to some of you, yes, I wanted to make you think about, I purposely omitted to give enough information about the problem, and if we think about, the Ferrari is indeed faster than the Jeep, no question, and if the race was run in a smooth terrain, like a freeway, then the Ferrari would lick the Jeep no sweat. However, I did not say what type of terrain the race was going to be run. If the terrain is not smooth like a road, but a rugged road, full of potholes, rocks, mud holes, fallen trees, and other obstacles, the Jeep will definitively beat the Ferrari no sweat. So how this apply to chess engines, like I said in my previous post, you must know the engine strengths and weaknesses, and to use only one engine in all type of chess positions is a wrong approach, because not all engines are equal, some will play best in simple positions, others in complex and dynamic positions, then applying the proper engine to the proper chess position is important. Therefore, CM is not an universal engine, like some of you proclaimed that CM would evaluate all chess positions correctly. The truth is it cannot, I've seen positions which CM gave the wrong evaluation. And the reply I get is that, yeah but, other engines also evaluate some chess positions which CM got right. My point exactly, no engine is capable of doing everything right. Have you ever studied the games which your engine won the games and asked the question why, or better, what type of position they reached in order to win? With this last thought I leave you people to your nice BBS and hopefully calm and tranquility will return to your passive posting of collecting games and chess engines.
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