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Subject: Re: With or Without?

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 10:44:13 04/25/00

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On April 25, 2000 at 11:52:52, Peter Skinner wrote:

>What is Crafty's strength with tablebases, and without?
>Or any program for that matter?
>Are tablebases really that needed for these engines that use them to perform
>well?
>
>Only reason I ask is, I watch several games in a series between Little Goliath,
>and Crafty 17.10, and Little Goliath played the endgame better than Crafty did
>with tablebases?
>
>Why would this be?
>
>How much weaker would Crafty be let's say without them?
>
>Many engines play endgames perfectly without tablebases, and usually do a bit
>better than ones that use them. They may not move instantly, but they certainly
>get the job done....


First, no engine plays the endgame perfectly without tablebases.  To prove this,
set up a position and use crafty vs them and watch the output.  They will _not_
mate in the minumum number of moves or even draw theoretically drawn endings.

That is a bit of a stretch.  I haven't seen many cases of LG outplaying Crafty
in endgames, but they certainly happen.  _any_ program gets outplayed in the
endgame at times.  Including GM players doesn't change this a bit.

But there are cases where the databases turn a draw into a win if one side
doesn't have them.  Or they turn a loss into a draw.  Those are the important
cases...



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