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Subject: Re: Is there a program with more knowledge about endgames?

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 08:19:48 06/04/00

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On June 04, 2000 at 09:48:08, blass uri wrote:

>On June 03, 2000 at 19:24:08, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>
>>On June 03, 2000 at 10:41:58, blass uri wrote:
>>
>>>My observation is that programmers did not try to teach program some rules
>>>about endgames(for example about the fact that KRPPP vs KRPP is almost always a
>>>draw when all pawns are on the same side).
>>>
>>>
>>>I know no program that knows that this position is probably a draw(evaluation of
>>>less than 0.5 pawns advantage for white):
>>>
>>>[D]5rk1/6pp/8/8/8/8/5PPP/5RK1 w - - 0 1
>>>
>>>I am interested to know if there is a programmer who try to teach his(her)
>>>program as much as possible about endgames by teaching it rules from chess books
>>>without caring about nps and about being better in games.
>>>
>>>Uri
>>
>>
>>I do this all the time.  I just haven't gotten to this case yet.  Nor the case
>>of Q+P's is _very_ difficult to win with a 1 P advantage.
>
>Crafty is not a slow searcher relative to some programs like hiarcs or tal and I
>thought that you did not add part of the knowledge about endgames because you
>did not want to do crafty significantly slower.
>(I know that cray blitz had knowledge that crafty does not have because you do
>not see a way to add the knowledge without doing crafty significantly slower)
>
>Uri


All you have to do is "go back".  v15.x was far faster than 16.x, which was
faster than 17.x...  I never avoid adding 'smarts' when it is needed.  I try to
carefully weigh the cost of the knowledge in search speed, vs the gain, of
course.  But I have hardly been avoiding doing this.  How many programs have a
reasonable understanding of majorities and candidate passers?  How many know
that with no pieces, connected passers are _not_ what you want?  These things
take a bit of computation time, but after watching many games, it becomes pretty
obvious that they are needed.

I am probably "slow" adding things.  But then again, I am "slow" in working on
the thing at times, because of other requirements on my time.  IE week after
next I will be out of town all week at a "cluster workshop".  Doesn't take
much to distract and hold back progress.  :(

But I am trying... :)



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