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Subject: General Judgement about Positiontests and Testing as such

Author: Rolf Tueschen

Date: 05:57:33 06/19/04


This is a translation of an article I published in the German forum of hagra.
[ Computerschach Stellungstest Schaubude ]


At the end of a discussion that went also into international circles, I want to
give a general and possibly widely understandable solution to the basic debate.
This is out of solidarity for hagra and his fun forum and in contradiction to
the CSS forum, where truth has not the chance and critics get censored and then
banned.

Hagra, who was also banned yesterday, please don't let you be demoralized.


There is a problem, that a test lay can't understand without appropriate
education:


** Why a test, like the CSS-WM-Test of Mikhail Gurevich, shouldn't bring
something good, if it is clearly proven, that one gets exactly the same results,
people do also get who are making tests with tournament games results?

** Why above all, all these programmers don't use this good test in their work
to see very quickly , what a specific version of their creation can -
objectively! - do and perform?


These questions are so difficult, because to lays it must appear as if all the
experts were dick-headed somehow. The test author MG mentioned that therefore
all these people should simply do his test, because only then they could see how
valuable and precise the CSS-WM-Test really is. -

This is also the reason for this solution now!


Solution
========

The whole debate, that has been fought, fierecly in special from the side of the
CSS people, see M. Scheidl, can be reduced on a simple misunderstanding. To be
able to understand one needs testtheoretical knowledge. Otherwise on dosn't find
this (simple) solution.

a) veritable tests are made because one doesn't know something; one has
suspicions, but now the statistical proof must be found; validity and
reliability...

The programmers are in that situation a), when they are working on their babies.
They don't know the answers on their questions. If they would do the WM-position
test and trust the results, then surprises at the next tournament were
programmed. Only therefore the programmers say, we can't use these position
tests at all.


b) people who run test-suites and also the test founders, in case of position
tests at least, are testing end products, ready made and already made optimal
for being used in tournaments and such test suites. :)
Their strength is already optimized towards playing strength. Forcedly the
testers get similar results like the tourament games comp vs comp testers. And
by force they then think that it makes no difference if one does test playing
strength or the analytical strength to solve these smartly chosen test
positions.



This alleged lack of differences which does surprise all the testers in b) is
the reason for the misunderstandings in the so called WM-debate. Because the
ready made final product can well be tested with these position tests, but -
this is Bob Hyatt speaking - we only get what we, the experts, did already know
about our creations. Nit at point zero theses position tests don't show us
anything. Of course we would get results, but these results are not reliable, as
Sandro Necchi, book author of Shredder, told us today here in CCC.

To all the fans and users: the results of the position tests are ok, but empty
for the experts. The expert can't profit because he already has optimized his
product. But testing in its real meaning is meant for unknown results. Results
that could be good or bad for your plans.


The whole debate about the Elo numbers for such test results in the CSS-WM-test
is a different question. But it's a fact that such Elos, however been presented,
don't have a meaning or a power in itself.


I hope that it's clear by now that all the computerchessfans can well run their
test suites like before. They can enjoy the results. It makes likewise much fun
to let one's own games be analysed by the programs. This is one of my little
hobbies. To everyone what pleases ...

Kind regards,
Rolf







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