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Subject: Re: "The Tale of a Small Tree" by M.M.Botvinnik [fragment]

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 06:00:26 03/10/00

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On March 10, 2000 at 08:59:18, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On March 10, 2000 at 04:57:42, Torstein Hall wrote:
>
>>On March 09, 2000 at 20:58:09, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>
>>>On March 09, 2000 at 16:58:07, José Antônio Fabiano Mendes wrote:
>>>
>>>>[....]Three Studies
>>>>Eleven studies had long since been prepared for testing
>>>>the program---several years earlier I had written in an
>>>>introduction to a collection of studies by G.Nadareishvili
>>>>that it was with studies that one should begin experiments.
>>>>My reasoning was simple---in studies there is forcing tactical
>>>>play,positionnal evaluation is not needed,and since positional
>>>>"understanding" was to be the last thing to be put into the program,
>>>>one should therefore begin with studies...
>>>>We began with a famous study by Réti.
>>>>[D]7K/8/k1P5/7p/8/8/8/8 w - -
>>>>    White to play and draw
>>>>What could be simpler,and at the same time cleverer than this
>>>>composition?[....]
>>>>And so,during December 1976 to January 1977,"Pioneer" solved
>>>>Réti´s study.We thought that it would all be very simple,but
>>>>it proved to be highly complicated.Without any positional
>>>>evaluation,and without the attachment of the endgame library,
>>>>the tree "disintegrated".The computer had little other work,
>>>>but hours went by,and still no result.It became clear that
>>>>"Pioneer" needed help!
>>>>We took the rule of the square,programmed it in three modifications,
>>>>put it into the library,and at each node of the tree "Pioneer"
>>>>received from the library the necessary information.The effect
>>>>was staggering:the study was solved within 70 minutes,and in the
>>>>search tree there were only 54 moves.This small "human" tree was
>>>>first obtained on 28th January 1977---without doubt a significant
>>>>date in cybernetics.[...]
>>>>Source:"Selected Games 1967-1970",M.M.Botvinnik,Pergamon Press,1981,
>>>>pages 299 and 300
>>>>So it seems that,contrary to widespread belief,Botvinnik thought his
>>>>computer-chess work to be very important.  JAFM
>>>
>>>
>>>He thought it very important...  most of the rest of us didn't...  as it
>>>seems that most of the results were faked...
>>
>>What do base your conclusion that the relults where faked on?
>>
>>Torstein
>
>
>Some PVs he published in the JICCA that were obviously 'faked'...  he would
>make a comment that pioneer decided "this variation can be stopped as obviously
>white is winning" but in another almost identical position, pioneer would keep
>searching.  Hans Berliner had a very good (if very abrasive) rebuttal article
>that he published in the JICCA in response to Berliner's article.  His analysis
>was concise, accurate, and devastating to Berliner's statements...


That last "Berliner" should have been Botvinnik of course...



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