Author: Robert Hyatt
Date: 11:22:19 12/07/99
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On December 07, 1999 at 00:01:08, Ricardo Gibert wrote: >On ICC, I often see computers winning games against strong players by >"unfriendly" means. Consider what happens when the position is dead drawn, but >the computer player does not realize this and makes an unending series of >aimless moves that drains the human opponent of time on his clock. It isn't any >secret that computers have "faster reflexes". This is boring and inflates the >apparent strength of the program. > >I propose that computer programs should offer/accept draws when the following >conditions hold: > >1) There have been no pawn moves or captures played by > either side over the past 10 ply played. Of course > the 50 move rule counter is perfect for this. This is total nonsense. I have seen _many_ games where no pawn move or capture was played over a 5 move (10 ply) stretch. This has _nothing_ to do with the game called "chess". Crafty will offer a draw when the eval says "Drawscore" for N consecutive moves, where N varies depending on the opponent. For GM players I believe it is 3 consecutive moves. For IMs maybe 5. > >2) The evaluation has remained relatively stable over > this period of moves. Fluctuating within a _very_ > small range. Again this won't work. Some programs vary a little, and some vary a lot... so eval change means little in this context... > >Notice the computer player could possibly offer/accept a draw when it is >material up. It is also possible that the position could be winning for the >computer, but I think that's OK, since the computer has demonstated an inability >to find the win. When a position is a winning one, the score should degenerate >in favor of the side that has the winning position. I know this is not perfect, >but restricting this to blitz or bullet would >keep the chess "friendly" and entertaining. A computer demonstrates its inability to win by reaching a dead drawn position by the 50-move rule or by repetition, or by insufficient material. A program might try 2-3 different 'plans' before it finds one that doesn't lead to a forced draw. > >A second proposal I have to make the chess more "friendly", is to keep the >computer from forcing wins from sheer speed of play. Force the computer to >consume a little more time per move so that it does not win on time just by >virtue of its inhuman speed. You can have this trigger a draw offer when it gets >low on time, _then_ if it is refused, you can have the computer take the gloves >off and play at full speed. This is already done. It is called "playing with increment". If a human chooses a zero increment game, then he has to play to win or draw within that time limit. That is _his_/_her_ choice, and has nothing to do with the computer. I see no reason for the computer to play within that clock time limit but let the human off if he gets low on time. If the human insists on playing zero-inc games, then as the saying goes "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword." > >The "drawback" to all this is that computers employing the above 2 ideas will >wind up with lower ratings, but I think those ratings will then reflect their >strength due to chessic reasons rather than non-chessic ones. Computer chess >programers egos will take a hit when their programs ICC rating goes down, but >they will gain in the long run by virtue of having produced a more enjoyable >program that is bound to thereby be more popular. In a serious competitive >setting or against another computer, these "features" should be turned off of >course. Perhaps this could be tested on ICC with unrated games to see what the >impact would be on playing strength. I have been playing chess for a _long_ time. I have won and lost games on time. I consider the 'clock' to be a "chessic reason" for losing a game. It is part of the game, included in the rules...
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